Governance
DGFT Trade Facilitation App

Relevance IN -Prelims (about DGFT ‘Trade Facilitation' Mobile App) + Mains ( GS II government policies and intervention + governance)
What's the NEWS

• Commerce & Industry Minister launched DGFT ‘Trade Facilitation' Mobile App for promoting ease of doing business and providing quick access to information to importers/exporters.

Ease of doing business (benefits)

• In the post-covid world, tech-enabled governance will play a key role in determining India's growth and competitiveness.
• A Single-window approach has enabled tech transformation of service delivery in India.
• It has liberated last-mile beneficiary from location based constraints, and enhanced ease of doing business
• Progress in technology helps develop the economy and strengthen Indian firms in the competitive global market.
• The new Trade Facilitation App is a step in the right direction as it provides easy, omni-channel access to various trade related processes and enquiries at the touch of button.
• DGFT is standing up for businesses as a true leader with e-issuance of certificates, QR scan process to validate documents.
• It will reduce transaction cost and time for imports and exports related processes, and usher in transparency. He said that ‘Trade Facilitation Mobile App' is a symbol of India's idea of Aatmanirbharta

Trade facilitation App is READY for Industry 4.0, as it provides

• Real-time trade policy updates, notifications, application status alert, tracking help requests
• Explore item-wise Export-Import policy & statistics, Track IEC Portfolio
• AI-based 24*7 assistance for trade queries
• DGFT services made accessible to all
• Your Trade Dashboard accessible anytime &anywhere

The new Mobile App of DGFT provides the following features for ease of the exporters and importers -

• Real-time Trade Policy Updates and Event Notifications
• Your Trade Dashboard Anytime Anywhere
• Access all services offered by DGFT in App
• Explore Item-wise Export-Import Policy and Statistics
• 24x7 Virtual Assistance for Trade Related Queries
• Track your IEC Portfolio - IEC, Applications, Authorizations
• Real-time Alerts on status of applications
• Raise and track help requests in real-time
• Share Trade Notices, Public Notices easily

The App will be available on Android and iOS platforms.
It has been developed by the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS),as per the directions of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

NITI Aayog
Indo-Danish bilateral Green strategic partnership

Relevance IN -Prelims (about Indo-Danish bilateral Green strategic partnership -recent highlights) + Mains ( GS II bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS

• As part of Indo-Danish bilateral Green strategic partnership, India is all set to take a giant leap towards building a world class innovation ecosystem as Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) of India's premier policy think tank NITI Aayog and Embassy of Denmark to India officially announced their collaboration.
• Under this ambitious partnership,Innovation Center Denmark in India will collaborate with AIM to support various current and future initiatives of AIM, NITI Aayog and its beneficiaries in India as well as develop global innovation Green economy partnerships addressing SDG goals.

Statement of Intent (SoI)

• The purpose of SoI is to jointly work towards promoting innovation and entrepreneurship amongst the aspiring entrepreneurs.
• The partnership would be executed through Innovation Center Denmark (ICDK) under the aegis of Embassy of Denmark.
• It stressed on three key and crucial points Water, Women, and the World.
• Denmark and India recently identified 10 innovations through the water innovation challenge that was organised in collaboration with AIM.
• The 10 innovations would play a crucial role in solving water issues and many such innovation collaborations should be taken up through this partnership to address a wide range of issues.
• The collaborations would also allow Danish innovations to work on addressing water issues faced in India
• NITI Aayog's recently launched water challenge with Innovation Center Denmark (ICDK) and the Denmark Technical University (DTU) was also great success and has resulted in a strong relationship with Denmark."
• The 10 innovation teams identified in the challenge are being provided support to develop their products through partners onboarded specifically for the purpose.
• The Indian teams along with their peers from 5 countries will now participate in the global finals to be held in May 2021.
• AIM and ICDK have previously collaborated to host AIM-ICDK Water challenge and the SoI between the two would pave the way for such future collaborations that allow innovation exchanges between two countries.

The Green Strategic Partnership

• It is a mutually beneficial arrangement to advance political cooperation, expand economic relations and green growth, create jobs and strengthen cooperation on addressing global challenges and opportunities; with focus on an ambitious implementation of the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• Under the Green Strategic Partnership, India and Denmark will cooperate through relevant Ministries, institutions and stakeholders.

