• Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre (JCBC) has proposed to release Oriental white-backed Vultures in the wild in 2023-24.
• JCBC is a joint project of Haryana Forest Department and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).
• It was established in 2001 with UK Government Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species’ fund, to investigate the dramatic declines in the resident Gyps species of vultures.
• It houses three critically endangered species of Gyps Vultures, i.e. the Oriental white-backed, Long-billed and Slender-billed vultures.

• The foundation stone of the world’s largest and unique Divyang Park – Anubhuti Inclusive Park was laid down in Nagpur, Maharashtra recently.
• Anubhuti Inclusive Park is being built for disabled children and general citizens in the Pardi campus of Nagpur.
• The objective is to convey the message of inclusion in the country and the whole world.

About

• It is the world’s first inclusive disabled park.
• Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is the nodal ministry.
• The park will have adapted facilities for all 21 types of disabilities like a touch and smell garden, hydrotherapy unit, water therapy, and independent room for mentally challenged children, and mothers.

• The Programme has been launched by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and SEED.
• SDG Agrifood Accelerator Programme is designed to help agrifood system start-ups develop their businesses while contributing to UN’s SDGs.
• Programme acknowledges that all 17 SDGs are interconnected and addresses challenges across a broad range of goals, from no poverty and zero hunger to good health, gender equality and climate action.
• Operating across Africa and Asia, 12 SMEs who joined the Programme will be supported in three areas: financial readiness, innovation potential, and market reach.
• The kind of help they will receive includes assistance in the development of business, marketing or investment plans, how to approach potential financiers or on how to go digital.
• SEED is a global partnership for action on sustainable development and green economy.
  • It was founded by UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Development Programme (UNDP) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

• The agriculture ministry has approved commercial release of nano-diammonium phosphate (nano-DAP).
• It is expected to reduce subsidy and the import dependence on the fertiliser variety.
• Nano-DAP will be manufactured by India Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) and Coromandel International.
  • Currently more than half of India’s DAP requirements are imported, mainly from West Asia and Jordan.
• Nano-DAP is a next-generation fertilizer produced with nanoparticles of Nitrogen and Phosphorus, the primary macronutrients for plants.
• In 2021, IFFCO launched Nano-Urea.
• It is also planning to launch nano-potash, nano-zinc and nano-copper fertilizers.

Advantages of using Nano-DAP

• Higher Use-Efficiency as a 500-ml bottle of nano-DAP will have the same effectiveness as a bag of conventional soil nutrient.
• Reduced input cost to agriculture, helping to double the income of farmers.
• Improved agriculture sustainability through higher nutrient uptake, lower water consumption and reduction in environmental losses.

• Food and Agriculture Organisation recently released first Global assessment of Soil Carbon in Grasslands.
• It measured stocks of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) in both semi-natural and managed grasslands.
  • SOC is carbon held within the soil that is measurable. It helps in improving soil biological, chemical, and physical properties, water-holding capacity, and structural stability.
  • SOC is a cost-effective nature-based solution to mitigate effects of climate change by reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide.
• It was funded by FAO LEAP Partnership, a multi-stakeholder initiative to improve environmental sustainability of livestock sector.
  • FAO LEAP is a multi-stakeholder initiative that seeks to improve the environmental sustainability of the livestock sector through harmonized methods, metrics, and data.
  • It leads a coordinated global initiative to accelerate the sustainable development of the livestock supply chain and to support coherent climate actions while contributing to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement.

Important findings

• Grasslands, contain approximately 20% of world’s SOC, have suffered losses because of human activities such as intensive livestock grazing, agricultural activities etc.
• Most of world’s grasslands have a positive carbon balance, meaning land is stable or well-maintained. However, negative carbon balance was found in East Asia, Central and South America, and Africa south of Equator.
• SOCs are not included in national climate plans due to lack of incentives for farmers to improve management practices and difficulty in accurately monitoring SOC stocks.
• Recommendations:
  • Improve geostatistical methods and data accuracy related to SOC,
  • Reversing grasslands loss by stimulating plant growth,
  • Capturing carbon in the soil, and
  • Protecting carbon in highly organic soils.
  • In livestock management, implementing rotational, planned or adaptative grazing measures for animals.

