Why in news?

• India’s Goa Shipyard Ltddelivered the 5th and final vessel of the 5 Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vehicle (CGOPV) Project ahead of contractual schedule. The vessel was named ICGS ‘Saksham’. The point to be underlined- all 5 vessels have been delivered before time to the Indian Coast Guard. The contract for 5 CGOPVs was signed by GSL with the Ministry of Defence on 26 August 2016.

About the vessels:

• All the five CGOPVs will be the most advanced patrol vessels in service with the coast guard. Also, the 2,400 tonnes vessels are fitted with additional features including quick response boats for rescue and anti-piracy and gunnery simulators.
• The hull is designed to provide fuel efficiency, crew comfort and enhanced sea keeping qualities.
• With computerised control systems, they are the most advanced patrol vessels in service with the Coast Guard. It has an indigenous content of about 70% and weighs around 2400 tonnes.

Why in news?

• IndianNational Women’s Day is observed every year on 13 February to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sarojini Naidu.
• This year Nation celebrates its 143rd Birth Anniversary. She was born on February 13, 1879.
• She was famous for her nickname ‘Nightingale of India’ or ‘Bharat Kokila’because of her poems. Sarojini Naidu is well-known across the globe for her contributions to literature.

About Sarojini Naidu:

• Sarojini Naidu, born in Hyderabad and educated in Cambridge was the powerful face of Women in the Indian Independence struggle.
• Anti-imperialistic, Universal Suffragist, Women rights activist Mrs. Naidu paved the path for women’s movements in India.
• Indian Nightangle Sarojini Naidu shines both as an activist and as a poet.
• In 1925 Sarojini Naidu became the president of the Indian National Congress.
• Sarojini Naidu was one of the forefront leaders who led the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Quit India Movement.
• When she graces the United Provinces as Governor in 1947, she rewrites the history by becoming the first woman to hold the office of Governor in the Dominion of India.
• For Women’s Rights, suffrage and representation in organizations and assemblies she established the Women’s India Association in 1917.

Why in news?

• World Radio Dayis celebrated on 13 February each year to recognize radio as a powerful medium, which brings people together from every corner of the globe, to promote diversity and help build a more peaceful and inclusive world.
• The day was proclaimed in 2011 by the Member States of UNESCO and after being adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 as an International Day, February 13 became World Radio Day (WRD).
• On the occasion of World Radio Day 2022, UNESCO calls on radio stations to celebrate the Day through three sub-themes:
  • Trust in radio journalism: Produce independent and high-quality content;
  • Trust and accessibility: Take care of your audience;
  • Trust and viability of radio stations: Ensure competitiveness.

Why in news?

• The PM paid his obeisances to Sri Madhwacharya on the occasion of Madhwa Navami.

About Sri Madhawacharya

• He is regarded as an incarnation of wind-god Vayu and was born in year 1238 AD in Kanara district of Karnataka.
• He was a great exponent of the Dvaita School of philosophy.
• According to his philosophy, the Supreme Being is Vishnu.
• He, argued that a body of canonical texts called ‘Vedanta’ or ‘end of veda’ taught the fundamental difference between the individual self or atman and the ultimate reality, Brahman.
• He wrote 37 works in Sanskrit, mostly commentaries on Hindu sacred writings and treatises on his own theological system and philosophy.
• He insisted that knowledge is relative, not absolute.

Why in news?

• Recently Minister of State, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change in Rajya Sabha provided information on National Natural Resource Management System.
• About National Natural Resource Management System
• The Scheme “National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS)” is a Central Sector Scheme of Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change.
• Objective-The prime objective of NNRMS scheme is utilization of Remote Sensing Technology for Inventorization, Assessment and Monitoring of the country’s natural resources.
• NNRMS carries out the following tasks:
• Mapping of forests and grasslands.
• Monitoring of forest encroachment and shifting cultivation Forest fire surveillance.
• Mapping and monitoring of biosphere reserves.
• Eco-system management related studies for environmentally fragile/sensitive regions like the Himalayas, Western Ghats etc.
• Development of Environment/Forest Resources Information System (ERIS/FRIS).
• Establishment of State Forest Data Management Centres, with linkages to National System.
• Resources assessment of fuel wood.
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) involving land, water and air pollution
• Environmental hazard related studies (landslide, volcano, earthquake).
• Mapping/monitoring of Coastal Regulation Zone/coastal areas, etc.

Why in news?

• NASA selected two science missions namely, Multi-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) and HelioSwarm, for improving our understanding on dynamics of the Sun, constantly changing space environment and Sun-Earth connection.
• Both the mission will provide deeper insights into universe as well as offer critical information, for protecting astronauts, satellites, and communications signals like GPS.
• Missions will provide new and deeper insight into solar atmosphere and space.
• They further extend the science of other heliophysics missions as well as provide a unique perspective and novel approach for understanding mysteries of star.