Prelims Factoids
Upcoming festivals 'Ugadi, Gudi Padava, Chaitra Sukladi, Cheti Chand, Vaisakhi, Vishu, Puthandu, Vaishkhadi and Bohag Bihu'

Relevance IN -Prelims ( about these festivals -location)
What's the NEWS

• The Vice President has greeted the people of the nation ahead of the upcoming festivals ‘Ugadi, Gudi Padava, Chaitra Sukladi, Cheti Chand, Vaisakhi, Vishu, Puthandu, Vaishkhadi and Bohag Bihu'.

Know! about these festivals ( location)

• These festivals mark the beginning of traditional New Year and reflect our country's composite culture and rich heritage.
• People of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana call it 'Ugadi', and in Karnataka, it is ‘Yugadi'.
• In Maharashtra, it is celebrated as ‘Gudi Padwa', and in Tamil Nadu, it is observed as ‘Puthandu'.
• In Malayali it is celebrated as ‘Vishu' in Kerala, Punjab sways to the festivities of ‘Vaisakhi' and in Odisha, it is called ‘Pana Sankranthi'.
• In West Bengal, ‘Poila Boishakh' ushers in the new year and in Assam, 'Bohag Bihu' marks the beginning of the new year.
• The names differ but the festive spirit suffused with joy, hope and togetherness remains the same.
• Our religious text and scriptures are full of incidents showing our reverence towards Mother Nature.
• The harvest season in our country is itself an occasion to celebrate the vitality and abundance of nature.

Defence
Exercise Shantir Ogrosena -2021

Relevance IN -Prelims (about SHANTIR OGROSENA-2021)
What's the NEWS

• Exercise SHANTIR OGROSENA-2021, a 10 day long multinational military exercise culminated today at Bangabandhu Senanibas (BBS),Bangladesh.
• Troops from four countries participated in this exercise with observers from USA, UK, Russia, Turkey, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Singapore.

Know! more about the exercise

• The aim of the exercise was to strengthen defence ties and enhance interoperability amongst neighbourhood countries to ensure effective peace keeping operations.
• The Armies of all participating nations shared their wide experiences and enhanced their situational awareness through robust information exchange platforms.
• The exercise culminated with a validation phase and closing ceremony organised on the theme of Robust Peace Keeping Operations jointly undertaken by contingents of Indian Army, Royal Bhutanese Army, Sri Lankan Army and Bangladesh Army, preceded by an Army Chiefs Conclave.
• The contingents displayed highest standards of professionalism during the exercise and also displayed their skills in volleyball, firing and cultural activities.

NITI Aayog
CSIR adopts 295 Atal Tinkering Labs established by Atal Innovation Mission nationwide

Relevance IN -Prelims (about the collaboration between Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) + Mains ( GS III awareness in the field of science and technology)
What's the NEWS

• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog's flagship 295 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) were officially adopted today by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) across the country in an ambitious step towards inculcating scientific research and innovation culture among students.

Know! the benefits of getting adopted by CSIR

• CSIR with their 36 labs have adopted 295 ATLs and their students across the country.
• This is going to be a path breaking opportunity for young innovators across India to learn from the best minds and scientists of the nation.
• The opportunity will enable innovative students to become living inspirations for their school, families, and local communities.
• CSIR will be nominating top research scholars and scientists who will mentor each of the ATLs and act as resource persons.
• AIM and CSIR will also conduct a series of webinars for students on various topics related to scientific and technological concepts, ideas or societal issues.
• This partnership with CSIR is a crucial landmark achievement for Atal Innovation Mission spurring STEM research and innovation collaborations with public and private organizations playing a pivotal role.
• This collaboration with CSIR will add great impetus to the opportunities provided by ATLs to young school students in the country by providing access to the latest technologies and scientific research through the CSIR labs
• CSIR has always been connected with the people of India through its innovations, science and technology and through its flagship "JIGAYASA" program has connected to more than 3 lakh students in the past few years.
• CSIR has significant capability with CSIR labs in every zone can connect in regional languages in the country and become local ambassadors.
• AIM can become a partner is CSIRs Virtual Lab initiative under JIGAYSA 2.0 program which has been taken up by CSIR as desired by Hon'ble PM.
• This partnership can leverage the innovation strength of AIM and the R&D capability and capacity of CSIR for the benefit of the youth of the country.
• This partnership with AIM offers us the opportunity to expand our connect to the student community even further,".

