Why in news?

• Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly laid the foundation stone of the world’s third-largest cricket stadium in
• The new international stadium will be built by the Rajasthan Cricket Academy (RCA) on the Jaipur-Delhi bypass, over 100 acres of land in Jaipur.
• The stadium will have a seating capacity of 75,000 spectators.
• The International Cricket Stadium in Jaipur will be the second-largest cricket stadium in India and the third-largest in the world.
• Currently, Narendra Modi Stadium (former Motera Stadium)in Ahmedabad is the world’s largest stadium with a capacity of 132,000 spectators.
• The second-largest stadium is Australia’s Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)which has a capacity of 1,00,024 spectators.

Why in news?

• West Bengal government has launched an open-air classroom programme Paray Shikshalaya (Neighbourhood Schools) for primary and pre-primary students.
• Under the scheme, elementary education will be provided to students of class 1 to class 5. The classes will be conducted on ground. The students will be encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities.
• Mid – day meals will be provided.

Need for the scheme

• According to NITI Aayog, the dropout rate in primary level in 2010-11 was 6.61%.
• Also, after COVID, the number students coming to schools have decreased all over India.
• The rural areas of West Bengal do not have optimal internet services. In this condition, the open room classroom is the best way to bring in the primary school children.

Why in news?

• India has become the first country in the world to administer a DNA vaccine against COVID-19.
• The ZyCoV-D which is the World’s first plasmid DNA vaccine has been produced by Ahmedabad-based vaccine manufacturer Zydus Cadila and it was administered for the first time in Patna.
• It is the second India-made vaccine to get emergency authorization in India after Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.

About ZyCov – D Vaccine

• The vaccine is to be administered only persons in the age group of 12 to 19 years.
• The ZyCov – D is administered using a needle – free applicator.
• It is a three dose vaccine. It is taken at 28^thday and 56^th day of the first dose.
• The ZyCov – D showed 66.6% efficiacy.
• The ZyCov – D vaccine was developed on plasmid DNA. In simple terms, it was developed using a piece of DNA of the weakened or killed virus. When this DNA piece is injected into the body, the human immune systems learn to respond against the virus. The plasmid is produced using E Coli cells.

Why in news?

• Professor Dinesh Prasad Saklani has been appointed as the new Director of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
• He has replaced Hrushikesh Senapaty, who finished his term a year ago.
• The new director has been appointed for a period of five years with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post, or till he attains the age of 65 years, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Professor Dinesh Prasad Saklani:

• Professor Saklani has been awarded with Distinguished Academy Award by Punjab Kala and Sahitya Academy, Jalandhar for Historical writing in 2005.
• The new director is a member of the Academic Council of Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani.

About NCERT

• The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation set up in 1961 by the Government of India to assist and advise the Central and State Governments on policies and programmes for qualitative improvement in school education.
• The major objectives of NCERT and its constituent units are to:
• Promote and coordinate research in areas related to school education;
• Prepare and publish model textbooks, supplementary material, newsletters, journals and develops educational kits, multimedia digital materials, etc. organise pre-service and in-service training of teachers;
• Develop and disseminate innovative educational techniques and practices;
• Collaborate and network with state educational departments, universities, NGOs and other educational institutions;
• Act as a clearing house for ideas and information in matters related to school education;
• Act as a nodal agency for achieving the goals of Universalisation of Elementary Education.

Why in news?

• The Postal Department released a special cover on Chamba ‘rumal’ and ‘chappal’ at a function.
• Under a series, the Department of Posts had started releasing special covers on products bearing Geographical Indication (GI) tags.

Why in news?

• The Public Works Department is geared up to construct a 72-km-long bypass from Kafnu in Kinnaur district to Mud village in Lahaul and Spiti.
• The bypass will reduce the travel distance between Shimla and Kaza by 105 km. At present, the travel distance between Shimla and Kaza by road is 460 km via Sumdo, close to the China border in Lahaul and Spiti.
• The bypass road will connect NH-5 at Kafnu with NH-505 near Atargu Bridge in the Spiti region.
• The 44 km length of the road project falls under Kinnaur district, while 28 km length in Lahaul and Spiti

Why in news?

