1) Central Excise Day 2022: 24 February 2022
•Central Excise Day of India is celebrated every year on February 24. The day is being celebrated to honour the service of the Central Board of Excise and Custom (CBEC) to the country. The day is celebrated to honour the officers associated with CBEC and their services. The day is celebrated to commemorate the legislation of the Central Excise and Salt act on 24 February 1944.
2) PM CARE for Children scheme extended by the Centre till 28th Feb 2022
•The PM Cares for Children Scheme has been extended by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India till February 28, 2022. Previously, the scheme was applicable till December 31, 2021. A letter has been written in this respect to all Principal Secretaries/ Secretaries, Women and Child Development, Social Justice & Empowerment Departments of all States and UTs, with a copy to all District Magistrates/District Collectors.
To be eligible for the scheme, the child must be under the age of 18 at the time of their parents’ death, to be considered eligible for payments under this plan. All children who have suffered the following losses are covered under the scheme:
1.Lost both parent due to COVID-19 Pandemic,
2.Legal guardian/adoptive parents/single adoptive parent, from 11.03.2020, the day on which WHO proclaimed and defined COVID-19 as pandemic.
Those who are eligible can now be registered in the PM CARES for Children Scheme until February 28, 2022 via the website https://pmcaresforchildren.in.
3) GoI launches the “Janbhagidari Empowerment” portal in J&K
•The Central Government launched the “Janbhagidari Empowerment” portal in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in line with the government’s digital mission. The portal was hosted on a different server with higher bandwidth, in order to provide easy and ready accessibility to the general public.
•This intervention comes amid concerns related to the slow speed or bandwidth issues related to the portal. This has led to disenchantment among users despite its great value as an information platform. After the movement of this portal on a different server, it has started to open quickly enough, and thus the whole experience of visiting the portal has improved. About 70 thousand people have accessed the portal until now. With the increase in bandwidth, the portal is likely to receive more hits in near future.
4) Exercise Cobra Warrior 22: India to participate in multi-nation Exercise in March
•Indian Air Force will participate in a multi-nation air exercise named ‘Exercise Cobra Warrior 22’ at Waddington, in the United Kingdom from March 06 to 27, 2022. IAF Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas will participate in the exercise along with fighter aircraft of the UK and other leading Air Forces. Five Tejas aircraft will fly to the United Kingdom. IAF C-17 aircraft will provide the necessary transport support for induction and de-induction.
5) Union Minister Giriraj Singh releases Rural Connectivity GIS Data in Public Domain
•Giriraj Singh, who is the Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, has released the Rural Connectivity GIS Data in Public Domain. This data includes the GIS data for more than 8 lakh rural facilities which have been collected and digitised using the GIS platform developed for the PM-GSY scheme. Other than Giriraj Singh, other Union Ministers like Faggan Singh Kulaste and Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, were also present at the release event.
6) India Ratings decrease GDP growth at 8.6% for FY22
•India Ratings has revised downwards its GDP growth forecast for 2021-22 to 8.6 per cent from the consensus 9.2 per cent projected earlier. According to an India rating analysis, National Statistical Organisation (NSO) is likely to peg the FY22 real gross domestic product growth at Rs 147.2 lakh crore. This translates into a GDP growth rate of 8.6 per cent, down from the 9.2 per cent forecast in the first advance estimate released on January 7, 2022.
7) Sanjeev Sanyal named full-time member of Economic Advisory Council to PM
•Finance Ministry’s Principal Economic Advisor, Sanjeev Sanyal has been inducted as a full-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), the panel’s chairman Bibek Debroy announced. The appointment is for a tenure of two years. He had advised the finance ministry to devise economic policies during the pandemic. The EAC-PM is an independent body constituted by the Union government to advise the prime minister on economic matters.
8) Reliance Jio’s New Subsea Cable ‘India-Asia-Xpress’ To Connect Maldives
•India’s largest 4G mobile broadband and digital service provider, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. will land the next generation multi-terabit India-Asia-Xpress (IAX) undersea cable system in Hulhumale, Maldives. The high capacity and high-speed IAX system will connect Hulhumale directly with World’s major internet hubs in India and Singapore.
•On the other hand, the India-Europe-Xpress (IEX) system connects Mumbai to Milan, landing in Savona, Italy, and includes additional landings in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. While IAX is expected to be ready for service by the end-2023, IEX will be ready for service in mid-2024.
9) India to set up its first IIT outside the country in UAE
•The Indian Institute of Technology will establish its first branch outside India in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of the India-UAE trade deal signed. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed between the UAE and India will usher in a new phase of joint strategic cooperation in all sectors. The two nations will also set up an India-UAE cultural council to facilitate and promote cultural projects, cross-cultural exchanges and exhibitions.
•The two countries and realising the need to establish world-class institutions that encourage and support innovation and technological progress, the leaders agreed to establish an Indian Institute of Technology in the United Arab Emirates.
10) Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh becomes 100th ‘Har Ghar Jal’ District
•Jal Jeevan Mission has achieved the significant milestone of providing tap water to every home of 100 districts across the country. Chamba, in Himachal Pradesh, has become the 100th ‘Har Ghar Jal’ district, the fifth aspirational district to be covered under the initiative. The other four Har Ghar Jal Aspirational districts are Bhadradri Kothgudem, Jayashankar Bhupalpalli, Komram Bheem Asifabad (all in Telangana) and Mewat in Haryana.
•To translate Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of providing clean tap water to every home in the country by 2024, in a short span of two and half years and despite COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown disruptions, Jal Jeevan Mission, has provided tap water supply to more than 5.78 Crore rural households. As a result, today 100 districts in the country are enjoying the benefits of clean tap water supply and Jal Jeevan Mission is on track to fulfil the Government’s resolve to provide tap water supply to every rural household by 2024.
11) Dredging Museum ‘Nikarshan Sadan’ inaugurated by the Union Minister Sarbananda Sonawal
•Sarbananda Sonowal who is India’s union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and AYUSH has inaugurated Nikarshan Sadan” – The Dredging Museum at DCI campus in Vishakhapatnam. This museum displays models of different types of dredgers, vintage photos & historical milestones from the Eastern Port City of Vizag.
•Union Minister Sonowal also addressed the employees and stated that DCI is a very important organisation in the Maritime Sector. He also added that Dredging is very important for the existence of the port and in the competitive world.
•A presentation on the performance details and future plans of DCI was given by Dr. G Y V Victor (MD&CEO) and the Chairman, K Rama Mohana Rao, including other department heads.
•DCI is celebrating 45 years of its dedicated dredging services to the Nation’s ports, also coinciding with the “Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”.
Minister Sonowal also inaugurated skill development facility -Centre of Excellence in Maritime and Shipbuilding (CEMS) at an event in Visakhapatnam. The Visakhapatnam facility of CEMS has 18 state-of-the-art labs, covering each and every aspect of manufacturing.