About grasslands

• These are open and continuous flat areas of grass.
• Found in all the continents except Antarctica.
• Two main kinds of grasslands: tropical and temperate.
• Examples -Prairies of North America, Pampas of South America, Veldt of South Africa, Steppes of Central Eurasia, and Downs in Australia.

• ‘Jadui Pitara’ -a play-based learning-teaching material (LTM) designed for children aged between 3 to 8 years
• It has been developed under National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF-FS).
• It is designed to create curiosity and accommodate diverse needs of learners in foundational stage.
• National Education Policy 2020 envisages 5+3+3+4 (Foundational + Preparatory + Middle + Secondary) curriculum pedagogical structure.
  • A National Steering Committee headed by Prof. K. Kasturirangan will develop NCF for each of the stages.
• NCF-FS was launched by Ministry of Education in October, 2022 and accordingly, NCERT has developed LTM.
• NCF-FS emphasises play based learning for foundational stages.
• Accordingly, LTM for foundational stage was launched using the concept of Jaadui Pitara.

About Jadui Pitara

• Applies to Class 1 & 2 also (age 6-8).
• Available in 13 Indian languages.
• Toys, playbooks, puzzles, storybooks, puppetry, posters, flash cards, worksheets and attractive storybooks are part of the “Jaadui Pitara”
• “Jaadui Pitara” recommends learning and development in five domains — physical development, socio-emotional and ethical development, cognitive development, language and literacy development, aesthetic and cultural development.

• The state government is planning to generate employment opportunities and boost the economy by strengthening the tourism sector in the state.
• The proposed ‘tent city’ at the Dhauladhars would have around 200 camps, which would be equipped with luxury and comfort elements.
• The government will also enhance the water sports facilities at the reservoirs of dams such as Chamera Dam in Chamba and Bhakra Dam in Bilaspur.
• The government will also promote mountain biking, golf, hot-air ballooning, heli-skiing, winter games such as snow marathon and ice hockey. It will also ensure basic amenities at the Bir-Billing paragliding site.
• The government will also develop 25 sites as tourist attraction places under the Vibrant Village Programme.

• For the first time, Himachal Pradesh (HP) has begun the commercial cultivation of liquor ice (Mulethi) with the distribution of planting material among the farmers by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)- Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT).
• Mulethi fetches high demand in India which is not only used as a spice but in ayurvedic medicines also due to its medicinal properties, presently it is largely imported from other countries.

About Mulethi

• Mulethi is a perennial shrub having sweet roots due presence of glycyrrhizin, which is 50 times sweeter than sucrose and it is used as a natural sweetener in herbal medicines, flavouring in candies and tobacco. It is also used in traditional medicine against treating chest and lung diseases etc.
• Mulethi is grown mainly in Afghanistan, while minor producing countries include Pakistan, China, Nepal and India.
• India imports 8047 tonnes of liquorice annually from Afghanistan, China and Nepal.
• Realising the large import of liquorice in the country, it was envisioned to extend its production area through initiating organized cultivation after identifying the potential areas in HP The districts of Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Kangra, Una, Solan and Sirmour in HP have potential areas for its cultivation.

• The fourth iteration of the biennial training exercise DUSTLIK (2023) will be held in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, from February 20 to March 5, 2023, as part of a military-to-military exchange programme between the Indian Army and the Uzbekistan Army.

• In India, Ayushmann Khurrana will represent UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund). The actor’s designation as the National Ambassador was announced by UNICEF.

About UNICEF

• UNICEF is an organisation of the United Nations tasked with delivering humanitarian and developmental aid to children all over the world.
• Formerly known as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund in full, UNICEF is now formally known as the United Nations Children’s Fund.
• Headquarters: New York, United States of America.