Current Affairs 11 February 2022

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 11 February 2022, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2021 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Malkangiri in Odisha named as Most Improved Aspirational District in NITI Aayog’s Delta Rankings for December 2021The NITI (National Institute of Transforming India) Aayog announced the five most improved aspirational districts in the field of Agriculture and Water Resources sector for Champions of Change Delta Ranking, December 2021. 

• Malkangiri (Odisha) secured first rank in the list followed by Chhatarpur (Madhya Pradesh)  held second rank in the list.

Top 5 Most Improved Aspiration Districts in Agriculture & Water Resources sector:

What is the Aspirational Districts programme?
i.It was launched in January 2018,  the programme is anchored by NITI Aayog. 
ii.The objective of the program is to monitor the real-time progress of 112 most under-developed districts across the country. 
iii.The ranking is based on the incremental progress made across 49 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) under 5 broad socio-economic themes – Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development and Infrastructure.
About NITI (National Institute of Transforming India) Aayog:
CEO- Amitabh Kant
Headquarters- New Delhi
Founded- 1 January 2015

India’s 1st Biomass-Based Hydrogen Plant Comes up in Madhya Pradesh

India’s 1st commercial biomass-based hydrogen plant is coming up in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh (MP) which is a joint venture of Watomo Energies Limited and Biezel Green Energy with an investment of Rs. 24 crore.

• The plant will produce a tonne of hydrogen per day, from 30 tonnes of biomass feedstock.It will also produce biochar and methane.

About Biomass:
Biomass is a renewable energy source from plant or animal material used as fuel to produce electricity or heat. The four types of Biomass includes wood and agricultural products, solid waste, landfill gas and biogas, and alcohol fuels (like Ethanol or Biodiesel).
About Biezel Green Energy:
Headquarters – Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh
i.Biezel Green Energy is a company promoted by Prof. Preetam Singh.
ii.The company operates with the technology, ‘thermally accelerated anaerobic digestion (TAD) reactor’ that can produce hydrogen, methane and biochar from biomass.Biezel Green is the technology partner.
iii.Biezel Green will own 50 percent in the joint venture and the other 50 percent will be from interested farmers.
Note:
i.Biezel Green also collaborates with Swaraj Green Power and Fuel Limited for putting up a biomass-based hydrogen-cum-biochar plant.
ii.Swaraj Green recently announced the set up of Asia’s largest ethanol plant that would produce 1,100 kilo litres of ethanol a day.
About Watomo Energies Limited:
Headquarters – Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh (UP)
Watomo Energies Limited, a partner of technology provider company Biezel Green Energy Private limited is a farmer-producer organisation along with consulting, marketing, implementation and project management company.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India ranks 3rd in 9th USGBC top 10 list of Countries outside of US for LEED in 2021; China Topsi.The US Green Building Council (USGBC) released the 9th annual ranking of top 10 countries outside of the United States (US) for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in 2021 in which India ranked 3rd with 146 projects. 
ii.It has been topped by China with 1,077 LEED projects certified in 2021, which is followed by Canada at 2nd position with 205 projects.
iii.The ranking highlights countries and regions outside the US that are doing good in healthy, sustainable, and resilient building design, construction, and operations.
About US Green Building Council (USGBC):
President and CEO– Peter Templeton
Headquarter– Washington, D.C., US
>> Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

NABARD launches ‘JIVA Programme’ to promote Natural Farming under its existing Watershed & Wadi ProgrammesOn 9 February 2022, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) launched the ‘JIVA programme’ to promote natural farming under its existing watershed and wadi programmes in 11 states. 
Objective: 
To  effectively implement the principles of agroecology long-term sustainability and transform the pre-existing social and natural capital towards efficient farming. 
Key points:
i.JIVA is an agroecology based programme, an amalgamation of several projects under the watershed programme of NABARD and will be implemented in 11 states covering five agro-ecological zones, which are in ecologically fragile and rain-fed areas.
ii.The JIVA programme will be implemented on a pilot basis in 25 projects across the 11 states covering five agro ecological zones with investment of Rs 50,000 per hectare.iii.Each project will be implemented in 200 hectares of land in every selected village, and the learnings from which will be used for further implementation to the whole village.
About National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD):

• It is a statutory body established under ‘National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act, 1981’.
• It is the apex banking institution to provide finance for Agriculture and rural development.

