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Assam & NE Current Affairs & GK – March 2022

( Covers all important Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of March 2022)

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Manas National Park – Tiger and Rhino Population

• The Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve in Assam have witnessed a sharp rise in the population of rhinos and tigers. he authorities of the national park expect the tiger population will rise to more than 60 from 48 as per the 2021 census.
• The park’s Rhino population has also increased. Under the Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV 2020), the Assam Govt decided to reintroduce rhinos in Manas National Park in 2005, and the first rhino was translocated to the park in 2006, from the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) near Kaziranga National Park.

About Manas National Park

• Manas National Park is a national park that has been given the status of UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, an elephant reserve, a Project Tiger reserve, and a biosphere reserve.
• It is located in the Himalayan foothills of Assam and is contiguous with Bhutan’s Royal Manas National Park.

Assam extended Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act,1958 (AFSPA) for six months

• The Assam Govt has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) in the state for six more months.

DoNER Ministry celebrates‘Nari Shakti of the North East’

• The Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region (MDoNER), as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, is celebrating a week-long campaign called ‘Nari Shakti of the North East,’ to recognize the exceptional achievements of women and girls in North East India ahead of International Women’s Day 2022.
• The campaign was launched by Minister of Development of the North Eastern Region, G. Kishan Reddy.
• The North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Society (NERCRMS), Shillong and Changlang Community Resource Management Society (CCRMS), in collaboration with the District Administration and with support from the North Eastern Council and Ministry of DoNER, successfully conducted an awareness campaign on female hygiene and care products across District Changlang, Arunachal Pradesh.
• It was conducted under the convergence of the Chief Minister’s flagship initiative, which promotes girls’ hygiene and health, with awareness in waste management. Under CCRMS and NERCRMSS, low-cost biodegradable and re-usable sanitary napkins are being produced by self-help groups with the focus being on girls and rural women.

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India adds 10 GW Solar Capacity in 2021

• As per the ‘Annual 2021 India Solar Market Update’ of Mercom India Research, India installed a record 10 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity in the calendar year 2021, a 212 percent increase year on year (y-o-y). Only 3.2 GW of solar capacity installations were made by India in 2020.
• India’s cumulative solar installed capacity was at around 49 GW at the end of December 2021.
• India added a total of 10 GW of solar power, the highest in a single year. In 2021, solar accounted for 62% of new power capacity additions, the largest power capacity shares ever.
• Large-scale solar projects accounted for 83 percent of installations during the year, with a 230 percent y-o-y increase.
• In 2021, rooftop installations increased by 138 percent y-o-y.
• As of December 2021, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh were the top three states in terms of cumulative large-scale solar capacity, accounting for 50% of the country’s installations.
• Rajasthan led capacity addition in 2021, with 4.5 GW of solar capacity installed.

Indian and Sri Lankan Navy bilateral maritime exercise SLINEX 2022

• From March 7 to 10, the ninth edition of the Indian and Sri Lankan Navy bilateral maritime exercise SLINEX (Sri Lanka–India Naval Exercise) will be held at Visakhapatnam.
• In two phases this exercise will be conducted with the Harbour Phase taking place at Visakhapatnam on March 7 and 8, and the Sea Phase taking place in the Bay of Bengal on March 9 and 10.
• In October 2020, the previous edition of SLINEX was conducted in Trincomalee.
• The aim of SLINEX is to increase mutual understanding, interoperability, and the exchange of best procedures and practices for multi-faceted maritime operations between the two navies.

India’s set to export record 7 million tonnes of wheat

• This financial year, India is set to export around 7 million tonnes of wheat. This would be one of the highest exports of wheat by India.
• India is the world’s second biggest producer of wheat, accounting for 13.53% of global production. But it only accounts for 1% of global wheat exports.
• Annually India produces around 108 million tonnes of wheat. However, majority of the production goes for domestic consumption.
• India exported a record 6.5 million tonnes in the financial year 2012-13. By the end of February 2022, India already exported 6.6 million tonnes of wheat.

