UTTARAKHAND
Uttarakhand cabinet amends definition of deemed forest
Uttarakhand cabinet,amended the definition of deemed forest. Now, the state definition of a deemed forest is “a land patch of 5 hectares or more with 40 per cent canopy density”.
In November last year, the government had defined a deemed forest as “a land patch of 10 hectare or above with 60% canopy density and 75% native plant species”. This definition had raised the heckles of environmentalist who had accused the government of “favouring the builder lobby by defining deemed forests in such a manner that many actual forests will not be recognised officially as forests and therefore not require clearance by forest department for commercial activity.”
INTERNATIONAL
21 of the world’s 30 cities with the worst air pollution are in India
Twenty-one of the world’s 30 cities with the worst air pollution are in India, according to data compiled in IQAir AirVisual’s 2019 World Air Quality Report, with six in the top ten.
Ghaziabad, a satellite city of the capital New Delhi in northern Uttar Pradesh state, is ranked as the world’s most polluted city, with an average air quality index (AQI) of 110.2 in 2019.
The World Health Organization estimates that dirty air kills around 7 million people each year, while the World Bank says it drains the global economy of $5 trillion annually.
NATIONAL
First anniversary of National War Memorial
The first anniversary of the iconic National War Memorial in New Delhi is being observed on 25 February.
The National War Memorial commemorates the soldiers who made supreme sacrifice during the Counter Insurgency Operations and Peacekeeping Missions.
More than 25 thousand soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces have laid down their lives to defend the country’s sovereignty and integrity.
For the first time Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to the fallen soldiers at the National War Memorial instead of the Amar Jawan Jyoti on Republic Day this year.
Government amends provisions of Arms Act, 1959 and Arms Rules, 2016
Government has amended provisions of the Arms Act, 1959 and Arms Rules, 2016 to increase the number of firearms that can be kept by shooters and enhanced quantity of ammunition fixed for practice for the year.
The Home Ministry said, shooting is an important Olympic sport in India and Indian shooters have excelled in international competitions.
The Ministry has made provisions to provide adequate firearms and ammunition to the shooters for their practice.
As per the new rules, now international medalists and renowned shooters are allowed to keep additional weapons up to a total of twelve under the exempted category, which earlier was seven.
Through the amendments it has also been clarified that no license is required for Indian citizens for acquisitions, possession of small arms falling under the category of curio.
GSI discoverd gold deposits in Sonbhadra district
The Geological Survey of India (GSI) discovered gold deposits to the tune of around 3,000 tonnes in Sonbhadra district, Uttar Pradesh. The deposit is almost five times India’s current reserve of gold.
The gold deposits were found in Son Pahadi and Hardi areas of Sonbhadra district, Uttar Pradesh.
The British reportedly initiated the process of finding gold reserves in the Sonbhadra region first. Then, the project of finding gold began in 1992-93 by GSI. Auctioning of these blocks through e-tendering will begin.
The newly found deposit in Son Pahadi has been estimated to be around 2,943.26 tonnes and the deposit at Hardi block is around 646.16 kg.
Apart from gold, some other minerals have also been found in the area.
World Gold Council stated that India currently has 626 tonnes of gold reserves.
The new reserves have been estimated to be worth nearly Rs.12 lakh crore.
Sonbhadra is the second largest district of Uttar Pradesh. It is the only district in India, that shares borders with four states.
RBI’s new moto ‘cash is king, but digital is divine’
With ‘cash is king, but digital is divine’ moto, the Reserve Bank on said its endeavour will be to make digital payments a divine experience for the users.
RBI has observed over Rs 3.5 lakh crore reduction in the notes in circulation (NIC) post demonetisation.
NIC, however, was Rs 22,31,090 crore, indicating that digitalisation and reduction in cash usage helped reduce NIC by over Rs 3.5 lakh crore.
However, National air pollution in India decreased by 20% from 2018 to 2019, with 98% of cities experiencing varying levels of improvement.
Govt approves constitution of 22nd Law Commission
Government has formally announced the constitution of the 22nd Law Commission.
The law panel advises the government on complex legal issues and has a term of three years.
With the president giving his nod for the creation of the Law Commission, the government will now appoint a chairperson to head the panel and other members.
The chairperson usually is a retired Supreme Court judge or a retired chief justice of a high court.
Union Cabinet had last week given its nod to reconstitute the panel.
India will host the Commonwealth Shooting and Archery Championships in January 2022
India will host the Commonwealth Shooting and Archery Championships in January 2022.
The medals from the two events will be counted for ranking of competing nations at the Birmingham Games.
The medals will be added to the final tally one week after the conclusion of the Games.
The two events will be held in Chandigarh in January 2022 while the Birmingham Commonwealth Games is scheduled from 27th of July to 7th of August , 2022.
India also received wholehearted support from the International Shooting Sports Federation and World Archery, the global governing bodies of the two sports.
Ladakh all set to host first-ever Khelo India Winter Games
The Union Territory of Ladakh is all set to host the first-ever Khelo India Winter Games.
About 1,700 athletes of different ages, from Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh, will compete in the Khelo India Ladakh Winter Games at 10 blocks, district and then at UT level.
Under Khelo India, in the first edition of Winter Games in the country, the players will compete in ice hockey, figure skating and speed skating events.