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A “Green Triangle” named after Mahatma Gandhi was inaugurated in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar on 16th March.
Earlier, a special ceremony was organized by Indian Embassy to unveil the plaque of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ as part of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. It was unveiled through lightning of lamp by Madagascar’s Minister of Communication and Culture and India’s Ambassador to Madagascar along with other Ambassadors, heads of global organizations, and Indian Diaspora. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam means the whole earth is one family.
A powerful storm system brought dust from the Sahara Desert to southern Europe. AEMET, the Spanish state meteorology agency named the storm system Celia.
A thick layer of dust covered Spain and Portugal and turned the skies red-orange. The air quality degraded and a layer of mud accumulated in countries like Spain, Portugal, and France. The dust storm also brought powerful coastal winds along with flooding rains. The visibility in many cities of Spain was reduced due to the dust storms. Although there will not be any severe health impact, some may experience irritation in the eyes or a sore throat.
The dust storm was originated from Northern Africa. Later, strong southerly winds carried the dust particles across the Mediterranean Sea to Southern Europe. The dust storms are common in the spring for Spain and Portugal, but the amount of dust brought by Celia is very intense.
In southern Spain, flooding rains overlapped with the dust storm. In some towns, Mud rained from the sky. As an illustration, the falling of mud is called blood rain.
The dust cloud originated in Africa, crossed the Mediterranean, and reached as far as London and southeast England.
Nagaland became India’s first State Assembly to implement the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) programme to become paperless.
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.
e-Assembly or Paperless Assembly is a concept that involves electronic means to ease Assembly work. The entire law-making process, sharing of information, tracking of documents and decisions is automated under e-Assembly.
The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal is a Russian hypersonic aero-ballistic air-to-surface missile with nuclear capability. It has a range of more than 2,000 kilometres, a top speed of Mach 10, and the ability to undertake evasive manoeuvres at all stages of flight.
Ten MiG-31Ks capable of firing Kinzhal missiles were on experimental combat duty in May 2018 and were ready to deploy. By the end of December 2018, aircraft armed with Kinzhal missiles had conducted 89 sorties over the Caspian and Black Seas. Crews of MiG-31K Kinzhal missile carriers had performed more than 380 training sorties with the missile by February 2019. The weapon had its debut public appearance in August 2019 during the Aviadarts international contest. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Russian military said to have used Kinzhal missiles to destroy a Ukrainian armed forces underground weapons facility in Deliatyn.
Zoji La is the name of a high mountain pass that is located in the Himalayas in the Union Territory of Ladakh. It is located in the Dras and this pass connects the Dras and Suru valleys to its northeast, the Kashmir Valley to its west and the Indus valley further east.
“Mountain pass of blizzards” is the meaning of Zoji La. Sometimes it is referred to as “Zojila Pass” but the suffix “Pass” is redundant because the word “La” itself means a mountain pass in several languages spoken in the Himalayan region.
Zoji La is located around 100 km from Srinagar and 15 km from Sonmarg. A vital link between Kashmir Valley and Ladakh is provided by this pass. It runs at an elevation of around 3,528 metres or 11,575 ft and is the second-highest pass on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway after Fotu La.
During winter it is often closed. The Vijayak Force unit and the Beacon Force unit of the Border Road Organisation (BRO) are responsible for the maintenance and clearing of the road during winter.
In 1948, Pakistani raiders seized this pass during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 as part of their campaign to capture Ladakh. On 1st November, the Indian forces recaptured this pass in an assault codenamed Operation Bison, during which tanks were used to surprise the enemy.
Zoji La tunnel project was approved by the Indian Government in 2018 and in May 2018 the commencement of its construction was inaugurated by PM Modi. This 14 km long tunnel will reduce the 3 hours’ time required to cross the Zoji La to just 15 minutes. USD 930 million is the initial cost of constructing this and after completion, it will be Asia’s longest bidirectional tunnel.