Rajasthan announced Camel Protection and Development Policy

• The state Govt of Rajasthan in its budget 2022-23 has announced a Camel Protection and Development Policy.
• According to the state Govt figures, in Rajasthan there are less than two lakh camels left. Since 2012, the number of camels has reduced by 1.5 lakh in India. Around 2.5 lakh camels were left when in 2019 it was last counted.
• The state animal of Rajasthan is the Camel and their number is decreasing continuously. In 2014, the Govt of Rajasthan had declared the camel as the state animal.
• Nearly 85 per cent of India’s camels are found in Rajasthan which is followed by Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
• According to the 2019 animal census, the number of camels in Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, and Nagaland dropped to zero, although these states had 45, 03, 07, and 92 camels, respectively, in 2012.
• As the camel population is continuously declining, the Govt of Rajasthan has announced this policy. For this policy, a budget of Rs 10 crore has also been proposed. The amount will be used for protecting, rearing and developing the animals.

International Women’s Day on 8^th March

• On March 8th Women’s Day is celebrated annually across the globe. This day is dedicated to women and talks about their achievements and the journey they have taken to better their lives.
• This day is celebrated with the aim to focus on gender equality and spread the message that without the inclusion of half of the planet’s population no vision can be fulfilled.
• The Theme for International Women’s Day 2022 ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’ is the theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) 2022.
• ‘#BreakTheBias’ is the IWD 2022 campaign theme. Its aim is to encourage a gender-equal world free of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination.
• In 1977 the United Nations first officially recognized International Women’s Day. However, one of the earliest calls for women’s rights dates back to 1848, when Americans Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the first women’s rights convention in the United States at an anti-slavery convention.
• On February 13, National Women’s Day is held in India to commemorate Sarojini Naidu’s birth anniversary. She was a pioneer in women’s rights advocacy. Sarojini Naidu was called the Nightingale of India and was a poet as well as political leader.

PARAM Ganga supercomputer installed at IIT Roorkee

• PARAM Ganga is the ‘Made in India’ Petascale supercomputer installed at IIT Roorkee under National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).

About PARAM GANGA

• PARAM GANGA has a supercomputing capacity of 1.66 PFLOPS (Peta Floating-Point Operations per Second). It was designed and commissioned by C-DAC under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).
• The crucial components required to build PARAM GANGA are manufactured and assembled in India along with an indigenous software stack developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).
• PARAM Ganga will provide greater computational power to Indian scientists and will give a boost to research and development activities across various disciplines.

About National Supercomputing Mission (NSM)

• National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeiTY) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
• It is being implemented by the C-DAC and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. It is the responsibility of C-DAC to design, develop and commission the supercomputing system. The goal of the mission is to develop the indigenous supercomputing ecosystem of India.

The four major pillars of the mission are:

1. A) Infrastructure
2. B) Applications
3. C) Research and development (R&D)
4. D) Human Resource Development (HRD).

About supercomputers

• Supercomputers are the fastest and high-performance systems that are primarily used for scientific and industrial purposes requiring high-speed computations.
• Supercomputer’s performance is measured in floating-point operations per second. Petascale computing refers to the computing systems that are capable of calculating at least 1015 floating-point operations per second.

Mission Indradhanush: Odisha Tops highest coverage of complete immunization

• Odisha topped the list at the national level in full immunization coverage, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5, with 90.5 percent coverage.
• Odisha’s twenty districts were above 90 percent in full immunization, while the remaining 10 districts were less than 90 percent.
• As per the composite index assessment Ganjam, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jharsuguda, Koraput, Keonjhar, Malkangiri, Khurda, Sambalpur, Mayurbhanj, and Sundargarh districts were selected for inclusion under Intensified Mission Indradhanush.
• Preventive doses against 12 different kinds of diseases are included in full immunization. The disease includes tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, jaundice, tetanus, whooping cough, brain fever, HIV, measles, pneumonia, diarrhoea, rubella, Japanese fever, and others.

About Mission Indradhanush

• The Govt of India’s Mission Indradhanush is a healthcare initiative. It was first launched on December 25, 2014. This scheme seeks to achieve 90 percent full immunization coverage in India and also sustain it by the year 2022.
• Vaccination is being provided against Whooping Cough, Diphtheria, Polio, Tetanus, severe form of Childhood Tuberculosis, Measles, and Hepatitis B and pneumonia &meningitis caused by Haemophilus influenza type B and also against Japanese Encephalitis and Rotavirus Diarrhea in selected states and districts of the nation.

