Why in news?

• Citing decline in COVID-19 cases, ECI has restored the number of star campaigners a party can field for campaigning in the ongoing polls in five states.
• Star campaigners are nominated by political parties to campaign in a given set of constituencies for a specified duration.
• List of star campaigners must be communicated to Chief Electoral Officer and ECI within a week from the election notification date under section 77(1) of Representation of People Act (RPA), 1951.
• A recognised political party can have 40 Star campaigners and an unrecognised (but registered) political party can have 20.
• There is no law that defines who can be a star campaigner. Expenditure incurred on campaigning by such notified star campaigners is exempt from being added to the election expenditure of a candidate.
• However, this only applies when a star campaigner limits oneself to a general campaign for the political party one represents.
• If a candidate or his/her election agent shares stage with a star campaigner at a rally, then the entire expenditure on that rally, other than the travel expenses of star campaigner, is added to candidate’s expenses.

Why in news?

• Recently, the PM inaugurated Asia’s biggest Bio-CNG plant – the Gobar-Dhan plant – in Indore.
• Government is working to build such plants in 75 major municipal bodies in the next 2 years.
• Municipal solid waste based Gobar-Dhan plant is in line with “garbage-free cities” under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Urban 2.0.
• Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (GOBAR-DHAN) scheme focuses on managing and converting cattle dung and solid waste in farms to compost, biogas and bio-CNG.
• It was launched by Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation (Now Ministry of Jal Shakti) in 2018 as part of the SBM (Gramin).

Why in news?

• Astronomers at National Centre of Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), Pune used GMRT to map distribution of atomic hydrogen gas from the galaxy hosting a fast radio burst (FRB) for the first time.
• FRBs are extremely bright radio pulses from distant galaxies that last for only a few milliseconds.

 About Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT)

• GMRT is an instrument for studying astrophysical phenomena, ranging from nearby Solar system to the edge of observable Universe, at low radio frequencies (40 to 1450 MHz).
• It is operated by National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), which is part of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
• It is located near Pune.

Why in news?

• A recent study has found that moths are vital to pollination in the Himalayan ecosystem of northeast India.
• The study establishes 91 species of moths as potential pollinators of 21 plant families in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in the northeastern Himalayas.
• Study can help in understanding the role of these nocturnal (active at night) insect pollinators.
• Till now a majority of the pollination-related studies are based on diurnal pollinators (bees and butterflies).
• Pollination is the act of transferring pollen grains from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma.

 About Moth

• Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies.
• While the butterflies form a monophyletic group, the moths, comprising the rest of the Lepidoptera, do not.
• There are about 12,000 moth species in India.

Why in news?

• Recently, President inaugurated the three-year long celebrations of the 150^th Birth anniversary of Siddhanta Prabhupada.

About Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupad

• He was the founder of Gaudiya Math and Mission in Puri.
• Gaudiya Math is a monastic organisation to spread Gaudiya Vaishnavism, the philosophy of the medieval Vaishnava saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
• Chaitanya was a 15th Century Bhakti Saint who promoted worship of Lord Krishna as the Supreme Soul.
• Ideals propounded: Determination, Devotion to a life free of material attachment and Service to Humanity.

Why in news?

• Northern States Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh celebrate their Foundation Day on February 20, since 1987.
• Arunachal Pradesh is the extreme eastern part of the country, which is also known as the ‘land of the rising sun’.
• The state at the edge of the Himalayas is proud to be called the land of dawn and lit mountains. Arunachal Pradesh became the 24th state of India.
• Mizoram was declared as a separate UT in 1972 under the Northeast Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971.
• It became the 23rd state of India after the 53rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution, 1986. Mizoram, as well as the state of Arunachal Pradesh, came into existence on 20 February 1987.

Why in news?

• Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Kolkata awarded Most Dependable Public Sector Company in India award 2022′ to Coal India Limited (CIL), an organization under Ministry of Coal in Energy Meet & Excellence Awards 2022 ceremony.

 About Coal India Limited (CIL):

• CIL is a state owned enterprise and a Maharatna company that has expanded their operations and emerged as a global giant.
• CIL has 7 producing subsidiaries namely Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), Western Coalfields Limited (WCL), South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL)and Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCI) and One mine planning and consultancy company that is Central Mine Planning & Design Institute(CMPDI).
• CIL also has a foreign subsidiary Coal India Africana Limitada (CIAL) in Mozambique.
• CIL has incorporated two new subsidiaries i.e. CIL NaviKamiya Urja Limited and CIL Solar PV Limited.

Why in news?

• The Government of India (GoI), and the World Bank signed loan agreements of USD 115 million to implement the “Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development” (REWARD) Project in the states of Karnataka and Odisha with the support of the respective governments.
• REWARD is a $115 million project signed by Central government, Karnataka, Odisha, and World Bank.
• The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), lending arm of World Bank Group financing will support the $115 million loan has a maturity of 15 years, including a grace period of 4.5 years.
• Karnataka with $60 million ,
• Odisha with $49 million , and
• The remaining $6 million will be for the central government’s Department of Land Resources.
• It will help in the adoption of improved watershed management practices that further help increase farmers’ resilience to climate change, promote higher productivity and better incomes.
• Watershed management refers to implementing land use practices and water management practices to protect and improve the quality of the water and other natural resources within a watershed.
• REWARD Project:
• This project is an initiative of the Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and World Bank. It is proposed as a 6 years project, from 2021 to 2026 and one of the largest watershed management programs in the world.

Why in news?

• Under “Operation Nanhe Farishte”, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) have rescued more than 1,000 kids from Railway stations across India, in the month of January, 2022.
• The RPF is entrusted with providing safety to passengers. It saved 1,045 children who were found alone or were abandoned at the railway stations.
• Out of all, 701 were boys and 344 were girls.
• According to the RPF, many children are kidnapped from railway stations every year. They are later exploited and trafficked.

Why in news?

• Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti is observed annually on February 19. This year, the 392nd birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the great Maratha warrior, was celebrated on February 19, 2022.

 About Chhatrapati Shivaji

• Shivaji Maharaj was born on February 19, 1630, in Shivneri Fort, near the city of Junnar, present-day Pune district. Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti was first celebrated by Mahatma Jyotirao Phule in 1870. 
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was the first Chhatrapati and founder of the Maratha Empire. He had re-established Hindavi Swarajya, self-rule of the Hindu people.
• He is considered as the greatest Maratha ruler who carved an enclave from the declining Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur, which became the start of the Maratha Empire.
• He seized the Torna fort at the young age of 16 years and by 17 years, he had seized the Raigad and Kondana forts. He is popularly known as Shivaji Bhosale and was a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan.
• His efforts and contributions in reviving the Maratha empire amid the Mughal rule in India, including his fued with Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, are well documented in India.