• 07 Feb 2022

Foundation Stone of Kalughat Intermodal Terminal on National Waterway-1 (Ganga River) at Saran, Bihar

Why in News

• On February 5, 2022, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stone of Kalughat Intermodal Terminal on National Waterway-1 (Ganga River) in Saran, Bihar. Along with this, he also flagged off the inland waterway vessel MV Lal Bahadur Shastri from Patna to Guwahati.

Key Points

• Kalughat Intermodal Terminal will be constructed on river Ganga in Saran district of Bihar at a cost of Rs.78.28 crore. The terminal with one berth will have a capacity of 77,000 TEU per year and the terminal is designed to handle container traffic.
• With the construction of this terminal, the pressure on road transport in North Bihar will be reduced and an alternative route will be available for the transport of cargo in this region, especially for Nepal.
• Inland waterways vessel MV Lal Bahadur Shastri is carrying 200 metric tonnes of food grains from Gaighat port in Patna to Pandu in Guwahati. It will reach the destination by early March 2022 via Bangladesh.
• The ship will travel on National Waterway-1 (Ganga River) via Bhagalpur, Manihari, Sahibganj, Farakka, Tribeni, Kolkata, Haldia, Hemnagar. Beyond this, it will cover a distance of 2,350 km via Khulna, Narayanganj, Sirajganj, Chilmari and National Waterway No. 2 of Dhubri and Jogighopa of Indo Bangladesh Protocol (IBP).
• The pilot movement of food grains on board from Patna (Bihar) to Pandu (Guwahati) will open a new door to the 'Gateway of North East' (Assam) and ensure uninterrupted waterway connectivity to the Northeast region through the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers.
• With this historic achievement, a new era of development has started for all the states of North-East India. This waterway will pass through those landlocked areas, which have been backward in terms of development for a long time. This waterway not only removes the geographical barrier in the way of progress in this area, but also provides a cheap, fast and convenient transport for trade and people of this region.

The Foundation Stone of the World's Third Largest Cricket Stadium was Laid in the Champs of Jaipur

Why in News

• On February 5, 2022, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot laid the foundation stone of the world's third largest cricket stadium at Chomp, Jaipur through video conferencing. BCCI President Sourav Ganguly also attended the event through virtual medium.

Key Points

• This stadium in Jaipur will be the third largest stadium in the world and the second largest in India after Motera in Ahmedabad and Melbourne in Australia. Its audience capacity will be 75,000.
• BCCI will give a grant of Rs 100 crore to the Rajasthan Cricket Association for the construction of this stadium.
• This stadium will be built in two phases in 5 years at a cost of about 650 crores. In the first phase, the capacity of 40 thousand spectators and in the second phase the seating capacity of 35 thousand will be developed.
• 11 cricket pitches, 2 practice grounds, cricket academy, hostel, gym, restaurant as well as conference hall will be constructed in this state-of-the-art stadium being built by the Rajasthan Cricket Association.
• With the construction of SMS Stadium in Jaipur, Barkatullah Khan Stadium in Jodhpur, the stadium being built in Udaipur and the International Stadium at Champ near Jaipur, Rajasthan will have four stadiums of international standard. It is noteworthy that the Rajputana Cricket Association was formed in Rajasthan in 1931. At present there are cricket associations in 33 districts of the state.

Startup Expo-2022

Why in News

• A two day Startup Expo-2022 was organized by the Entrepreneurship Cell of Maulana Azad Institute of Technology, MANIT Bhopal on 5-6 February, 2022. The expo was inaugurated by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Key Points

• Through this expo, the work was done to increase entrepreneurship among the youth of the age group of 17 to 25 years and to provide guidance for setting up startups. An Entrepreneurship Cell has been set up to connect MANIT students, entrepreneurs, investors and promoters from home and abroad.
• The Chief Minister has said that Madhya Pradesh will soon prepare a new startup policy and implement it. Apart from this, the idea of ​​Global Startup Investors Summit will also be taken on the ground. This year, efforts will be made to give Unicorn Startup status to at least two startups out of the startups established in Madhya Pradesh.
• It is noteworthy that unicorns are made with a market value of more than one billion dollars. At present, there are more than 80 unicorns in the country. Going a step ahead, Decacorn companies have also started setting up in India. Decacorn is made possible by a market value of over $10 billion.
• It is noteworthy that at present about 1800 startups have been established in Madhya Pradesh. Out of this, 40 percent of startups have been set up by women.

Virtually Launch of Project Mirai

Why in News

• On February 5, 2022, Omprakash Sakhlecha, Minister of Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises Science and Technology of Madhya Pradesh launched 'Project Mirai' virtually.

