As a part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, Rashtra Raksha Samparpan Parv will be organised from November 17 to November 19, 2021.

Key Points

• Rashtra Raksha Samparpan Parv will be organised in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.
• To mark the occasion, Ministry of Defence (MoD) will dedicate several schemes to the nation.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch new initiatives of MoD in a ceremony being organised in Jhansi Fort on November 19, 2021. November 19 marks the birthday of Rani Lakshmi Bai.
• This event will be inaugurated on November 17, 2021 by Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh.

The Rashtra Raksha Samparpan Parv

This event is being organised by defence ministry in association with the Government of Uttar Pradesh. On November 19, programme will witness the participation from Defence Minister, Minister of State for Defence, Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister of UP, Yogi Adityanath.

India’s first Food Security Museum was inaugurated by Union minister of consumer affairs, food & public distribution, Piyush Goyal, on November 15, 2021.

Highlights

• The food security museum was established by the Food Corporation of India in Thanjavur.
• The museum has been co-developed by Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museums, Bengaluru.
• It was built at the cost of Rs 1.10 crore on an area of 1,860sqft.
• Museum was established in Thanjavur, which is the birthplace of FCI. First office of FCI was inaugurated there on January 14, 1965.

About Food Security Museum

• Food Security Museum showcases the evolution of man from nomadic hunter groups into settled agriculture procedures, marking the beginning of civilization.
• It also showcases several ancient global & indigenous grain storage methods, challenges in storage as well as food grain production scenarios in the world & India.
• It digitally displays informative content regarding the journey of FCI, its present operations as well as journey of food grains from farm to plate through FCI.

Entry Fee

Entry to the museum is free.

State of the art

The food museum also houses state of the art exhibits comprising of breakthrough technologies like Radio frequency identification, projection mapping, proximity sensors, touch screen kiosk, and touch sensors.

Significance of the museum

Food security museum will showcase the agricultural evolution of India, from dependency to self-sufficiency.

Kashi Utsav is being organised in Varanasi from November 16 to November 18, 2021 to celebrate classic heritage & culture of Kashi.

Key Points

• It is being organised by “Rudraksh International Cooperation and Convention Centre” of Varanasi.
• The utsav will also celebrate the centuries-old luminaries like Goswami Tulsidas, Sant Raidas, Sant Kabir, Munshi Premchand, Bhartendu Harishchandra, and Shri Jaishankar Prasad.
• Event is being organised with the support of Uttar Pradesh State Government and Varanasi Administration as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Theme of the event

A unique theme has been dedicated to each day of the festival. The themes are:

1. Kashi ke Hastakshar;
2. Kabir, Raidas ki Bani aur Nirgun Kashi and
3. Kavita aur Kahani – Kashi ki Zubani.

Ministry of Science & Technology inaugurated “Tech NEEV@75” on November 15, 2021 as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Key Points

• On the occasion, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh interacted with successful start-ups including start-ups of tribal communities.
• The minister also informed that Central Government will set up 30 Science Technology and Innovation (STI) Hubs across the country for Scheduled Tribes (STs) by end of 2022.
• These STI hubs will help in promoting scientific talent among tribal communities as well as overall socio-economic development.
• Out of 75 proposed STI Hubs, 20 have already been set up by Department of Science and Technology. These hubs will extend benefit to 20,000 people directly, by means of several interventions spreading across farm, non-farm and other allied livelihood sectors.

About Tech NEEV@75

Tech NEEV@ 75” is a year-long celebration, highlighting the impact of Science Technology Innovation (STI) in empowering community to create equitable inclusive economic growth. It is 75-hour programme and includes experience sharing of beneficiaries, societal changemakers conclave, community change leaders, and round table discussions by several stakeholders. It also includes compilation of 75 impactful stories on progress of India towards Aatma Nirbhar Bharat.

On November 19, 2021 in the morning, several countries will witness the next eclipse of the moon. It will be the longest Partial lunar eclipse of the century.

Highlights

• It is going to be second lunar eclipse of 2021 and will be similar to the last one, that occurred on May 26.
• It is going to be the longest lunar eclipse in 580 years.
• The eclipse will last about 3 hours, 28 minutes and 23 seconds.
• 4% of the moon’s diameter will be immersed in the dark umbral shadow of Earth at maximum eclipse.

Which continents will observe the eclipse?

The partial lunar eclipse will be visible across Eastern Asia, Australia, North America, South America, and the Pacific Region. In India, a small part of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam will observe the partial eclipse. End part of the eclipse will be visible from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.

A new study from US shows that white-tailed deer are being infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19 in humans.

Key Points

• During the study, Antibodies were found in 40% of deer. They were tested in between January to March 2021 across Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York state.
• A similar unpublished study also detected virus in 80% of deer in Iowa in between November 2020 to January 2021.
• Considering the high level of infections, researchers concluded that, deer are actively transmitting the virus to one another.
• Researchers also identified different SARS-CoV-2 variants, which suggests that there have been several human-to-deer infections.

How white-tailed deer got infected?

Large numbers of white-tailed deer in North America got infected with the virus because they often live close to people, providing opportunities to the virus to transmit between both the species. People often get involved in wildlife management operations, recreation, field research, tourism and hunting. However, it is also being suggested that water sources contaminated with covid-19 virus might provide a pathway for transmission.

The International Day of Tolerance is observed every year on November 16.

Key Points

• This day was declared by United Nations with the aim of creating public awareness on dangers of intolerance.
• The idea to observe this day propelled from the increasing need of ensuring people are aware of negativity that originate from intolerance.
• Thus, UN General Assembly started observing this day in order to promote tolerance as the staple of society.

Year of Tolerance

United Nations had declared a Year for Tolerance in 1995. The Declaration of Principles on Tolerance was formulated in 1995 itself by UNESCO on November 16. The UN decided to pay tribute to 125^th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in 1995, by kickstarting the commemoration of International Tolerance Day in the year 1995. The annual observance of international day for Tolerance marks the anniversary of UNESCO’s declaration, as well.

Russia has started the delivery of S-400 missile system to India, in a bid to boost India’s air-defence capabilities.

Highlights

• Russia started the delivery for deployment on schedule in 2021.
• India bought this system for US$ 5 billion in 2018.
• This deal between India and Russia became contentious amid a threat of sanctions from the United States on countries engaging in defence deals with Russia.
• India had bought five units of S-400 system in 2018, for which it had made the first tranche of the payment of $800 million in 2019.

Significance of S-400

The S-400 is considered as the most advanced air-defence system worldwide. The missile is capable of protecting its air defence bubble against missiles, rockets, cruise missiles and aircraft. This system is available with China, that was deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, amid military standoff with India.

About S-400 Triumf

S-400 Triumf is a mobile, surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. It was developed in by Almaz Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering in 1990s, as an upgrade to S-300 family. The first battalion of newest surface-to-air missile systems assumed duty on August 6, 2007. China was the first foreign buyer of the missile, in 2014. Since then, countries like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Belarus and India have all acquired, or expressed interest in the system. S-400 missile systems are organized across the 30K6E administration system. It is having the range of 400kms.