Why in news?

• According to the Declaration, universities would draw up strategies for achieving their targets for the realisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and share their best practices through the network of AIU (Association of Indian Universities) for attainment of SDGs.
• The Vice-Chancellors, in attendance, have resolved to commit themselves for the realisation of SDGs and align the University education, research, innovation, and governance towards achieving the goals and targets set out for each of the 17 SDGs.
• SDGs were adopted by UN in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

Why in news?

• eSanjeevani t elemedicine service of Union Health Ministry has crossed 3 crore tele-consultations.
• Telemedicine service platforms ‘e-Sanjeevanie’ and ‘e-Sanjeevani OPD’ were developed in 2019 by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).
• As many as 10 States such as Andhra Pradesh (13147461), Karnataka (4424407), West Bengal (2987386), Tamil Nadu (1856861), Uttar Pradesh (1758053), Bihar (1002399), Maharashtra (930725), Madhya Pradesh (781262), Gujarat (753775) and Assam (477821) are leading in providing medical consultations through eSanjeevani platform, the health ministry said in a statement.
• It enables virtual connection between the beneficiary (along with the paramedic and a generalist) at the spoke which is Health & Wellness Centre (HWC) and the doctor/specialist at the hub posted at tertiary healthcare centre. This facilitates real-time virtual consultation from doctors & specialists at the hub with the beneficiary (through paramedics) at the spoke.
• Thus, eSanjeevani is a doctor-to-doctor telemedicine system, deployed nationally under Ayushman Bharat Scheme of Government of India.
• Aims to carry out teleconsultation in all 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres in a ‘Hub and Spoke’

Why in news?

• Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) signed a MoU with the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to enhance the impact of Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP).

About SVEP

• SVEP is being implemented since 2016 by the Ministry of Rural Development.
• It is a sub scheme of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM).
• SVEP’s objective is to support entrepreneurs in rural areas to set-up enterprises at the village-level in non-agricultural sectors. Its focus is on providing self-employment opportunities in rural areas.
• It helps rural poor to come out of poverty. They are encouraged to setup enterprises and support is provided till the enterprise stabilizes. Financial assistance and training in business management are also provided. Thus, the three main pillars of start-up i.e. finances, incubation and skill ecosystems are addressed by the scheme.
• Self-help group (SHG) ecosystem of DAY-NRLM and the main beneficiaries of SVEP. SVEP aims to develop a pool of community resource persons – enterprise promotion (CRP-EP) who are local & support entrepreneurs setting-up enterprises in rural areas.
• SVEP also promotes block resource center (BRC) in SVEP blocks, to monitor and manage the community resource persons (CRP) and appraise SVEP loan application. BRCs support sustainable revenue model to operate efficiently and independently.

Why in news?

• India is looking to sign long-term contracts with MERCOSUR countries to import crude sunflower oil as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has disrupted imports, leading to skyrocketing edible oil prices.
• For this, India may need to reduce the import duty on sunflower oil originating from Mercosur countries and do away with the stringent testing requirements under the existing preferential tariff agreement (PTA) with the grouping, signed in 2004.

About MERCOSUR

• Established in 1991, MERCOSUR is the Latin American trading bloc with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay as its members.

Why in news?

• Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), key procurement panel chaired by Defence Minister, has accorded Acceptance of Necessity (first step of procurement) for the indigenously designed, developed and built GSAT 7B.
• Proposed to be launched in next 2-3 years, GSAT 7B will be a state-of-the-art, multiband, military-grade satellite for the Army.
• It will act as a force multiplier and fail-safe communication support to the force as it moves deeper into network-centric warfare scenario.
• GSAT 7 series satellites are advanced geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) satellites developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to meet the communication needs of the defence services.
• GSAT 7 satellite (launched 2013) is used by Indian Navy while GSAT 7A (2018) is designed (or Indian Air Force.
• Currently, the Army is using 30% of the communication capabilities of the GSAT 7A.
• Other military satellites of India:
• Electromagnetic Intelligence Gathering Satellite (EMISAT): Has an Electronic Intelligence (BUNT) package called Kautilya, allowing interception of ground-based radar and carries out electronic surveillance across India.
• RISAT 2BR1 synthetic aperture radar imaging satellite: Capability to operate in different modes including very high resolution imaging modes.

Why in news?