• The International Olympic Committee determines the sports to be held in the Olympics games. The committee has decided to conduct 28 Olympic sports and 24 paralympic sports at the Los Angeles Olympics.
• New sporting events to be included in 2028 Olympics- It includes surfing, climbing and skateboarding.
• Removal of sports- Weightlifting, boxing and modern pentathlon have been left off. The sports were removed over the issues between International Olympics Committee and the governing bodies of the sports. This includes AIBA (International Boxing Association), International Weightlifting Federation and Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne.

About the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

• This is the first summer Olympics to be held in the US since 1996. Before this, the winter Olympics was held in 2002.
• This is the third time Los Angeles is hosting the Olympics. The other cities that have hosted Olympics three times are London and Paris.
• It is the ninth Olympics to be held in US and fourth to be held in the state of California.

Why in news?

• Recently neighbours of a golden langur habitat in western Assam’s Bongaigaon district have opposed a move by the State government to upgrade it to a wildlife sanctuary.
• Kakoijana Reserve Forest is one of the better-known homes of the golden langur (Trachypithecus geei) found only in Assam and Bhutan.
• The villagers demanded that the “conventional idea of wildlife sanctuary” be dropped and the reserve forest converted into a community forest resource “using Forest Rights Act, 2006, to ensure community co-managed system of participation for sustainable conservation.
• The villagers pointed out that the conservation efforts of the locals had helped the authorities concerned to restore the forest canopy from less than 5% to more than 70%, and the golden langur population from less than 100 to more than 600 over almost three decades.

About Golden Langur(Trachypithecus geei)

• Golden langurs can be most easily recognized by the color of their fur, after which they are named.
• It has been noted that their fur changes colors according to the seasons as well as geography (region they live in).
• The color of the young also differs from adults in that they are almost pure white.
• They are highly dependent on trees, living in the upper canopy of forests. They are also known as leaf monkeys.
• Habitat: It is endemic to western Assam, India, and southern Bhutan.
• Their habitat is restricted to the region surrounded by four geographical landmarks: the foothills of Bhutan (North), Manas river (East), Sankosh river (West), and Brahmaputra river(South).
• Threats:
• Restricted Habitat:As mentioned above, their habitat is restricted by natural boundaries further increasing the threat of extinction.
• Habitat Fragmentation: Their habitat in Assam has fragmented drastically especially after a thrust on rural electrification and massive deforestation.
• Inbreeding: Obstructions such as wires, and gaps in the forest due to felling, have increased the threat of inbreeding among golden langurs.
• Protection Status:
• IUCN List of Threatened Species: Endangered
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES):Appendix I
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
• It is listed as among the world’s 25 most endangered primates.

Why in news?

• A new study has reported the presence of dholes or Asiatic wild dogs (Cuon alpinus) in the high mountains of Central Asia nearly 30 years after their presence was last recorded.
• The animals have been discovered in the Bek-Tosot Conservancy in the Osh region of southern Kyrgyzstan, a few kilometres from the Tajik border. It lies in the Pamir mountain range.

About Dhole

• Dhole(Cuon alpinus) is a wild carnivorous animal belonging to the canine family, found in Central, South, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.
• They are also known as Asian wild dogs.
• Ecological role: Dholes play an important role as apex predators in forest ecosystems.
• Conservation Status: It is under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s ‘endangered’
• The species is protected under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and under Appendix 2 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
• Threats:
• Ongoing habitat loss: Due to deforestation and fragmentation of forest corridors.
• Depletion of prey base: Ungulates are main prey of dholes whose population is rapidly decreasing due to excessive hunting and habitat loss.
• Persecution due to livestock predation and disease transfer from domestic and feral dogs.

Why in news?

• Ministry of Education has joined hands with Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for SHRESTHA.

About the scheme

• It targets the meritorious students of Scheduled Caste. It will also help to control the drop out of students from courses 9 to 12.
• The scheme will provide high quality residential schooling.
• To implement the scheme, NITI Aayog has recognized reputed non – public residential facilities in aspirational districts.
• The government has estimated that the scheme implementation will require Rs 300 crores.
• The scheme is expected to help more than 24,800 students in next five years.