• On March 30, 2023 the death anniversary of Shri Shyamji Krishna Varma was commemorated.
• Born in Mandavi Gujarat, Shyamji Krishna Varma completed his education in India and taught Sanskrit at the Oxford University.
• In 1905 he founded ‘The India House’ and ‘The Indian Sociologist’, that acted as a meeting point for radical nationalists among Indian students in Britain.
• He moved to Paris in 1907 avoiding prosecution.
• He became the first President of Bombay Arya Samaj and he inspired Veer Savarkar who was a member of India House in London.
• A memorial called Kranti Teerth dedicated to him was inaugurated in 2010 near Mandvi.

• Two orphaned tiger cubs rescued from Pandharkawada forest range in Maharashtra have been moved to Pench Tiger Reserve.

About Pench Tiger reserve

• It is named after Pench river, which flows from north to south through Reserve dividing the reserve into equal eastern and western parts.
• Located in southern reaches of Satpura hills in Seoni and Chhindwara districts in Madhya Pradesh, and continues in Nagpur district in Maharashtra as a separate Sanctuary.
• It is among the sites notified as Important Bird Areas (IBA) of India. Birds like peafowl, magpie robin, pintail, drongo, unia, myna etc. are found.
• Flora: A mixture of Southern dry broadleaf teak forests and tropical mixed deciduous forests is present. E.g Sal trees, Terminalia Arjun, Amaltas and Flame of The Forest (Butea frondosa) etc.
• Fauna: Tiger, Leopard, Sloth Bear, Jackal , Wolf, Deer, Porcupine, Hyena, wild dogs, nilgai etc.

• NASA scientists have spotted a massive coronal hole on the Sun, which is 20 times larger than Earth, unleashing solar winds towards Earth.
  • Solar winds impact Earth’s magnetic field, satellites and technology.
• Solar winds also lead to generation of aurora at higher latitudes on Earth.

Coronal Holes

• Coronal holes are areas which appear dark in solar corona in extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray solar images.
• These are regions on the sun’s surface from where fast solar wind gushes out into space.
• In these regions, the magnetic field is open to interplanetary space, sending solar material out in a high-speed stream of solar wind i.e. geomagnetic storm.
• They have lower temperatures and appear much darker than their surroundings as they contain little solar material.
• Coronal holes can last between a few weeks to months.
• The holes are not a unique phenomenon, appearing throughout the sun’s approximately 11-year solar cycle. They can last much longer during solar minimum, a period of time when activity on the Sun is substantially diminished.

• Swachhotsav 2023 was launched by MoHUA on first International Zero Waste Day (March 30^th).
• Swachhotsav campaign aims at galvanizing participation and leadership of women to realize the goal of ‘Garbage Free Cities’.
• The first IZWD has been jointly facilitated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
• MoHUA said that 1,000 cities are targeted to become 3-star Garbage Free Cities (GFC) by October 2024 under the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban (SBM-U) 2.0.
  • GFC-Star rating protocol was launched in 2018 under SBM-U 2.0 to encourage a competitive, mission-mode spirit among Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).

About SBM-U 2.0:

• It is being implemented as a centrally sponsored scheme by MoHUA and envisages to make all cities ‘Garbage Free’.
• It focuses on source segregation of solid waste, utilizing the principles of 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), etc for effective solid waste management.
• Under SBM-U 2.0,Urban India has become Open Defecation Free (ODF).
  • All Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) are completely ODF, 3,547 ULBs are ODF+ with functional and hygienic community and public toilets and 1,191 ULBs are ODF++ with complete faecal sludge management.
  • Waste processing in India has gone up by over four times from 17% in 2014 to 75% today.

• The Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test (FLNAT) under Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram (New India Literacy Programme, NILP ) was held across 10 States and UTs to assess the basic Reading, Writing and Numeracy skills of the neo-literates.
  • A neo-literate is an adult or an adolescent who did not or could not make use of the available educational opportunities on time, and who at a later stage acquired the skills of literacy through formal or non-formal approaches.
• Non-literates of 15 years and above age group participated in the event so that they can be declared as literates on qualifying.

About NILP

• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme approved for implementation during FYs 2022-27.
• The scheme is in alignment with the recommendations of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
• The scheme targets all non-literates of age 15 years and above in the country, with more focus on females and educationally backward states.
• It has five components: FLN; Critical Life Skills; Basic Education; Vocational Skills and Continuing Education.
• The scheme is to be implemented through volunteer teachers and students of schools and Higher Education Institutions and Teacher Education Institution.
• Target for FYs 2022-27 is 5 crore learners (1 crore per year) by using “Online Teaching, Learning and Assessment System (OTLAS)” in collaboration with National Informatics Centre, NCERT and NIOS.

