Why in news?

• Recently Clashes have erupted between Israeli police and Palestinians in Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and Damascus Gate (Bab al-Amud).
• Damascus Gate is an Ottoman-era plaza that is the largest of the seven open gates to Jerusalem’s Old City, which lies in East Jerusalem.
• Al-aqsa in East Jerusalem is the third-holiest site of Islam. Jews call it Temple Mount, the holiest place for Judaism.
• Other areas of Conflict: Gaza Strip and West Bank are other areas of conflict as most of the Palestinians live in these places with Hamas having control over Gaza Strip.

Why in news?

• NITI Aayog and UNICEF India have signed a Statement of Intent (Sol) on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a focus on children.
• Sol seeks to formalize a framework to launch the first report on ‘State of India’s Children: Status and Trends in Multidimensional Child Development’.
• It will help in understanding the multidimensional attainments and deprivations among children.
• UNICEF India and NITI Aayog are developing a comprehensive measure to understand the multidimensional attainments and deprivations among children across health and nutrition, education, water and sanitation, household living standards; etc.

About UNICEF

• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)is a special program of the United Nations (UN) devoted to aiding national efforts to improve the health, nutrition, education, and general welfare of children.

• UNICEF was created in 1946 as International Children’s Emergency Fund (ICEF) by UN relief Rehabilitation Administration to help children affected by World War II.
• UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations in 1953.
  • The name was shortened to United Nations Children Fund but it is still referred to as UNICEF.
• It is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.
• UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989.
  • It strives to establish children’s rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children.
• Awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1965 for “promotion of brotherhood among the nations”.
• Headquarters: New York City.
  • It works in over 190 countries and territories with 7 regional offices.

Why in news?

• Launched by: India Post Payments Bank (IPPB)
• It is a joint initiative to collaborate with Fintech Startup community to co-create and innovate solutions for financial inclusion.
• Fincluvation will be a permanent platform of IPPB to co-create inclusive financial solutions with participating start-ups.
• It will also allow the start-ups to work with IPPB and DoP experts to develop solutions and conduct pilots using the postal network and IPPB’s technology stack.
• IPPB (launched in 2018) was established under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communication with 100% equity owned by Government of India.

Why in news?

• A two-day seminar and exhibition on the National Calendar of India has been scheduled on April 22-23, 2022 at Ujjain and Dongla, Madhya Pradesh (a place on the tropic of Cancer).
• Tropic of Cancer passes almost from the middle of India- covering eight states (from West to East) as: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.
• Mahi river cuts it twice, with Udaipur (in Tripura) as the major closest city and Agartala as the closest capital city.
• Other close capital cities include: Ranchi (Jharkhand), Aizawl (Mizoram), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), and Gandhi Nagar (Gujarat).

Why in news?

• A recent study of genetically modified mosquitoes in the United States has raised hopes of controlling disease-carrying mosquitoes.
• For this experiment, the scientists engineered a gene that will kill the female offspring.
• It was done to reduce the population of wild Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that is a vector for viruses like chikungunya, and dengue, zika, and yelow fever.
• Genetically engineered mosquitoes are an alternative to insecticides to control insect populations.

Why in news?

• India is set to have the world’s highest tunnel at Shinku La(Shingo la) Pass, between Zanskar Valley in Ladakh and Lahaul Valley in Himachal Pradesh.
• The tunnel is set to be built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at an altitude of 16,580 feet above sea level. Length of the Shinku La tunnel – 4.25 km.

Details of the tunnel

• The BRO will start the construction of the record-breaking tunnel connecting Himachal Pradesh to the Union Territory(UT) of Ladakh by July 2022.
• The centre has constituted a BRO team “Project Yojak” to execute the project.
• The tunnel is expected to be operational for vehicles by 2025.
• The Shinku La Pass will host the south portal of the tunnel and the north portal will provide access to motorists to enter Lakhang and the Zanskar Valley.
• The tunnel will reduce the travel time from Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh.

Why in news?

• India observes National Civil Services Day on April 21 every year to acknowledge the works of officers engaged in several public service departments in the country. The day also marks a reminder for civil servants, who collectively run the country’s administrative machinery and their dedication to serving the citizens of the country.
• Civil Services Day is celebrated on April 21 to commemorate the day when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Home Minister of Independent India addressed probationers of Administrative Services Officers at Delhi’s Metcalf House in 1947. In his address, he called Civil Servants, the ‘Steel Frame of India’. This meant that civil servants, employed at various levels of the government, act as supporting pillars of the country’s administrative system.
• Earlier, during the British rule, the name of civil services was Indian Civil Services which was later changed to All India Services and it was fully controlled by India.
• Every year, on this occasion, the Prime Minister’s Awards of Excellence in Public Administration are presented to District/Implementing Units for the implementation of priority programmes and innovation categories.

Why in news?

• Development comes amid a sharp rise in number of ‘nidhi’ companies and is aimed at improving their governance and safeguarding public interest.

Key amendments

• A public company set up as a Nidhi with share capital of Rs. 10 lakhs needs to first get itself declared as a Nidhi from Union government. Earlier, there was no such need for a company to get declaration.
• Promoters and Directors of company have to meet the criteria laid down in rules.

About Nidhi company

• Similar to a Non-Banking Financial Company, a Nidhi is formed to borrow and lend money to its members. It inculcates saving habits among its members and works on the principle of mutual benefit.
• Not required to get an RBI license but need approval under the Companies Act.
• Ministry of Corporate Affairs regulates its operational matters and RBI has the power to issue directions for its deposit-taking activities.
• Can’t deal with chit funds, hire-purchase finance, leasing finance, insurance or securities business. It is strictly prohibited from accepting deposits from or lending funds to, any other person except members.
• Only individual members are allowed in Nidhi companies.

Why in news?

• A recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) working paper suggests that $3.2 on PPP could be made an official poverty line since India has almost eliminated extreme poverty at 51.9 PPP (defined by World Bank).
• According to the IMF paper, number of people living in extreme poverty was 0.86 per cent of the population in 2020-21 up from 0.76 per cent during 2019-20 (pandemic year).
• Suggestion assumes significance since India does not have any official poverty line.
• Last poverty estimates were released by erstwhile Planning Commission following the methodology recommended by Tendulkar Committee for 2011-12.

Poverty estimation in India

• Planning Commission Expert Group (1962) formulated separate poverty lines for rural and urban areas (Z20 and Z25 per capita per year respectively).
• Dandekar Rath (1971) defined poverty line as expenditure adequate to provide 2250 calories per day in rural and urban areas.
• Subsequently different committees — Alagh (1979), Lakdawala Committee (1993), Tendulkar Committee (2009) did the poverty estimation.
• Latest estimation was by Rangarajan committee (2014), which defined poverty line as Monthly Per Capita Expenditure of Rs. 1407 in urban areas and Rs. 972 in rural areas.

Why in news?

• Oil India Limited (OIL) has commissioned India’s first 99.999% pure green hydrogen plant in Jorhat, Assam.

About Green Hydrogen:

• Defined as hydrogen produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable energy such as wind or solar power that does not entail greenhouse gas emissions.
• Hydrogen gas can be used as a fuel in transportation, power generation, and industrial activities.