About Intensified Mission Indradhanush

• PM Narendra Modi launched the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) in October 2017 to further intensify the immunization programme. The Govt hopes to reach every kid under the age of two, as well as all pregnant women who have been left out of the routine immunization programme. The goal of the special drive was to boost immunization coverage in a few districts and cities, with the goal of reaching 90 percent coverage by December 2018 instead of 2020.

About Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0

• Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0 was launched in December 2019 to ensure reaching the unreached with all available vaccines and to speed coverage of children and pregnant women in the specified blocks as well as districts from 2019 December to 2020 March.
• It also aims that by 2030, the Sustainable Development Goal of reducing avoidable child deaths will be achieved. Because of the difficult-to-reach and tribal populations, it seeks to immunize 272 districts in 27 states and 652 blocks in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
• Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Youth Affairs, and Ministry of Urban Development have joined to guarantee that vaccine benefits reach the last mile.

Intensified Mission Indradhanush 3.0 scheme was implemented to cover children and pregnant women who missed routine immunization due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Intensified Mission Indradhanush 4.0 was launched recently by the Ministry of Health. It will ensure that unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children, as well as pregnant women, receive Routine Immunization (RI) services. Children up to the age of two will be covered under this drive.

India’s First Women-owned Industrial Park opened in Hyderabad

• Commemorating the International Women’s Day 2022, India’s first 100 percent women-owned industrial park was opened in Hyderabad, Telangana. Telangana Industries Minister KT Rama Rao inaugurated this park.
• With 25 women-owned and operated Green Projects, this industrial park has begun its operations.
• The FLO Industrial Park is named after the FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO), which is promoting it in association with the Telangana Govt. The FLO Industrial Park, covers 50 acres and cost Rs 250 crore to build.

Indian Govt to setup National Land Monetization Corporation

• The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi has approved the setting up National Land Monetization Corporation (NLMC).
• NLMC was first proposed in the Union Budget 2021-22 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. NLMC will now be set up as a wholly-owned Govt of India company.
• NLMC will be under the administrative jurisdiction of the Department of Public Enterprise, Ministry of Finance. NLMC’s initial authorized share capital will be ₹5000 crores and paid-up share capital is ₹150 crore.
• NLMC will support and undertake monetization of excess land and buildings of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and other Govt institutions. NLMC will also provide technical advice to the Govt in the implementation of the asset monetization program. CPSEs may transfer their non-core assets to NLMC to manage and monetize them.

Need for monetization

• Many Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) have surplus assets like land and buildings, which are not put into productive use. Monetization of such non-core assets with help in unlocking their value.
• Through monetization, these un-used & under-used assets can be productively used to attract investments from the private sector and generate new employment opportunities.
• Monetization of these assets will also generate substantial revenues to the Govt, which can be used for creating economic and social infrastructure.
• Monetization by National Land Monetization Corporation (NLMC) will speed up the strategic disinvestment process of CPSEs.

India tops medals tally at ISSF World Cup 2022

• The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup 2022 was held in Cairo, Egypt from 26th February to 8th March 2022.
• With a total of seven medals, the Indian team took first place in the medals tally, with four gold, two silver, and one bronze.
• Norway, won six medals which include three gold, one silver, and two bronze, and came second on the medals tally. With three golds, France came third.

India’s performance

• The first gold medal was won by Saurabh Chaudhary. He defeated Germany’s Michael Schwald with a score of 16-6 in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol gold medal match.
• Anish Bhanwala and Rhythm Sangwan won the gold medal in the 25m rapid fire pistol mixed team match against Thailand.
• Indian trio of Anish Bhanwala, Gurpreet Singh, and Bhavesh Shekhawat won the silver medal in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol team competition after losing to Germany.
• In the women’s 10m air pistol team event Nivetha Paramanantham, Esha Singh, and Ruchira Vinerkar clinched the gold medal.
• In the women’s 25m pistol team event Esha Singh, Rahi Sarnobat, and Rhythm Sangwan won the gold for India. They defeated the team from Singapore in the gold match.
• In the women’s 10m air pistol individual event Esha Singh clinched the Silver medal.
• In the 50m rifle 3 positions mixed team event Akhil Sheoran and Shriyanka Sadangi won the bronze medal.

