RAJASTHAN
65% work under MGNREGA for water conservation done
With focus on water conservation in the desert state, around 65 per cent of work under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is done to ensure conservation of water and plantation through natural resource management (NRM). At least 2,000-3,000 model ponds have already been built out of around 9,894 sanctioned under the scheme since last year.
Rajasthan accounts for 5% of the total geographical area in the country, but has just 1% of the total surface water in the country. Also, Rajasthan accounts for 18 per cent of the country’s population of cows and buffaloes.
Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written a personal letter to gram pradhans (sarpanch) requesting them to conserve rainwater for monsoon. Special gram sabhas were conducted in all gram panchayats (9,892) of Rajasthan to sensitise them (sarpanch) about water conservation on June 21 and June 22.
INTERNATIONAL
ADB sanctions 4 million USD to own members countries to contain CoronaVirus
Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a total of USD 4 million (about ₹29 crores) to help developing countries in Asia and Pacific to fight the outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Asian Development Bank will work closely with the World Health Organization.
The first tranche assistance was to strengthen the immediate response capacity in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
A private-sector loan of up to CNY 130 million (USD 18.6 million) to Wuhan, PRC-based Jointown Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd to enhance the distribution and supply of essential medicines and protective equipment.
World Wildlife Day is observed on 3 March
World Wildlife Day is observed on 3 March. The day aims to celebrate beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora. It raises awareness to conserve wildlife.
The theme of 2020 World Wildlife Day is “Sustaining all life on Earth”. The theme encompasses all wild animal and plant species as a component of biodiversity and the livelihoods of people. The observation aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals 1, 12, 14 and 15. It focuses to ensure sustainable use of resources, and on conserving life both on land and below water to stop biodiversity loss.
NATIONAL
Tourism Ministry launched multilingual Incredible India website
Union Minister of State (IC) for Tourism & Culture Prahlad Singh Patel launched the multilingual Incredible India website in New Delhi.
Ministry of Tourism revamped the multilingual Incredible India website design to provide more information about India’s tourist destinations, attractions, experiences, and where the value lies.
Incredible India 2.0 website aims to showcase the varied tourism products of India by providing visitors with relevant, personalized and contextual digital experience escalating tourism awareness, attraction, and opportunities.
Incredible India website project was launched by the Ministry of Tourism.
The promotional website aims to project India as a ‘must-visit’ destination across the globe.
The website now comprises of a plethora of information about 28 States and 9 Union Terrorists, around 165 destinations, 2700+ pages, along with multiple attractions.
The website was hosted in English and Hindi. It is currently launched in Chinese, Arabic, and Spanish to effectively engage the visitors across the web and social media platforms. It will be translated into global languages in the future.
Nomination dossiers of ‘Dholavira’ have been submitted for inclusion in the World Heritage List for the year 2020
The Government of India has submitted two nomination dossiers namely ‘Dholavira: A Harappan City’ and ‘Monuments and Forts of Deccan Sultanate’ for inclusion in the World Heritage List for the year 2020.
Govt of Madhya Pradesh has submitted the proposal of ‘Group of Monuments at Mandu’ in the year 2019.
The dossier was further forwarded to the World Heritage Centre (WHC) for completeness check.
Dholavira is an archaeological site in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District, in the state of Gujarat.
Historic city square in Jammu renamed as ‘Bharat Mata Chowk’
The historic City Chowk, the commercial hub in old Jammu, was renamed as ‘Bharat Mata Chowk’.
The renaming of the chowk drew mixed reactions from the people with most of them welcoming the decision but urged the JMC to focus more on development and cleanliness rather than changing names.
Every year people are hoisting the tricolour on Republic and Independence days in this chowk.
The starting point of the circular road near Panjtirthi in the city was named by the JMC as ‘Atal Chowk’ in the memory of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Dronacharya awardee athletics coach Joginder Singh Saini passes away
Veteran athletics coach and Dronacharya awardee Joginder Singh Saini, who groomed some of India’s finest track and field stars, died in Patiala.
Saini remained the chief national athletics coach for many years from the 1970s to 90s.
He became the chief coach of the then Amateur Athletics Federation of India in 1970.
Saini received the Dronacharya Award in 1997 for his contribution to Indian athletics.
He was the chief coach of the Indian athletics team which won 18 medals, including eight golds, at the 1978 Asian Games.
