Why in news?

• Indian Railway Protection Force has launched a nationwide operation to curb human trafficking.
• As part of “Operation AAHT”, special teams will be deployed on all long-distance trains/routes with a focus on rescuing victims, particularly women and children, from the clutches of traffickers.
• The Railways, which operate about 21,000 trains across the country daily, is the most reliable mode of transportation for the traffickers who often moved their victims on long-distance trains.
• The RPF that rescued more than 2,000 women and children between 2017-21 from the clutches of traffickers intensified the crackdown on human trafficking with the increasing number of cases. The National Crime Records Bureau registers about 2,200 cases of Human Trafficking cases on an average each year.

Why in news?

• Scientist and launch vehicle specialist, Dr S Unnikrishnan Nair took charge as the director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).
• Nair, who started his career in VSSC Trivandrum in 1985, has made significant contributions in launch vehicle mechanisms, acoustic protection systems and payload fairing areas during his tenure.

About Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre

• Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) is the lead Centre of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) under the Department of Space (DOS), Government of India.
• VSSC pioneers in rocket research and launch vehicle projects of ISRO.
• The Centre also pursues research and development activities in associated areas like propellants, solid propulsion technology, aerodynamics, aero structural and aero thermal fields, avionics, polymers and composites, guidance, control & simulation, computer and information, mechanical engineering, aerospace mechanisms, vehicle integration and testing, space ordnance, chemicals and materials.
• It was set up in 1962 and is located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Why In News

• The National Skiing Championship has begun in Auli (Uttrakhand).
• A team of athletes from 16 states have reached Auli for the winter games. These include boys and girls of sub-junior, junior and senior categories.

About Anchal Thakur

• Aanchal Thakur is an Indian female alpine skier.
• She represented India at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics that took place in Innsbruck.
• In the 2012 Youth Winter Olympics she took part in the Alpine skiing – Girl’s Slalom and Girl’s Giant Slalom events.
• She also won bronze medal by winning bronze at FIS Alpine Ski Competition held in Montenegro.

Why in news?

• The age-old festival is celebrated by Hindus, mainly Nag followers, who believe that on this day of Gouri tritiya, Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati got married and the latter insisted on a throne made of snow as her wedding gift.
• Thus, snow during the festival is considered a good omen.
• The festival is celebrated with religious fervor across the Chenab Valley in Jammu and Kashmir.
• During the three-day long festival, married women go in the neighbourhood to offer ‘Thel‘ (respect) to one and all irrespective of religion, creed and caste, age and gender and get in return their blessing — ‘Suhagan Bho’ (wish your husband a long life).

Why in news?

• As per Ministry of Civil Aviation, of the 94 RCS-Udan routes that have completed 3-year tenure, only 22 routes are in operation.
• The Ministry has cited several challenges to the scheme. These include-
• Difficult airline business which has low yield and high operating costs, lack of slots at congested airports like Delhi and Mumbai, non-availability of smaller planes and maintenance issues which require procurement of spare parts from abroad.
• There also have been delays in completing airport development work due to lack of funds and non-availability of land.

About Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (Udan) scheme

• UDAN scheme, also known as regional connectivity scheme (RCS) was launched in 2016.
• The aim of the scheme was to take flying to the masses and improve air connectivity to tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
• Under the scheme, airlines have to cap fares at ₹2,500 per seat per hour of flight for 50% of the seats in a plane for which they receive a viability gap funding (subsidy) from the government along with some other benefits.

Why in news?

• NASA’s asteroid monitoring system has been upgraded so that it can scan the entire night sky once every 24 hours for potentially hazardous space rocks.

About ATLAS

• ATLAS is a state-of-the-art asteroid detection system.
• It is operated by University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy (IfA) for Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) of NASA.
• ATLAS has expanded its reach to southern hemisphere by including two additional observatories in Chile and South Africa. It now comprises of four telescopes.
• It has two existing northern-hemisphere telescopes on Haleakala and Maunaloa in Hawai‘i.
• ATLAS is now capable of searching entire dark sky every 24 hours. Thus, it has become an important asset for NASA’s continuous effort for finding, tracking and monitoring near earth objects (NEOs).

Why in news?

• A team of researchers recently discovered a new gecko species in the Western Ghats of Kerala. The species has been named as Hemidactylus easai.
• The species was named after the former director of the Kerala Forest and Research Institute P S Easa.
• The species was found in the drier regions of the forest. It measured 105 mm from snout to vent. The species was light brown in colour and was found near human habitation.

About Geckos

• Geckos are lizards and are found everywhere in the world except Antarctica. They are mainly found in warm climates of the world.
• There are more than 180 species of geckos in the world. India has 48.
• Of these 48, 30 are in Kerala.
• Geckos are not a threat to human habitation.
• They play a major role in controlling the insect population.
• Gecko is an Indonesian word. It is imitative of the sound made by the species.
• They are unique for their vocalisation. They use chirping and clicking sounds for their social interactions. They make hissing sounds when threatened or alarmed.

Why in news?

• The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Hyderabad)has launched the beta version of ‘Swarajability’, a job portal powered by artificial intelligence that helps people with disabilities acquire relevant skills and find jobs.
• The platform will analyse the profiles of the job seekers and suggest the skills they would require to become eligible. A platform that addressed this challenge would help this vulnerable section of the population.
• The institute has developed the platform in association with Youth4Jobs, Visual Quest and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.
• While IIT-H offers its expertise in AI, Visual Quest India has developed the platform. Youth4Jobs provides skilling services to job seekers.
• The project is funded by Kotak Mahindra Bank.
• There are 21 million persons with disabilities in the country. About 70 per cent of them are either unemployed or underemployed.

Why in news?

• As per the data official released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), it provided a record USD 4.6 billionin sovereign lending to India in 2021.
• This included USD 1.8 billion towards coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic response.
• The $ 4.6 billion was committed by ADB for 17 loans.
• The $1.8 billion COVID-19-related assistance included USD 1.5 billion for vaccine procurement and $ 300 million to strengthen primary health care in urban areas and the country’s future pandemic preparedness.
• The ADB’s project portfolio in 2021 reflected the Indian government’s focus on transforming cities into economically vibrant and sustainable communities.

About Asian Development Bank

• The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established in 1966.
• It is headquartered in Manila, Philippines.
• It also maintains 31 field offices around the world to promote social and economic development in Asia.

Why in news?

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Patancheru, Hyderabad.
• During the occasion, PM also inaugurated two research facilities of ICRISAT, which were Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and Rapid Generation Advancement Facility.
• These two facilities are dedicated to the smallholder farmers of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
• Prime Minister also unveiled a specially designed logo of ICRISAT and launched a commemorative stamp issued on the occasion.

About International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics

• ICRISAT, is a non-profit, non-political public international research organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world.
• ICRISAT has been awarded the 2021 Africa Food Prize, for work that has improved food security across 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
• ICRISAT headquarters are located in Hyderabad.
• ICRISAT was founded by M. S. Swaminathan, C. Fred Bentley and Ralph Cummings in 1972.