Katalin Novák elected Hungary’s First Female President

• Katalin Novák, a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has been elected as Hungary’s first female president by the Hungarian parliament.
• She won 137 votes to 51 in the parliament, which is dominated by Orban’s right-wing Fidesz party, defeating opponent Peter Rona, an economist.
• Novák will be succeeding Janos Ader, a co-founder of Orban’s ruling Fidesz party who has served as prime minister since 2012.
• Novák has been the face of Govt initiatives which include encouraging young families to have more children, as well as giving significant tax breaks.

Gujarat top position in 2^nd edition of Export Preparedness Index 2021 by NITI Aayog

• NITI Aayog, in partnership with the Institute of Competitiveness, released the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2021.

About the Report

• The Export Preparedness Index is a data-driven endeavour to identify the fundamental areas critical for subnational export promotion.
• Primary Goals-
• To instil competition among all Indian states (‘Coastal’, ‘Landlocked’, ‘Himalayan’, and ‘UTs/City-States’)
• To bring about favourable export-promotion policies,
• Ease the regulatory framework to prompt subnational export promotion,
• Create the necessary infrastructure for exports
• Assist in identifying strategic recommendations for improving export competitiveness.

4 Pillars

• Policy: A comprehensive trade policy provides a strategic direction for exports and imports.
• Business Ecosystem:An efficient business ecosystem can help attract investments and create an enabling infrastructure for businesses to grow.
• Export Ecosystem:This pillar aims to assess the business environment, which is specific to exports.
• Export Performance:This is the only output-based pillar and examines the reach of export footprints of states and union territories.

Top Performers

• Gujarat has retained the top position at the NITI Aayog’s second edition of the Export Preparedness Index 2021 followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as among the states who are the top 10 performers.
• Among union territories, Delhi has topped the index followed by Goa, Jammu, Kashmir, Chandigarh, and Puducherry while Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Sikkim, and Manipur were at the top five spots among the Himalayan states.

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India on verge of achieving SDG Target of Maternal Mortality Ratio

• In a significant achievement, Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of India has declined by 10 points as per the Special Bulletin on MMR released by the Registrar General of India.
• The ratio has declined from 113 in 2016-18 to 103 in 2017-19 (8.8 % decline).
• The country has been witnessing a progressive reduction in MMR from 130 in 2014-2016, 122 in 2015-17, 113 in 2016-18, and to 103 in 2017-19.
• With this persistent decline, India is on the verge of achieving National Health Policy (NHP) target of 100/lakh live births by 2020 and certainly on track to achieve the SDG target of 70/ lakh live births by 2030.

States that achieved SDG Targets

• The number of states which have achieved the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target has now risen from 5 to 7 viz. Kerala (30), Maharashtra (38), Telangana (56), Tamil Nadu (58), Andhra Pradesh (58), Jharkhand (61), and Gujarat (70).
• There are now nine (9) States that have achieved the target of MMR set by the NHP which include the above 7 and the States of Karnataka (83) and Haryana (96).

States with MMR between 100-150

• Five states [Uttarakhand (101), West Bengal (109), Punjab (114), Bihar (130), Odisha (136) and Rajasthan (141)] have MMR in between 100-150.

States with MMR above 150

• 4 states namely, Chhattisgarh (160), Madhya Pradesh (163), Uttar Pradesh (167) and Assam (205) have MMR above 150.

Debasish Panda appointed as the new Chief of IRDAI

• Debasish Panda has been appointed as the new chairperson of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for a three-year term.

About IRDAI

• The IRDAI is a regulatory body that falls under the ambit of the Ministry of Finance. This organization is responsible for licencing and regulating the insurance and reinsurance sectors in India. It was constituted under the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act of 1999.
• The agency’s headquarters have been in Hyderabad since 2001 when it relocated from Delhi. The chairman, as well as five full-time and four part-time members selected by the Indian Govt, constitute the IRDAI.

Mukhyamantri Chaa Srami Kalyan Prakalpa scheme

• Tripura Govt has announced a special scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Chaa Srami Kalyan Prakalpa’ for tea workers.
• It is introduced as a step towards bringing the 7000 tea garden workers of Tripura under the social security net.
• This special scheme would ensure housing, rations, and financial support to the tea garden workers.