Chairman- G R Chintala
Founded- 12th July 1982 
Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra

Aditya Birla Health Insurance Signed a Bancassurance Partnership with Utkarsh SFBAditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Limited. (ABHICL), a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital Ltd., has signed a bancassurance agreement with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank (SFB) for the distribution of health insurance products across India through the Bank’s network.

• Through the agreement, the health insurance plans of ABHICL will be available for purchase to more than 2.7 million customers of the Bank across 642 branches in 214 districts spread across 19 states and 2 Union Territories in India.
• The bancassurance partnership will increase insurance penetration in India by enabling the ABHICL to reach the tier II and tier III markets with insurance solutions.
• Through the current partnership, ABHICL has 12 bancassurance partners with over 51,120 direct distributors across India.

About Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Limited. (ABHICL):
Establishment – 2015
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
CEO – Mayank Bathwal

BSE Gets SEBI Nod for Trading in Electronic Gold ReceiptsOn 9th February 2022 Market regulator SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) gave final approval to the BSE Limited (Formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) for trading in electronic gold receipts (EGR), a form of shares in demat accounts, that paves way for spot bullion exchange.

• The Finance Ministry has specified EGR as ‘securities,’ under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act 1956.
• BSE’s rival Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) plans to launch spot trading in commodities, especially bullion.

Highlights:
i.The spot bullion platform launched by the BSE will test its technology superiority since it will have the first mover advantage in the segment.
ii.Spot bullion will enable the common public, jewellers and others to purchase gold in an exchange platform instead of physical gold bars, with the transparency of rate and purity which is a matter of suspicion in physical shops.
iii.Recently, SEBI has issued framework for operationalising the gold exchange, wherein the gold will be traded in the form of EGRs.
iv.As per the rules notified by SEBI, entire EGR transaction has been divided into three tranches — creation of EGR, trading of EGR on stock exchange and conversion of EGR into physical gold.
v.To lower the costs associated with withdrawal of gold from the vaults, EGRs have been made ‘fungible’ and ‘interoperability between vault managers’ have been allowed.

• The gold can be bought and stored in vaults until physical delivery is demanded.

About BSE Limited:
It is Asia’s first & the Fastest Stock Exchange in world.
Establishment – 1875
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
CEO & MD – Ashishkumar Chauhan

Highlights of the Sixth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy of FY21-22
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) 6-members Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had met on 8th, 9th and 10th February 2022 and released its sixth bi-monthly monetary policy statement for FY22 (April 2021 – March 2022).
Policy Rates:
I.RBI kept the rates under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged (maintains status quo) for the 10th consecutive time i.e. it decided to continue with the accommodative stance to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and to revive and sustain growth on a durable basis.
II.The unchanged Policy rates are as follows:

a.MPC’s Assessments on growth and inflation:     
-Growth: India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection for FY23 is projected at 7.8 percent with 17.2 percent at Q1; 7.0 percent at Q2; 4.3 percent at Q3; and 4.5 percent at Q4.
-Inflation
i.Consumer Price Index (CPI)/Retail inflation was projected at 5.3 percent in FY22, with 5.7 percent in Q4.
ii.CPI inflation for FY23 is projected at 4.5 percent with 4.9 percent ast Q1 ,5.0 percent at Q2, 4.0 percent at Q3, and 4.2 percent at Q4.
-Enhancement of the Cap under e-RUPI from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh
Currently, RBI has proposed to increase the limit on amount for e-RUPI vouchers issued by Governments to Rs 1,00,000 per voucher and allow use of the voucher multiple times (until the amount of the voucher is completely redeemed).
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Establishment– April 1, 1935
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors– Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar.
>> Read Full News

SEBI restructured Advisory Committee on Investor Protection and Education Fund, now Chaired by G MahalingamOn 10 January 2022, the SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) restructured its advisory committee on Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF), under the Chairmanship of Gurumoorthy Mahalingam.
Highlights: 
i.The advisory committee on IPEF is an eight-member committee which will take G Mahalingam, former Whole Time Member of SEBI, as its new Chairperson.

