Philosopher-saint Ramanujacharya

    
 04 Feb 2022
 

 5 min read

Tags: 

 GS Paper - 1

 GS Paper - 4

 Medieval Indian History

 Temple Architecture

For Prelims: Ramanujacharya, Bhakti movement, Statue of Equality.

For Mains: Ramanujacharya and his role in Bhakti movement and achieving

social equality, Statue of Equality and its Significance.

Why in News ?
The Prime Minister will inaugurate the Statue of Equality, a statue
of Ramanujacharya, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana

.
 India is celebrating his 1,000th birth anniversary as the ‘Festival
of Equality’, upholding the view that the world is one
family, ‘vasudhaiva kutumbakam’,”
What Are the Basic Facts About

Statue ? 
 It is a 216-feet tall statue, which is made of 'panchaloha', a
combination of five metals: gold, silver, copper, brass, and
zync
 .
 It is among one of the tallest metallic statues in sitting position
in the world.
 The statue is mounted on a 54-feet high base building named
'Bhadra Vedi'
. It has floors devoted for a vedic digital library and research
center, ancient Indian texts, a theater, an educational
gallery detailing many works of Sri Ramanujacharya.
Who was Ramanujacharya ?
 Born in 1017
 in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu,
 Ramanujacharya is revered as a Vedic philosopher and social
reformer.
 He was named Lakshmana at the time of his birth. He was also
referred to as Ilaya Perumal which means the radiant one
.
 He traveled across India, advocating equality and social
justice.
 He revived the Bhakti movement,
 and his preachings inspired other Bhakti schools of thought.
He is considered to be the inspiration for poets like
Annamacharya, Bhakta Ramdas, Thyagaraja, Kabir, and
Meerabai.
 He is famous as the chief proponent of Vishishtadvaita
subschool of Vedānt
a
.
 o VishishtAdvaita (literally "Advaita with uniqueness;
qualifications") is a non-dualistic school of Vedanta
philosophy.
o It is non-dualism of the qualified whole, in which
Brahman alone is seen as the Supreme Reality, but is
characterized by multiplicity.
 He went on to write nine scriptures known as the navaratnas,
and composed numerous commentaries on Vedic scriptures.
o Ramanuja’s most important writings include his
commentary on the Vedanta Sutras (the Sri Bhasya,
or "True Commentary"), and his commentary on
the Bhagavad-Gita (the Gitabhasya, or "Commentary
on the Gita").
o His other writings include the Vedartha Samgraha
("Summary of the Meaning of the Veda"), the
Vedantasara ("Essence of Vedanta"), and Vedantadipa
("Lamp of Vedanta").
 He has also stressed the need of being in tune with nature and
not to over-exploit.
Why is it called the Statue of Equality ?
 Ramanuja was an advocate of social equality among all
sections of people centuries ago, and encouraged temples to
open their doors to everyone irrespective of caste or position
in society at a time when people of many castes were
forbidden from entering them.
 He took education to those who were deprived of it. His
greatest contribution is the propagation of the concept of
“vasudhaiva kutumbakam”, which translates as “all the
universe is one family”.
 He traveled across India for several decades, propagating his
ideas of social equality and universal brotherhood from
temple podiums.
  He embraced the socially marginalized and condemned,
and asked royal courts to treat them as equals.
 He spoke of universal salvation through devotion to God,
compassion, humility, equality, and mutual respect, which is
known as Sri Vaishnavam Sampradaya.
 Ramanujacharya liberated millions from social, cultural,
gender, educational, and economic discrimination with the
foundational conviction that every human is equal regardless
of nationality, gender, race, caste, or creed.
Source: IE

Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO)

Published: February 4, 2022
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On February 2, 2022, India inked an interim agreement to confirm its commitment for
working on mega science project called “Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO)”.
Contents [hide]
 Highlights
 About Square Kilometre Array Observatory
 Is India a member country of SKA?
 SKA Council
 Background of Square Kilometre Array (SKA)

Highlights
 The agreement will be valid for one year.
 The Cooperation Agreement between India and SKA was signed virtually.
 India was represented by TIFR – National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA).
About Square Kilometre Array Observatory
 SKAO is proposed to be world’s largest radio telescope.
 This project will facilitate India in making its first monetary contribution towards
construction phase of SKA.
 SKA will be built in Australia and South Africa.
 It is headquartered in the United Kingdom.
 Apart from three host countries, viz., Italy, China and France; Switzerland and
Canada are among countries building SKAO.
 SKAO is likely to be operational by the end of this decade.
Is India a member country of SKA?
India is a participating country in the setting up of world’s largest radio telescope. However,
it is yet to receive central government’s approval to become a Member Country.
SKA Council
In December 2020, the SKA Organisation became SKA Council. It is an umbrella body to
plan, oversee and undertake the construction of SKA Observatory. It also manages operations
of facility in decades to come.
Background of Square Kilometre Array (SKA)
SKA is an intergovernmental radio telescope project. It is being built in Australia and South
Africa. It was started in 1990s, and further developed and designed by late-2010s. after
completion, it will have a total collecting area of approximately one square kilometre. It will
operate across a wide range of frequencies. Its size will make it 50 times more sensitive as
compared to any other radio instrument. It will require very high-performance central
computing engines as well as long-haul links. If it is built as planned, it would be able to
survey the sky about ten thousand times faster than before.
Month: Current Affairs - February, 2022
Category: Science & Technology Current Affairs
Topics: National Centre For Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) • SKA Council • Square Kilometre
Array (SKA) • Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO)
National Supercomputing Mission
    
 24 Feb 2022
 

 4 min read

Tags: 

 GS Paper - 3

 Achievements of Indians in Science & Technology

 Growth & Development

 Government Policies & Interventions

For Prelims: Param Pravega, Supercomputer, National Supercomputing

Mission, National Knowledge Network (NKN).
For Mains: National Supercomputing Mission, IT and Computers,
Achievements of Indians in Science & Technology.

Why in News?
Recently, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru installed the
supercomputer 'Param Pravega'. It has a supercomputing capacity of 3.3
petaflops.

 It has been installed under the government’s National

Supercomputing Mission.
 The National Supercomputing Mission is intended
to indigenise the development and manufacturing of
powerful computers.
What is a Supercomputer?
 A supercomputer is a computer that performs at or near
the currently highest operational rate
 for computers.
 Generally, PETAFLOP is a measure of a Supercomputer’s
processing speed and can be expressed as a thousand trillion
floating point operations per second.
o FLOPS (floating point operations per second
) are typically used to measure the performance of a
computer’s processor.
o Using floating-point encoding, extremely long
numbers can be handled relatively easily.
 Supercomputers are primarily designed to be used in
enterprises and organizations that require massive
computing power.
o For example: weather forecasting, scientific research,
intelligence gathering and analysis, data mining etc.
 Globally, China has the maximum number of supercomputers
  and maintains the top position in the wor
ld, followed by the US, Japan, France, Germany, Netherlands,
Ireland and the United Kingdom.
 India’s first supercomputer was PARAM 8000
.
 PARAM Shivay, the first supercomputer assembled
indigenously, was installed in IIT (BHU), followed by PARAM
Shakti, PARAM Brahma, PARAM Yukti, PARAM Sanganak at
IIT-Kharagpur, IISER, Pune, JNCASR, Bengaluru and IIT Kanpur
respectively.
 In 2020, PARAM Siddhi, the High-Performance Computing-
Artificial Intelligence (HPC-AI) supercomputer, achieved global
ranking of 62nd in Top 500
 most powerful supercomputer systems in the world.
What is the National Supercomputing Mission?
 In 2015, the National Supercomputing Mission was
launched to enhance the research capacities and capabilities
in the country by connecting them to form a Supercomputing
grid, with National Knowledge Network (NKN) as the
backbone.
o The NKN project is aimed at establishing a strong and
robust Indian network which will be capable of
providing secure and reliable connectivity.
 It supports the government's vision of 'Digital India' and 'Make
in India' initiatives.
 The Mission is being jointly steered by the Department of
Science and Technology (DST)
 and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
(MeitY)
.
 o It is implemented by the Centre for Development of
Advanced Computing (C-DAC)
, Pune, and the IISc, Bengaluru
.
 The mission was planned in three phases:
o Phase I looking at assembling supercomputers
,
o Phase II looking at manufacturing certain
components
 within the country.
o Phase III where a supercomputer is designed by India
.
 An indigenously developed server platform called ‘Rudra
’
 is being tried out in a pilot system, with an interconnect
for inter node communication called Trinetra
 also having been developed.

National Single Window System

    
 12 Feb 2022
 

 3 min read

Tags: 

 GS Paper - 2

 GS Paper - 3

 Government Policies & Interventions

For Prelims: National Single Window System, Ease of Doing Business.

For Mains: Significance of National Single Window System in Ease of Doing

Business.
Why in News?
Recently, Jammu & Kashmir became the first Union Territory to be
onboarded the National Single Window System (NSWS).

 This marks a major leap in Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) in

the Union Territory.
 NSWS is linked with India Industrial Land Bank (IILB) which
hosts 45 industrial parks of J&K. This will help Investors to
discover available land parcels in J&K.
What is the National Single Window System?
 The platform was soft launched in September 2021 by the
Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
 It is a one-stop digital platform that aims at allowing investors
to apply for various pre-operations approvals required for
commencing a business in the country.
 It makes the business registration process easier, allowing the
beneficiary to get significant approvals online, without having
to run to the government offices for approvals and can avail
themselves of services with just a click.
What is the Significance?
 It would become a “one stop shop” for state and Central
government compliances and bring transparency,
accountability and responsiveness in the ecosystem.
 It will also offer a Know Your Approvals service to inform
businesses of the details of all the approvals they need to
obtain as well as a common registration form, document
repository and e-communication module.
 It will provide strength to other schemes e.g. Make in
India, Startup India, PLI scheme etc.
What are Other Initiatives to Improve EoDB?
  In the Union Budget speech 2020, the Investment Clearance
Cell (ICC) was announced.
o ICC will provide “end to end” facilitation and support
to investors, including pre-investment advisory,
provide information related to land banks and
facilitate clearances at Centre and State level. The cell
was proposed to operate through an online digital
portal.
 Amendments to Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and
Decriminalisation under Companies Act, 2013.
 Reduction of corporate tax from 30% to 25% for mid-sized
companies.
 The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), has initiated
the MCA21 project, which enables easy and secure access to
MCA services in an assisted manner for corporate entities,
professionals, and the general public.
o It has also launched the Simplified Proforma for
Incorporating Company Electronically Plus
(SPICe+) web form.
 The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) has
launched eSanchit (e-Storage and Computerised Handling of
Indirect Tax documents) for paperless processing, uploading
of supporting documents and to facilitate the trading across
Borders.
 E-assessment scheme for taxpayers.

Intensified Mission Indradhanush 4.0

    
 15 Feb 2022
 

 5 min read

Tags: 

 GS Paper - 2
  Health

 Government Policies & Interventions

For Prelims: UIP, Mission Indradhanush, IMI.

For Mains: Health, Government Policies and Interventions, Immunisation

Programme.

Why in News?
Recently, the Ministry of Health virtually launched Intensified Mission
Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0.

 India is implementing the largest immunisation programme

globally where it annually covers more than three crore
pregnant women and 2.6 crore children through the Universal
Immunisation Programme (UIP).
What is IMI 4.0?
 It will ensure that Routine Immunization (RI) services reach
unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children and pregnant
women.
o Children up to two years will be covered in this drive.
 While the pace of routine immunisation has slowed down due
to Covid-19 pandemic, IMI 4.0 will immensely contribute in
filling the gaps and make lasting gains towards universal
immunisation.
 Three rounds of IMI 4.0 will be conducted in 416 districts,
including 75 districts identified for Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav
across 33 States/UTs.
o These districts have been identified based on
vaccination coverage as per the latest National Family
Health Survey-5 report, Health Management
Information System (HMIS) data and burden of
vaccine-preventable diseases.
What is the Universal Immunisation Programme?
  The Immunization Programme in India was introduced in 1978
as ‘Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI) by the
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
 In 1985, the Programme was modified as ‘Universal
Immunization Programme (UIP)’. UIP prevents mortality and
morbidity in children and pregnant women against 12
vaccine-preventable diseases.
o But in the past, it was seen that the increase in
immunization coverage had slowed down and it
increased at the rate of 1% per year between 2009 and
2013.
 To accelerate the coverage, Mission Indradhanush was
envisaged and implemented since 2015 to rapidly increase
the full immunization coverage to 90%.
What is Mission Indradhanush (MI)?
 It was launched to fully immunize more than 89 lakh children
who are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated under
UIP.
 It provides vaccination against 12 Vaccine-Preventable
Diseases (VPD) i.e. diphtheria, Whooping cough, tetanus,
polio, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, meningitis and pneumonia,
Haemophilus influenzae type B infections, Japanese
encephalitis (JE), rotavirus vaccine, pneumococcal conjugate
vaccine (PCV) and measles-rubella (MR).
o However, vaccination against Japanese Encephalitis
and Haemophilus influenzae type B is being provided
in selected districts of the country.
 Mission Indradhansuh was also identified as one of the
flagship schemes under Gram Swaraj Abhiyan and Extended
Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.
What is Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI)?
  It was launched in October 2017.
 Under IMI, greater focus was given on urban areas which were
one of the gaps of Mission Indradhanush.
 It focused to improve immunisation coverage in select
districts and cities to ensure full immunisation to more than
90% by December 2018 instead of 2020.
What is Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0?
 It was a nationwide immunisation drive to mark the 25 years
of Pulse polio programme (2019-20).
 It had targets of full immunization coverage in 272 districts
spread over 27 States.
 It aimed to achieve at least 90% pan-India immunisation
coverage by 2022.
What is Intensified Mission Indradhanush 3.0?
 IMI 3.0 was launched in 2021.
 Focus of the IMI 3.0 was the children and pregnant women who
had missed their vaccine doses during the Covid-19
pandemic.
o Beneficiaries from migration areas and hard to reach
areas were targeted as they might have missed their
vaccine doses during Covid-19.
What are the Achievements So Far?
 As of April 2021, during the various phases of Mission
Indradhanush, a total of 3.86 crore children and 96.8 lakh
pregnant women have been vaccinated.
 The first two phases of Mission Indradhanush resulted in 6.7%
increase in full immunisation coverage in a year.
o A survey (IMI- CES) carried out in 190 districts
covered in Intensified Mission Indradhanush
 (5th Phase of Mission Indradhanush) shows 18.5%
points increase in full immunisation coverage as
compared to National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4.
 The Full Immunisation Coverage among children aged 12-23
months of age has increased from 62% (NFHS-4) to 76.4%
(NFHS-5).

Democracy Report 2022

    
 08 Mar 2022
 

 7 min read

Tags: 

 GS Paper - 2

 Important International Institutions

 Indian Constitution

For Prelims: Democracy Report 2022, India's Rank.

For Mains: Threat to Democracy and related issues, Findings of the

Democracy Report 2022.

Why in News?
According to the latest report from the V-Dem Institute at Sweden

’s University of Gothenburg, the level of democracy enjoyed by the average global

citizen in 2021 is down to 1989 levels, with the democratic gains of the post-Cold War
period eroding rapidly in the last few years.
 The Report is titled ‘Democracy Report 2022: Autocratisation
Changing Nature?’
.
 Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) produces the largest global
dataset on democracy with over 30 million data points for 202
countries from 1789 to 2021.
  Earlier, the Global State of Democracy Report, 2021 was
released by the International Institute for Democracy and
Electoral Assistance (International-IDEA).
What Parameters were used to Assess the Status of a
Democracy?
 The report classifies countries into four regime types
 based on their score in the Liberal Democratic Index (LDI):
o Liberal Democracy, Electoral Democracy, Electoral
Autocracy, and Closed Autocracy.
 The LDI captures both liberal (individual and minority
rights) and electoral aspects (free and fair elections) of a
democracy based on 71 indicators that make up the Liberal
Component Index (LCI) and the Electoral Democracy Index
(EDI).
o The LCI measures aspects such as protection of
individual liberties and legislative constraints on the
executive, while the EDI considers indicators that
guarantee free and fair elections such as freedom of
expression and freedom of association.
o In addition, the LDI also uses an Egalitarian
Component Index (to what extent different social
groups are equal), Participatory Component
Index (health of citizen groups, civil society
organisations), and Deliberative Component
Index (whether political decisions are taken through
public reasoning focused on common good or
through emotional appeals, solidarity attachments,
coercion).
What are the Main Findings of the Report?
 Top Performance:
 o Sweden topped the LDI index, other Scandinavian
countries such as Denmark and Norway, along with
Costa Rica and New Zealand make up the top five in
liberal democracy rankings.
 India’s Performance:
o India is part of a broader global trend of an anti-plural
political party driving a country’s autocratisation.
o It was ranked 93rd in the LDI, India figures in
the “bottom 50%” of countries
.
o It has slipped further down in the Electoral
Democracy Index, to 100, and even lower in the
Deliberative Component Index, at 102.
o In South Asia, India is ranked below Sri Lanka (88),
Nepal (71), and Bhutan (65) and above Pakistan
(117) in the LDI
.
 Spreading Autocratisation:
o Autocratisation is spreading rapidly, with a record of
33 countries autocratising.
o Signaling a sharp break from an average of 1.2 coups
per year, 2021 saw a record 6 coups, resulting in 4
new autocracies: Chad, Guinea, Mali and Myanmar.
o While the number of liberal democracies stood at 42
in 2012, their number has shrunk to their lowest level
in over 25 years, with just 34 countries and 13% of the
world population living in liberal democracies.
o Closed autocracies, or dictatorships, rose from 25 to
30 between 2020 and 2021.
 Electoral Autocracy Most Common Regime Type:
 o The world today has 89 democracies and 90
autocracies, electoral autocracy remains the most
common regime type, accounting for 60 countries and
44% of the world population or 3.4 billion people
.
o Electoral democracies were the second most
common regime, accounting for 55 countries and 16%
of the world population.
PYQ

Which one of the following factors constitutes the best safeguard of liberty
in a liberal democracy?

(a) A committed judiciary

(b) Centralization of powers
(c) Elected government
(d) Separation of powers

Ans: (d)

What does the report say about the Changing Nature of

Autocratisation?
 Biggest Drivers of Autocratisation:
o One of the biggest drivers of autocratisation is “toxic
polarisation”.
 Polarisation has been defined as
a phenomenon that erodes respect of
counter-arguments and associated aspects
of the deliberative component of democracy.
 It is a dominant trend in 40 countries, as
opposed to 5 countries that showed rising
polarisation in 2011.
 Toxic levels of polarisation contribute to
electoral victories of anti-pluralist
 leaders and the empowerment of their
autocratic agendas.
 Noting that “polarisation and autocratisation
are mutually reinforcing”, the report states
that “measures of polarisation of society,
political polarisation, and political parties’ use
of hate speech tend to systematically rise
together to extreme levels.”
 Tools used to Sharpen Polarisation:
o “Misinformation” has been identified as a key tool
deployed by autocratising governments to sharpen
polarisation and shape domestic and international
opinion.
o Repression of civil society and censorship of
media were other favoured tools of autocratising
regimes.
 While freedom of expression declined in a
record 35 countries in 2021, with only 10
showing improvement, repression of Civil
Society Organisations (CSOs) worsened in 44
countries over the past ten years, “putting it at
the very top of the indicators affected by
autocratisation”.
 Also, in 37 countries, direct government
control over CSOs’ existence moved in an
authoritarian direction — “evidence of the far-
ranging weakening of civil society around the
world.”
 Decisive autonomy for the Electoral
Management Body (EMB) deteriorated in 25
countries.
 African Union Summit
Published: February 7, 2022
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The 35th African Union summit was held at Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Security and pandemic
were given top priority at the summit.
Contents [hide]
 Key Points on the summit
 What did Ethiopia say during the summit?
 Theme of the summit
 Increaisng Coup d’etat in Africa

Key Points on the summit

 The countries discussed about the unavailability of COVID vaccines to many African
countries
 Lately African Union has been facing institutional failures because of insurgencies
and coup. This fact was widely agreed by many of the members.
  All the six recent military coups were discussed.
 The summit announced that only 11% of the Africans are fully vaccinated.
Palestine wanted the African Union to withdraw the observer status of Israel.
What did Ethiopia say during the summit?
The Ethiopian Prime Minister Abhiy Ahmed addressed the summit. He announced to end the
conflict with Tigrayan rebels.
What is the Tigray crisis?
The Tigray People Liberation Front was a political party. It was a part of the coalition
government that ended the military dictatorship in 1991. The TPLF leader became the
president of Ethiopia in 1991. Later in 1995, he became the first PM of Ethiopia. The
coalition government is called EPRDF Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front. In
2018, the EPRDF chose Abhiy as the PM. Abhiy was a military intelligence officer. Since
then the TPLF has been fighting against the government. The TPLF is threatening to fight a
regional war in the Horn of Africa. The Horn of Africa houses Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia
and Eritrea. The internal political crisis of Ethiopia is affecting other African countries as
well.
Theme of the summit
 Strengthening Resilience in Nutrition and Food Security on African continent
Strengthening agro – food systems, health and social protection systems to accelerate

human, economic and social capital development
Increaisng Coup d’etat in Africa
Burkina Faso: In January 2022.
Zimbabwe: In 2017. Ended the 37 year rule of Robert Mugabe
Sudan has faced 17 coup d’etat, 7 by Chad, 7 by Niger, 8 by Nigeria, 11 by Burundi, 9 by
comoros, 8 by Nigeria, 8 by Benin, 8 by Mali, 10 by Ghana, 10 by Sierra Leone, 9 by Guinea
Bissau, 9 by Burkina Faso. All these occurred between 1952 and 2021.
Month: Current Affairs - February, 2022
Category: International Current Affairs
4th Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting
    
 14 Feb 2022
 

 6 min read

Tags: 

 GS Paper - 2

 Groupings & Agreements Involving India and/or Affecting India's Interests

 Bilateral Groupings & Agreements

For Prelims: QUAD, NATO, Indo-Pacific, Quad Vaccine initiative, 5G,

COVOVAX, CORBEVAX
For Mains: Groupings & Agreements Involving India and/or Affecting India's
Interests, Bilateral Groupings & Agreements, QUAD and its Significance.

Why in News?
Recently, the fourth meeting of the foreign ministers of the QUAD grouping
(India, the US, Australia and Japan) was held in Melbourne , Australia.

 The meeting was held amid escalating tension between Russia

and North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) countries over Ukraine, the Afghan crisis and
increasing concerns over China's "coercion" in the Indo-
Pacific region.
What is QUAD?
 It is the grouping of four democracies –India, Australia, the US,
and Japan.
 All four nations find a common ground of being democratic
nations and also support the common interest of unhindered
maritime trade and security.
 The Quad is billed as four democracies with a shared objective
to ensure and support a “free, open and prosperous” Indo-
Pacific region.
 The idea of Quad was first mooted by Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007. However, the idea couldn’t
move ahead with Australia pulling out of it, apparently due to
Chinese pressure.
 Finally in 2017, India, Australia, the US and Japan, came
together and formed this “quadrilateral” coalition.
What were the Discussions on Security and Intelligence?
 Called for justice for the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai (2008)
and the Pathankot airbase attack (2016) for the first time
since the group was formed.
 QUAD is already cooperating on sharing intelligence on threats
in the Indo-Pacific region. Called on all countries to ensure
that territory under their control is not used to launch terror
attacks and to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators
of such attacks.
 They made a veiled reference to China’s actions in the South
and East China seas, reaffirming a commitment to a free and
open Indo-Pacific, “in which states strive to protect the
interests of their people, free from coercion.”
What was their Stand on the Vaccine Initiative?
 Renewed commitment to the “flagship” Quad Vaccine
initiative to deliver at least one billion vaccines produced in
India by the end of 2022 to Indo-Pacific countries, and to a
pledge to donate 1.3 billion vaccine doses globally.
o The Quad vaccine partnership was announced in
March 2021.
What is QUAD’s Stand on Myanmar Crisis?
  It remains gravely concerned about the crisis in Myanmar and
calls for an end to violence, the release of all those arbitrarily
detained, including foreigners, and unhindered humanitarian
access.
 It reaffirmed its support for the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) efforts to seek a solution in Myanmar
and called on the military regime to urgently
implement ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus and swiftly return
Myanmar to the path of democracy.
 It encouraged the international community to work together to
support an end to the violence.
What did the Leaders Say on Emerging Technologies?
 Recorded progress on the other fields for cooperation
identified during the QUAD summit in 2021, including climate
change, critical and emerging technologies, counter-
terrorism, infrastructure, Humanitarian-Assistance and
Disaster-Relief (HADR) and maritime domain awareness.
 The QUAD is pursuing work on 5G technology and vendor
diversification to maintain a diverse, open and interoperable
telecommunication ecosystem through collaboration with
like-minded partners.
What was India’s Stand in the Meeting?
 India is open to supplying safe and affordable Made in India
vaccines, such as COVOVAX and CORBEVAX, under the QUAD
vaccine partnership.
 QUAD is building an agenda which seeks to further India’s
shared vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
o India and Australia have pledged to work together for
building more trusted and resilient supply chains and
ensuring broad and inclusive growth in the strategic
Indo-Pacific region.
  Earlier in 2021, the Trade Ministers of India,
Japan and Australia have formally launched
the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI).
o As liberal democracies, India and Australia would
continue to work towards a rule-based international
order, freedom of navigation in international
waters, promoting connectivity, growth and security
for all while respecting the territorial integrity and
sovereignty of all states.
 It is keen to work together to further peace and stability and
economic prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.
 On Myanmar, India pointed to the challenge of insurgency
along the Indo-Myanmar border. It also stressed that it is
against “national sanctions”. The US has imposed sanctions
on a number of leaders of the Myanmar Military.
 It maintained complete diplomatic silence on the Russian
threat to invade Ukraine.

One Ocean Summit

    
 12 Feb 2022
 

 7 min read

Tags: 

 GS Paper - 3

 Conservation

 Environmental Pollution & Degradation

 Government Policies & Interventions

For Prelims: One Ocean Summit, United Nation, World Bank, World Ocean
Day, Decade of Ocean, Climate Change

For Mains: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation,

Government Policies & Interventions, Significance of the Oceans, Initiatives
to Protect the Ocean
Why in News?
Recently, the Prime Minister addressed the high-level segment of the One
Ocean Summit.

 The summit was organised by France

 in Brest, France in cooperation with the United Nations and
the World Bank.

 The summit was addressed by various other Heads of State

and Governments from countries like Germany, the United
Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Canada among others.
What is the Importance of Oceans?
 The ocean covers more than 70% of the surface of our
planet, yet too often remains on the sidelines of major
European and international events.
 The ocean is a regulator of major environmental balances, and
climate in particular, a provider of resources, an important
enabler of trade, and an essential link between countries and
human communities.
 However, it is now seriously threatened by numerous
pressures, such as the effects of climate change, pollution or
the overexploitation of marine resources.
 In an effort to mobilise the international community and take
tangible action to mitigate such pressures on the ocean,
France has decided to organise a One Planet Summit
dedicated to the ocean.
What is One Ocean Summit?
 The goal of the One Ocean Summit is to raise the collective
level of ambition of the international community on marine
issues.
o Commitments will be made towards combating illegal
fishing, decarbonising shipping and reducing plastic
pollution.
o Will also focus on efforts to improve governance of
the high seas and coordinating international scientific
research.
What was India’s Stand at the Summit?
 India has always been a maritime civilization. India’s ancient
scriptures and literature talk about the gifts of the oceans
including marine life.
 India’s security and prosperity are linked to oceans. India's
''Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative'' contains marine resources as
a key pillar.
 India supports the French initiative of a 
 ''High Ambition Coalition on Biodiversity Beyond National
Jurisdiction''
.
o The coalition gathers parties which are committed, at
the highest political level, to achieve an ambitious
outcome of the ongoing negotiations on a Treaty of
the High Seas (“the implementing agreement on
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction”), under the
auspices of the United Nations
.
o The “BBNJ Treaty”, also known as the “Treaty of the
High Seas”, is an international agreement on the
conservation and
 sustainable use of marine biological diversity of
areas beyond national jurisdiction, currently under
negotiation at the United Nations.
o This new instrument is being developed within the
framework of the United Convention on the Law of
the Sea (UNCLOS), the main international agreement
governing human activities at sea.
 India is committed to eliminating single-use plastic. India
recently undertook a nation-wide awareness campaign to
clean plastic and other waste from coastal areas.
o Three hundred thousand young people collected
almost 13 tons of plastic waste.
 India will be happy to join France in launching a global
initiative on single use plastics.
o Recently, the Ministry Of Environment Forest And
Climate Change has notified the Plastic Waste
Management Amendment Rules, 2021 which prohibit
specific single-use plastic items which have “low
utility and high littering potential” by 2022.
 o India has also directed its Navy to contribute100
ship-days this year to cleaning plastic waste from the
seas.
Are there any Other Global initiatives to Protect Oceans?
 United Nations Ocean Conference: The 2017 UN’s Ocean
Conference sought to mobilise action for the conservation
and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine
resources.
o Next conference is scheduled to be held in 2022.
 Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development:
 The UN has proclaimed a
 Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development
(2021-2030) to support efforts to reverse the cycle of decline
in ocean health and gather ocean stakeholders worldwide
behind a common framework that will ensure ocean science
can fully support countries in creating improved conditions for
sustainable development of the Ocean.
 World Oceans Day
: June 8th is World Oceans Day
, the United Nations day for celebrating the role of the oceans
in our everyday life and inspiring action to protect the ocean
and sustainably use marine resources.
 India- Norway Ocean Dialogue: In 2019, the Indian and
Norwegian governments agreed to work more closely on
oceans by signing a MoU and establishing the India-Norway
Ocean Dialogue.
 India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI): It is an open, non-
treaty based initiative for countries to work together for
cooperative and collaborative solutions to common
challenges in the region.
 o IPOI draws on existing regional architecture and
mechanisms to focus on seven pillars: Maritime
Security, Maritime Ecology, Maritime Resources,
Capacity Building and Resource Sharing, Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Science, Technology and
Academic Cooperation and Trade Connectivity and
Maritime Transport.
 GloLitter Partnerships Project: It is launched by
the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Food
and Agriculture Organization of the UNs (FAO) and initial
funding from the Government of Norway. It is aimed to
prevent and reduce marine plastic litter from shipping and
fisheries.

New India Literacy Programme

    
 17 Feb 2022
 

 5 min read

Tags: 

 GS Paper - 2

 Education

 Government Policies & Interventions

For Prelims: New India Literacy Programme, National Education Policy

2020

For Mains: Need to Educate Youth and their role in the Development of the
country, Government Policies & Interventions

Why in News?
Recently, a new scheme “New India Literacy Programme” for the period
FYs 2022-2027 to cover all the aspects of Adult Education to align
with National Education Policy 2020 has been approved.
  It is also in line with Budget 2021-22, which announced that
increased access to resources, online modules covering the
entire gamut of adult education will be introduced.
 The estimated total outlay of the scheme is Rs.1037.90 crore
which includes Central share of Rs. 700 crore and State share
of Rs. 337.90 crore respectively for the FYs 2022 -27.
 Term “Adult Education” will be replaced by “Education For All”.
What is the objective of the New India Literacy Programme?
 To impart not only foundational literacy and numeracy but also
to cover other components which are necessary for a citizen
of the 21st century.
 Other components include:
o Critical life skills (including financial literacy, digital
literacy, commercial skills, health care and
awareness, child care and education, and family
welfare).
o Vocational skills development (with a view towards
obtaining local employment).
o Basic education (including preparatory, middle, and
secondary stage equivalency).
o Continuing education (including engaging holistic
adult education courses in arts, sciences, technology,
culture, sports, and recreation, as well as other topics
of interest or use to local learners, such as more
advanced material on critical life skills).
How will the Scheme be Implemented?
 The scheme will be implemented through volunteerism
through online mode.
o The training, orientation, workshops of volunteers,
may be organized through face-to-face mode. All
material and resources shall be provided digitally.
  School will be Unit for implementation of the scheme.
o Schools to be used for conducting surveys of
beneficiaries and Voluntary Teachers.
Who will be Covered under the Scheme?
 Non-literates of the age of 15 years and above in all
states/UTs in the country.
 The target is 5 (five) crore learners @ 1.00 crore per year by
using “Online Teaching, Learning and Assessment System
(OTLAS)” in collaboration with National Informatics
Centre, NCERT and NIOS.
Why is such a Scheme Needed?
 As per Census 2011, the absolute number of non-literates of
the country in 15 years and above age group is 25.76 crore
(Male 9.08 crore, Female 16.68 crore).
 Also, in consideration of the progress of persons certified as
literates being to the tune of 7.64 crore under the Saakshar
Bharat programme implemented during 2009-10 to 2017-18, it
is estimated that currently around 18.12 crore adults are still
non-literate in India.
What are the other Initiatives taken in this Direction?
 National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC): It aims
to promote skill development by catalyzing the creation of
large, quality and for-profit vocational institutions. It acts as a
catalyst in skill development by providing funding to
enterprises, companies, and organizations that provide skill
training.
 Digital India Programme: It pulls together many existing
schemes by restructuring and re-focusing them and then
implementing them in a synchronized manner.
  Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan: It is one of
the largest initiatives of the country with the target of making
citizens digitally literate.
 National Digital Literacy Mission: It aims to empower at least
one person per household with crucial digital literacy skills by
2020.
 Samagra Shiksha: It is an integrated scheme for school
education extending from pre-school to class XII to ensure
inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school
education.
Way Forward
 There is a need for real emancipation of the people. Education
systems across the world should provide the training required
for children and working adults so that they can learn to read
and write. National educational plans should include
schooling for children and literacy training for adults as
parallel elements.

India and Canada to re-launch the Comprehensive

Economic Partnership Agreement
    
 12 Mar 2022
 

 6 min read

Tags: 

 GS Paper - 2

 GS Paper - 3

 India and its Neighbourhood

 Bilateral Groupings & Agreements

For Prelims: Interim Trade Agreement, Free Trade Agreement.

For Mains: Significance of India-Canada Free Trade Agreement.

Why in News?
Recently, India and Canada held the fifth Ministerial Dialogue on Trade &
Investment (MDTI), where Ministers agreed to formally re-launch the
negotiations for India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement (CEPA) and also consider an Interim Agreement or Early
Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA) that could bring early commercial gains
to both the countries.

 Earlier, India and Australia announced that they are set to

conclude an Interim Trade Agreement in March 2022 and
a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement
(CECA) 12-18 months thereafter.

What are the Key Points?

 The Interim Agreement would include high level commitments
in goods, services, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary
measures, technical barriers to trade, and dispute settlement,
and may also cover any other areas mutually agreed upon.
  The two sides emphasized cooperation in sectors such as
pharmaceuticals and critical and rare earth minerals as well
as in areas like tourism, urban infrastructure, renewable
energy, and mining.
 Both countries agreed to undertake intensified work with
respect to the recognition of Canada’s systems approach to
pest risk management in pulses and market access for Indian
agriculture goods such as sweet corn, baby corn and banana
etc.
 Canada also agreed to examine expeditiously the request for
Conformity Verification Body (CVB) status to APEDA
(Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export
Development Authority) for facilitating Indian organic export
products.
o A CVB is an organisation that has an agreement with
the Canadian Food Inspection Agency under
subsection 14(1) of the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency Act to assess, recommend for accreditation
and monitor certification bodies.
 The Ministers acknowledged the significance of establishing
resilient supply chains in critical sectors and exchanged
views on collaboration in this area.
What is an Interim Trade Agreement?
 An interim or early harvest trade agreement is used
to liberalize tariffs on the trade of certain goods between two
countries or trading blocs before a comprehensive FTA (Free
Trade Agreement) is concluded.
 Government’s emphasis on interim agreements may be
tactical so that a deal may be achieved with minimum
commitments and would allow for contentious issues to be
resolved later.
  The problem, though, is that these early harvest schemes
potentially target the low-hanging fruits, leaving the tougher
goods and services for later.
 Early harvest agreements that do not graduate into full-scale
FTAs are exposed to legal challenges from other countries
that are members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
 It is often beneficial to negotiate the entire deal together, as an
early harvest deal may reduce the incentive for one side to
work towards a full FTA.
What is CEPA?
 It is a kind of free trade pact which covers negotiation on the
trade in services and investment, and other areas of economic
partnership.
 It may even consider negotiation on areas such as trade
facilitation and customs cooperation, competition, and
Intellectual Property Rights.
 Partnership agreements or cooperation agreements are more
comprehensive than Free Trade Agreements.
 CEPA also looks into the regulatory aspect of trade and
encompasses an agreement covering the regulatory issues.
 India has signed CEPAs with South Korea and Japan.
What is India’s Current Trade Relation with Canada?
 India is Canada’s 11th largest export market, and 12th largest
trading partner overall.
o India's exports to Canada stood at USD 2.9 billion in
2020-21 as against USD 2.85 billion in 2019-20.
Imports in 2020-21 were USD 2.68 billion as against
USD 3.9 billion in 2019-20.
 Canada’s commercial priorities in India are targeted at India’s
policy objectives and sectors where Canada has a
comparative advantage. These priorities include:
 o Supporting India’s energy security ambitions through
increased exports of conventional and nuclear
energy as well as clean and renewable energy
technology,
o Helping India meet its substantial urban and
transportation infrastructure needs through provision
of financing, equipment, technology and engineering
services,
o Enhanced education and skills training through
greater collaboration between Canadian and Indian
educational and technical skills institutions,
o Commercial research and development to drive
innovation in such sectors as information and
communications technologies,
o Increased exports of food products and fertilizers to
support India’s food security needs.

