Why in news?

• India has improved its overall IP score from 38.4 per cent to 38.6 per cent, and the country is ranked 43 out of 55 countries on the International Intellectual Property Index 2022.
• This index was released by the Global Innovation Policy Center of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
• In July 2021, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce released a Review of the Intellectual Property Rights Regime in India. This review is a welcome development and offers a comprehensive and detailed study of the strengths and weaknesses of India’s national IP environment.
• The top five countries in the ranking are: United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and France.

Why in news?

• The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Pune, has discovered a new frog species Euphlyctis jaladhara which are growing in the freshwater regions along all the states spanning the Western Ghats.
• Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar, Mount Carmel College (MCC), Bengaluru, tied up on the discovery.

About Euphlyctis jaladhara

• The common name of this frog is Jaladhara skittering frog and Euphlyctis jaladharais the scientific name. This species was first discovered in freshwater bodies located near the Thattekad Bird Sanctuary in Ernakulam District of Kerala.
• This is the second skittering frog species discovered in this area. The Kerala Pond Frog (Phrynoderma Kerala) was also discovered in the same area.
• Multiple populations of this species have been discovered in forest surveys which have focused on freshwater bodies in Goa, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Conservation plans have to be made focusing on this newly discovered frog species so that the population grows.

Why in news?

• This partnership between WEF and NIUA is significant in the light of India’s commitment of achieving net zero carbon emission by 2070, made at COP26 summit in Glasgow.
• WEF and NIUA will adapt WEF’s ‘City Sprint’ process as well as ‘Toolbox of Solutions’ for decarbonisation of five to seven Indian cities in two years.

About Sustainable Cities India Program

• The Sustainable Cities India Program is aims to enable cities to generate decarbonisation solutions in different sectors including energy and transport.
• It seeks to enable cities to decarbonise in a systematic and sustainable way, in a bid to reduce emissions and deliver equitable and resilient urban ecosystems.

World Economic Forum (WEF)

• The WEF is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation.
• It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It was founded on January 24, 1971 by Klaus Schwab.

Why in news?

• Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, launched the Ombudsman App for MGNREGA. This App is a step toward e-governance, and it will help in accountability and transparency.
• This app will help the Ombudsman in carrying out their duties in a transparent and accountable manner.
• The minister showed concern regarding the appointment of Ombudspersons, and that in many districts the appointment of an Ombudsperson has yet to be made. Hence, all states and UTs have been asked to work with the union government to make MNREGA more transparent by utilizing the Ombudsperson App.
• The Ministry of Rural Development developed this app with the aim of smooth categorization and reporting of grievances by the appointed Ombudsperson based on complaints that they have received from various sources i.e. digital, physical, and mass media, related to the MGNREGA Scheme implementation in the States and UTs.
• This app will allow for easy tracking and timely redressal of complaints by the Ombudsperson. The app will also allow the Ombudsperson to upload annual and quarterly reports to the website.

Why in news?

• Recently the union minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH, inaugurated “Nikarshan Sadan Dredging Museum”.
• The Nikarshan Sadan Museum is built by “Dredging Corporation of India”, at DCI campus in Visakhapatnam.
• The museum displayed models of different types of dredgers, historical milestones, and vintage photos of this dredging behemoth from Eastern Port of Vizag City.

Why in news?

• ‘Milan’ is the name of the multilateral naval exercise which is hosted by the Indian Navy. This is a biennial exercise and features seminars, sports, social events, and professional exercises among the participating nations.
• This exercise was started in the year 1995.
• Along with the Indian Navy, the navies of Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka had participated in the inaugural edition of this exercise.
• All editions of Milan were held in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, under the Andaman and Nicobar Command.
• The Navy, in 2020, announced that the next edition of Milan will be held at Visakhapatnam, under the Eastern Naval Command.
• This exercise is held under various themes like anti-submarine warfare, and other areas.
• Capacity building, training, marine domain awareness, technical assistance, hydrography, and operational exercises are among the areas of cooperation for the exercise.
• Through professional engagement with friendly navies, the exercise aims to hone operational abilities, instill best practices and procedures, and enable learning in the maritime environment.