• In 2013, the committee was established by the SEBI to find out ways and means to best utilize the investor protection and education fund.

ii.Earlier the committee was headed by Abraham Koshy, former professor of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Gujarat.
iii.The committee is mandated to recommend investor education and protection activities for utilization of the SEBI IPEF.
Members of Committee:
i.SEBI inducted new members in the panel including Vijay Kumar Venkataraman, Mrin Agarwal.
ii.A Balasubramanian  and M G Parameswaran will continue as a member of the committee.
iii.The committee also includes three SEBI Officials – GP Garg, N Hariharan and Jayanta Jash.
About Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI):
Founded– 12th April 1992 in accordance to SEBI Act 1992
Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairperson- Ajay Tyagi 

SBI partners with NSE Academy to offer  Financial Literacy CoursesThe State Bank of India (SBI)  partnered with NSE Academy to launch five online courses to promote financial literacy courses through NSE Knowledge Hub platform, an online Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) platform. 
Objective:
To  provide a deeper understanding of different aspects of bankings to banking professionals, students and other learners.
Key points: 
i.These courses are a mixture of  theory and operational aspects. It will provide an effective understanding of fundamentals of banking, compliance, lending norms and a host of other topics. 

• The courses also comprise real-life case studies and scenarios for learning.

5 courses curated by SBI:   

• “Banking Fundamentals” which provides basic banking knowledge.
• “MSME Lending in a Nutshell”, that is designed especially for SME (Small Medium Enterprises) entrepreneurs, Banking professionals.
• “Electronic Payment System in India”, it  offers basic information on electronic and digital payment systems.
• “Priority Sector Lending Norms”  provides insights into the significance of Priority sector lending and guidelines
• “NRI Business & Compliance”, it  empowers learners with knowledge of rules and regulations governing NRI (Non Resident Indian)  Business and compliance.

 Note – SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active–Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) portal by the Indian government is the World’s Largest MOOC platform. 
About State Bank of India (SBI):
Chairperson- Dinesh Kumar Khara
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Founded- 1 July 1955

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS        

Atal Tunnel officially recognised as ‘Longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 feet’ by World Book of Records

On February 9, 2022, the World Book (WB) of Records United Kingdom (UK) has officially certified Atal Tunnel as the World’s Longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 Feet (~3048 Meters) from the Mean Sea Level (MSL). This recognition was given during a ceremony in New Delhi. The award for the same was received by Lieutenant General Rajeev Chaudhry, Director General of Border Roads (DGBR).
About Atal Tunnel:
Constructed by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) connecting Manali, Himachal Pradesh (HP) to the Lahaul-Spiti Valley in HP, this 9.02 kilometer long tunnel worth Rs 3300 crores was inaugurated by Prime Minister (PM) of India Narendra Modi in Manali on October 3, 2020.

• It has reduced the distance on Manali-Sarchu road by 46 km and travel time by four to five hours, providing all-weather connectivity on the Manali – Leh axis.
• It is built in Pir Panjal Range of Himalayas.
• It is also the world’s longest and highest motorable tunnel running across the 13,050 ft high Rohtang Pass.

World Book of Records UK is an organisation that catalogues and verifies extraordinary records across the world with authentic certification.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS       

Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit Appointed as the 1st Woman Vice Chancellor of JNU

Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, a political science professor at Savitribai Phule Pune University in Maharashtra, was appointed as the first woman Vice-Chancellor(VC) of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, Delhi, for a period of 5 years. 