India’s equity market in Top 5 in terms of market capitalization

• For the first time, India’s equity market reached the world’s fifth position in terms of market capitalization.
• At present India is ranked 5th, after the U.S., China, Japan, and Hong Kong. At the start of 2022, India was ranked 7th. Later, India climbed two positions despite a 7.4% drop in its market capitalization. Now, India’s total market capitalization is $3.21 trillion.
• Market capitalization (market cap) is the total market value of a publicly-traded company’s outstanding shares of stock. Market cap is calculated by multiplying the total company’s outstanding shares by the current market price of one share

Sikkim announced ‘Bahini’ scheme

• The Govt of Sikkim is set to announce the Bahini scheme in its annual Budget later this month.

About the Bahini scheme

• The Bahini scheme aims to provide secondary and senior secondary school-going girls with 100% access to free and safe sanitary pads. Under the Bahini scheme, Vending machines will be installed in 210 secondary and senior secondary Govt schools of Sikkim to provide free sanitary pads.
• The scheme will cover 18,665 adolescent girls studying in Govt schools in Sikkim.
• This is the first time in India that a state decided to cover all girls studying in Class 9-12. Under the scheme, incinerators will also be installed at the schools to dispose of pads.
• Anganwadi and ASHA workers will also be involved in the Bahini Scheme.

Aims of the Bahini scheme

• The main aim of the Bahini scheme is to curb the dropout of adolescent girls from schools. According to an international NGO WaterAid India, 23% of adolescent girls drop out of school due to a lack of proper sanitation facilities and sanitary napkins. The scheme also raises awareness about menstrual hygiene among school-going adolescent girls.

Assam launched Unique Land Parcel Identification Number

• Union minister of rural development and Panchayati raj, Giriraj Singh launched Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) in Assam.

About ULIPN

• Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULIPN) project was launched in Assam on a pilot basis.
• Under this project, every land parcel in Assam will have a 14-digit alphanumeric geospatial unique identification number (UIN). Thus, ULPIN will act as an “adhaar for land”.

About Mission Basundhara

• ‘Mission Basundhara’ is a mission launched by the Govt of Assam to streamline and make land revenue services accessible to all, thereby promoting ease of doing business environment in the land management ecosystem of Assam. ‘Mission Basundhara’ aims to reduce the pendency in the updation of the land records.
• The three components of ‘Mission Basundhara’ are:

1. Purification of the land records in the state in a mission mode.
2. Conducting Polygon survey of yet to be surveyed 672 non-cadastral villages.

• Conducting a Re-survey of 18789 cadastral villages using the hybrid methodology.

About DILRMP

• ULPIN project is part of the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP).
• DILRMP was launched in 2008 by the Govt of India. It was earlier known as the National Land Record Modernization Programme (NLRMP). The objective of DILRMP is to digitize and modernize the land records and to develop a centralized land record management system in India.
• The three important components of DILRMP are:

1. Computerization of the land records.
2. Conducting a survey or resurvey of the land.

• Computerization of the land registration.
• The ultimate aim of the DILRMP is to move towards the conclusive titling system with title guarantee by replacing the present presumptive title system in India.

Karnataka launched India’s first-ever Digital Water Data Bank

• Karnataka’s IT Minister, C N Ashwath Narayan launched India’s first-ever digital water data bank, AQVERIUM.
• The Digital water data bank is a list of water data sourced from various institutions.
• It provides reliable information and insights regarding the various aspects of water.
• It helps in making evidence-based policies and decisions to achieve a water-secure world.
• This data will help tackle some common development challenges and water pollution. It also helps in improving service delivery, sustaining water resources, & building resilience.

About AQVERIUM

• AQVERIUM is India’s first-ever digital water data bank. It is an initiative of AquaKraft Ventures, a company that has expertise in sustainable initiatives to provide drinking water and sanitation to all.
• AQVERIUM intends to train around one million youth in water, sanitation, hydro-geological sciences, and data sciences. It is a unique innovation combining sustainable technologies along with IT, skill development, and entrepreneurship.
• A unique social franchising model is also offered by the company. The objective is to create ‘water entrepreneurs’ and make India ‘Water Positive’ by 2030.
• Achieving water security is crucial for India to become a USD 5 trillion economy. At present, the Indian water market is highly unorganized and there is a need for a comprehensive 360-degrees approach towards water management.

Nagaland India’s first state Assembly to implement National e-Vidhan Application

• Nagaland became India’s first State Assembly to implement the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) programme to become paperless.

