WHY IN NEWS

Recently, The Indian Chief of Army Staff (COAS) will inaugurate an Indian Army Memorial in the Cassino in Italy (about
140 km away from Rome) during his official visit to the U.K. and Italy.
✓ The memorial commemorates over 3,100 Commonwealth servicemen who took part in the effort to liberate Italy
in World War II.
✓ 900 Indian soldiers were also commemorated on this memorial.

➢ WW-II was a conflict that involved virtually every part of the world during the years 1939–45.
➢ It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing
military alliances -
✓ the Allies – UK, US, USSR, France etc.
✓ the Axis powers – Germany, Italy, Japan

➢ In the first half of the 1940s, India was under the British rule and the Indian Army fought in both the world wars.
➢ the Indian Army was the largest volunteer force during WWII, with over 2.5 million (more than 20 lakh) Indians
participating.
➢ These troops fought the Axis powers as part of the Allies.
WHY IN NEWS
Recently, The Union Ministry for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying launched an online course mobile app
named ‘Matsya Setu’.

➢ It was developed to disseminate the latest freshwater aquaculture technologies to the aqua farmers of the country.
✓ Aquaculture is the breeding, rearing, and harvesting of fish, shellfish, algae, and other organisms in all types of
water environments.
✓ India is home to more than 10 percent of the global fish diversity.
✓ India ranks second in the world in total fish production.
➢ It was developed by Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIFA),
Bhubaneswar, with the funding support of the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Hyderabad.
➢ It will be helpful for the farmers to learn the advancements in the technologies and Better Management Practices at
their convenience.
➢ It has species-wise and subject-wise self-learning online course modules.
➢ An e-Certificate, upon successful completion of each course module, will be auto-generated in the app for the
farmers.
➢ In order to motivate the learners and provide a lively learning experience, Quiz/Test options were also provided for
self-assessment.
WHY IN NEWS
Recently, A separate ‘Ministry of Co-operation’ has been created by Central Government for realizing the vision of ‘Sahkar
se Samriddhi’ (Prosperity through Cooperation).

➢ It will provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in
the country.
➢ It will help deepen Co-operatives as a true people based movement reaching upto the grassroots.
➢ It will work to streamline processes for ‘Ease of doing business’ for co-operatives and enable development of Multi-
State Co-operatives (MSCS).

➢ It is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural
needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned enterprise".
✓ Different types of cooperatives are Consumer Cooperative Society, Producer Cooperative Society, Credit
Cooperative Society, Housing Cooperative Society etc.
➢ The 97th Constitution Amendment Act, 2011 added a new Part IXB to deal with Co-operatives.
➢ Added in Fundamental rights in Article 19 as Right to Form Co-operatives.
➢ Article 43B - Promotion of cooperative Societies.
CONT.
➢ Voluntary Membership - This is the first cardinal principle of co-operation. Any person who is willing to accept the
responsibilities of co-op membership and who wishes to use the services of a cooperative is welcome to become a
member.
➢ Autonomy and independence - they aren’t subject to control by outside organizations.
➢ Democratic Member Control - The business of co-operative society is generally managed by a committee elected by
the members at annual general meeting.
➢ Service motive - A co-operative society is formed with the basic objective of providing useful service — be it credit,
consumption goods, or input resources — to its members and the society.
➢ Concern for community - The policies approved by the members of a cooperative should help to develop the
community around the co-op in a sustainable way.
➢ Education, training and information - A cooperative provides education and training to members and board members
to allow them to contribute to the development of the co-op. Cooperatives also seek to inform and educate the public
about the mission and operation of a co-op.
➢ Cooperation among cooperatives - Co-ops will often work together, creating regional, national and international
structures that help to improve the community and create a better world.
➢ Shared Capital - The finances of a co-operative society are contributed by members through the purchase of shares.
WHY IN NEWS
Recently, Department of Justice commemorates the milestone of
crossing 9 lakh beneficiaries under its Tele-Law programme
through Common Service Centres.

