Lakshadweep becomes India's First 100% Organic Union Territory

• Indian Island region, Lakshadweep becomes India's first 100% organic Union Territory in the country, and second in the country only after Sikkim. This comes after the UT received proper certifications and declarations under the Centre's Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (organic farming improvement programme)

• Synthetic chemical usage has stopped completely since 2005. There has been no shipment of chemicals and fertilizers to the island group for the last 15 years.

• Majority of the UT has already got certified under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP)since 2011.

• Implementation of Organic and biological methods in Agriculture.

• Usage of Organic inputs like compost, poultry manure, green leaf manure.

• Uniform Ban on sale, use and entry of synthetic chemicals for agriculture purpose is implemented since 2017 making the island chemical free zone.

About Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana:

• To support and promote organic farming, in turn resulting in improvement of soil health. Launched in 2015, is an extended component of Soil Health Management (SHM)

About Lakshadweep:

• 36 Islands
• Capital- Kavaratti
• Administrator - Praful Khoda Patel

NSDC Signs MoU with BYJU'S to Support Skilling of Teachers and Trainers

• The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BYJU'S to support the skilling of teachers and trainers. The partnership is as part of Skill India Mission.

• To empower teachers and trainers with skills and digital tools so as to make learning very effective, engaging and personalised for children and youth.

• As part of this partnership, BYJU'S will provide free access to its educational content and tools to help the teachers.

• Recently, NSDC has entered into partnership with Linkedln and the women's wing of FICCI to accelerate the digital skills training for youth and women. This will create a digital workforce in near future.

About BYJU's:

• Founder & CEO - Byju Raveendran

• Headquarter - Bengaluru, Karnataka

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju addressed the 10th Global Sports Summit, TRUF 2020 organized by FICCI

• Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju virtually addressed the 10th Global Sports Summit, TRUF 2020, organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). On that Occasion Minister made the announcement on the establishment of 1000 Khelo India Small Centres in the country.

• India's 1st virtual Global Sports and Fitness Exhibition, bringing together domestic and international buyers, sellers and service providers.

Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd Launches 3 in 1 Account(savings +trading+ demat)

• Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd(ESFBL)launched a 3-in-1 account(tripartite account), which comprises savings, trading and demat accounts for its customers. The account enables customers to hold all their bank and financial investments under one umbrella.

• Customers can invest in a wide variety of financial products using a single platform, as the bank provides brokerage and demat services through referral arrangements with brokerage firms for trading and depository services.

• Equitas SFB Ltd is the largest SFB in India in terms of number of banking outlets and it is the 2nd largest SFB in India in terms of assets under management and total deposits in Fiscal 2019,

• It is the 1st Private Sector Bank from Tamil Nadu to commence operations post Indian Independence.

About Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited ESFBL):

• MD and CEO- Vasudevan Pathangi Narasimhan (P N)
• Headquarters- Chennai, Tamil Nadu
• Commenced the business of SFB- September 5, 2016 Tagline- It's Fun Banking

IRDAI Standardised Health Policies For Robotic And Bariatric Surgeries

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has standardised all health policies for robotic and bariatric surgeries.

• The robotic surgeries minimises the trauma caused to the patient. India is the most preferred country to get high-quality treatment across the world. Bariatric surgery is also called as Weight loss surgery, or metabolic surgery.

Raj Kamal Jha for his Novel 'The City and the Sea' Wins 3rd Edition of Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2020

• Raj Kamal Jha, Indian Author and the Chief Editor of The Indian Express wins 3rd Edition of Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2020 for his literary fiction novel 'The City and the Sea'. This is Raj Kamal Jha's 5th novel.

• His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, late Sultan of Oman and The People of Oman and Sandip Soparrkar a renowned dancer choreographer from India named as the winner of Tagore Prize for Social Achievement 2020.

• The winners will receive a amount of USD 5,000 along with a Rabindranath Tagore statuette. The amount will be delivered in USD 1000 monthly installments & Rabindranath Tagore statuette will be awarded.

• The previous winners received USD 10,000, the amount was decreased due to COVID-19 pandemic.

About 'The City and the Sea:

• The novel is based on the December 2012 Nirbhaya rape and murder case

• It was published by Penguin Hamish Hamilton.

• Sandip Soparrkar from India named as the winner of this prize for his contribution to the betterment of society through his initiative 'Dance for a Cause'.

• He used dance as a medium to bring awareness on the values of the society, consequently serving humanity by alleviating global problems such as domestic violence, acid attacks, drug abuse, AIDS, cancer care, care for seniors, adoptions, and animal protection, etc.

About Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize & Social Achievement Prize:

• The annual Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize was instituted in 2018 to honour the legacy of Rabindranath Tagore by Peter Bundalo of US-based independent and non-profit publishing house Maitreya Publishing Foundation (MPF).

• In 2019, the prize was split into 2 fold as Literary Prize and Social Achievement Prize

• The Literary Prize is awarded to the finest in Indian literature.