About National e-Vidhan Application

• NeVA is a type of work-flow system that was deployed on NIC Cloud, MeghRaj which helps to conduct the proceedings of the House smoothly by the Chair of the House and also to conduct Legislative Business of the House in a manner which is paperless.
• NeVA is a member-centric and device neutral application that was created to equip the members to smartly handle various House Business by putting entire information regarding the contact details of members, list of business, rules of procedure, bulletins, notices, starred or unstarred questions, and answers, bills, committee reports, papers laid, etc. in their handheld devices such as tablets and equip all Departments and Legislatures to handle it efficiently.
• Through the use of NeVA the process of sending out a request or notice for the data collection is completely eliminated.
• Each Member of the House has a secure page where they can submit questions and other notices.
• mNeVA is a user-friendly mobile version of NeVA that is accessible on both Android and iOS. mNeVA has made information about how legislatures conduct business available to the public which can be accessed any time and from any location.

Aim of NeVA

• NeVA aims to bring the country’s legislatures together, in one platform thus creating a massive depository of data without having the complexity faced due to having multiple applications.

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Surajkund Crafts Mela being held in Surajkund, Haryana

• From the 19th March 2022, the annual Surajkund International Crafts Mela is being held in Surajkund, Haryana for celebrating Indian cultural heritage and folk traditions.
• This Mela attracts more than a million visitors including thousands of overseas visitors. The aim of this festival is to promote the vast culture and talent of the nation’s indigenous artisans.
• This Mela is the largest crafts fair in the world, showcasing the rich diversity of India’s handlooms, handicrafts, and cultural fabric.
• This Mela is an international artisan fair that is one-of-a-kind and provides a platform for artists from across the globe to demonstrate their creativity and culture.
• Haryana’s Tourism Department hosts this Mela at Surajkund annually, and it attracts travellers of all ages.
• The partner nation of this year’s Mela is Uzbekistan.
• The theme state of the Surajkund Mela 2022 is Jammu &Kashmir, presenting its rich legacy and distinct culture via handicrafts and art forms and is the theme state of the Surajkund Mela 2022. Hundreds of artists from Jammu and Kashmiri will perform various indigenous performances to enchant the audience, ranging from exquisite crafts to traditional dances.

World Water Day observed on 22^nd March

• On 22nd March, World Water Day is observed annually. This day is observed to raise awareness regarding the importance of water and its conservation.
• This day focuses to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) of the United Nations. SDG 6 looks to ensure sanitation and safe water for all across the globe by 2030.
• This day acts as a reminder for us to take precautionary steps to tackle water crisis across the globe.

The theme of World Water Day 2022

• “Groundwater, making the invisible visible” is the theme for this year’s World Water Day. The programs that have been organized for this day will focus on groundwater importance.
• Many organizations, as well as individuals, are being called upon to create awareness regarding this resource which is continuously depleting.
• In 1992, during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, the idea to observe this day was first put forward. The UN General Assembly, in 1992, adopted a resolution declaring 22nd March as World Day for Water. The observation of this day began in 1993.

Rooftop Solar Programme Phase- II

• The Rooftop Solar Programme Phase-II is being implemented by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The guidelines for this were issued in August 2019. Through Central Financial Assistance (CFA), 4000 MW rooftop solar (RTS) capacity addition has been targeted under this programme in the residential sector.
• For RTS projects till 3 kW capacity and till 20% for the RTS system capacities with more than 3 kW till 10 kW for individual households, the CFA up to 40% of the benchmark cost is provided.
• For Residential Welfare Associations and Group Housing Societies, the CFA has been limited to 20% for the RTS plants for power supply to the common facilities with a maximum capacity of 500 kW.
• Additionally, around 10 per cent of the rooftop solar cost are provided as incentives to the distribution utilities depending upon capacity addition above baseline.
• For the residential sector, the ministry has allocated a capacity of 3162 MW so far. A total of 1252 MW capacity out of the allocated capacity has been reported to have been installed as of 28th February 2022. Under this programme, Rs 1,132.74 crore of Central financial assistance has been distributed to various electricity distribution corporations.