Nepal to become the first country to adopt India's UPI system

 Category
Economy
 Published
24th Feb, 2022


Context
Nepal is set to be the first country to adopt India's UPI system, which will play a
pivotal role in transforming the digital economy of the neighbouring country.

Key-highlights

 NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the international arm of NPCI, has joined
hands with Gateway Payments Service (GPS) and Manam Infotech to provide the
services in Nepal.
 GPS is the authorised payment system operatorin Nepal and Manam Infotech
will deploy Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in that country.
 In June, 2021, Bhutan became the first country, in India’s immediate neighbourhood, to use the BH
 UPI standards for its QR deployment”.
 BHIM UPI, the Indian government’s digital payment app, was launched in Bhutan.
What is Unified Payments Interface (UPI)?

In 2021, UPI enabled 3,900 crore financial transactions valuing USD 940 billion, which is equivalent

 UPI is amongst the most successful real-time payments (RTP) systems globally,
providing – simplicity, safety, and security in P2P and P2M transactions in India.
 Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an immediate real-time payment system that
helps in instantly transferring the funds between the two bank accounts through a
mobile platform.
 Hence, UPI is a concept that allows multiple bank accounts to get into a single mobile
application.
 This idea was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India and is
controlled by the RBI and IBA (Indian Bank Association).
 NPCI is the firm that handles RuPay payments infrastructure, i.e. similar to
Visa and MasterCard.
 It allows different banks to interconnect and transfer funds.
 Immediate Payments Service (IMPS) is also an initiative of NPCI.
UPI is considered as the advanced version of IMPS.
 UPI service has created a significant positive impact in India in terms of the
country’s digital payment transformation.
UPI ID & UPI PIN

 UPI ID: A UPI ID is a unique identification for a bank account that can be used to send and receive f
 UPI PIN: UPI PIN is a 4-digit personal identification number that must be entered to authorise the tra
the account holder.
Transact365 Brings Cross-Border Payments to India

 In January, U.K.-based FinTech Transact365 added cross-border payments for

merchants to and from India to its suite of services through two local
solutions: Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a real-time payments system that
allows inter-bank, peer-to-peer (P2P) and person-to-merchant transactions through
mobile devices; and NetBanking, which uses the Transact365 gateway and completes
the transaction in real time using the local currency.
 Transact365 also launched local payment distribution, which allows merchants to pay
their clients in India in real time with application programming interface (API)
connectivity.
Significance of the development
  The collaboration will serve the larger digital public good in Nepal and bolster
interoperable real-time person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M)
transactions in the neighbouring country.
 This collaboration will enable the last-mile consumers in Nepal to reap the benefits of
an open interoperable payments system driving immediate payment transfers between
bank accounts and merchant payments in real-time.
 Nepal has a population of about 30 million (3 crore) with around 45 per cent banked.
 Mobile penetration of over 135 per cent with 65 per cent of the population using smartphones provide
revolution in India to be replicated in Nepal.
Earth Observation Satellite EOS-04
    
 15 Feb 2022
 

 5 min read

Tags: 

 GS Paper - 3

 Space Technology

For Prelims: Indian Space Research Organisation, earth observation

satellite, EOS-04, PSLV, Cartosat, RISAT-2B , SSLV (Small Satellite Launch
Vehicle), EOS-03, RISAT-1, India-Bhutan Joint Satellite (INS-2B).

For Mains: Achievements of Indians in Science & Technology, ISRO and its

achievements, current issues with ISRO.

Why in News?
Recently, Indian Space Research Organisation's earth observation
satellite EOS-04 and two small satellites (INSPIREsat-1 and INS-2TD) were
successfully placed into the intended orbit by the PSLV-C52 rocket.

 This launch was the 54th flight of the Polar Satellite Launch

Vehicle (PSLV) rocket, and the 23rd of its most powerful XL-
version that has six strap-on boosters.
What are Earth Observation Satellites?
 Earth observation satellites are the satellites equipped with
remote sensing technology. Earth observation is the
 gathering of information about Earth's physical, chemical and
biological systems.
 Many earth observation satellites have been employed on sun-
synchronous orbit.
 Other earth observation satellites launched by ISRO
include RESOURCESAT- 2, 2A, CARTOSAT-1, 2, 2A, 2B, RISAT-
1 and 2, OCEANSAT-2, Megha-Tropiques, SARAL and
SCATSAT-1, INSAT-3DR, 3D, etc.
What are the Three Satellites Launched?
 EOS-04:
o EOS-04 weighing 1,710 kg and with a mission life of
ten years designed to provide high quality
images under all weather conditions for applications
such as Agriculture, Forestry and Plantations, Soil
Moisture and Hydrology and Flood mapping.
 It will complement the data
from Resourcesat, Cartosat and RISAT-2B ser
ies of satellites that are already in orbit.
 The first of these newly named
satellites, EOS-01, launched in November
2020, is in orbit right now. EOS-02, a micro-
satellite to be flown on a new launch vehicle
called SSLV (Small Satellite Launch
Vehicle) is yet to be launched, while launch
of EOS-03 had ended in a failure in August,
2021.
o It will be placed in a sun synchronous polar orbit of
529 km, is a radar-imaging satellite which would have
made it a part of the RISAT series earlier.
o In fact, it would replace the RISAT-1 which was
launched in 2012 but has been non-functional for the
last few years.
 RISATs use synthetic aperture radars to
produce high-resolution images of the land.
 One big advantage that radar imaging has
over optical instruments is that it
is unaffected by weather, cloud or fog, or the
lack of sunlight.
 It can produce high-quality images in all
conditions and at all times, making it suitable
for surveillance.
  INSPIREsat-1:
o INSPIREsat-1 is part of a constellation of satellites
planned under the International Space Program in
Research and Education (INSPIRE) involving the
Small-spacecraft Systems and Payload Centre
(SSPACE) at IIST, University of Colorado (US),
Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore,
and National Central University (NCU), Taiwan.
o Two scientific payloads on INSPIREsat-1, with a mass
of 8.1 kg and mission life of one year, are aimed at
improving the understanding of ionosphere (part of
Earth’s upper atmosphere) dynamics and the sun's
coronal heating processes.
 INS-2TD:
o INS-2TD is a technology demonstrator for the first
India-Bhutan joint satellite that is scheduled to be
launched in March, 2022.
 The two countries had signed a space
agreement last year, and its first outcome
would be the launch of BhutanSat, or INS-2B,
on a PSLV rocket in March, 2022.
o The thermal imaging cameras of the INS-2TD are
meant for earth observation purposes, like
assessment of land and water surface temperature,
and identification of forest and tree cover.
How many satellites does India have in space?
 India currently has 53 operational satellites, of which 21 are
earth observation ones and another 21 are communication-
based.
 Eight are navigation satellites, while the remaining three are
science satellites.
Winter Olympics Games 2022 in
Beijing concludes
The closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games was held on
February 20, 2022, at National Stadium (known as the Bird’s Nest) in Beijing.
Posted bySumit Arora  Published On February 22nd, 2022
The closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games was held on
February 20, 2022, at National Stadium (known as the Bird’s Nest) in Beijing. The
2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, was held from 4 to 20 February 2022. The
Games featured a record 109 events across 15 disciplines in 7 sports. The venues of
the Games were distributed across three zones- Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou.
The Presidency of the Games was formally handed over to Milan and Cortina
d’Ampezzo, in Italy, to host the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Buy Prime Test Series for all Banking, SSC, Insurance & other exams
The top country in Winter Olympics 2022 in Beijing:
 Norway has topped the medal table for the second successive Winter Olympics, winning a total
of 37 medals, including 16 golds. This is a new record for the most amount of gold medals won
at a single Winter Olympics.
 Germany finished second with 27 medals overall, while the host nation China finished third with
15 medals.

India at the 2022 Winter Olympics:

 The Indian team at the game was represented by one male alpine skier, Arif Khan.
 He was the country’s flagbearer during the opening ceremony, meanwhile, a volunteer was the
flagbearer during the closing ceremony. India could not win any medal at the games.

Exercise MILAN 2022

    
 26 Feb 2022
 

 2 min read

Tags: 

 Quick Facts For Prelims

 GS Paper - 3

Why in News?
The Indian Navy’s multilateral Exercise MILAN 2022 is scheduled to
commence from 25th Feb 2022 in the ‘City of Destiny’, Visakhapatnam

.
 2020 edition of MILAN was postponed to 2022 due to Covid-
19.
What are the Key Points?
  MILAN 22:

o MILAN 22 will witness its largest ever participation,

with more than 40 countries sending their warships/
high level delegations
.
o This edition of MILAN will be larger in ‘scope and
complexity’ with focus on exercises at sea including
exercises in surface, sub-surface and air
domains and weapon firings.
o Theme 2022:
 ‘Camaraderie - Cohesion – Collaboration’.
 MILAN:

o MILAN is a biennial multilateral naval exercise

 incepted by Indian Navy in 1995
 at Andaman and Nicobar Command.
o Starting with the participation of only four countries,
viz Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand
, in the 1995 edition, the exercise has
since transitioned leaps and bounds in terms of
number of participants and complexity of exercises.
o Originally conceived in consonance with India’s ‘Look
East Policy’, MILAN expanded in ensuing years with
India’s ‘Act East policy’ and Security And Growth for
All in the Region (SAGAR) initiative, to include
participation from island nations in the Western IOR
(Indian Ocean Region) as also IOR littorals.
Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate Week
Published: February 22, 2022
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On February 22, 2022, President Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate the ‘Vigyan Sarvatra
Pujyate programme’ in virtual mode.
 Contents [hide]
 Key Facts
 Aim of the ‘Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate’ programme
 Theme of the programme
 Celebration of ‘Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate’ Week
 National Science Day 2022

Key Facts
 Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate is a week-long, nationwide programme of competitions and
lectures for school students and collegians.
 To organise this programme, Union Ministry of Science and Technology has selected
three institutions in Madhya Pradesh.
 MP Council of Science and Technology (MPCST) will hold the event in Bhopal,
SGSITS College in Indore and Rani Durgavati University in Jabalpur.
 In the event, Students from government and private institutions can take part.
 To take part in the event, students are required to register on the government website.
Aim of the ‘Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate’ programme
The Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate programme was launched with the aim of attracting students
towards scientific knowledge of articles of daily use.  The programme also aims to propagate
scientific theories.
Theme of the programme
The Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate programme will be organised with different themes each day.
Themes are listed below:
 On February 23, the theme will be “annals of the history of Indian science”.
 On February 24- “milestones of modern Indian science and technology”.
 On February 25- “swadeshi paramparik inventions and innovations”.
 On February 26- “science literature festival”.
 On February 27- “science and technology for next 25 years”
 On February 28, valedictory function will be held.
Celebration of ‘Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate’ Week
The University Grant Commission has asked colleges to celebrate “Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate
Week” or “Science Week” 2022. As a part of this week, a mega book fair will be held at
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi. Book fair will be held under the Ministry of Culture and
Office of the PSA, from February 22 to February 28, 2022. The Science Week celebration
will culminate on February 28, on National Science Day.
National Science Day 2022
National Science Day is observed in India on February 28, each year. The day marks the
discovery of Raman effect by Indian physicist Sir C. V. Raman. Raman effect was discovered
on February 28, 1928, for which Sir C.V. Raman had received Nobel Prize in Physics in
1930.
Month: Current Affairs - February, 2022
Category: Events Current Affairs • Science & Technology Current Affairs
Topics: National Science Day • President Of India • President Ram Nath Kovind • Sc