The Azov Special Operations Detachment which is also known as the Azov Regiment, Azov Detachment, Azov Battalion, or simply Azov, is a neo-Nazi, right-wing extremist, a former paramilitary unit of Ukraine’s National Guard based in Mariupol, in the coast of Azov Sea.
Andriy Biletsky, who led both the Patriot of Ukraine (formed in 2005) and the SNA (founded in 2008), was in command of the unit. In 2014, Biletsky was elected to parliament. He had to leave Azov since elected officials are not permitted to serve in the military or police force. He remained a member of Parliament till 2019. In October 2016, he founded the far-right National Corps party, whose core supporters are Azov veterans. Denys Prokopenko is the current commander of this battalion.
In 2014, Ukraine’s interior minister backed the unit, recognizing that the country’s military was too weak to battle pro-Russian separatists and instead relying on paramilitary volunteer troops. These soldiers were funded privately by oligarchs, the most well-known of whom was Igor Kolomoisky, a billionaire energy entrepreneur and former governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region. Another oligarch, Serhiy Taruta, the billionaire governor of the Donetsk region, provided funding and aid to Azov.
According to Andriy Diachenko, the regiment’s spokesperson in 2015, 10 to 20% of Azov’s recruits were Nazis. The unit has denied that it follows Nazi ideology, yet Nazi insignia such as the swastika and SS regalia appear on Azov members’ uniforms and bodies. Individual members have declared themselves to be neo-Nazis, and hardcore far-right ultra-nationalism is widespread among the group. Azov launched its National Druzhyna street patrol unit in January 2018 to “restore” order in Kyiv, the capital. Instead, the squad committed pogroms against Roma community members and assaulted members of the LGBTQ community.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHA) accused the Azov battalion of violating international humanitarian law. Azov had embedded their weapons and soldiers in used civilian structures, and displaced inhabitants after looting civilian properties, according to the study, which took place between November 2015 and February 2016. The unit was also accused of raping and torturing inmates in the Donbas region.
The Azov Battalion has been fighting Russian troops in the Mariupol region of Ukraine. The battalion has announced that three Russian armoured vehicles and four infantry fighting vehicles have been destroyed by them.
According to the Economic Survey of Delhi 2021-22, the nation’s capital is one of the country’s most prosperous states. It has ranked third as per the per capita income behind the states of Goa and Sikkim.
Delhi has registered 10.23 percent GDP growth in the 2021-22 financial year while during this period 8.9 percent was the national growth rate. On the financial parameters, Delhi also fared better and recorded a revenue surplus of Rs 1,450 crore in 2021-22 but registered a 0.04 percent decline. Also, the fiscal deficit of the state increased to Rs 9,972.96 crore during 2020-21 as compared to Rs 3,227.79 crore in 2019-20.
According to this survey, as of 31 March 2022, the total number of motor vehicles on road in Delhi was 122.53 lakh, showing a growth of 3.03 percent year-on-year. In 2021 the tree and forest cover area also increased to 342 sq km.
Outcome Budget is the Kejriwal Government’s annual exercise that is presented to ensure accountability and transparency in public spending.
As per the 2021-22 outcome budget, students studying in Delhi Government Schools have increased to 18 lakhs from 15 lakh. Delhi Board School Education (DBSE) has been set up by the government of Delhi with 30 schools being made affiliated with it. According to the outcome budget, the establishment work of the Delhi Sports University is progressing with 80 acres of land having been notified in Hirankudna for the campus. Delhi Teachers University has also been established to cater to the needs required for improving teacher education.
The number of hospital beds has been increased to 13,844 beds in Dec’ 21 to 10,055 in 2019-20 across all the government hospitals of the Delhi government. Oxygen beds have also been increased to 9243 beds in Dec’ 21 from 3865 beds in 2019-20.
According to the report, 100% of Delhi’s population has received the first dose of the COVID vaccine. The second dose of the COVID vaccine has been received by 90 percent of the population and 70 percent of Delhi’s teenagers have received both doses.
Delhi has already emerged as India’s Electric Vehicle (EV) capital and has become the country’s first state or UT to cross the 10 percent mark of new EV vehicles registered.