Dennis Parnell Sullivan won Abel Prize for 2022

• The winner of the Abel Prize 2022 is Dennis Parnell Sullivan, an American mathematician. This award also includes prize money which amounts to 7 Million NOK (Norwegian Krone).
• He received this award for his contributions to topology, especially its geometric, algebraic, and dynamical aspects.
• Topology is a field of mathematics that considers two things of different forms to be equivalent only if they can be deformed into each other. Topology is a new field of mathematics as it was born at the end of the 19th century. Topology is important in maths and various other fields like data science, economics, and physics.

About Abel Prize

• The King of Norway presents the Abel Prize and it is given annually to an individual who has done a remarkable job in the mathematics field.
• This prize has been named after Niels Henrik Abel who was a famous Norwegian mathematician. This award took inspiration from the famous Nobel Prize.
• Nobel Prize doesn’t have a section for mathematics, though some mathematicians have won this prestigious prize in other fields.
• The Fields Medal is an annual award that is also considered to be the ‘Mathematics Nobel’ but it is only awarded to those individuals who are below the age of 40.
• The Abel Prize was first awarded in 2003 to Jean-Pierre Serre, a French mathematician, for his contribution to algebraic geometry, topology, and number theory.
• In 2007, S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan, who is an Indian-American citizen had won the Abel Prize for his contribution in probability theory and for creating a unified large deviation theory.

India’s exports crossed the USD 400 billion for the first time

• India’s exports crossed the USD 400 billion mark in a fiscal year. This is the first time India’s export has reached such heights.
• This milestone has been achieved due to good performance by various sectors such as engineering, petroleum products, jewellery and gems, and chemicals.
• Exports increased by 37 percent to USD 400.8 billion in 2021-22 until March 21, compared to USD 292 billion in 2020-21. Earlier, a record of USD 330.07 billion in 2018-19 was reached by outbound shipments.
• During this period imports amounted to USD 589 billion, which leaves a USD 189 billion trade deficit. The country had a target of USD 400 billion for merchandise export set for FY2022 which was was achieved with 10 days remaining in the fiscal. There’s a chance that the total export for this fiscal might cross USD 410 billion.
• Increase in the export of other types of goods. Several goods such as motor vehicles, auto components, buffalo meat, cereal preparations, carpets, rice, and processed fruits saw an increase in their overall exports volumes despite commodity price decline.
• Engineering goods contributed the most. It grew at a nearly 50 percent rate and is expected to touch USD110 billion by FY2022’s end. By 42.8 percent the export of electronics goods rose. By 57.3 percent the jewellery and gems exports rose.
• Due to a steady increase in the prices of crude oil, petroleum products exports rose by 147.6 percent.
• Along with this inorganic and organic chemicals, meat, readymade garments, dairy products, and marine products saw an increase in exports.

Reserve Bank Innovation Hub in Bengaluru inaugurated

• The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) has been inaugurated by Shaktikanta Das, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in Bengaluru.
• RBIH has been set up as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the RBI with Rs 100 crore as an initial capital contribution.
• Gopalakrishnan is selected as the Chairman.
• This initiative of the RBI puts it among a select few global central banks that are trying to bring about change in the mode of engagement while trying to bring about innovations in this sector.
• The aim of the RBIH is to create an ecosystem that will focus on the promotion of access to various financial products and services for the low-income group population across the nation.
• The RBIH also has the objective of bringing world-class innovation to the country’s financial sector along with working towards the theme of financial inclusion.
• The Hub will also be looking to mentor and identify various start-ups. It will also collaborate with Govt Departments, Ministries to identify and resolve challenges in different domains.

Indian Antarctic Bill 2022 approved

• A Draft legislation has been approved by India’s Union Cabinet to provide a regulatory framework for research activities of India in Antarctica and also to protect the continent’s environment. The Ministry of Earth Sciences has piloted the Indian Antarctica Bill.
• This bill is expected to help fulfill the nation’s obligations under the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources of 1982, the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, and 1998s Treaty of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic.
• India’s Antarctic program began in the year 1981 and since then 40 scientific expeditions have been completed. India has also built three bases on the continent.

India’s base stations in Antarctica

• As of now, India has two fully functioning base stations in Antarctica named Maitri which was established in 1988, and Bharati which was established in 2012. Another one named Dakshin Gangotri was established in 1983 but it is not functional currently.

