- Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: It will provide one of the deepest-ever views into the heart of our Milky Way galaxy. It will have two instruments. Wide Field Instrument: It will have a field of view that is 100 times greater than the Hubble infrared instrument, capturing more of the sky with less observing time. Coronagraph Instrument: It is a technology demonstration which will perform high contrast imaging and spectroscopy of individual nearby exoplanets. For this, it will use infrared vision to peer through clouds of dust that can potentially block the view of the crowded central region of our galaxy. This telescope plans to capture this by taking an image every 15 minutes around the clock for about two months. This process will be repeated six times over Roman’s five-year primary mission, which will total more than a year of observations. Scientists will also conduct stellar seismology studies on a million giant stars. This will help them learn about the star’s structure, age and other properties.
- Vajra Mushti Kalaga: It is a unique Indian martial art that incorporates various techniques of hand-to-hand combat like grappling, wrestling, and striking. The knuckleduster, also known as Vajra Mushti, is usually made of animal horns and worn on the knuckles of the fighter. The main objective of this Indian martial art form is to neutralise the opponent and counter his weapon. It is a form of wrestling different from conventional grappling and entails two jettys taking a swipe at each other’s heads with a knuckleduster. Whoever draws the blood from the opponent’s head first is declared the winner. This form of wrestling was popular during the period of the Vijayanagar rulers, who reigned between the 14th and the 17th centuries. Medieval travellers from Portugal noticed this form of wrestling during the Navaratri celebrations in Vijayanagar empire and have left detailed accounts of it.
- Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana: It was launched in 2015-16.Aim: To enhance physical access to water on farms, expand cultivable areas under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency, and introduce sustainable water conservation practices. The Components include-Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP): To focus on faster completion of ongoing Major and Medium Irrigation including National Projects.
Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP): It consists of four sub-components, being Command Area Development & Water Management (CAD&WM), Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI), Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies, and Ground Water (GW) Development component. It also includes Per Drop More Crop(PDMC) and The Watershed Development component (WDC).Nodal Ministry:Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
- United Nations Forum on Forests: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is organising a Country-Led Initiative (CLI) event as part of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) at the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, Uttarakhand. It promotes the management, conservation, and sustainable development of all types of forests. It was established in 2000 by the UN Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC).The Forum meets annually at the UN Headquarters in New York, bringing together representatives of all member states and forest-related agencies for high-level dialogue on technical matters in odd years and policy matters in even years. The forum has universal membership, and is composed of all Member States of the United Nations and specialized agencies. India is a founding member of UNFF.