• Launched in 2015, Sagarmala programme is the flagship programme of Ministry of Shipping to promote port-led development through harnessing India’s 7,500 km long coastline, 14500 km of potentially navigable waterways and strategic location on key international maritime trade routes.
• Its core vision is to reduce the logistics cost for exports, imports and domestic trade with minimal infrastructure investment.

Achievements and initiatives:

• Quality service delivery has reduced Turnaround Time (containers) at Ports to 26.58 hours from 44.70 hours in 2013-14.
• Current cargo handling capacity of Indian ports improved to 1,500 Million Tonnes Per Year (MMTPA) from 1,052 MMTPA in FY2014-15.
• Improved ports’ efficiency and Ease of Doing Business through Creating Smart Ports (Logistics Data Bank Service; RFID Solutions etc); Digitization in Services; Smooth Data Flow etc.
• Port-led industrialization to boost industrial and export growth along the coastline to be realized through 14 Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs).
• Skilling of Coastal population: Under Deen Dayal Upadhyay- Grameen Kaushalya Yojna Sagarmala Convergence Programme, more than 1900 candidates trained.
• More than one crore employment opportunities to be created.

Why in news?

• UNEP ‘Frontiers’ report 2022: Noise, Blazes and Mismatches’ looks at three concerns: Urban soundscapes, wildfires and phonological shifts.
• Noise pollution is defined as regular exposure to elevated sound levels that may lead to adverse effects in humans or other living organisms.
• CPCB has laid down the permissible noise pollution levels in India for different areas.

Key findings

• 13 noise polluted cities are in south Asia. Five of these are in India, namely Moradabad, Kolkata, Asansol, Jaipur and Delhi.
• Long-term exposure to noise pollution from road traffic, railways, or leisure activities causes premature deaths, heart disease, metabolic disorders, and people suffer from irritability.
• Highest noise pollution has been recorded in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Steps taken to deal with noise pollution

• Earlier, it was covered under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 but later, Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 replaced it. However, under Air Act, 1981, noise emanating from industry is regulated by State Pollution Control Boards / Pollution Control Committees (SPCBs / PCCs) for states/UTs.
• Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) proposed fines between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1 lakh for those who violate norms.
• Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 prescribed noise standards for motor vehicles, air-conditioners, refrigerators etc.
• Solution- vegetation in urban environments, Noise barriers along highways or railways, conducting awareness campaigns etc.

Why in news?

• The first Dharamsala Literature Festival being hosted by the Kangra district administration began.
• The Dalai Lama’s message carrying his blessings was read out by his spokesperson during the inaugural session of the festival.
• Tenzin Tsundue and Nyen Tsering Tashi along with Tenzin Cheoying engaged in a conversion over the evolution of Tibetan literature. The session touched the Tibetan literature, as it evolved in exile and how it highlighted the plight of Tibetans.
• Deputy Commissioner of kangra said that the Dharamsala Literature Festival would be made a regular affair.

About Dharmshala

• Dharamshala is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India.
• It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located 18 kilometres away from Dharamshala, in 1855.
• The city has been selected as one of a hundred in India to be developed as a smart city under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship “Smart Cities Mission”.
• On 19 January 2017, the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Virbhadra Singh, declared Dharamshala as the second capital of Himachal Pradesh, making it the third national administrative division of India to have two capitals after the state of Maharashtra and the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Why in news?

• A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur, and Dev Surya Himalayan Organic Pvt Ltd, Palampur, to promote the cultivation of lemongrass and aromatic marigold among farmers of local villages.
• The CSIR-IHBT will provide 10 lakh lemongrass slips and 75 kg of seeds of aromatic marigold under the CSIR Aroma Mission.
• CSIR-IHBT Director Sanjay Kumar said that the Aroma Mission was started in 2017 to promote the cultivation of high-value aromatic crops for the socio-economic uplift of farmers and employment generation in rural areas.

Why in news?

• The United Nations (UN)’s International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is annually observed across the globe on 25th March to commemorate the memory of the victims of Transatlantic Slave Trade.
• The day also offers the opportunity to honour and remember the people who have suffered and died because of the slavery system.
• The theme of 2022 International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is “Stories of Courage: Resistance to Slavery and Unity against Racism”.
• The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution 62/122 on 17th December 2007 and declared 25th March of every year as International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
• The first-ever International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade was observed on 25th March 2008.
• The resolution also called for the establishment of an outreach programme to mobilize educational institutions, civil society and other organizations to inculcate in future generations the “causes, consequences and lessons of the transatlantic slave trade, and t communicate the dangers of racism and prejudice”.