Key Points

• 60 students from 20 higher secondary schools of Javad block of Neemuch district have been selected to learn Japanese language in Project Mirai.
• In 'Project Mirai', 200 students of Javad block were selected whose skill test was done online by Infosys.
• After the test, 60 students were selected on the basis of merit, who will be given a Japanese language course by giving online and offline training of 2 hours daily in two clusters of Javad block from February 7.
• After this course, students will get the opportunity to go to Japan for graduation, where these students will get employment along with graduation.
• It is to be noted that 'Project Mirai' has been implemented as a pilot project in Javad region in collaboration with Infosys Spring Board and Construction Organization.
• The objective of 'Project Mirai' is to nurture Indo-Japanese entrepreneurs by imparting training in Japanese language to aspiring students of Neemuch district and encouraging them to pursue graduate studies in Japan.

About 28,000 Migratory Birds of 124 Species Sighted in Sultanpur National Park

Why in News

• Recently, Haryana's Sultanpur National Park (Wildlife) Inspector Rajesh Chahal told that 28,026 migratory birds have selected the National Park (Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary) located in Sultanpur village of Gurugram for nesting this winter.

Key Points

• He informed that 124 bird species have already come here, while Greater Spotted Eagle, Red Headed Falcon, Imperial Eagle, Common Kestrel, White Tailed Lapwing, Black Tailed Godwit have been sighted here after many years.
• Haryana Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) ML Rajvanshi informed that India is one of the most favorable scenarios for breeding and rearing of various bird species in particular seasons. The temperature of Haryana makes it a suitable landscape for migratory birds coming from the harsh climate of Siberia and other parts of the world.
• Rajesh Chahal said that between September and October, birds come from about 29 countries for winter migration and make their return journey by March. Migratory birds started arriving in the national park long before the onset of winter this year. The park is an ideal habitat for birds, so a large number of birds travel thousands of miles to this wetland every year to rest and feed.
• Every year, bird counts are done in the park to note the number of birds and species that come to the area. This helps in understanding the migration patterns and ecology of the park.
• During the recently concluded bird census on 30 January, for the first time in Sultanpur National Park, migratory birds like Greater Spotted Eagle, Red Headed Falcon, Imperial Eagle, Common Kestrel, White Tailed Lapwing, Black Tailed Godwit were sighted for the first time. .
• Sultanpur National Park has more than 600 species of fauna including birds, amphibians and butterflies. There are over 417 species of birds. Additionally, there are 16 mammal species, 40 species of butterflies, 16 reptile species and 5 amphibian species.
• Rajesh Chahal explained that the migratory birds that usually fly in the park can be classified into three categories: waders (birds dependent on water), ducks (slightly dependent on deep water) and warblers (prefers reeds).
• According to the State of India's Birds, 2020, of the 1,220 species of birds found in India, 280 are long-distance migrants, while 116 are subcontinental migrants and the remaining species generally live within the country's borders.

Documentary 'Postcards from Jharkhand'

Why in News

• On February 4, 2022, National Geographic presented a documentary titled 'PostCards from Jharkhand' in front of Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

Key Points

• There will be four different films in this documentary. First film Betla-McCluskieganj-Netarhat and surrounding areas, second film Giridih-Deoghar-Maluti and surrounding areas, third film Jamshedpur-Khunti and Seraikela and surrounding areas and fourth film Ranchi-Hazaribagh and It will be based on tourist places located in the surrounding areas.
• The Chief Minister also gave some of his suggestions to the representatives of National Geographic. Like preparing a coffee table book on Jharkhand tourism, so that through this information related to Jharkhand tourism can be shared with the people.
• In addition to Jharkhand mines and minerals, the people of Jharkhand especially tribals and their tradition, customs, art-culture, food and living with natural beauty, ancient historical heritage, archeological remains, heritage, megaliths, spirituality and adventure sports etc. The area is very rich. For example, a rock painting found in Isco village of Hazaribagh is said to be from two to five thousand BC, while a thousand-year-old rock painting has been found from the forest of Kozenga in Gumla district.

Narva's Treatment Raised the Water Level by 1.6 Meters

Why in News

• A recent government survey states that under Chhattisgarh's ambitious 'Narwa, Garua, Ghurva and Bari' scheme, the treatment of drains in the villages of the state has led to an increase of 1.6 meters in the groundwater level in wells and tube wells in the respective villages.

Key Points

• According to an official statement, 2,477 drains in the state were treated in the last three years. Remedies include construction of stop dams, soil boulder checks, gully plugs and brush hoods.
• An amount of Rs 614 crore was spent in the treatment works and the drains were revived across the state.
• The groundwater level in the villages through which these drains pass has risen between 0.20 to 1.60 meters, the statement said. Villagers having their fields on the banks of the drain benefited and are now able to go for double crops.