About MUSE Mission

• The MUSE Mission will help the scientists in understanding driving forces of Sun’s corona heating. It will also help in understanding the eruptions in outermost region which are at the foundation of space
• It will offer deeper insight on physics of solar atmosphere by using an instrument called multi-slit spectrometer, which will observe extreme ultraviolet radiation of Sun and obtain highest resolution images of Solar transition region and the corona.
• Mission will further provide complementary observations from heliophysics research like ground-based observatories and Extreme Ultra-Violet Spectroscopic Telescope.

The Helio Swarm mission

• This mission is a constellation or “swarm” of nine spacecraft. It will be launched to capture first multiscale in-space measurements of fluctuations in magnetic field as well as motions of solar wind, called as solar wind turbulence.
• The outermost atmospheric layer of Sun called the heliosphere, encloses an enormous region of solar system. Solarwinds spread through heliosphere. Their interactions with planetary magnetospheres and disruptions like coronal mass ejections affect the turbulence. This mission will provide a unique ability to investigate turbulence. Mission’s budget is USD 250 million.

Why in news?

• The Integrated Management of Wetland, Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services project, funded by the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund (GEFTF), has been allocated ₹31.13 crore for a period of 5 years.
• The three wetlands included in the project are Sasthamcotta Lake in Kerala, Harike Lake in Punjab, and Kabartal in Bihar.
• These three wetlands have been awarded a total budget equivalent of ₹19.02 crores from the GEFTF. The funds are to be divided equally between the three states.
• A project management unit (PMU) and National Project Steering Committee have been constituted to overlook the progress of the project.
• The PMU has conducted a technical appraisal of the plans submitted by state governments, analysing the incorporation of ecosystem services and biodiversity values, mapping the interventions with the threats.

About GEF trust Fund

• The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Trust Fund was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, to help tackle our planet’s most pressing environmental problems. GEF funding to support the projects is contributed by donor countries.
• GEF funds are available to developing countries and countries with economies in transition to meet the objectives of the international environmental conventions and agreements.
• The World Bank serves as the GEF Trustee, administering the GEF Trust Fund.

Why in news?

• Recently, Australia designated the koala as an endangered species amid pressure on the marsupials’ eucalyptus tree habitats in eastern states of Australia.
• Endangered status to koala means, the species and their forest homes should be provided with greater protection in accordance with Australia’s national environment law.  This would not only protect Koala but many other species living alongside them.
• Threats- Population of Koalas is declining dramatically across the country because of habitat loss, impact of prolonged drought, black summer bushfires, Urbanisation and cumulative impacts of disease. Furthermore, thousands of koalas are thought to have been killed in fires that swept Australia’s eastern and southern states in 2019 and 2020. Thus, this designation would provide more protection to the species.

About Koala

• The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial, native to Australia.
• It is the only extant representative of Phascolarctidae family. Its closest living relatives are wombats, which are the members of Vombatidae family.
• This species is found in coastal areas of Australia’s eastern and southern regions, inhabiting New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales.
• Physical traits-It is recognised by its stout, large head, tailless body, round & fluffy ears and large, spoon-shaped nose. It has a body length of 60–85 cm while and weighs 4–15 kg. Fur colour of Koala ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown.

Why in news?

• A book titled “Atal Bihari Vajpayee”authored by Sagarika Ghose has been launched.
• It is a biography of the former Prime Minister of India.
• Sagarika Ghose is a jounalist. She has also authored a book titled “Indira: India’s Most Powerful Prime Minister”.
• It took three years for the author to complete the biography. She researched on his parliamentary speeches from the 1950s to the 90s, Parliament records, his speeches, his written work, the pronouncements made by his Government, minutes of party meetings, proceedings of annual conferences, party periodicals, the large number of bills etc.

Why in news?

• World Unani Day is observed on February 11 every year to mark the birth anniversary of “Hakim Ajmal Khan”, an eminent Indian Unani physician.
• The first Unani Day was celebrated in 2017at the Central Research Institute of Unani Medicine (CRIUM), Hyderabad.
• The main objective is to spread the awareness in masses and action about healthcare delivery through the Unani system of medicine worldwide through its preventive and curative philosophy.

About Unani system of medicine

• The Unani system of medicine was introduced in India by the Arabs and Persians sometime around the eleventh century.
• India has the largest number of Unani educational, research and health care institutions.
• The Unani system of medicine originated in Greece. Its foundation was laid by Hippocrates.
• The system owes its present form to the Arabs who not only saved much of the Greek literature by rendering it into Arabic but also enriched the medicine of their day with their own contributions.

About Hakim Ajmal Khan

• Hakim Ajmal Khan was an eminent Indian Unani physician who was a versatile genius, a great scholar, a social reformer, a noted freedom fighter, an Unani medical educationist and founder of scientific research in Unani System of Medicine.
• He was one of the founders of the Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi.