ASSAM
Bir Chilarai Jayanti Prime Minister
The Prime Minister still remembered Bir Chilarai on Jayanti. About Bir Chilarai: Bir Chilarai (1510-1571) was a brave warrior and general of the Koch dynasty of the Assamese. He is the younger brother of King Nara Narayan of the Kamata Kingdom. Since 2005, the Government of Assam has organized Mahabir Chilaray’s birthday anniversary every year. He played an important role in the expansion of his brother’s empire.
NORTH-EASTERN STATES
Northeast has country’s biggest carbon stock, says report
The northeast region is the country’s biggest carbon sink accounting for 28% of India’s total estimated carbon stock of 7,124 million tonnes, revealed the India State of Forest Report 2019.
runachal Pradesh alone, where the forest cover is more than 60% of the state’s geographical area, has the highest carbon stock of 1051 million tonnes among all states and union territories in the country. Behind Arunachal Pradesh are Madhya Pradesh (588.73 million tonnes), Chhattisgarh (480.25 million tonnes) and Maharashtra (440.51 million tonnes).
The per hectare carbon stock among different states and union territories shows that Sikkim has the maximum per hectare carbon stock of 171.04 tonnes/ ha, followed by Andaman & Nicobar Islands (167.09 tonnes/ha), Jammu & Kashmir (165.25 tonnes/ha), Himachal Pradesh (163.51 tonnes/ha) and Arunachal Pradesh (157.65 tonnes/ha).
Forest carbon stock is the amount of carbon that has been sequestered from the atmosphere and is now stored within the forest ecosystem, in five pools — above ground biomass (AGB), below ground biomass (BGB), dead wood, litter and soil organic matter (SOC).
The carbon stock in India’s forests for 2019 has been estimated at 7,124.6 million tonnes, which is an increase of 42.6 million tonnes as compared to the estimates of the previous assessment. India targets creating additional sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover in the country by 2030.
India has the 8th biggest carbon stock in the world behind Russian Federation, at the top of the list, Brazil, USA, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Colombia and China.
In terms of forest cover, barring Assam, the forest cover in other northeastern states has shrunk since the last assessment in 2017. According to the report, the common cause for the decrease in forest cover in the region is shifting cultivation and development.
INTERNATIONAL
China celebrates traditional ‘Lantern Festival’
China is celebrating its traditional Lantern festival.
Celebrated on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month, the Lantern Festival traditionally marks the end of the Chinese New Year also known as ‘Spring Festival’ period.
In 2021, China ushered into Lunar New Year – the ‘Year of the Ox’ on 12th February.
The Lantern Festival is also the first full moon night in the Chinese calendar, marking the return of spring and symbolizing the reunion of family.
Zero Discrimination Day: 01 March
Zero Discrimination Day is observed every year on 01 March.
The day aims at highlighting the urgent need to take action to end the inequalities surrounding income, sex, age, health status, occupation, disability, sexual orientation, drug use, gender identity, race, class, ethnicity and religion that are prevalent around the world.
It was first observed on March 1, 2014. Zero Discrimination Day is significant to organizations such as UNAIDS that work in combating discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.
Global Bio India 2021 2nd Edition
Union Minister unveiled the three-day “Global Bio India 2021”.
The 2nd edition of the “Global Bio India-2021” has been unveiled.
The 3-day online event will showcase India’s strengths and opportunities in the field of biotechnology to the country and the global community.
The theme for2021 is “Transforming lives” and the slogan is “Biosciences to Bio-economy”.
As one of the largest biotechnology stakeholder groups, the event was jointly organized by the Department of Biotechnology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Government of India and its Public Sector Undertakings and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE) and Invest in India.
NATIONAL
DGCA allows flight operators to give concessions in ticket prices to travellers who carry no baggage
Directorate General of Civil Aviation, DGCA has allowed domestic flight operators to give concessions in ticket prices to travellers who carry no baggage or only cabin baggage.
At present, a traveller can carry up to 7 kilograms of cabin baggage and 15 kilograms of check-in baggage without having to pay any additional cost.
The new rule will allow airline operators to provide tickets at lesser prices to those who opt to travel with no baggage or only with cabin baggage within the permissible weight limit.
The airlines will however have to prominently display the additional charges applicable in case the passenger turns up with extra baggage.
Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme
The Government plans to replace the Technical Education Quality Improvement Program (TEQIP) with the new program MERITE project. About the Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme:
It was launched by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development in 2002 with the assistance of the World Bank and is currently being implemented in phases.
It aims to improve the quality of technical education and strengthen the capacity of institutions.
Technical Education Quality Improvement Programe III (TEQIP-III) was launched in 2017 and will be completed in 2021.
It aims to develop technical education as a key component of improving the quality of engineering education.
The objective is to improve the quality and fairness of engineering institutions in key states (such as low-income states).
Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav 2021 in West Bengal
The third and final stop of the 11th edition of Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav 2021 was held in Murshidabad, West Bengal. Local artists performed a variety of colorful performances, including ‘Baul Gaan’, ‘Alkup Gaan’, ‘Leto gaan’, ‘Jhumuriya’ and Ranpa folk dances.
Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav is a flagship festival of Ministry of Culture. Since 2015, the event has been organized with the active participation of Seven Zonal Culture Centres.
The original purpose was to showcase the country’s rich and diverse cultural heritage in one place, namely Handicrafts, Cuisine, Painting, Sculpture and Performing Arts- Folk, Tribal, Classical and Contemporary Art. Significance
ISRO successfully launches Brazil’s Amazonia 1 satellite, along with 18 other passenger satellites
India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C51 (PSLV-C51) rocket loaded with 19 satellites from Brazil, USA and India lifted off from the rocket port at Sriharikota.
After four stages of separation, the rocket launched Brazil’s 637 kilogram Amazonia 1 satellite, its primary passenger.
Amazonia-1 is the optical earth observation satellite of National Institute for Space Research (INPE).