Saksham Scholarship Scheme
- The scheme was launched in 2014-15, with the objective of encouraging economically weaker differently-able students to pursue technical education at Diploma and Degree levels.
- In other words, it aims to provide assistance to 1000 specially able children to pursue Technical Education.
- It is implemented by Ministry of Human Resource and Development.
- Other schemes of similar name,
| Project Saksham | Ministry of Finance | Its objective is to develop a New Indirect Tax Network (Systems Integration) of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). |
| Project Saksham | Ministry of Railways | It is a comprehensive training program for all employees of Indian Railways to boost productivity & efficiency |
| Saksham (Sanrakshan Kshamta Mahotsav) | Ministry Of Petroleum and Natural gas | It is an annual flagship event to create focused attention on fuel conservation through people centric activities |
| Saksham | Ministry of Rural Development | Capacity Building program - a training module that uses Remote Sensing and GIS tools for project planning and monitoring component. |
Seychelles’ coral reefs
- Coral reef restoration program is being carried out to save the coral reefs in Seychelles,
- The restoration project involves nurturing fragments of corals in underwater nurseries and then reintroducing them in to their natural habitat.
- Tiny coral fragments, once collected from the sea floor, are nurtured in tanks and then, transferred to an underwater “rope nursery” or improvised skeleton.
- The Seychelles in some areas lost up to 90% of its coral reefs in 1998 in an environmental event known as bleaching.
- In coral bleaching, the corals in warm water expel the colorful algae that live within their skeletons and they starve without their nutrients.
- “Super corals” were chosen for regrowth and transplanting as they were resilient to the recent 2016 coral bleaching.
- Click here to know about threats to coral reefs.
World Water Development Report
- UN calculated that an estimated 3.6 billion people live in areas where water can be scarce at least one month per year in its World water Development Report 2018.
- The WWDR is an annual and thematic report that focuses on different strategic water issues each year.
- It aims to provide decision-makers with the tools to implement sustainable use of our water resources.
- The WWDR is the UN-Water flagship report on water.
- This year’s report ‘Nature Based Solutions for Water’ report that focuses on nature-based solutions, such as China’s rainwater recycling, India’s forest regeneration and Ukraine’s artificial wetlands to improve the quality and access of clean water.
World Sparrow day
- World Sparrow Day is celebrated on March 20 every year.
- The objective in celebrating it is to educate people about the threat posed by polluted urban environments and the indifference of humans to house sparrows
- It also encourages the appreciation of common biodiversity, a change from the attention surrounding rare and exotic species.
- It is an international initiative by the Nature Forever Society (NFS) of India in collaboration with the Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France) and other national and international organization across the world.
- Nature Forever Society, generally referred to as NFS, is a non-governmental, non-profit organization devoted to conserve House Sparrows.
- House Sparrow has been listed as Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
Impact of Permafrost thawing
- A new study has found that the permafrost in the coldest northern Arctic is thawing at an unprecedented rate.
- Its continuous thawing could mean massive release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.
- Permafrost is soil that has remained frozen for years or centuries under topsoil that covers about 24% of the northern Hemisphere.
- It is formed in a climate where the mean annual air temperature is 0 degree Celsius or lesser which is found in Siberia and a few other parts of Russia, the Tibetan Plateau, Alaska, Northern Canada, Greenland, and parts of Scandinavia.
- It contains carbon-rich organic matter, including the remains of plants and animals that died and froze without decaying.
- Scientists estimate that the world’s permafrost holds about 1,500 billion tons of carbon, almost double the amount of carbon that is currently in the atmosphere.
International day of Happiness
- The General Assembly of the United Nations declared 20th March as the International Day of Happiness.
- This year’s theme is: Share Happiness — focusing on the importance of relationships, kindness and helping each other.
- The day is to recognize the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world.
- Also to highlight the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives.
- Click here to know about world Happiness report
Map of the Day
Africa – Water Bodies
- Lake Victoria is the world’s second largest fresh water lake and source of the White Nile.
- Lake Tana is the main reservoir of Blue Nile and also the largest lake of Ethiopia.
- Lake Chad is located in the Sahelian zone west central Africa at the conjunction of Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger.
Source: PIB, The Hindu, Business Standard
