Topic 1: Khanpur Nagrota, the first zoo of J& K
Context: Jammu and Kashmir gets its first full-fledged Jambu Zoo in a naturally green landscape at Khanpur Nagrota.
Details:
- Khanpur Nagrota is located in the foothills of Shivalik along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway on the outskirts of Jammu city.
- Initially the Zoo will have 27 species of rare animals and birds brought from different states of the country
- Its main attractions will be a pair each of Bengal tiger, Asiatic lion, the black buck, ghariyal and the marsh crocodile.
- Except for Chandigarh, these animals are not available in any other zoo across North India.
Source: The Indian Express
Topic 2: Mo Ghara (My Home) Scheme
Context: Odisha government launches Mo Ghara (My Home), a credit-linked housing scheme for rural poor in the state.
Details:
- The scheme aims to convert all kutcha houses into pucca ones.
- The new scheme will cover families that were left out of the existing PMAY-G scheme owing to stringent eligibility criteria or insufficient allocation.
- It will also help those who had received housing assistance of a smaller amount in the past and now want to upgrade or expand their houses.
- The scheme will have a financial implication of around Rs 2,150 crore over a period of two years and it will be fully funded from the state budget.
- Under the Mo Ghara scheme, a beneficiary can avail housing loan of up to Rs 3 lakh that can be repaid in 10 years in easy instalments.
- The capital subsidy released to the loan accounts of the beneficiaries will result in a significant reduction in EMI for repayment and thus make the repayment more affordable.
- A family staying in a kutcha house or one pucca room with a concrete roof is eligible to get the loan under the Mo Ghara scheme.
- Families having four-wheelers or any member in government service or irrigated land of five acres or more will not be eligible for the loan.
Source: The Indian Express
Topic 3: Poor Performance of Lok Sabha
Context: The 17th Lok Sabha could become the shortest full-term Lok Sabha since 1952.
Details:
- Of all the Lok Sabhas that completed the full five-year term, the 16th Lok Sabha had the lowest number of sitting days (331).
- With one more year remaining, and 58 average sitting days a year, the 17th Lok Sabha is unlikely to sit for more than 331 days.
- This could make the 17th Lok Sabha the shortest full-term Lok Sabha since 1952.
- The terms of the fourth, sixth, ninth, eleventh and twelfth Lok Sabha were shorter than five years and so the number of sittings were fewer.
- The term of the fifth Lok Sabha was extended for six years.
- In the 17th Lok Sabha, so far, 150 Bills have been introduced and 131 have been passed (excluding Finance and Appropriation Bills).
- The latest Budget session was the sixth shortest Budget session since 1952.
- The Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address was the only item discussed in the latest session.
Source: PRS Legislative Research
Topic 4: China announces plans to land astronauts on moon
Details:
- China plans to place astronauts on the moon before 2030 and expand the country’s orbiting space station.
- China’s latest announcement came against the backdrop of rivalry with the US for reaching new milestones in outer space.
- The US aims to put astronauts back on the lunar surface by the end of 2025 as part of a renewed commitment to crew missions aided by private sector players such as SpaceX and blue origin.
- The three crew onboard the China’s Shenzou-16 mission will replace a crew that has been on the orbiting station since last 6 months.
- The overall goal is to achieve China’s first manned landing on the moon by 2030 and carry out lunar scientific exploration and related technological experiments.
- China’s first manned space mission in 2003 made it the third country after the USSR and the US to put a person into space.
- China in the past successfully launched uncrewed missions to the moon which included a rover. China has also sent a rover to Mars.
- China built its own space station after it was excluded from the international Space station largely due to US’s objections.
Source: The Indian Express
Topic 5: Sabang port
Context: India and Indonesia have completed a joint feasibility study on the development of strategically valuable Sabang port.
Details:
- Sabang port is roughly 700 km from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- It is located in the Aceh, province of Indonesia.
- The successful development of Sabang Port would allow India easier access to the Malacca Straits.
- Malacca Straits is a narrow stretch of the sea between Indonesia and Malaysia and one of six chokepoints along the world’s maritime trading routes.
- A substantial chunk of the world’s good trade passes through the Malacca Straits.
- The vast majority of China’s imports of energy also passes through this straight.
- Therefore, developing the Sabang Port could bolster India’s military position vis-a-vis China in the Indian Ocean.
- The possible military use for Sabang spurred a flurry of speculation about the strategic uses of the port for India.
- This development comes amid growing interest in infrastructure development projects in Indonesia from Indian firms.
- Besides seeking opportunities in building Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara, Indian companies are also currently in talks to develop a port in Western Sumatra.
Source: Live Mint
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1. Retrieval of Kohinoor
- Kohinoor left Indian shores in the early 1850s and is currently embedded in the crown of the British monarch.
- The retrieval of Kohinoor is a contentious since it was surrendered by Maharaja Dalip Singh as part of the 1849 peace treaty with the British.
- Under the provisions of the Antiquities and Art Treasure Act, 1972 the Archaeological Survey of India takes up the issue of retrieval of only such antiquities that have been illegally exported out of the country.
- Therefore, India does not have legal competence to demand the return of the diamond.
- The only available recourse is diplomatic negotiations with the United Kingdom.
- A combined reading of Articles 7 and 15 of the 1970 UNESCO convention indicates that the convention does not prevent state parties from entering special agreements for the restitution of removed cultural properties.
2. Mig -29K and INS Vikrant
- An Indian Navy MiG-29K fighter jet made the maiden night landing on the indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
- It is an important step towards the warship becoming fully operational along with its air wing.
- The Mikoyan MiG-29K is a Russian all-weather carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft developed in the late 1980s.
- INS Vikrant (IAC-1) is the first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier of India.
- INS Vikrant has been constructed by Cochin Shipyard.
3. Mission LiFE
- LiFE means ‘LiFEStyle for Environment’.
- LiFE was launched by Prime Minister Modi in Oct, 2020 at Kevadia, Gujarat.
- Mission LiFE focuses on bringing about behaviour changes in individuals for combatting climate change.
- The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the nodal ministry for national-level coordination and implementation of Mission LiFE.