1) Sagol Kangjei: Modern polo is said to have originated from Sagol Kangjei, a sport indigenous to Manipur, in which players ride horses, specifically the Manipur Ponies, which are referenced to the 14th century. Marjing is considered the God of polo and features a pony as his carrier.
- The Lai-Haraoba festival of the state depicts the life and times of Khori-phaba, the polo-playing god of sports. There are no goalposts in this game. Goal lines determine the end of the two boundaries of the rectangular field.
- The Manipur Pony is one of five recognised equine breeds of India and has a powerful cultural significance for Manipuri society.
2) One Week One Lab Campaign: Through this, CSIR will highlight India’s global excellence in technology, innovation and Start-ups. Each of CSIR’s 37 constituent laboratories, spread Nationwide, will showcase their legacy, exclusive innovations and breakthroughs every successive week.
- CSIR: It is the largest research and development (R&D) organisation in India which was set up in 1942. It is funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology
- The Prime Minister of India (Ex-officio) is the President of this organisation.
- Vice President: Union Minister of Science and Technology (Ex-officio)
3) Veer Guardian-2023: India and Japan are all set to hold the joint Air Exercise, ‘Veer Guardian-2023’ involving the Indian Air Force and Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) at Hyakuri Air Base, Japan. They will undertake multi-domain air combat missions in a complex environment and will exchange best practices.
4) New Umbrella Entity (NUE): RBI is said to have put on hold licensing of the New Umbrella Entity (NUE) network, a fintech institution planned as a rival to the National Payments Corporation of India
- NUE is an entity (under the Companies Act 2013) that will manage and operate the new payment system in the retail sector such as ATMs, POS, UPI etc.
- It will also manage clearing and settlement systems that could be an alternative to the bank-promoted NPCI. It will be allowed to charge fees for transactions (unlike the existing NPCI)
- The RBI had in 2020 issued guidelines for corporates to create for-profit NUEs with an aim to foster competition and “de-risk” India’s burgeoning digital payments ecosystem, where much of the settlement burden has fallen on the non-profit NPCI over recent years
5) Floatovoltaics: floating solar plants, or FSPV (floating solar photovoltaic) are panel structures that are installed on water bodies like lakes, basins, and reservoirs instead of on solid structures like a roof or terraces.
- The biggest impetus behind the rise of large-scale FSPV has been that it doesn’t take up any land space, which could be then used for construction and agriculture.
- The world’s first large-scale FSPV system was installed in 2011, in Napa Valley, California.
- India: Currently less than 1% of solar installations are floating.
- The largest floating solar power plant in India is currently the Ramagundam in Peddapalli district of Telangana, with a capacity of 100 MW.
- Currently a plant is being built on the Narmada’ Omkareshwar Dam in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh is being built with a capacity of 600 MW, which will soon be the largest floating solar power plant in the world.