The Yamunotsav was organized by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations. This program was organized in collaboration with a group of NGOs.
The current target is the cleaning of the Yamuna River and ensuring that the 3 big sewage treatment plants (STP) that are being constructed are finished by December 2022. This will prevent all dirty water from the drains from falling into the River Yamuna.
The funding of the sewerage infrastructure construction for River Yamuna amounts to Rs. 2300 crore is being funded by the NMCG.
The events held at Yamunotsav were street plays, live paintings, spiritual and classical performances, dance, music, etc. At this event, Kullads (earthen glasses) were kept at the water stations for the purpose of drinking water and it spread the message of ‘no-plastic.’
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.
Even though the award was announced on 22nd March, this prize will be presented to Professor Brutsaert by Sweden’s King on 31st August in Stockholm during the World Water Week (23rd August to 1st September). He will be receiving a glass statue along with 1 million Swedish krona which is equivalent to around USD 104,000.
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.
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.
Following the massive internal conflict due to the 2005 Togolese presidential election, Houngbo was elected to this post and he oversaw political, economic, and social reforms in the country. After concluding his term as the PM, he joined the International Labour Office which is the permanent secretariat of the ILO as Deputy Director-General. Later he moved on to IFAD.
Houngbo announced that his vision for the ILO will be working toward a new global social contract, that will be looking to protect and preserve the progress that has been achieved in the fields of social justice over the previous decades. The policy will be centering around global solutions regarding environmental, human, societal, and economic values. He also proposed a programme for global social justice through which the basis for labour laws in the world post-pandemic will be strengthened. Job deficits and social protections were also addressed.
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, governments, and employers.
For the first time, 14 items which are worth Rs 380.43 crore have been cleared for procurement from Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) start-ups by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC). The Indian Navy, Army, and Air Force will be procuring all these items.
Overview: Approval has also been granted by the DAC for a new and simplified procedure so that procurement from MSMEs and iDEX start-ups can be fast-tracked. As per the new procedure, the procurement cycle will be of 22 weeks. In the 2022 Defence Acquisition Procedure, suitable incorporations will be made. Approval was also given by the DAC for the procedure being made simple for the projects under the Make-II category. This will help in bringing down the time taken for the prototypes to be developed to the signing of the contract in Make-II projects. The Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for Capital Acquisition for the armed forces was also accorded by the DAC and this amounts to Rs 8,357 crore. According to the DAC, the armed forces will be looking to acquire all their necessary requirements indigenously and imports will be done only during an exceptional case. Under the AoN for Capital Acquisition accord, Light Vehicles GS 4X4, Night Sight (Image Intensifier), GSAT 7B Satellite, and Air Defence Fire Control Radar (Light) will be procured. How many items will be procured by the end of the year? About 25 to 40 items will be ready for procurement by the end of the year after they are successfully prototyped by the iDEX start-ups.
About iDEX PM Modi launched the iDEX programme in 2018 with the aim of fostering innovations and incorporating advanced technologies in the country’s Armed Forces. The iDEX looks to promote technological development and innovations in the Defence and Aerospace sectors through the engagement of MSMEs, individual innovators, start-ups, R&D institutes, etc
The Common University Entrance Test (CUET) or the Central University Common Entrance Test (CUCET) is an entrance exam that is computerized and is taken for admission to 45 central universities across the country. Under this exam, the Class 12 marks of a candidate won’t matter. The Class 12 marks can be used by the universities only as a form of a criterion for eligibility.
Recently, a trend of high cut-off marks that were being noticed in central universities such as the Delhi university’s 100 per cent cut-offs will be done away with as the marks of Class 12 will no more be a factor to take admission in the central universities.
The high cut-offs were in trend as CISCE, CBSE, and different state boards have different methods of evaluation patterns which makes it unfair for students who are applying to the central universities as here a diversity in evaluation patterns is followed.
This exam will be an MCQ-based computer-based test (CBT). The question standards will be based on the NCERT textbooks. Negative markings will be applicable for incorrect answers.
