Infrastructure Development/GSIII
Brahmaputra (NW2) gets connected with Ganga (NW1) via Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route

What's the NEWS

• Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways received the maiden voyage of food-grains from Patna to Pandu via Bangladesh in Guwahati
• The self propelled vessel MV Lal Bahadur Shastri carrying a total of 200 MT of foodgrains for Food Corporation of India (FCI) completed the maiden pilot run from Patna to Pandu via Bangladesh.
• IWAI is planning to run a fixed schedule sailing between NW1 and NW2 heralding a new age of inland water transport for Assam & the Northeast India.
• The vessel started its sail from Patna on National Waterway-1 (river Ganga) and passed through Bhagalpur, Manihari, Sahibganj, Farakka, Tribeni, Kolkata, Haldia, Hemnagar; Indo Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route through Khulna, Narayanganj, Sirajganj, Chilmari and National Waterway-2 through Dhubri, and Jogighopa covering a distance of 2,350 km.

Steps/Initiative taken by the government

• The development of these stretches is expected to provide seamless navigation to NER via the IBP route.
• To improve the navigability, two stretches of IBP routes, i.e., Sirajganj-Daikhowa and Ashuganj-Zakiganj are also being developed at a cost of Rs. 305.84 crore on an 80:20 share basis (80% being borne by India and 20% by Bangladesh).
• In line with the "Act East" policy of Prime Minister, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW), has taken up several infrastructure projects on National Waterways-1, Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route, and NW2, through the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
• These steps will improve the connectivity with North Eastern Region (NER) through waterways.
• The Government has undertaken the ambitious Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) with an investment of about Rs. 4600 crore for the capacity augmentation of NW-1 (river Ganga) for safe and sustainable movement of vessels upto 2000 tonnes.

Prelims Factoids
India Global Forum at Bengaluru

What's the NEWS

• Minister of Electronics and Information technology will attend the India Global Forum (IGF) at Bengaluru scheduled for 7th and 8th of March.

Know! about IGF

• IGF is the agenda-setting forum for international business and global leaders.
• It offers a selection of platforms that international corporates and policymakers can leverage to interact with stakeholders in their sectors and geographies of strategic importance.
• IGF platforms range from large global events to invite-only, intimate conversations and analysis, interviews and thought leadership through media assets.
• IGF has networks around the world to convene leaders from across large corporates, multilateral institutions, national governments, fast-growing start-ups, innovators, defence & intelligence, media, entertainment, and culture.
• This is the first ever edition of IGF at Bengaluru.
• The previous editions were hosted at Dubai & UK

• 82 crore Indians accessing the internet
• 60 crore smart phone users
• India is the world's second largest mobile handset manufacturer

Governance/GSII
Imagining India@2047 through Innovations

What's the NEWS

• A three-day Symposium on the theme 'Imagining India @2047 through Innovation', will be held in Chennai during 07-09^th March, 2022.
• The Symposium is being organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) in collaboration with the IIT Madras.
• The Symposium will take place at the IITM Research Park, Chennai.

Vision India@2047 - Highlights

• The symposium is an effort to bring the Government and Citizens together by use of digital technology pursuing next generation reforms and innovations
• The Government of India is formulating "Vision India@2047" to identify long terms goals and corresponding short term defined outcomes for this decade with timelines and milestones.
• Around 200 participants are chosen for nucleus and cell teams comprising of one lAS officer, a young faculty member and a young entrepreneur who will sit together for discussion.
• There will be 10 such cells. This 4-member nucleus will be the basic think-tank during the Symposium and thereafter next twenty years to figure out, how to take India forward.
• Each cell will be assigned a problem in 10 different themes like infrastructure, Energy, Water, Agriculture, Education, Health Care, Urban housing etc., that India faces and where considerable progress will be required over the next twenty-five years.
• The overall theme will be 'Innovation in Digital Governance'.