• President Ram Nath Kovind, who is Visitor to JNU, has approved the appointment of Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit as the 13th VC of JNU.

She succeeds M Jagadesh Kumar, who was serving as the Acting VC of JNU after his 5-year term as VC ended in 2021. He was appointed as the chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Professor Dinesh Prasad Saklani Appointed as New Director of NCERT

Dinesh Prasad Saklani, Professor of history at the Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna(HNB) Garhwal University, Srinagar, Uttarakhand has been appointed as the new Director of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Education (MoE), for 5 years or till he attains the age of 65 years, whichever is the earliest. 

• He succeeds Hrushikesh Senapaty, who has served as the director of NCERT from 2015 to 2020. 
• As the new Director of NCERT, Dinesh Prasad Saklani will oversee the drafting of the new National Curriculum Framework (NCF), which will formulate the guidelines for the changes in the curriculum.
• He has been honoured with the Distinguished Academy Award by Punjab Kala and Sahitya Academy, Jalandhar for Historical writing in 2005.  

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS  

RNEL Buys Additional 10.37% Stake in Sterling & Wilson RenewableReliance New Energy Limited (RNEL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries (erstwhile Reliance New Energy Solar Limited), has acquired an additional 10.37% stake in Sterling & Wilson Renewable Energy Limited (SWREL), formerly known as Sterling & Wilson Solar Limited for Rs.738 crore from its promoters.

• The promoters include Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Private Limited (1.53 crore equity shares of SWREL) and Khurshed Daruvala (42.86 lakh equity shares of SWREL).
• After the acquisition, RNEL holds 40.00% of the total paid-up equity share capital of SWREL which is an aggregate of 19667750 equity shares of face value of INR 1 each.

Other Investments by Reliance Industries:
i.RNEL signed definitive agreements to acquire United Kingdom (UK)-based sodium-ion battery technology company Faradion for an enterprise value of 100 million pounds.

• Reliance will use this technology at its proposed energy storage giga-factory, the world’s largest refining complex in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

ii.Reliance industries plans to build 4 giga-factories for making electrolyzers for producing green hydrogen, solar modules, fuel cells and storage batteries.
iii.Reliance has committed to invest USD 10 billion in sustainable energy initiatives over 3 years.Reliance also plans to install 100 GW solar capacity by 2030.
About Sterling & Wilson Renewable Energy Limited (SWREL):
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman & Non Executive Director – Khurshed Yazdi Daruvala
CEO (Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe) – Chandra Kishore Thakur      

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Vijay Raghavan launched Beta Version of Swarajability, India’s 1st AI-based platform for specially-abled jobseeker

A beta version of Swarajability, India’s 1st job portal powered by artificial intelligence (AI) for specially-abled jobseekers has been launched by Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Union Government .

• The portal is developed by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad, Telangana in association with Youth4Jobs, Visual Quest and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.
• Swarajability helps people/ job seekers with disabilities acquire relevant skills and find jobs after analyzing their profiles.

Key Points:
i.As a part of quadruple partnership, IIT-H offers its expertise in AI, Visual Quest India has developed the platform. Youth4Jobs provides skilling services to the jobseekers while Kotak Mahindra Bank project is funding this project.
ii.Notably, there are 21 million persons with disabilities in India, out of which about 70% are either unemployed or underemployed. This project will aid them in getting employment opportunities.
Note – Right to PwD Act 2016 for the first time highlights the right of a person with a disability (PwD) to education and employment.

Astronomers confirmed Earth’s 2nd Trojan asteroid 2020 XL5, will share its orbit for next 4,000 years

An International team of astronomers led by researcher Toni Santana-Ros, from the University of Alicante and the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) have confirmed the existence of a second Earth Trojan that was discovered by the Pan-STARRS S1 telescope in Hawaii survey in 2020 and is named 2020 XL5.  It is a 1.18 km wide near-earth asteroid (NEO) that is expected to stay in orbit for the next 4,000 years before deviating away. 