This test will be divided into three sections:
Section A will be the language test under which a student has to select one language under the 13 languages. Section B will be a domain-specific test and the candidates will have to pick 6 out of the 27 domains. Section C is optional having two sub-sections. The sub-section 1 will have general aptitude while sub-section 2 will be a test of 19 uncommon languages which are not included in section A.
Bengali, Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Telugu, Urdu, Malayalam, Punjabi, Assamese, English, and Odia are the languages offered.
On 23rd March, the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal has directed the officials to transform seventeen city forests in the capital of the nation into city forests of world-class level.
Under Mukhyamantri Park Saundaryakaran Yojna, 1500 parks across the capital are being transformed. This is being done in association with 450 Resident Welfare Association (RWAs) under an initiative for community parks. Parks having more than 500 acres are being developed by the Delhi Parks and Gardens Society in association with NGOs, RWAs, and MLAs.
16,828 parks have been targeted to be surveyed in Delhi out of which 6,396 parks have already been surveyed. Out of the surveyed parks, 3,565 parks have been identified as not being up to standards. After surveying appropriate steps will be taken to transform them into world-class parks.
Under the Delhi@2047 vision of the government to make the capital a sustainable, and modern city, the government has launched Community Parks Initiative with the objective of transforming Delhi’s neighbourhood parks into world-class standards. These parks will improve the region’s ecology and overall quality of life.
At these parks, there will be CCTVs, adequate lighting, a play area for toddlers, adolescents and children, toilets, gazebos, open-air gyms, jogging, walking, and cycling tracks, covered seating area, composting, water bodies, irrigation supply, rainwater harvesting facilities, native trees, flowers and shrubs, and power backup available.
An e-book titled “Climate Hazards and Vulnerability Atlas of India- State: Tamil Nadu” has been launched by the India Meteorological Department on 23rd March as part of World Meteorological Day celebrations
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) falls under the ambit of the Ministry of Earth Sciences. It is the country’s principal agency that is responsible for forecasting weather, meteorological observations, and seismology. This organization is headquartered in Delhi and has hundreds of other observation stations stationed across India and Antarctica. The regional offices of the IMD are Mumbai, Chennai, Nagpur, Kolkata, New Delhi, and Guwahati. Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra is the current Director-General of this organization.
The IMD is also one among the World Meteorological Organisation’s six Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres. IMD is responsible for naming, forecasting, and warnings distribution for tropical cyclones in the region of the Northern Indian Ocean that includes the Bay of Bengal, the Malacca Straits, the Persian Gulf, and the Arabian Sea.
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).
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.
A project has been announced by the United Nations to put every individual on the planet in early weather-warning systems range within the next five years as natural disasters have grown frequent and more powerful due to the effects of climate change.
Early warning systems help in monitoring the atmospheric conditions on land and at sea on a real-time basis. This helps in predicting the upcoming weather events anywhere like in rural areas, cities, coastal regions, mountains, and polar or arid locations.
It is of utmost importance to expand the usage of early warning systems across the world as doing so will give more time that will allow the people to prepare for deadly disasters such as forest fires, heat waves, tropical storms, flooding, etc that can result from the ongoing climate change.
On 24th March 2022, the “Step-Up to End TB- World TB Day Summit” will be inaugurated by Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Health Minister. This summit will be organized on the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day.
This summit will not only act as a follow-up to the 2018 summit but will also highlight the progress made by the country in its journey towards the elimination of TB. It will also showcase India’s commitments towards the elimination of this disease, and the effort that is being done to meet its objectives of TB elimination.
This summit will also highlight India’s National TB Elimination Programme’s success and learnings.
On 22nd March 2022, a joint exercise between the Indian Army’s Agnibaaz Division and the Maharashtra Police named Exercise Suraksha Kavach 2 was organized at Lullanagar, Pune.
Participants India Army’s Counter Terrorism Task Force (CTTF), Maharashtra Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad along with Dog Squads, Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs), and Bomb Disposal Teams of the army, as well as the police, took part in this exercise.
