FCRA licence
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- Recently, the Home Ministry has cancelled the FCRA licences of the Delhi University, JNU and IIT Delhi, for failing to file annual returns for five consecutive years.
- Union HRD Ministry clarified that the institutions created through an Act of Parliament do not need an FCRA licence to receive foreign funds.
- Such institutions are exempted from filing returns as they are covered under the annual government audit.
Institute of National Importance (INI)
- INI is a status conferred to a premier public higher education institution in India by an Act of Parliament.
- It is conferred on an institution which "serves as a pivotal player in developing highly skilled personnel within the specified region of the country/state".
- INIs receive special recognition and funding.
- All IITs, NITs, AIIMS’, School of Planning and Architecture and Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research are considered Institutes of National Importance.
Snow Leopard
- Snow leopards had been listed as endangered since 1972 until the new upgrade.
- Now, it is upgraded to the category of ‘vulnerable’ in the recent assessment.
- The snow leopard is a large cat native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia.
- It is found in 11 countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
- These countries formed the Global Snow Leopard Forum (GSLF) and signed the Bishkek Declaration to acknowledge its importance as the indicator of the health and sustainability of mountain ecosystems.
- It is the State animal of Himachal Pradesh.
- It is found in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Trawl System
- DRDO has recently undertaken the indigenous development of Trawl System.
- Trawl System is employed for breaching of land mines and creating a vehicle safe lane, for the advancement of mechanized forces in combat zone.
- The indigenous development is an important step towards achieving self-reliance in area of critical military equipment under ‘Make in India’ initiative.
Cassini Space Craft
- After 20 years in Space, NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft has made its final death plunge in Saturn recently.
- It is a well planned demise to prevent any damage to Saturn’s ocean bearing moons Titan and Enceladus.
- Cassini was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida in 1997 and it arrived in Saturn in 2004.
- It is a joint NASA-European space agency mission.
- It is the fourth space probe to visit Saturn (pioneer 11, Voyager1, Voyager 2) and the first to enter orbit.
- Its design includes a Saturn Orbiter and a Lander called “Huygens” for the moon Titan.
- The European Huygens landed on Saturn’s big moon Titan in 2005.
- This was the first landing ever accomplished in the outer solar system.
Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar
- It is an award given by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
- It is awarded in recognition of outstanding suggestions given by a worker or group of workers resulting in improvement in quality, productivity and working conditions such as safety, health and environmental conservation in the industrial undertakings.
Source: PIB, The Hindu