• The results of the study have been published in the journal Nature Communications.
• The newly found Earth Trojan is more than 1/2 mile (1 kilometer) in size. It’s less than 1,300 feet (400 meters) across.
• The first known Earth Trojan asteroid was 2010 TK7, just about 0.3 km wide, and discovered in 2010.
• 2020 XL5 is a C-type or carbonaceous asteroid, consisting of large amounts of carbon.

ENVIRONMENT

Researchers Spot New gecko Species in Western Ghats ; A New Species of spider & Millipede Discovered

A team of researchers has identified a new gecko species, named Hemidactylus easai  from the hills of Attappady, in the Western Ghats, Kerala that belongs to the genus Hemidactylus goldfuss 

• The team first spotted the Hemidactylus easai in June 2020 and the research was supported by a National Geographic grant and the Zoological Society of London.
• The research report was published in February 2022 in the Vertebrate Zoology,  a sci‍en‍ti‍fic journal published by the Museum of Zoology, Dresden, Germany,

About the New Species:
i.The new species has been named Hemidactylus easai after the former director of the Kerala Forest and Research Institute (KFRI) and wildlife conservationist PS Easa.
ii.The gecko measures 105 mm from snout to vent (10.5 cm) and is a light brown to grey in colour.

• Generally, Geckos don’t pose a threat to human habitation and they play an important role in controlling the insect population

Note on Genus Hemidactylus goldfuss :
i.The genus Hemidactylus goldfuss has 180 species of geckos distributed across the globe and India has 48.
ii.Kerala has over 30 species of gecko including this new species, out of which 9 are under the Hemidactylus genus.

• Only two large-bodied species — Hemidactylus prashadi and Hemidactylus paaragowli — are known from Kerala.

— New Species of Spider and Millipede were Discovered
A team, led by researchers of Department of Zoology, Christ College, Irinjalakuda, discovered a new species of spider from the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala and a new species of millipede from the University of Calicut campus, Thenhipalam, Kerala.
About New Spider Species:
i.Carrhotus tholpettyensis, the new species of spider, named after the moist deciduous forest range Tholpetty of the wildlife sanctuary in Western Ghats, Kerala.
ii.This finding is published in the latest volume of international scientific journal Arthropoda Selecta published from Russia.
Features:
i.It is a nocturnal jumping spider that retreats to hide under leaves during day time and comes out only at night for feeding.

• Until now, 287 species of jumping spiders are reported from India.

ii.The length of its female is 6 mm and male is 5 mm and both male and female have dark bodies with scattered white spots and crescent marks.
About New millipede Species:
i.The new species of millipede has been named as Delarthrum anomalans and it belongs to the family Paradoxosomatidae, a group of minute millipedes.
ii.This research of new species has been published in the current volume of the taxonomic science journal Zootaxa.
Features:
i.Its length ranges up to 17 mm in male and 15 mm in female with a glossy dark body with light yellow coloured ventral side.
Until now, a total of 275 species of millipedes are reported from India.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Diplomat-Scholar Rajiv Bhatia Authored a New Book titled “India-Africa Relations: Changing Horizons”

Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia (Rajiv Kumar Bhatia / RK Bhatia), a Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies Programme at Gateway House, has authored a new book (his 3rd book) titled “India-Africa Relations: Changing Horizons” which explores the emergence and assertion of Africa as a significant actor and stakeholder in global affairs and the transformation of the relationship between India and Africa.

• The book is published by Routledge India. 