Environment
Dolphin boom in Odisha's Chilika lake
Relevance IN -Prelims (about Chilika lake + about Irrawaddy dolphin + Humpback dolphins +Bottlenose dolphins)
What's the NEWS

• The population of dolphins in Chilika, India's largest brackish water lake, and along the Odisha coast has doubled this year compared with last year.
• The wildlife wing of the State Forest and Environment Department released the final data on the dolphin census conducted in January and February this year, indicating a spectacular growth in numbers.
• Divided into 41 units, wildlife activists, academicians, Forest Department officials, NGO members, boat operators and researchers from the Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, participated in the estimation exercise.

Population estimation exercise for dolphins

• The population estimation exercise for dolphins and other cetacean species covered almost the entire coast of Odisha.
• Three species were recorded during the census, with 544 Irrawaddy, bottle-nose and humpback dolphins sighted this year, compared with 233 last year.
• Wildlife activists are elated over the sizeable growth in the population of endangered Irrawaddy dolphins, which are mostly found in Chilika lake, jumping from 146 in 2020 to 162 this year.
• Apart from Chilika, 39 Irrawaddy dolphins were sighted in the Rajnagar mangrove division, though their number has come down from 60 in 2020.
• The highest growth has been noticed in the case of humpback dolphins. Only two humpbacks were sighted in the Rajnagar mangrove in 2020. In 2021, however, this population grew astronomically to 281.
• These humpback dolphins were not part of any riverine systems, so they cannot be identified as residential mammals. They were spotted travelling along the Odisha coast and the number is likely to fluctuate in the next census

The Irrawaddy dolphin

• It is a euryhaline species of oceanic dolphin found in discontinuous subpopulations near sea coasts and in estuaries and rivers in parts of the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia.
• Irrawaddy dolphins are found in coastal areas in South and Southeast Asia, and in three rivers: the Ayeyarwady (Myanmar), the Mahakam (Indonesian Borneo) and the Mekong.
• Although found in much of the riverine and marine zones of South and Southeast Asia, the only concentrated lagoon populations are found in Chilika Lake in Odisha, India and Songkhla Lake in southern Thailand.
• IUCN Status - endangered

Humpback dolphins

• The humpback dolphin is a coastal dolphin that can be found along the coast of Africa and India south to Australia,
• There are four recognized species of humpback dolphins with very little overlap between their ranges: the, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin ,the Indian Ocean humpback dolphin ,the Atlantic humpback dolphin and the Australian humpback dolphin

Bottlenose dolphins

• Bottlenose dolphins are marine mammals that live in tropical and temperate oceans (oceans with mild temperatures) around the world. This includes the waters off the UK and Ireland,

Prelims Factoids
National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)
Relevance IN -Prelims (about INTACH)
What's the NEWS

• The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) leaders, intellectuals and academicians of Patna have opposed ‘proposal' of partial demolition of 130-year-old Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library in Patna as part of construction of an elevated road.

The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)

• It was founded in 1984 in New Delhi with the vision to spearhead heritage awareness and conservation in India.
• INTACH is a non-profit charitable organisation registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
• Today INTACH is recognized as one of the world's largest heritage organizations, with over 190 Chapters across the Country.
• In the past 31 years INTACH has pioneered the conservation and preservation of not just our natural and built heritage but intangible heritage as well.
• Headquartered in New Delhi, it operates through various divisions such as Architectural Heritage, Natural Heritage, Material Heritage, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Heritage Education and Communication Services (HECS), Crafts and Community Cell

Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library

• The Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, opened in 1891, located on Ashok Rajpath in Patna, on the banks of river Ganga has rare and rich collection of Urdu, Turkish, Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit manuscripts and books.
• The library has a reading hall named after Lord Curzon who had visited it in 1903 and was impressed with its rich collection of manuscripts.
• The library was founded by Khan Bahadur Maulvi Khuda Bakhsh, a landed gentry from Siwan district of Bihar.
• In 1969, the Government of India had acknowledged Khuha Bakhsh library as an institution of national importance.
• Presently, the library is an autonomous institution funded by the Union Ministry of Culture and governed by a Board with the Governor of Bihar as its ex-officio Chairman and representatives of Central and State governments as its members.
• The library currently has 21,000 manuscripts and 2.5 lakh books, with rare collections of Shahnama by Firdausi, Mughal miniature paintings, personal collections of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and princess Jahanara.
• It has also a copy of "Ode to Napoleon' penned by Lord Byron.

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