➢ Tele-Law indicates the use of communications and

information technology for the delivery of legal information
and advice.
➢ Department of Justice has partnered with NALSA and CSC e-
Governance Service India Limited for mainstreaming legal aid
to the marginalised communities through Common Services
Center (CSC).
➢ This e-interaction between lawyers and people would be
through the video-conferencing infrastructure available at the
CSCs.
➢ It aims for mainstreaming legal aid to the marginalized
communities through Common Services Center (CSC) and to
ensure seamless penetration in remote geographical
hinterlands for better beneficiary coverage.
WHY IN NEWS
Recently, The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) issued orders appointing an advisory
committee for its Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) project.

➢ Aims –
✓ It is aimed at curbing “digital monopolies” in order to make e-commerce processes open source, thus creating a
platform that can be utilised by all online retailers.
✓ It is aimed at promoting open networks developed on open-sourced methodology, using open specifications and
open network protocols, independent on any specific platform.
➢ It is expected to digitise the entire value chain, standardise operations, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiency
in logistics and enhance value for consumers”.
➢ Making a software or a process open-source means that the code or the steps of that process is made available freely
for others to use, redistribute and modify it.
➢ Several operational aspects could be made open source on the lines of Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
✓ Operational aspects include onboarding of sellers, vendor discovery, price discovery and product cataloguing etc.
➢ If the ONDC gets implemented and mandated, it would mean that all e-commerce companies will have to operate
using the same processes.
✓ It could be problematic for larger e-commerce companies, which have proprietary processes and technology.
✓ It could give a huge booster shot to smaller online retailers and new entrants.
WHY IN NEWS
Recently, The West Bengal Legislative Assembly has passed a resolution to set up a Legislative Council with a two-thirds
majority.
✓ West Bengal Legislative Council (Abolition) Act, 1969 - Provided for the abolition of the Legislative Council of the
State of West Bengal.

➢ India has a bicameral system i.e., two Houses of Parliament.

➢ Just as Parliament has two Houses, the states can also have a Legislative Council (equivalent of the Rajya Sabha) in
addition to the Legislative Assembly (equivalent of the Lok Sabha).
➢ Article 169 - Parliament may by law provide for the abolition or creation of the Legislative Council of a State, if the
Legislative Assembly of the State passes a resolution to that effect by a majority of the total membership of the
Assembly and by a majority of not less than two thirds of the members of the Assembly present and voting.
➢ Article 171 – Deals with the composition of the Legislative Councils.
✓ The total number of members in the Legislative Council of a State having such a Council shall not exceed one third
of the total number of members in the Legislative Assembly of that State, Provided that the total number of
members in the Legislative Council of a State shall in no case be less than forty.
➢ Like the Rajya Sabha, the legislative council is a continuing chamber i.e. it is a permanent body and is not subject to
dissolution. But, one-third of its members retire on the expiration of every second year.
WHY IN NEWS
The market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) blew up this year, compared to last year’s $13.7m in the first half of 2020.

➢ NFTs are cryptographic assets on blockchain with unique identification codes and metadata that distinguish them from
each other.
✓ NFTs can be used to represent items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files.
✓ NFTs can also be used to represent peoples identities, property rights, and more.
✓ Blockchain technology certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore not interchangeable.
➢ These virtual objects can be exchanged or sold with its certificate.
➢ "Tokeninzing" these real-world tangible assets allows them to be bought, sold, and traded more efficiently while
reducing the probability of fraud.

