Relevance IN - Prelims (about VidyaDaan and its objective) + Mains (GS II Governance, Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

What's the NEWS

• The Human Resource Development Ministry has e-launched VidyaDaan 2.0 program for inviting e-learning content contributions
• The objective is to obtain high quality content under VidyaDaan from expert teachers/individuals and organizations and contributing digital resources on DIKSHA.

Know! more about the Programme

• The programme has been launched due to the increasing requirement for e-learning content for students(both school and higher education) especially in the backdrop of situation arising out of Covid- 19 and also due to the urgent need to integrate digital education with schooling to augment learning.
• VidyaDaan is conceptualised as a common national program for individuals & organizations across the country to donate/contribute e-learning resources for both school and higher education to ensure continuity of quality learning.
• The content will be used on the DIKSHA app to help millions of children across the country to continue their learning anytime and anywhere.
• The DIKSHA Platform of MHRD has been operating since September 2017 with 30+ States/UTs leveraging DIKSHA for augmenting teaching and learning processes.
• VidyaDaan has a content contribution tool that provides a structured interface for the contributors to register and contribute different types of content (such as, explanation videos, presentations, competency-based items, quizzes etc.), for any grade (from grade 1 to 12), for any subject as specified by the states/UTs.
• Contributions can be made by educationists, subject experts, schools, colleges, Universities, Institutes, government and non-government organisations, individuals

Miscellaneous
Global press freedom index

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the index and its findings) + Mains ( GS II Governance/transparency/accountability - findings of the report to validate your answer writing)
What's the NEWS

• India has dropped two places on a global press freedom index to be ranked 142^nd out of 180 countries in the annual Reporters Without Borders analysis

Findings of the report (World)

• South Asia in general features poorly on the index, with Pakistan dropping three places to 145, and Bangladesh dropping one place to 151.
• Norway is ranked first in the Index for the fourth year running. China at 177^th position is just three places above North Korea, which is at 180^th.

Findings of the report (India)

• With no murders of journalists in India in 2019, as against six in 2018, the security situation for the country's media might seem, on the face of it, to have improved.
• However, there have been constant press freedom violations, including police violence against journalists, ambushes by political activists, and reprisals instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials
• It attributed the decline in index to "pressure on the media to toe the Hindu nationalist government's line."

Reporters Without Borders

• Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), or Reporters Without Borders, is a non-profit organisation that works to document and combat attacks on journalists around the world.

Prelims Factoids
Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiya
Relevance IN - Prelims (about Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan)
What's the NEWS

• The Gujrat government gave the green signal for the third edition of his government's ''Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan'' , a conservation plan to deepen water bodies in the state before monsoon.

Know! more about the scheme

• The scheme, which will continue till June 10, will see the deepening of lakes, check dams and rivers by removing silt, and it will be done with people's participation as well as under MNREGA
• It would create employment opportunities for the rural population amid the lockdown, adding that norms in place to combat the coronavirus outbreak will be adhered to while carrying out works under the scheme.
• The scheme was started in 2018 after a weak monsoon, and till date, the state's water storage capacity has increased by 23,000 lakh cubic feet due to deepening pf lakes, check-dams, rivers and reservoirs

Environment
World Earth Day 2020

Relevance IN - Prelims (about Earth day and about Earth overshoot day)
What's the NEWS

• On 22^nd April 2020, World Earth Day was celebrated across the globe via ‘digital means' amid the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.
• Earth Day 2020 will mark the 50^th anniversary of this holiday.
• Typically, Earth Day is assigned a different theme or area of focus each year; this year's theme is Climate Action.
• World Earth Day 2020 has been celebrated all over the world to spread awareness for Earth's wellbeing and to encourage people to support environmental protection.

World Earth Day 2020 - Digital celebration

• World Earth Day 2020 is all set to be celebrated digitally. People who plan on participating can join '24 hours of action' by going on the website.
• Every year, we see rallies, global pledges and campaigns to commemorate the landmark event, but not this time.
• The Covid-19 pandemic not only highlights the need to save the Earth and its resources, now more than ever, but has also taken celebrations online.

World Earth Day 2020 -Genesis

• World Earth Day has been celebrated as an annual event since April 22, 1970.
• World Earth Day is coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network (a US based international environmental NGO) and is celebrated in more than 193 countries.
• The day will celebrate its 50^th year when people all over the world will be taking an oath to protect and nurture the environment.

Additional Info.
Earth Overshoot Day

• Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity's annual demand on nature exceeds what Earth's ecosystems can regenerate in that year.
• Over the past 20 years, it has moved up three months to July 29, the earliest ever.
• On July 29 2019, humanity will have used nature's resource budget for the entire year
• This means that humanity is currently using nature 1.75 times faster than our planet's ecosystems can regenerate, equivalent to 1.75 Earths.
• Humanity first saw ecological deficit in the early 1970s. Overshoot is possible because we are depleting our natural capital, compromising the planet's future regenerative capacity.
• Earth Overshoot Day is hosted and calculated by Global Footprint Network, an international research organization that provides decision-makers with a menu of tools to help the human economy operate within Earth's ecological limits.

Defence
Project Chetak

Relevance IN - Prelims (about project Chetak + river Ravi + BRO)
What's the NEWS

• Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed and opened a new permanent bridge on the river Ravi connecting Kasowal enclave in Punjab to the rest of the country much ahead of its schedule.
• The 484-meter bridge was built by 141 Drain Maintenance Coy of 49 Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) of Project Chetak.

Know! about BRO

• The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) which comes under the Ministry of Defence develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas and friendly neighbouring countries.
• The BRO operates and maintains over 32,885 kilometers of roads and about 12,200 meters of permanent bridges in the country.
• The BRO operates in 18 Projects namely: Arunank, Beacon, Brahmank, Chetak, Deepak, Dantak, Himank, Hirak, Pushpak, Sampark, Setuk, Sewak, Shivalik, Swastik, Udayak, Vartak, Vijayak and sela tunnel.

Know! about Ravi River

• The Ravi River, a transboundary river of India and Pakistan, is an integral part of the Indus River Basin and forms the headwaters of the Indus basin.
• The waters of the Ravi River drain into the Arabian Sea (Indian Ocean) through the Indus River in Pakistan.
• The river rises in the Bara Bhangal, District Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, India.
• It is one of six rivers of the Indus System in Punjab region
• The waters of the Ravi are allocated to India under the Indus Waters Treaty.

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