About Milan Exercise 2022

• This year’s Milan Exercise will be the largest edition of this exercise with 46 countries invited to participate. This year’s Milan exercise will be held in Visakhapatnam in February 2022. The QUAD countries will also be participating.
• Milan 22 is being held in two phases over a nine-day period, with the harbor phase being held from February 25 to February 28, and the sea phase from March 1 to 4.
• The theme for this year’s exercise is ‘Camaraderie – Cohesion – Collaboration’ through which India will be projected to the world as a responsible maritime power.

Why in news?

• The Indian Navy has received the 12th anti-submarine warfare aircraft P-8I from the US-based aerospace company Boeing.
• This is the fourth of four additional aircraft, for which the contract was signed in 2016. The Ministry of Defence had signed a contract for eight P-8I aircraft in 2009. However, later in 2016, it signed a contract for four additional P-8I aircraft.

About P-8I maritime patrol aircraft:

• P-8I is a long-range maritime reconnaissance and Anti-Submarine Warfare Aircraft, and a variant of the P-8A Poseidon used by the US Navy.
• India was the first international customer of Boeing for this aircraft. The Indian Navy inducted the first P-8I aircraft in 2013. The P-8I aircraft is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon aircraft that Boeing developed as a replacement for the US Navy’s ageing P-3 fleet.
• P-8I aircraft is equipped for long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in support of the broad area, maritime and littoral operations. Its communication and sensor suite includes indigenous equipment developed by defence PSUs and private manufacturers. With its high speed and high endurance of about 10 hours, the aircraft is capable of thrusting a punitive response and maintaining a watch over India’s immediate and extended.

Why in news?

• Central Excise Day of India is celebrated every year on February 24. The day is being celebrated to honour the service of the Central Board of Excise and Custom (CBEC) to the country. The day is celebrated to honour the officers associated with CBEC and their services. The day is celebrated to commemorate the legislation of the Central Excise and Salt act on 24 February 1944.

About Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs:

• The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs is formerly known as the Central Board of Excise and Customs. The Customs and Central Excise/ Central GST department was established to administer customs laws.
• Now the department is under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance which deals with the policy formulation concerning levy and collection of Customs, Central Excise duties, Central Goods & Services Tax and IGST, prevention of smuggling and administration of matters relating to Customs, Central Excise, Central Goods & Services Tax, IGST and Narcotics to the extent under CBIC’s purview.

Why in news?

• The Ministry of Railways has approved to set up India’s biggest world Class wrestling academy at Indian Railways, Kishanganj, Delhi.
• The state of the art wrestling academy will be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 30.76 crores.
• The academy will be equipped with advanced training facilities.
• Indian Railways promotes sports in India through the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB).
• Sushil Kumar (Bronze in 2008 Beijing Olympic and 2012 London Olympic); Sakshi Malik (Bronze in 2016 Rio Olympic); Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (Silver); Ravi Kumar Dahiya (Bronze) and Bajrang Punia (Bronze) of 2020 Tokyo Olympics were all associated with Indian Railways.

Why in news?

• Indian Railways along Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), has successfully commissioned India’s first Solar Photovoltaic Plant of 1.7-MegaWatt (MW) at Bina, Madhya Pradesh.
• The plant is under extensive testing and will be in operation for Indian Railways.
• The solar plant will be directly connected to the overhead traction system. And will produce approximately 25 lakh units of energy annually.
• The plant has 5800 solar modules, mounted on 145 sets of modular mounting structure.
• The construction of a solar plant by Indian Railways is a step to fulfil its self-sufficient energy needs by ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.
• The solar power plant has been installed on vacant unused lands for Renewable Energy (RE) projects of Indian Railways.
• Aim:
• The installation of the solar plants is to achieve conversion of Indian Railways to ‘Net Zero’ Carbon Emission and ‘Go Green’ by 2030.
• Aiming to reduce 2,160 tonnes of carbon dioxide emission every year.
• Aims to save around Rs 1.37 crore every year.
• Technology Involved:
• The solar plant converts Direct Current (DC) into Single Phase Alternating Current (AC) to feed directly to the Overhead Traction System of Railways.
• The high capacity inverters were used to convert DC energy to AC energy of 25 kilovolts (kV) AC-1 power to run electric trains.