• India has no objections to the Fund giving grants to NGOs funded by George Soros, while he is put on the watchlist in India.

About UNDEF

• UNDEF was created by UN Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan in 2005 as a UN General Trust Fund to support democratization efforts around the world.
• It funds projects that empower civil society, promote human rights, and encourage participation of all groups in democratic processes.
• UNDEF subsists entirely on voluntary contributions from Governments.
• Composition:
  • The Advisory Board, constituted by the Secretary General, includes eight largest Member State contributors and six other states to reflect diverse geographical representation.
  • India has been a member of the Board since the beginning.

• PM visited Theppakadu Elephant Camp in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.

About MTR

• It is located in Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu at tri-junction of 3 states– Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• It is a part of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (1st Biosphere Reserve in India) along with Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) in the West, Bandipur National Park (Karnataka) in the North, Mukurthi National Park and Silent Valley in the South.
• Received accreditation of Global Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CA|TS).
• Flora-
  • The Reserve has tall grasses, commonly referred to as ‘Elephant Grass’.
  • Bamboo of the giant variety, valuable timber species like Teak, Rosewood, etc.
• Fauna:
  • Flagship Species: Tiger and Asian Elephant.
  • Other species include Common Langur, Indian Gaur, Spotted Deer, Malabar Giant Squirrel, Wild Dog among others.

• Union Home Minister launched VVP in Kibithoo village in Anjaw district in Arunachal Pradesh.

About Vibrant Village Programme

• VVP, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, provide funds for development of essential infrastructure and creation of livelihood opportunities.
• VVP (approved for 2022-23 to 2025-26 ) will cover Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Ladakh.
• It will cover 2,963 villages with 663 of them to be covered in the first phase.
• Vibrant Village Action Plans will be created by the district adminstration with the help of Gram Panchayats.
• There will not be overlap with Border Area Development Programme.
• Objective
  • To identify and develop the economic drivers based on local, natural, human and other resources of the border villages on the northern border;
  • Development of growth centres on ‘hub and spoke model’
  • Leveraging the tourism potential through promotion of local, cultural, traditional knowledge and heritage;
  • Development of sustainable eco-agri businesses on the concept of ‘one village-one product’

• The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has envisaged a special project called ‘The Language Friendship Bridge’, which plans to train five to 10 people in the official languages of Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Indonesia.
• Objective
  • To expand its cultural footprint in nations with which it has historical ties.
  • To facilitate better people-to-people exchanges.
• As of now, the ICCR has zeroed in on 10 languages: Kazakh, Uzbek, Bhutanese, Ghoti (spoken in Tibet), Burmese, Khmer (spoken in Cambodia), Thai, Sinhalese and Bahasa (spoken in both Indonesia and Malaysia).
• Implementation- ICCR has discussed two possibilities for implementing this project
  • One is to institute tie-ups wherein teachers from these countries come and teach courses in India.
  • The second approach is ICCR offering scholarships to Indian students to go and study these languages in the countries where they are spoken.

About ICCR

• The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), is an autonomous organisation under the administrative control of Ministry of External Affairs.
• It is involved in India’s global cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their people.
• It was founded on 9 April 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Education Minister of independent India.
• Headquarters- New Delhi.
• The council also operates missions internationally.

• Ministry of Power recently released State Energy Efficiency Index 2021-22.
• SEEI assesses the annual progress of states and UTs in energy efficiency (EE) implementation.
• It improves data collection, enables cross-state collaboration, and develops EE program
• Index uses 51 indicators across seven sectors: buildings, industry, municipality, transport, agriculture, distribution companies (DISCOMs), and cross-sectoral initiatives.
• Index has been developed by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in collaboration with Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE).
  • AEEE is an industry led, membership based not-for-profit organization that drives EE markets and policies in India.
• Findings
  • Categorizes states and UTs as ‘Front runner’ (>60), ‘Achiever’ (50-60), ‘Contender’ (30-49.5), and ‘Aspirant’ (<30).
  • Front Runner states: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan and Telangana.
    • Telangana and Andhra Pradesh showed most improvement since the last index.
  • Achiever states– Assam ,Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab.

About Bureau of Energy Efficiency

• The Bureau of Energy Efficiency is a statutory body established under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 to assist in developing policies and strategies with a thrust on self-regulation and market principles.
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Important functions
  • Create awareness and disseminate information on energy efficiency and conservation.
  • Promote innovative financing of energy efficiency projects.
  • Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) sets minimum energy standards for certain new commercial buildings.