• The Social Achievement Prize is awarded to recognise a person who has made a positive and lasting impact on society.

• Chair of the Awarding Committee and Founder of Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize- Peter Bundalo

Judo Practitioners Sabrina Filzmoser of Austria and Flavio Canto of Brazil Appointed as 'IJF Climate Ambassadors

• Marius Vizer, President of International Judo Federation (IJF) appointed Judo Practitioners(Judoka) Sabrina Filzmoser of Austria and Flavio Canto of Brazil as IJF Climate Ambassadors. They will help IJF to help to spread the message to save the planet.

• Recently, IJF has joined the UNFCCC's (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) Sports for Climate Action initiative as a signatory to the Sports for Climate Action Framework.

About Flavio Canto

• He won a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics that held in Athens and gold in 2002 South American Games held in Rio de Janeiro.

• He is the founder and president of the Instituto Reação.

• He is also the presenter of the TV shows Corujão do Esporte on TV Globo and Sensei on SportTV.

About International Judo Federation(IJF):

• President- Marius Vizer(Austria)
• Headquarters - Budapest, Hungary

DRDO designed submachine gun '5.56X30 mm JVPC' undergoes successful Trials

• 56 X 30 mm Joint Venture Protective Carbine (JVPC) designed by Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), a lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully finished the final phase of user trials. The Gun will now be inducted into the Indian Army

• Weapon is set to be manufactured at Small Arms Factory, Kanpur, and the Ammunition will be manufactured at Ammunition Factory, Kirkee Pune.

• JVPC is a Gas Operated Semi Bull-pup automatic weapon and is capable of firing around 700 rpm (rounds per minute).

• It has a range of 100 metres and weighs 3 Kilograms.

About Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE):

• Director - Dr. V Venkateswara Rao Headquarter Pune, Maharashtra

 AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy launches Jagananna Jeeva Kranthi' scheme - distribution of sheep, goats

• Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister (CM) Jagan Mohan Reddy virtually launched the 'Jagananna Jeeva Kranthi' scheme worth INR 1, 869 Crores for distribution of 2,49,151 sheeps, goats for improving the living standards of women.

• Women belonging to Backward Classes (BC). Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) in the age group of 45-60 years.

• Each Unit will consist of 15 Sheeps or Goats (5-6 months old 14 ewe lambs + 1 breeding ram or 14 weaned does + 1 breeding buck).

• They will be distributed in 3 phases - 20, 000 units till March 2021, 1.3 Lakh Units from April 2021-August 2021 and 99, 151 units from September 2021-December 2021.

• AP Government has signed into an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Allana Group for the procurement of sheeps and goats and also a platform for marketing the meat products, this platform will act as a market for the beneficiaries of the scheme.

• AP Government had also launched the distribution of 4.69 lakh units cows and buffaloes with 3,500 crore to strengthen dairy sector, taking to total of 5,400 crore.

• 2 training centres for the purpose of sheep breeding will be established in Dhone, Kurnool district and Penugonda, Anantapur district,

• Andhra Pradesh has signed MoU with Reliance, Allana Group, Amul, Hindustan Unilever, Procter & Gamble and ITC to empower the women beneficiaries of YSR Cheyutha and Aasara schemes.

• As part of MoU, Allana will establish Meat Processing units in East Godavari and Kurnool districts to help the beneficiaries.

Maharashtra Govt Signs MoU with Cornell University

• Maharashtra Govt signed a 1st of its kind Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with Cornell University, to set up a world-class incubation centre in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• This is also the first time for Cornell University to set up an incubation centre outside the US.

"Cornell Maha 60':

• Maharashtra Govt signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with XED Institute of Management (Asia Partner for Cornell) to Launch "Cornell Maha 60', an accelerator programme for entrepreneurs. It is a 1st of its kind program in India.

• Maharashtra government will invest Rs 7 crore in the programme.

• A financial provision of five crore rupees has been done from the Maharashtra Industrial Development Board. While the remaining fund of one crore rupees each will be allocated from the social justice department and tribal development department.

Purpose of Cornell Maha 60:

• To bridge the gap between entrepreneurs' current entrepreneurial capabilities and the demands of the contemporary startup ecosystem.

• To build the next generation of entrepreneurs in Maharashtra

• The centre is being set up on an experimental basis for 3 academic years in a 13,000 sq ft(square feet) facility at Reliance IT Park in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra

• The university will provide training to 60 entrepreneurs at the incubation centre annually.

UP government launches scheme for Tharu tribe

• Uttar Pradesh (UP) Government has launched a scheme whereby Tourists can live in the traditional habitats of Tharu Tribe.

• The scheme is aimed to create jobs, increase the economic independence of the tribal population and to put Tharu villages on Global Tourism maps. As part of scheme UP Government will connect Tharu villages in the districts of Balrampur, Bahraich, Lakhimpur and Pilibhit bordering Nepal along with the home stay scheme of the UP Forest Department.