The scenario of the exercise An exercise scenario was simulated which showed the presence of terrorists in a populated area was created at a construction site located at Lullanagar. Based on the intelligence inputs which were also simulated, the forces of both agencies took action. The Maharashtra traffic police along with the Corps of Military Police carried out traffic controls on the nearby roads. An outer cordon was established by the Indian Army’s QRTs units. Joint action was carried out to neutralize the terrorists by the Indian Army’s CTTF and Maharashtra Police’s QRT. The neutralization process involved an establishment of the inner cordon, intervention drills, search of the building by Dog squads, and the diffusion of IEDs by the Bomb Disposal Units. A scenario of evacuating people as well as casualties was also practiced. Aim of this exercise The exercise was conducted with the aim of coordinating the procedures and drills undertaken by the Police and the Army to counter any terrorist attacks in Pune. This exercise looked to improve the interoperability between both organizations.
The BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre has been launched by Union Health Minister, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya.
This newly launched centre will help pool together the advantages of the BRICS countries in the field of vaccine development and research which will boost the capacity of the BRICS countries to control as well as avoid infectious diseases. The BRICS nations will also be able to provide timely help to the other developing nations across the globe.
This centre will also help in generating preclinical and clinical studies, basic R&D, and strengthen the laboratories of the BRICS countries so as to develop them to test the vaccine candidates.
This newly launched vaccine R&D centre will be looking to share experiences and collaborate among countries for mutual benefits. It will also help in accelerating vaccine development. Thus, in the long run, this centre will help save livelihoods and the lives of the citizens of BRICS countries as well as the world.
Shaheed Diwas is also known as Martyrs’ Day. This day honours the valour of the freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for the nation. On this day, in 1931, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivaram Rajguru were hanged to death by the British who were then ruling over India.
Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev joined the nation’s freedom struggle. They wanted to avenge Lala Lajpat Rai’s death. Under various charges, the three revolutionaries were arrested including the murder of John Saunders a British police officer in 1928. Their primary target was James Scott, the Superintendent of Police, who had given the order to his men to lathi-charge protesters which lead to the death of Lala Lajpat Rai.
The Assembly of Haryana has passed the “Haryana Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religious Bill, 2022.” According to the government of Haryana, this Bill is aimed to prevent religious conversions through force.
According to this Bill, if the conversion is done by force, allurement, or fraudulent methods then the person responsible for such acts can be imprisoned for one to five years and a minimum fine of Rs 1 lakh will be made applicable.
The Bill states that whoever attempts to convert a woman, a minor, or a person from the Scheduled Tribes or Scheduled Castes, will be handed out a punishment that includes imprisonment for a term period of a minimum of four years and that can extend to 10 years. The person will also be liable to pay a fine of minimum Rs 3 lakh.
PM Modi inaugurated the Biplobi Bharat Gallery at Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata via video conferencing on 23rd March 2022.
The newly inaugurated gallery will depict the contribution of the Indian freedom fighters in the country’s freedom struggle. A holistic view will also be provided by the gallery on the various events that led up to the Independence that the nation achieved in 1947.
The Gallery will also be displaying the contribution of the Indian Revolutionaries who took part in the freedom struggle against the British. Their armed resistance against colonial rule will also be glorified in this gallery.
This aspect of India’s freedom struggle has often not been highlighted in the mainstream narratives that led to the country gaining freedom from the colonizers. This new gallery will also be depicting the intellectual as well as the political backdrop that triggered the freedom movement in the country.
The gallery will display the revolutionary movement’s birth, the spread of this movement across the nation, association of the leaders with this movement, Indian National Army’s formation, Indian Naval Mutiny, etc.
On 21st March, India and Australia held a virtual summit. At the summit, there were talks regarding critical investment, critical minerals, migration, defense, technological cooperation, and digital sectors.
Regarding the cooperation in the critical mining sector, an MoU was signed between Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL) and the Critical Mineral Facilitation Office of Australia. Increased cooperation between Australia’s pension and sovereign fund, known as Future Fund and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India has also been envisaged. The pact also aims to raise India’s trade with Australia.
