• Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, recently reviewed the ‘Food Street Project’.
• It is aimed at developing 100 healthy and hygienic food-streets across the country.
• The project seeks to encourage safe and healthy food practices, reduce foodborne illnesses and improve overall health outcomes.
• To operationalize the food streets, the National Health Mission will provide assistance of one crore rupees per food street.
• The initiative will be implemented through NHM in convergence with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• These initiatives include training of food handlers, independent third-party audits, and certification under the Clean Street Food Hub initiative of the Eat Right India movement.

• Toy manufacturers in Channapatna, Karnataka, applauded the Government’s decision to prohibit the import of toys from China and said that the government’s action is contributing to augmenting their profitability.

About Channapatna Toys

• Channapatna toys are a particular form of wooden toys and dolls that are manufactured in the town of Channapatna in the Ramanagara district of Karnataka.
• Channapatna is also known as Gombegala Ooru (toy-town).
• Tipu Sultan, is the one attributed to introducing these wooden toys to the current town of Channapatna.
• He invited artists from Persia to train the local artists in wooden toy making, which then helped this industry thrive locally.
• Most of these toys are handmade.
• They are also painted in organic colours extracted from vegetables and plants and natural dyes, making the Channapatna Toys 100% chemical free.
• Traditionally, the work involved lacquering the wood of the Wrightia tinctoria tree, colloquially called Aale mara (ivory-wood). However, nowadays, sandalwood and mango wood are also used.
• Their shapes are mostly round and cubes with blunt edges, so they are completely safe for kids.
• They received the geographical indication (GI) tag in 2005.

• Archeologists have unearthed 2,000-year-old society from tiger reserve in Bandhavgarh National Park.
• Several 1,500-year old rock paintings and numerous 1,800-2,000-years old man-made water bodies have been discovered.

About Bandhavgarh National Park

• It is spread across the Vindhya hills in Umaria district in Madhya Pradesh.
• Bandhavgarh was declared a National park in 1968 and then became Tiger Reserve in 1993.
• This park lies in the Monsoon type with a Dry Winter Climate.
• The whole park is filled with more than 20 streams like Johilla, Janadh, Charanganga, Damnar, Banbei, Ambanala, Andhiyari Jhiria etc which merge into the Son river.
• Topography comprises of hills, valley, rivers, marshes and meadows to give rise to diverse mixed vegetation ranging from tall grasslands to thick Sal forest.
• Bandhavgarh is best known for its Evergreen Sal forest and Mixed forest.
• About 515 species of plants and over 24o species of birds and many species of reptiles and insects are found there.
• Main Species Found: Asiatic Jackal, Bengal Fox, Sloth Bear, Striped Hyena, Leopard and Tiger, Wild Pigs, Nilgai, Chinkara and Gaur.

• Clashes were reported in Manipur, over grant of ST status to the Meitei Community.

About Meitei community

• The Meitei people, also known as the Manipuri people, are the predominant ethnic group of Manipur State representing 53% of Manipur’s population.
• The Meiteis primarily settled in the Imphal Valley region in modern-day Manipur, though a sizable population has settled in the other Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram.
• There is also a notable presence of Meitei in the neighbouring countries of Myanmar and Bangladesh.
• They speak the Meitei language (officially called Manipuri), one of the 22 official languages of India and the sole official language of Manipur State.
• They are divided into clans, the members of which do not intermarry.
• Rice cultivation on irrigated fields is the basis of their economy.
• A majority follow Hinduism, while more than 8% are Muslims.
• Yaoshang Festival is celebrated by the Meitei people at the same time as Holi and is known as ‘Manipur’s version of Holi’.

• Indian-American Ajay Banga was appointed as World bank President.
  • He is the first ever Indian-American to be selected for this post.

Selection Process

• Selection is done through an open, merit-based and transparent process.
• Candidates must be nationals of the Bank’s member countries.
• Candidates should meet several conditions including a proven track record of accomplishment, Experience of managing large organizations etc
• Candidate nominations must be made by Executive Directors, or by Governors through their Executive Directors.
• Traditionally, the President of the Bank has always been a U.S. citizen nominated by the US, the largest shareholder in the bank.
• The nominee is subject to confirmation by the board of executive directors to serve a five-year, renewable term.
• President of World Bank is ex officio chair of Board of Executive Directors of International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA).

About World Bank

• It is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low and middle-income/developing countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects.
• It was established along with the IMF at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference.
• The WB Group, which is the parent organisation of the WB, includes –
  • IBRD: It provides loans, credits and grants.
  • IDA: It provides low or no-interest loans to low-income countries.
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC): It provides investment, advice and asset management to private companies and governments.
  • Multilateral Guarantee Agency (MIGA): It insures lenders and investors against political risk such as war.
  • International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID): It settles investment-disputes between investors and countries.
    • Note– India is a member of all except ICSID.
  • These all serve the dual objectives of the WB Group, which are to end extreme poverty by 2030 and increase shared prosperity for the bottom 40% of the population worldwide.

• University Grants Commission (UGC) has launched CU– Chayan, a unified faculty recruitment portal for Central universities.
• The portal would cater to the needs of all the stakeholders in the teachers’ recruitment process.
• The portal will provide a common platform for listing of vacancies, advertisements and jobs across all Central Universities.
• The portal makes the recruitment process completely online starting from application to screening, with alerts to all the users of the portal.

• For the first time in the history of Ladakh the Australian High Commission in India has announced its Government Grant for a Project in Kargil.
• The project “Return to Roots” aims to integrate traditional knowledge with the current school science curriculum in alignment with the goals of the National Education Policy which includes increasing scientific engagement among school children of the tribal background.

• World Press Freedom Day is observed every year on May 3^rd.
• The occasion emphasizes the importance of unrestricted journalism and advocates for the fundamental right of freedom of speech.
• World Press Freedom Day 2023 focuses on the theme of “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of Expression as a Driver for All Other Human Rights,” which emphasizes the critical role of freedom of expression in safeguarding and promoting other human rights.

• Luca Brecel, the 28-year-old Belgian snooker player, claimed his first world title after defeating Mark Selby (England) in a thrilling final at the Crucible in Sheffield.

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently launched a low-cost star sensor called StarBerrySense, mounted on the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM), which has performed well during its first-ever space test.
• StarBerrySense is a low-cost sensor designed to quickly calculate the orientation of a spacecraft by identifying stars in its field of view.
• Developed by the Space Payloads Group at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), StarBerrySense is built around the Raspberry Pi minicomputer and is cost-effective and simple to build.
• POEM is a unique initiative by ISRO that utilizes the spent 4th stage of the PSLV as an orbital platform for carrying out scientific experiments.