➢ It is the ability of a good or asset to be interchanged with other individual goods or assets of the same type without
sacrificing its value.
WHY IN NEWS
Recently, A rare melanistic leopard was spotted in the Navegaon block of the
Navegaon Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) in the Gondia district of Maharashtra.
➢ A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (Panthera
pardus) and the jaguar (Panthera onca).
➢ Black coat coloration (Melanism) is attributed to the expression of recessive
alleles in leopards and dominant alleles in jaguars.
➢ In each species, a certain combination of alleles stimulates the
production of large amounts of the dark pigment melanin in the
animal’s fur and skin.
➢ The appearance of a black coat may be influenced by other factors,
such as the angle of incident light and the animal’s life stage.
➢ In India, they can be spotted in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala,
Maharashtra etc.
➢ Protection Status :- IUCN – Vulnerable, CITES – Appendix I, Wildlife
Protection Act 1972 – Schedule I.
WHY IN NEWS
Recently, A rare black leopard sighted in NNTR.
➢ It is located in Gondia and Bhandara districts of Maharashtra.
➢ It was designated as Tiger Reserve in December 2013 as 46th Tiger
Reserve of India.
➢ It comprises the notified area of Navegaon National Park, Navegaon
Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, New Nagzira Wildlife
Sanctuary and Koka Wildlife Sanctuary.
➢ It has connectivity with the major tiger reserves such as Kanha and
Pench tiger reserve (MP), Tadoba-Andhari Tiger reserve
(Maharashtra) and Indravati Tiger Reserve (Chhattisgarh).
➢ It is an important conservation unit in Central India in general and
Vidarbha in particular.
➢ Though Navegaon is better known as a bird sanctuary, a number of
wild animals could also be sighted.
WHY IN NEWS
Recently, Prime Minister greeted Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibetan
Buddhism, on his 86th B’day (6th July, 1935).
➢ The Dalai Lamas are believed by Tibetan Buddhists to be manifestations of
Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and the patron
saint of Tibet.
✓ Bodhisattvas are realized beings, inspired by the wish to attain complete
enlightenment, who have vowed to be reborn in the world to help all living
beings.
➢ The Dalai Lama belongs to the Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, which is the
largest and most influential tradition in Tibet.
➢ The Dalai Lama is the head monk of Tibetan Buddhism and traditionally has been
responsible for the governing of Tibet, until the Chinese government took control
in 1959.
➢ There have been only 14 Dalai Lamas in the history of Tibetan Buddhism.
➢ The first and second Dalai Lamas were given the title posthumously.
➢
✓ The term ‘revenge travel’ is similar to the 1980s Chinese concept of ‘revenge spending’ , when the country saw
an explosion in consumer spending after it emerged from restrictions.
✓ Revenge travel or revenge tourism, stems from a feeling of wanting to break free from the monotonous life of
lockdowns.
✓ It is a product of another phenomenon called ‘lockdown-fatigue’, coined last year by AIIMS Delhi director.

➢
✓ Recently, The Supreme Court expressed shock that people were still booked and tried under Section 66A of the
Information Technology Act.
✓ Section 66A empowered police to make arrests over what policemen, in terms of their subjective discretion,
could construe as “offensive” or for the purposes of causing annoyance, inconvenience, etc.
✓ It prescribed the punishment for sending messages through computer or any other communication device like a
mobile phone or a tablet, and a conviction could fetch a maximum of three years in jail.
✓ On March 24, 2015 (Shreya Singhal v. Union of India), Section 66A was struck down by the Supreme Court for
“being violative of Article 19(1)(a) and not saved under Article 19(2).”
▪ Article 19(1)(a) gives people the right to speech and expression.
▪ Article 19(2) accords the state the power to impose “reasonable restrictions” on exercise of this right.
➢
✓ Some residents of low-income families have started waving white flags as part of the so-called “White Flag
Campaign”, or the #benderaputi (white flag) movement.
✓ They are doing this to convey distress about the financial crunch they have had to deal with amid the lockdowns
due to Covid-19.
✓ As part of the movement that was initiated, families that are facing hunger or need any other kind of assistance
are encouraged to wave a white flag or put a piece of white cloth outside their homes to signal that they need
help.
✓ The idea is that by spotting the white flag, neighbours and good samaritans can reach them.

➢
✓ Recently, NASA received its first sample of asteroid Ryugu, which was returned to Earth last December by the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa2 spacecraft.
✓ Ryugu, diamond-shaped space rock, is an asteroid charted between the spatial boundaries of Mars and Earth.
✓ It sometime crosses Earth’s orbit, therefore classified as potentially hazardous.
✓ It tagged with a primitive C-type classification.
▪ C-type asteroids are normally discovered with a black appearance, with large carbon quantities.

❖ Hayabusa2 was the first craft to obtain samples from Ryugu's surface.