PM Vishwakarma

• The scheme aims to strengthen and nurture the Guru-Shishya parampara or family-based practice of traditional skills by artisans and craftspeople working with their hands and tools.
• It also aims to improve the quality, reach of products and services of artisans and craftspeople and to ensure that the Vishwakarmas are integrated with the domestic and global value chains.
• Under the scheme, the artisans and craftspeople will be provided recognition through:
  • PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card,
  • Credit Support upto Rs.1 lakh (First Tranche) and
  • Rs.2 lakh (Second Tranche) with a concessional interest rate of 5%.
• The scheme will further provide skill upgradation, toolkit incentive, incentive for digital transactions and marketing support.
• The scheme was announced in the Budget 2023-2024.
• 18 traditional trades will be covered in the first instance under PM Vishwakarma, which are:

PM-eBus Sewa

Recently the Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved a bus scheme “PM-eBus Sewa” for augmenting city bus operation by 10,000 e-buses on PPP model

• The scheme will promote e-mobility and augments city bus operations.
• The scheme will cover cities of 3 lakh and above population as per census 2011 including all the Capital cities of Union Territories, North Eastern Region and Hill States.
• Priority will be given to cities having no organized bus service.
• The Scheme will support bus operations for 10 years.
• The scheme is based on Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
• The Scheme has 2 segments

1. Segment A – Augmenting the City bus services (169 cities)
2. Segment B – Green Urban Mobility Initiatives (GUMI) (181 cities)

• The scheme envisages green initiatives like bus priority, infrastructure, multimodal interchange facilities, Charging infrastructure, etc.
• The scheme will promote e-mobility and provide full support for behind-the-meter power infrastructure.
• The scheme is Expected to generate direct employment over 45,000.

Operation Jericho

• The Mizo National Front uprising was a revolt against the government of India aimed at establishing a sovereign nation state for the Mizo people, which started on February 1966.
• Operation Jericho was launched by Mizo National Front (MNF) to take control of Aizawl during a separatist movement led by Mizo National Front (MNF) in 1966.
• Mizo National Front (MNF) captured the Aizawl.
• Operation Jericho was quelled by Indian Air Force after the failure of Assam Riffles and Indian Army.

Flying fox

• Flying fox (genus Pteropus) are any of about 65 bat species found on tropical islands from Madagascar to Australia and Indonesia and in mainland Asia.
• Flying foxes are the largest bats, some attaining a wingspan of 1.5 metres (5 feet) with a head and body length of about 40 cm (16 inches).
• They are Old World fruit bats (family Pteropodidae) that roost in large numbers and eat fruit.
• It is placed under Schedule V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.
• The biggest threat to the flying fox is from humans.
• It is a keystone species since it causes seed dispersals of many plants in tropical systems.
• A keystone species is one that has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance, impacting many other organisms in an ecosystem and helping to determine the types and numbers of other species in an ecological community.

Vaquita

• Vaquita are type of porpoise that are found only in northern-most part of the Gulf of California, Mexico.
• Porpoise are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals.
• Vaquitas are about the size of small humans, topping out at about 5 feet long and 120 pounds.
• It is the world's rarest marine mammal which is on the edge of extinction.
• The IUCN status of Vaquita is Critically Endangered.
• Numbers have fallen from a population of approximately 570 in 1997 to around 10 animals in 2018.
• The International Whaling Commission (IWC) have issued its first ‘extinction alert’ for Vaquita.
• Due to increased fishing activity their numbers have reduced.
• The decrease in the vaquita population is also related to the totoaba, a large fish that also only lives in the Gulf of California.