“General Vipin Rawat young defense officers exchange program” set-up has been announced by both the countries. This would help young officers from both countries will be able to familiarise themselves with each other. The Quad grouping and its significance in the Indo-Pacific were also discussed.
A letter of intent was also signed between both the countries which aimed to work towards a “Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement.” This agreement will help in facilitating migration between both nations.
Integration of digital payment systems of both nations has been proposed by India. The payments systems are the United Payments Interface of India and the New Payments Platform of Australia. The integration of the systems will help both countries and their respective citizens. There has also been cooperation in the space sector between the nations.
The countries will also look to extend cooperation on various other critical sectors such as climate change, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, the International Solar Alliance, etc.
On 22nd March, World Water Day is observed annually. This day is observed to raise awareness regarding the importance of water and its conservation.
“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.
This day looks to conserve underground water, protect it from overexploitation as well as generate awareness regarding the pollution that is causing harm to it. The United Nations stated that to survive the effects of climate change, sustainable usage and protection of groundwater should be highlighted.
The name of the new cyclone that is forming on the Bay of Bengal has been named ‘Asani’. The cyclone seems to be carrying thunderstorms for the eastern coast of India which includes West Bengal, Odisha, etc.
The sea surface humidity, as well as temperature, is related to the development of cyclones, hence, the Bay of Bengal acts as a good location for the formation of cyclones as this region receives more rainfall along with slow breezes that keep the temperature reasonably warm all year. The warm air currents help in cyclone development as it raises the temperature of the surface.
The names and lists of cyclones are maintained by the World Meteorological Organisation’s (WMO) international council. They also update this list of names. In the original list, only female names were added. In 1979, male names were added to be used for the naming of cyclones. The naming lists are used alternatively. In a rotating fashion, six different lists are being utilized to name the cyclones.
Cyclogenesis plays an important role in the formation of cyclones. Wet and warm air at the surface of the ocean rises higher. This causes a zone of low pressure near the surface. Due to this, cold air from the surrounding areas flows into the area of low pressure which causes the cold air to turn warm and wet causing it to rise. The cycle continues which results in cloud development. This wind and cloud system then expand as well as rotates which culminates into a cyclone.
Delegates from 33 companies from Hong Kong, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia arrived in Srinagar to instill and gauge the growing situation in Jammu & Kashmir for investments and will also see that the MoUs amounting to Rs. 3,000 crores, signed earlier this year, are utilized properly.
This summit falls in line with the government initiatives towards creating favorable infrastructure for the promotion of an entrepreneur-friendly environment and exports from the region.
The Indian contingent for this event consists of 29 members and is being led by Paralympian Dharambir.
Dharambir will be competing in men’s club throw and discus throw F51 events and will be looking to achieve the minimum qualification standards required to participate in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham which is to be held in July and the October scheduled Asian Para Games in Hangzhou.
Dharambir who won a silver medal at the Asian Para Games in 2018 has been joined by Mohammed Yasser who is APG bronze medallist in men’s shot put F46, Nimisha Suresh Chakkungalparambil who will be participating in the women’s long jump F46, Devender Kumar who will be participating in the men’s discus throw F44, and Pranav Prasad who will be participating in the men’s 100m, 200m T64.
EX- DUSTLIK’s is a joint training exercise that is conducted between the armies of India and Uzbekistan. The 3rd edition of this exercise is being conducted at Yangiarik, Uzbekistan from 22nd to 31st March 2022.
This joint exercise between the two armies will focus on Counter-Terrorism operations conducted in semi-urban terrain under a mandate of the United Nations.
This exercise’s training schedule will aim at learning the best practices from each other and sharing drills at a tactical level. The exercise will also aim to boost the cooperation, understanding, and interoperability between the armies of both nations.
This exercise will finish with a validation exercise of 24-hours which will be a testbed for the armies of both nations as they will be undergoing simulated operations-related challenges.
