1) World Thinking Day observed on 22nd February
•World Thinking Day, originally known as Thinking Day, is celebrated annually on 22 February by all Girl Scouts, Girl Guides and other girl groups worldwide. The day is observed to think about fellow brothers and sisters around the world, address their concerns and understand the true meaning of guiding. The theme for World Thinking Day 2022 is Our World, Our Equal Future.
2) Government approved continuation of RUSA scheme till 2026
•The Ministry of Education has approved the continuation of the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) scheme till 31st March 2026 with an expenditure of 12,929.16 crores. The new phase of the scheme would support around 1,600 projects. Out of Rs 12,929.16 crores of expenditure, the centre will share Rs 8,120.97 crores, and the state will share Rs 4,808.19 crores.
•The new phase of the scheme has been designed to implement some of the recommendations of the New Education Policy (NEP). Under the new phase of the scheme, State Governments will support Gender inclusion, Equity Initiatives, Enhance employability through vocationalisation and skill upgradation.
3) Bharti Airtel joins SEA-ME-WE-6 undersea cable consortium
•Telecom operator, Bharti Airtel Ltd has announced that it has joined South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 6 (SEA-ME-WE-6) undersea cable consortium, in a bid to scale up its high-speed global network capacity and serve India’s fast-growing digital economy. It shall be anchoring 20 per cent of the overall investment in the cable system. Through SEA-ME-WE-6, Airtel will be able to add 100 TBps capacity to its global network. The telco will land the SEA-ME-WE-6 cable system in India at new landing stations in Mumbai and Chennai. Apart from Airtel, there are 12 other global members in the consortium.
4) India’s first Biosafety Level-3 mobile laboratory inaugurated in Maharashtra
•Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Bharati Pravin Pawar has inaugurated India’s first Biosafety level-3 containment mobile laboratory in Nashik, Maharashtra. The mobile laboratory will help to investigate newly emerging and re-emerging viral infections, by specially trained scientists from ICMR. The newly launched lab will be able to access remote and forested areas of the country, to investigate outbreaks using samples from humans and animal sources.
•Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pravin Pawar inaugurated the laboratory and said that the Biosafety Level-3 mobile laboratory is a significant value addition to the government’s efforts to strengthen healthcare infrastructure through the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission.
5) India and Oman begins Eastern Bridge-VI Air Exercise
•The Indian Air Force (IAF) and Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) have organised a bilateral air exercise named Eastern Bridge-VI from February 21 to 25, 2022 at Air Force Station Jodhpur in Rajasthan. Eastern Bridge-VI is the sixth edition of the exercise. The exercise will provide an opportunity to enhance operational capability and interoperability between the two Air Forces.
•Participation of IAF and RAFO in this exercise will promote professional interaction, exchange of experiences and enhancement of operational knowledge, besides strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries. Various senior dignitaries are planning to visit Air Force Station Jodhpur during this exercise.
6) Tata Power collaborated with RWE to develop offshore wind projects
•Tata Power has collaborated with Germany-based RWE Renewable GmbH to explore the potential for joint development of offshore wind projects in India. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed between Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power, and RWE, one of the world’s leaders in offshore wind. This is in line with Government of India’s announcement of achieving 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind installations by 2030.
•India is an unexplored and highly attractive market to develop opportunities for offshore wind as it has a large coastline of about 7,600 kilometres. RWE and Tata Power Renewable Energy possess complementary strengths and will enable the establishment of a competitive offshore wind market in India.
7) Madhya Pradesh: 48th Khajuraho Dance Festival begins
•Madhya Pradesh Governor, Mangu Bhai Patel has inaugurated the 48th ‘Khajuraho Dance Festival-2022’ at world-famous tourist destination Khajuraho on the occasion of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. The event will be organized till 26 February. This year a 5-km ‘Dil Khel Ke Ghoomo’ marathon was also organized under the banner of ‘Safe Tourism Project for Women’ at the event. It aims to create a sense of security among women in tourist destinations with the slogan ‘Hindustan Ke Dil Mein Aap Safe Hain’.
8) Himachal Pradesh gets 1st Biodiversity Park at Mandi
•Himachal Pradesh gets the first biodiversity park to make its contribution towards the conservation of endangered Himalayan herbs. This park is set to come up at Mandi’s Bhulah valley. With the cost of Rs 1 crore, the biodiversity park is set up under the National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS) by HP’s forest department. The aim of the park is to link tourism activities along with extending new opportunities for researchers to conduct in-depth exploration of various medicinal herbs found in the Himalayas that are on the verge of extinction.
9) Indian Railways Gives Glimpse Of India’s 1st Cable Stayed Rail Bridge In J&K
•The Indian Railways has shared new images of the country’s first cable-stayed bridge on the Anji river in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district. The under-construction Anji Khad bridge, part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, will connect Katra and Reasi areas through rail links. The bridge will stand at a height of 331 metres above the river bed – higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The total length of the bridge is 473.25 metres and it is supported by 96 cables.
10) Corbevax gets emergency approval for 12-18 age group by DGCI
•The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the Corona Vaccine Biologicals E Ltd’s Corbevax for children in the age group of 12 to 18 years. Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company Biological E Ltd said its coronavirus vaccine Corbevax, is also India’s third homegrown vaccine. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is being given to children aged 15 to 18 years from January 3.
11) IOC Athletes’ Commission re-elected Emma Terho as Chair
•International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’ Commission re-elected ice hockey player Emma Terho of Finland as its Chair and table tennis player Seung Min Ryu of the Republic of Korea as its First Vice-Chair. The commission also elected cyclist Sarah Walker of New Zealand as the second VC of the Commission.
•Emma Terho is a five-time Olympian and former captain of the Finland women’s ice hockey team. She will be the head of the Commission until the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
12) Winter Olympics Games 2022 in Beijing concludes
•The closing ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games was held on February 20, 2022, at National Stadium (known as the Bird’s Nest) in Beijing. The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, was held from 4 to 20 February 2022. The Games featured a record 109 events across 15 disciplines in 7 sports. The venues of the Games were distributed across three zones- Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou. The Presidency of the Games was formally handed over to Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, in Italy, to host the 2026 Winter Olympics.