Perform Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme under National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency(NMEEE).

• Every year April 11 is celebrated as Jyotiba Phule Jayanti.

 Abput Jyotiba Phule

• Jyotirao ‘Jyotiba’ Govindrao Phule was an Indian writer, social activist, thinker and anti-caste social reformer born in the Satara district of Maharashtra in 1827.
• He was bestowed with the honorific Mahatma title by Maharashtrian social activist Vithalrao Krishnaji Vandekar in 1888.
• He is believed to be the first Hindu to start an orphanage for the unfortunate children.

 Major Contribution

1. Women Empowerment

• Established an ashram for young widows.
• Along with his longtime friend Sadashiv Ballal Govande and Savitribai, he started an infanticide prevention centre.
• At home he began educating his wife Savitribai and opened a girl’s school in 1848 in Pune.

2. Rights of Untouchables

• Jyotirao Phule was the first person to coin the term ‘Dalits’ to apply to all people considered lower caste and untouchables by the Brahmins.
• In 1868, Jyotirao constructed a common bathing tank outside his house to exhibit his embracing attitude towards all human beings.
• In 1873, Jyotiba Phule formed the Satya Shodhak Samaj (Society of Seekers of Truth) which undertook a systematic deconstruction of existing beliefs and history, only to reconstruct an equality promoting version.

3. Literary Works

• Major Publications: Tritiya Ratna (1855); Powada: Chatrapati Shivajiraje Bhosle Yancha (1869); Gulamgiri (1873), Shetkarayacha Aasud (1881), ‘Brahmananche Kasab’, ‘Ishara’.
• He also wrote books for the Satyashodhak Samaj that dealt with the history of Brahminism and outlined Puja protocols that the lower caste people were not allowed to learn.

• Election Commission of India has granted ‘National Party’ status to Aam Aadmi Party.
• Citing Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, which stipulates criteria for recognition as a national or state party, ECI now recognises six national parties:
  • Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),
  • Indian National Congress,
  • Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP),
  • Communist Party of India (CPI) (Marxist),
  • National People’s Party (NPP) and
• Trinamool Congress (TMC), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and CPI lost their national party status.
• ECI reviewed parties’ performances in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and 21 state assembly polls since 2014.

Criteria for National Party

• Votes in LS, state polls: A party should secure at least 6% of votes polled in four or more states in LS or assembly elections, and, in addition, have at least four members in LS, or
• Seats in LS: It should have at least 2% of total Lok Sabha seats, and have candidates from not less than three states, or
• Must be a state party: in at least four states.

Benefits of being a National Party

• Exclusive allotment of its reserved symbol to candidates set up by it throughout India.
• Need only one person to propose a candidate’s name to enable them to file nominations.
• Get broadcast/telecast facilities over Akashvani/Doordarshan during general elections.
• Can have up to 40-star campaigners while other can have up to 20-star campaigners.

• The state government is launching the Mukhyamantri Vidyarthi Protsahan Yojana from the current financial year to provide educational loans at one per cent interest rate to underprivileged students to help them pursue higher studies and professional courses.
• The scheme covers a wide range of professional courses such as engineering, medical, management, Ph.D, courses in ITIs, polytechnics, B. Pharma, Nursing, General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM).
• The government has proposed Rs 200 crore for the scheme under which students having family income less than Rs 3 lakh per annum can avail loans from partner financial institutions and banks

• NASA’s James Webb telescope reveals never before seen details in Cassiopeia A.
• Cassiopeia A is a remnant of a massive star that exploded about 340 years ago
• It is situated in constellation Cassiopeia.
• It is located nearly 11000 light years away from earth.
• It is one of the strongest sources of radio emission in sky beyond solar system.
• Cassiopeia Constellation ranks as 25th largest Constellation. Constellation resembles an irregularly shaped letter “W”

• The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) recently concluded a two-month-long joint military exercise named ‘Ex KAVACH.’
• The exercise involved the assets of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard and aimed at fine-tuning joint warfare capabilities and enhancing interoperability and operational synergy between the forces.
• It involved amphibious landing, air-landed operations, heliborne operations, and rapid insertion of the Special Forces on a remote Island of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.