PV Sindhu won Swiss Open 2022

• P V Sindhu won the Swiss Open 2022 defeating Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand in the finals of the Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament held in Basel, Switzerland.
• This is her second title this season as she had earlier in January won the Syed Modi India International.
• She is the second Indian woman to win this tournament, following Saina Nehwal who had earlier won in 2011 and 2012.
• PV Sindhu is a two times Olympics medal winner having won the silver in the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
• This is her second finals appearance in the Swiss Open, having been defeated by Carolina Marin in 2021.

Oscar Awards 2022 – Winners full list

• The Oscars 2022 or the 94th Academy Awards ceremony which is presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

All Winners

• Best Picture: CODA
• Best Actress: Jessica Chastain for the movie The Eyes Of Tammy Faye
• Best Director was won by Jane Campion for The Power Of The Dog.
• Best Actor: Will Smith for the movie King Richard
• Best Supporting Actress went to Ariana DeBose for the movie West Side Story.
• Best Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur for the movie CODA
• Best Original Screenplay: Bellfast
• Best Adapted Screenplay: CODA
• Best International Feature Film: Drive My Car (Country-Japan)
• Best Documentary Feature: Summer Of Soul
• Best Animated Feature Film: Encanto
• Best Animated Short: The Windshield Wiper
• Best Original Score: Dune
• Best Live Action Short: The Long Goodbye
• Best Cinematography: Dune
• The Queen of Basketball received the award for Best Documentary (Short)
• Best Original Song: No Time To Die (Movie- No Time To Die)
• Best Production Design: Dune
• Best Costume Design: Cruella
• Best Sound: Dune
• Best Makeup and Hair went to the movie The Eyes of Tammy Faye
• Best Visual Effects: Dune
• Best Film Editing: Dune

Stockholm Water Prize 2022 to Professor Wilfried Brutsaert

• The Stockholm Water Prize 2022 has been awarded by The Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) to Professor Wilfried Brutsaert for his innovative work in evaluating environmental evaporation.
• This prize is widely considered to be the Nobel Prize for Water.
• Professor Brutsaert was awarded this prize as he has developed methods for quantifying evaporation and the role it plays in the Earth’s energy balance that allows for accurate estimations of how precipitation can evolve.
• This method is of utmost importance to the exposed local communities across the world as they will be needing to predict daily water levels as well as water levels available in the future.

About Stockholm International Water Institute

• SIWI is a not-for-profit, independent organization that aims to strengthen freshwater governance regionally, globally, locally, and nationally.
• This organization was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Torgny Holmgren is the current Executive Director.
• This organization performs research, provides advisory services, and builds institutional capacity in five areas of transboundary water management, water governance, the water-energy-food nexus, water and climate change, and water economics.

Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya to be setup in Delhi

• The Museum of Prime Ministers or the Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya is being built at Teen Murti Estate in Delhi.
• This Museum will be covering the life of all of India’s 14 Prime Ministers who have taken up this role so far. Their contribution will also be showcased. The works and collection of Jawaharlal Nehru will however be staying in the Nehru Memorial Museum, which was also his residence at one point in time.
• In this museum, speeches, rare photographs, newspapers, video clips, interviews, and original writings will be displayed. There will also be displays of personal belongings like caps, pens, letters, etc as well as interactive digital displays in this museum. Virtual reality and digital displays will be focused upon. This museum has been designed to accommodate all future PMs as well.

Gilbert F. Houngbo appointed ILO’s New Director-General

• Gilbert F. Houngbo has recently been elected as the International Labour Organization’s 11th Director-General. He is the former Prime Minister of Togo and will be taking office in October 2022.
• He will be the first African to have been elected to this post.
• Since 2017, he is serving as the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
• Every 10 years, the ILO elects a new Director-General. The votes for this post are cast by the governing body of ILO which comprises representatives of workers, Govts, and employers.

National Education Society for Tribal Students established under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs

• National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS) is an autonomous organization that was established under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA).
• NESTS started its journey four years back with the aim of providing high-quality education to all the tribal students across the country in their own specific environment.
• It has also approved the building of 391 new schools. 140 schools are currently under construction and a total of 123 schools have started to function
• NESTS and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs have set up targets to complete the construction of a total of 452 new schools and the pending 67 schools under its old scheme by the year 2025.
• The constructed schools will be having state of the art facilities which will be in line with the Navodya Vidyalaya. 

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