Asmita Project
Ministry of Education launched Asmita Project along with two other initiatives to promote multilingualism in education.
- Augmenting Study Materials in Indian languages through Translation and Academic writing Project
- Aim – To ensure that students have access to high-quality study materials in their native languages.
- Under it, 22,000 books will be produced in 22 scheduled languages in 5 years.
- Implementing Agencies – University Grants Commission (UGC) and Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti (BBS)
CEPI
Asia’s first health research-related Pre-clinical Network Facility has been inaugurated in Faridabad (Haryana) under the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).
- Genesis – Launched in 2017
- Launched by – Norway and India, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, World Economic Forum (WEF), etc.
- Aim – To accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and enable equitable access to these vaccines.
- Headquarters – Oslo, Norway
Role of Climate Change on Length of Earth Day
A recent research published in a journal indicates that melting of polar ice caps is slowing the rotation of Earth, thereby lengthening our days at an unprecedented rate.
- Impact of Climate Change on Length of Earth Day – Accelerated melting of glaciers and polar ice sheets, led to a rise in sea level and pole-to-equator mass transport.
- This mass transport has significantly increased the Earth’s oblateness and length of day since 1900.
- These findings signify implications of climate change for precise timekeeping and space navigation, among others
Indian Council of Agricultural Research
Recently, 96th Foundation and Technology Day of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) was celebrated.
- An autonomous organisation under Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
- Launched in – 1929, as a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
- Formed based on the report of – Royal Commission on Agriculture
- Objective – Coordinate, guide, and manage research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries, and animal sciences in the entire country.
- Union Minister of Agriculture is the ex-officio President of the ICAR Society
Inverse ETF
SEBI proposed to introduce a new asset class for investors which can offer investment strategies including long-short equity funds and inverse ETFs.
- An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) constructed by using various derivatives to profit from a decline in the value of an underlying benchmark.
- Also known as – ‘Short ETF’ or ‘Bear ETF’
- It gains from a drop in the value of an underlying benchmark.
- Only intended for short holding periods.