About the book:
i.The book also provides a detailed exploration of India–Africa partnership in all its critical dimensions. 
ii.The book describes the historical backdrop and shared colonial past to focus on and contextualise the evolution of the India – Africa engagement.
About Rajiv Bhatia:
i.Rajiv Bhatia joined the Indian Foreign Service(IFS) in 1972. 
ii.He has served as India’s High Commissioner to Kenya, South Africa and Lesotho, and as Ambassador to Myanmar and Mexico. 
iii.He has also served as the Director-General of the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) from 2012 to 2015. 
iv.He was also a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) from 2011 to 13.
Other books:

• India in Global Affairs: Perspectives from Sapru House (2015) 
• India-Myanmar Relations: Changing contours (2016) 

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Deworming Day 2022 – February 10

National Deworming Day (NDD) is annually observed across India on 10th February with an aim to eradicate intestinal worms also referred to as Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH), among children of age 1-19 years.

• The NDD is a Bi-annual round of deworming. Annually the 10th February and 10th August are observed as the National Deworming Day (NDD). 
• The 1st round of NDD is conducted in February and the 2nd round of NDD is conducted in August. 

Background:
i.The NDD is a Biannual initiative of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoHFW), Government of India that aims to ensure that every child in India is worm-free. 
ii.In February 2015, the MoHFW launched the NDD as a part of the National Health Mission(NHM) in 11 states/UT(union territories): Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Tripura. 
The first round of NDD was conducted in February 2015.
>> Read Full News

World Pulses Day 2022 – February 10 The United Nations(UN)’s World Pulses Day is annually observed across the globe on 10th February to create awareness about the nutritional and environmental benefits of pulses as part of sustainable food production.  

• The day offers a platform to celebrate the major role of the nutritious seeds, pulses, in addressing challenges of poverty, food security, nutrition, soil health and climate change.

The theme of World Pulses Day 2022 is “Pulses to empower youth in achieving sustainable agrifood systems”.
The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/73/251 on 20 December 2018 and proclaimed the 10th February of every year as World Pulses Day.
>> Read Full News

STATE NEWS

Telangana & British Council Signed MoU to Expand Higher Education Globally

The Government of Telangana and the British Council, an international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural exchange, have signed a 3-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to renew the partnership in education, English and arts. 
Objective:
To facilitate research between institutions and assist to expand higher education globally, to offer global opportunities for the youth of Telangana. 
Features of the MoU:
i.Under the extended 3 year MoU, the British Council has also signed an agreement with the Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad (RICH) to work closely to engineer new partnerships between universities, research institutions and centres of excellence in the UK and in Telangana. 

• The British Council will be the key knowledge partner of RICH, to facilitate partnerships between RICH and UK higher education institutions (HEIs) in aerospace, defence, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, food and agriculture.

ii.Under this MoU, the British Council and the Telangana Government will take part in the joint innovation or entrepreneurship initiatives such as sharing of best  practices and/or development of bespoke courses to develop relevant skills among the youths of Telangana. 
Note:
The MoU and the agreement were signed in the presence of Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary (IT & Industries), Government of Telangana; Ajit Rangnekar, Director General of RICH and Andrew Fleming, British Deputy High Commissioner to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. 
About Telangana:
Chief Minister–  K Chandrashekar Rao
Rivers- Godavari River; Krishna River
Lakes– Hussain Sagar; Osman Sagar

J&K Government Signs Pact with New Zealand for Transforming Sheep Farming Sector

On 10th February 2022 The Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) government signed a pact with New Zealand for the transformation of the sheep farming sector in the J&K Union Territory (UT).

• Objective – To improve farmer’s remuneration, transfer of technology in research and development, marketing and value addition of sheep products of J&K.

Key Points:
i.The agreement was signed through the virtual mode in the presence of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Navin Choudhary, principal secretary of agriculture production and farmers welfare department animal.
ii.The year 2022 marks the 70th anniversary of the commencement of bilateral relations between India and New Zealand.
Note: India’s wool and woollen industry is the seventh largest in the world and accounts for nearly 2 to 3% of total world production.
About Jammu & Kashmir (J&K):
Governor – Manoj Sinha
National Parks – Dachigam National Park, Kishtwar National Park, City forest (Salim Ali)
Wildlife Sanctuaries – Baltal-Thajiwas Wildlife Sanctuary, Gulmarg Wildlife Sanctuary 

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