Science & Technology/GSIII
HANSA-NG successfully completes sea level trials

What's the NEWS

• India's first indigenous Flying Trainer HANSA-NG designed and developed by CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore under the aegis of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, has successfully completed the sea level trials at Puducherry from 19^th February to 5^th March, 2022.
• All the objectives of the sea level trials are met and aircraft has been ferried back to Bangalore on 5thMarch, 2022 after completing 18 hours flying at Puducherry.
• Total 37 flights and 50 hours of flying completed, and few more flights will be conducted before getting Type Certification by DGCA.
• Type Certification is likely to be completed by April, 2022 and thereafter the manufacturing will be initiated with Public / Private Industry which will enhance the aerospace eco system under Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Know! about HANSA-NG

• HANSA-NG is one of the most advanced flying trainer powered by Rotax Digital Control Engine with unique features like Just-In-Time Prepreg (JIPREG) Composite light weight Airframe, Glass Cockpit, Bubble Canopy with wide panoramic view, electrically operated flaps etc.
• CSIR-NAL further said that HANSA-NG is designed to meet the Indian flying club needs and it is an ideal aircraft for Commercial Pilot Licensing (CPL) due to its low cost and low fuel consumption.
• NAL has already received more than 80 nos. of LoIs (Letter of Intents) from various flying clubs.

Prelims Factoids
Democracy Report 2022

What's the NEWS

• India has figured in the top 10 autocratising countries of the world along with El Salvador, Turkey and Hungary
• Annual democracy report by - The V-Dem Institute at Sweden's University of Gothenburg has come out with their.
• Title - ‘Democracy Report 2022: Autocratization Changing Nature?'.

Report Highlights

• After being classified as ‘electoral autocracy' in the last year's report, India continues to hold on to its dubious honour even in this year's report.
• India finds itself in the category of the bottom 40% to 50% of countries.
• It classifies India as an electoral autocracy ranking it 93^rd on the LDI, out of 179 countries.
• The countries are categorised based on V-Dem's liberal democracy index (LDI), which captures both electoral and liberal aspects of democracy and goes from the lowest (0) to the highest (1) levels of democracy.
• The report highlights that autocratisation has "worsened" in India along with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philippines in the Asia-Pacific region in the last decade.
• The report underscores that while "Brazil, India, and Mauritius' trajectories have stabilised in recent years, enough to remain electoral democracies or, in India's case, an electoral autocracy.
• The level of democracy enjoyed by the average global citizen in 2021 is down to 1989 levels.

Prelims Factoids/Health/GSII
Fusobacterium Nucleatum
What's the NEWS

• Researchers at ACTREC-Tata Memorial Centre have identified the presence of a bacteria, Fusobacterium nucleatum, in the oral tumours at a significantly higher burden than in the oral cavity of healthy individuals.

Know! about Fusobacterium nucleatum

• Fusobacterium nucleatum is known to play a vital role in colorectal cancer, wherein its presence affects the spread of the disease and the patient's response to chemotherapy. However, a similar role of Fusobacterium in oral cancer was not known earlier.
• The presence of the bacteria was found in Indian and Caucasian oral cancer patients, with a much higher incidence among the Indian patients.
• Moreover, oral cancer patients positive for Fusobacterium were found to be negative for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection, suggesting they are present in a mutually exclusive way.

Internal Security/GSIII
53^rd Raising Day celebrations of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)

What's the NEWS

• The Union Home and Cooperation Minister attended the 53^rd Raising Day celebrations of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
• The Union Home Minister also released the Force's magazine 'Sentinel'-2022.
• The Union Home Minister said we should create a hybrid model whose strategy is made by CISF, but in which both private security agencies and CISF provide security by preparing a complete blueprint of security in hybrid mode and gradually hand it over to private security agencies.
• Private security agencies should also work in some industrial units, CISF should also increase its approach in this area in an aggressive manner.
• CISF should work in collaboration with institutions like DRDO and BSF, which are working to develop anti-drone models and anti-drone technology.

Know! about Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)

• It is one of the Central Armed Police Forces in India.
• It is governed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs
• It was set up under an Act of the Parliament of India in 1969.
• CISF was subsequently made an armed force of India by another Act of Parliament passed in 1983.
• CISF works to provide security cover to over 300 industrial units, government infrastructure projects and facilities and establishments located all over India.
• Duties - guarding sensitive governmental buildings, the Delhi Metro, and providing airport security.
• CISF also provides consultancy services to private industries as well as other organisations within the Indian government.
• The scope of CISF's consulting practice includes security consulting and fire protection consulting.
• It also plays a major role in Disaster Management.
• The CISF has a 'Fire Wing' which helps during fire accidents in Industries where the CISF is on guard.

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