The EPI report ranks 180 countries on 24 performance indicators across 10 categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality.
EPI is a biennial report released by Yale and Columbia Universities along with the World Economic Forum (WEF).
India is at 177th place out of 180 nations, where as china at 120th position.
India's rank is attributed to poor performance in the environment health policy and deaths due to air pollution.
Jain Maha Kumbh
It is a ritual celebrated once in 12 years for Lord Bahubali in Shravanabelagola, Karnataka, (will be celebrated from Feb 17th to 26th 2018).
'Mahamastakabhisheka'(head atonement) will take place for the 57 ft-high statue of Lord Bahubali.
During this celebration devotees bathe the magnificent statue atop the Vindhyagiri hillock in accordance with Jaina tradition.
Lord Bahubali is the son of the first Jain tirthankara.
The statue was carved under the order of Chamundaraya, who was the Ganga Dynasty's minister and commander in 981 AD.
Shram Awards
Union Government has announced the Prime Minister’s Shram Awards for the year 2016.
Ministry of Labour and Employment announces Prime Minister’s Shram Award every year.
These are given in four different categories to the workers in the PSUs, Departmental Undertakings of the Central and State Governments and to Private Sector units employing 500 or more workers.
It is in recognition of the distinguished performance and for outstanding contribution in the field of productivity.
Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP)
JMVP was announced by union government to enable commercial navigation of at least 1500 tonne vessels on the Ganga River.
The project envisages the development of waterway between Allahabad and Haldia (NW-1) on the Ganga River.
It includes the development of fairway, multi-modal terminals, strengthening of open river navigation technique, conservancy works, and modern river information system.
The project is funded by the World Bank.
It is carried out by the Union Ministries of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation.
NW-1
The National Waterway -1 or Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system runs from Allahabad to Haldia which is about 1,620 km (longest in India).
It passes through West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and serves major cities and their industrial hinterlands.
It is an important constituent of the Eastern Transport Corridor of India.
This corridor along with NH-2 connects the National Capital Region (NCR) with the eastern and north-eastern states.
It will also be an important link to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and other east and south-east Asian countries through the Kolkata Port.
Saksham
Saksham is a capacity building program under the Ministry of Rural development.
It is a training module which focuses on the use of Remote Sensing and GIS tools for project planning and monitoring components like watershed, groundwater and geohydrology.
It is not to be confused with project Saksham of the Railway Ministry.
Project Saksham
It is the nation’s largest time-bound “Upskilling” exercise for its employees to boost their efficiency.
Under Project Saksham, all employees in each zone will be put through a week’s training in skills and knowledge relevant to their work area.
Geo-MGNREGA
Ministry of rural development has implemented Geo-MGNREGA.
It is a GIS based solution to visualize, analyse and explore MGNREGS asset related data.
Under this program, geo-tagging is being carried out in three stages viz. Before start of the work, During the work and On completion of work.
SECURE
The Ministry of rural development has adopted the Software for Estimate Calculation Using Rural Rates for Employment (SECURE).
It aims to improve quality of works through detailing of technical specifications, tasks and workflows.
All estimates under MGNREGS will be generated with the use of SECURE (software) from the Programme’s Management Information System with effect from 1st April, 2018.