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 year’s Mela is being held from 19th March to 4th April 2022. The aim of this festival is to promote the vast culture and talent of the nation’s indigenous artisans.
Ethnic cuisines from across the globe are served at the multi-cuisine Food Courts in this Mela. There are specialized areas for adventure sports, amusement, and thrill rides, which makes this Mela a major tourist attraction.
The partner nation of this year’s Mela is Uzbekistan.
Jammu & Kashmir, is 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.
The new water management and policy centre, AquaMAP has been inaugurated by the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Prof. K. VijayRaghavan, at IIT Madras, and its website https://aquamap.iitm.ac.in/ was also launched.
AquaMAP looks to achieve:
Ligy Philip, who is also the dean(planning) at IIT Madras, is the principal investigator of AquaMAP. 20 faculty members working on water-related issues and drawn from diverse departments such as Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Management, Mechanical Engineering, and Humanities and Social Sciences will be supporting Ligy Philip.
Also, a governing body which will be chaired by the IIT Madras director as well as an advisory board with many eminent people in this field of water technology, policy and management will also be a part of AquaMAP.
The Indian Army and the Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) are holding the 9th Joint Military Exercise LAMITIYE-2022 at the Seychelles Defence Academy (SDA) in Seychelles from March 22 to March 31, 2022.
Since 2001, Seychelles has hosted Exercise LAMITIYE which is a biennial training exercise. Exercise LAMITIYE with Seychelles is crucial and significant in terms of security challenges faced by both nations in the context of the current global situation and growing security concerns in the Indian Ocean Region.
Combat discussions, field training exercises, demonstrations, lectures, and a two-day validation exercise will be part of the 10-day joint exercise. The joint training exercise’s objective is to strengthen and enhance bilateral military ties while also exchanging skills, experiences, and best practices between the two armies.
Both sides will plan, train, and execute a series of well-developed tactical drills for neutralizing possible threats that may be encountered in a Semi-Urban setting while demonstrating and utilizing new generation equipment and technology for combined operations. Enhancing tactical skills in defeating enemy troops in a semi-urban environment, as well as strengthening interoperability between forces, will be emphasized.
In this month, the merger of Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will be completed.
BBNL is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that falls under the ambit of the Ministry of Communications and in 2012 it was incorporated as a public sector unit. The task of implementing the BharatNet project, which was till then known as the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN), was handed over to this organization. The SPV is funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), which is financed by a Universal Access Levy (UAL) that all telecom licensees must pay. On April 1, 2002, this came into effect and required all telecom service providers to pay the USOF a portion of their revenue.
Telecom service providers are required to pay an 8% license fee on their income from the selling of telecom services, with 5% going to the USOF, according to telecom licence agreements. With the merger of BBNL and BSNL, this fund which now stands at close to Rs 60,000 crore is likely to be transferred to BSNL, which will help the organization during its ongoing financial difficulties.
Geographical Indication tag has been awarded to the Narasingapettai Nagaswaram under the category of musical instruments of class 15.
This musical instrument has a body that is cylindrical in shape and takes the shape of a bell at the bottom. This form of the nagaswaram provides volume and tone. The instrument’s length is two and a half feet.
Most of the Narasinghapettai nagaswaram is manufactured using the aacha or Hardwickia binata tree. Most of the time, woods from the parts of old houses are also used by the artisans. Drilling machines, along with carpentry tools are also utilized by artisans to manufacture the nagaswarams that are played in various functions like festivals, weddings, fairs, etc.
On 21st March, World Down Syndrome Day is observed. This day is observed annually since 2006.
This day was first observed in 2006. In that year the Brazilian Federation of Associations of Down Syndrome worked in tandem with the Down Syndrome International to launch a campaign to generate awareness for this disease.
The UN General Assembly in 2011 adopted a resolution to observe World Down Syndrome Day annually on March 21.
The UNGA decided that this day will be observed annually from 2012.
“Inclusion Means” is the theme that has been selected for this year’s World Down Syndrome Day. This theme has been selected so that efforts can be made to include people with down syndrome no and discrimination is done against them.
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