• Tamilnadu is planning a year-long celebration of Vaikom satyagraha movement that was launched to end caste discrimination in a temple in colonial Kerala.

About Vaikom Satyagraha

• It was a non-violent agitation or satyagraha in Travancore, India (now part of Kerala) against untouchability in Hindu society.
• It was centered at the Shiva temple at Vaikom, near Kottayam.
• The Satyagraha aimed at securing freedom of movement for all sections of society through the public roads leading to the Sri Mahadevar Temple at Vaikom.
• Major Leaders- Madhavan, P. Kesava Menon and K. Kelappan (also known as Kerala Gandhi).
• The movement was backed by Gandhiji, ChatampiSwamikal, and Sree Narayana Guru.
  • The campaign gained popularity throughout India, and supporters arrived from around the country.
  • Punjab’s Akalis helped by establishing kitchens(langars) to feed the Satyagrahis.
  • Even Muslim and Christian authorities backed the initiative.

• Shree Guru Gobind Singh Ji Government College, Paonta Sahib, has become the lone government college in the state to secure an ‘A’ grade from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
• It scored 2958 grade points out of 3900 points, earning it a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) score of 3.03.
• The college has significantly improved its score since its first cycle of NAAC accreditation in 2017 when it had secured a ‘B++’ grade with 2.79 CGPA.

• Shakib Al Hasan has surpassed Tim Southee to become the leading wicket-taker in T20I cricket during the second T20I match against Ireland in Chattogram.
• With 136 wickets in T20I at an average of 20.67 and an economy rate of 6.8, Shakib is considered as one of the best all-rounders in T20 cricket.

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is planning to introduce a ‘heat index’ warning system in Delhi and other parts of the country.

Need

• According to “Hot Weather Analysis over India,” IMD revealed that the mechanism by which heat impacts humans is complex; it is a result of the interactions between temperature, radiation, wind, and humidity.
• There is strong experimental evidence that physiologic stress from high temperatures is greater if humidity is higher.

About the Proposed Heat Index

• Heat Index will calculate the temperature along with the humidity levels to provide a more accurate measure of what the temperature actually feels like.
• In the US, the heat index is color-coded to provide warnings based on the impact of the heat index.
  • The IMD is planning to introduce a similar color-coded warning system in India.
• It will factor a day’s- Relative humidity, Wind speed, Maximum temperature, Cloud cover.
• There is direct relationship between the air temperature and relative humidity and the heat index, meaning as the air temperature and relative humidity increase (or decrease), the heat index increases (or decreases).
• Usage of HI
  • It will not only warn against Heat waves hazard but also list precautions people can take.
  • Calculation of HI will help states in formulating better Heat Action Plans (HAPs) for heatwave assessment, forecast, preparedness and mitigation.

• Recently, Japan has approved Official Development Assistance (ODA) to India, for a few key projects.
• India and Japan have bilateral development cooperation since 1958.

Key Projects under ODA

1. Patna Metro Rail Construction Project:
   1. 5,521 crores have been approved for Patna Metro Rail Construction Project (I).
   2. It aims to cope with the increase of traffic demand in Patna by constructing the new metro corridor.
2. The Project for Forest and Biodiversity Conservation for Climate Change Response in West Bengal
   1. 520 crores approx. have been approved for the project.
   2. It aims to mitigate and adapt to climate change, conserve and restore ecosystems by ecosystem-based climate change measures, biodiversity conservation and restoration, thereby contributing to sustainable socio-economic development in the State.
3. Rajasthan Water Sector Livelihood Improvement Project:
   55. 1,055.53 crores have been approved for Rajasthan Water Sector Livelihood Improvement Project.
   56. It aims to improve livelihoods of farmers as well as promote gender mainstreaming in agriculture and irrigation sector in the State, by improving water use efficiency and agriculture productivity, through improvement of existing irrigation facilities and agriculture support services.
4. Project for the Construction of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail
   1. 18000 crores have been approved for the project.
   2. This project aims to develop a high-frequency transportation system by constructing a high-speed rail along an approximately 500-km section between Mumbai in Maharashtra and Ahmedabad in Gujarat.
   3. Executing Agency- National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited.

Other ODAs to India from Japan

• Delhi Metro is one of the most successful examples.
• India’s Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project is funded by a soft loan provided by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under Special terms for economic partnership (STEP).
• India Japan Nuclear Deal 2016 will help India build the six nuclear reactors in southern India, increasing nuclear energy capacity ten-fold by 2032.