11 more names included in India's Ramsar sites list

Why is it in news?

• Recently, on the occasion of 75th anniversary of independence in India, 11 new wetlands covering an area of ​​76316 hectares in the country have been included in the Ramsar wetlands list. With this the total number of Ramsar sites in India has increased to 75, covering an area of ​​13,26,677 hectares in the country.

• The 11 new wetlands include 4 in Tamil Nadu, 3 in Odisha, 2 in Jammu and Kashmir and one each from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Designation of these sites will help in conservation and management of wetlands and positive use of their resources.

Introduction

• Ramsar sites are wetlands that have been designated as Sites of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention, also known as the "Convention on Wetlands".

• It is also known as the 'Convention on Wetlands', an intergovernmental environmental treaty established by UNESCO and is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where it was signed in the year 1971.

• India is a Contracting Party to the Ramsar Convention, which was acceded to Ramsar (Iran) in 1971.

• India signed the convention on February 1, 1982.

• Be aware that between 1982 and 2013, 26 sites were added to the list of Ramsar sites. This number has increased to 75 with the addition of 49 new wetlands during 2014 to 2022.

Highlights

• Significantly, Tamil Nadu has the maximum number of Ramsar sites as compared to any other Indian state.

• Tamil Nadu has 14 Ramsar sites, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 10 Ramsar sites.

• During the year 1982 to 2013, a total of 26 sites were added to the list of Ramsar sites, however, from the year 2014 to 2022, 49 new wetlands were added to the list of Ramsar sites in the country.

• The Sundarbans in West Bengal is the largest Ramsar site in India.

CM Anuprati Coaching Yojana

Why is it in news?

Recently in the financial year 2022-2023, the Rajasthan government has planned to spend more than Rs.17 crore for “Mukhyamantri Anupriti Coaching Scheme”.

Under this scheme free coaching is provided to the students for competitive examinations.

The budget outlay for this financial year is higher as compared to Rs 3.5 crore in 2021-22.

Highlights

• This scheme was launched by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlat in 2021-22.

• This scheme was started because many meritorious students are unable to attend coaching classes and are left behind in competitive examinations due to paucity of money.

• Under this scheme the government provides free coaching to the meritorious students, so that they can fulfill their dreams.

• In addition to increasing the budget, the government has also increased the number of seats to 15,000.

• If the student is allotted a coaching institute in another city, the government provides an additional Rs 40,000 per year for boarding and lodging.

Benefits of the scheme

• Students belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Minorities, Other Backward Classes, Specially Handicapped and Economically Backward Classes whose family annual income is less than Rs.8 lakh are eligible to get coaching under the free coaching scheme.

• Students are prepared for several competitive examinations as a part of this scheme, including Civil Services, Rajasthan Administrative Service, Rajasthan Eligibility Test for Teachers (REET), Rajasthan State Subordinate Services Combined Competitive Examination, IIT JEE and Medical college entrance exam etc.

• In the year 2021-2022, the state government had set a target of providing free coaching to 10,000 students.

• 9,000 students were selected from over one lakh applications. For that year the government allocated Rs 3.65 crore and spent Rs 3.54 crore.

UK becomes first country to approve Omicron vaccine

Why is it in news?

• The United Kingdom has authorized the first ever COVID-19 vaccine for the Omicron variant. It is the first country to do so.

• Authorizing the vaccine will now pave the way for an autumn booster campaign using Moderna's two-strain shot.

Highlights

• Conditional authorization for this vaccine was granted by the "Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority".

• It was also the first authority worldwide to approve the original COVID-19 vaccine.

• It is authorized for use among people over the age of 18.

• The UK will now focus its booster program on people over the age of 50 and who are highly vulnerable to the development of COVID.