Worlds Happiness Index 2023, Finland remains on Top

The UN solutions Network released the World Happiness Report of 2023 on March 20 as the day is celebrated every year as World Happiness Day.

Finland for the 6th consecutive time has been ranked number one in happiness levels. The report surveys the happiness factors and satisfaction levels among the world Population. It shows how happy the people are with their lives

across nations.

India improves a little from 136 to 125 however it is a sad position for the country as it is among the least happy nations.

ChatGPT Rival Bard launched by Google

A new AI model has been designed by one of the worlds most powerful companies Gooogle after ChatGPT got popularized with its new versions.

Bard is the latest AI-powered conversation system. This is now made accessible to the public but only in US and UK for the time being. It will soon come up

in more countries and languages.

This chatbot is a jack of all trades as it involves a multitude of advanced-level features.

Vulture population in Western Ghats down from 10,000 to hundreds

With the number of vultures nestling amidWestern GhatsinKarnataka, Kerala and Nadu dramatically plunging from about 10,000 two decades ago to a few hundreds now, the state forest department and Wildlife Conservation Society have undertaken a survey in the Tiger Reserves to ascertain the reasons for the worrying development.
The survey was

conducted in the forests spread across the three states to count thevulture Population. In Karnataka, the survey was inBandipur, BRT and Nagarahole tiger reserves.

Earlier, the three states used to conduct separate surveys in different periods, but now they are holding the synchronized survey to avoid duplication of data in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve of Tamil Nadu, Waynad Wildlife Sanctuary of Kerala and Karnataka’s three tiger reserves.

Maharashtra lags in clean energy transition, Karnataka, Gujarat top list

Maharashtra, the state with the highest electricity demand in India, lags behind several others when it comes to energy transition to renewable sources. This is mainly due to slow uptake in the state and its inability to shut down older, polluting coal power Plants, said a report. It should nevertheless be considered that though Maharashtra lags on the

transition parameter in Percentage terms, because of its greater net power generation, it has a higher reference point for a comparison with other states.

According to the study, Rajasthan and Maharashtra showed low participation in green markets. It said that Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra have a huge potential to become renewable energy export hubs by utilising their untapped clean energy potential. These states have made limited efforts to participate in green market mechanisms likeGDAM(green day ahead market), it added.

Ember is an independent, not-for-profit Climate and energy think tank while the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) examines issues related to energy markets, trends, and policies.

Asian Waterbird Census 2023: Diversity, number at Okhla sanctuary less than last yr

The Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) 2023 at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary has recorded a decreased total number of water birds and overall in relation to previous years.

Okhla Bird Sanctuary is the most degraded, polluted and disturbed habitat in all respects, decreasing overall water birds number and species diversity including migratory birds every year, it said.

The wetland habitat several times

in a year remains completely dried, the latest being the recent Migration season in October-November, 2022 which impacts on the breeding of the resident birds, and lesser arrival of winter migratory water birds. Till December, 2022 the sanctuary witnessed the least number of migratory water birds, resulting in overall decreased Population.

The AWC 2023 recorded further decreased species diversity:from 47 (2022) to 36 (2023) and total number: 9,143 to 6,083 (2023) dominated the total number by common winter migratory species Northern Shoveler and then Eurasian Coot in comparison to previous years.

Prospects of Digital University in India

The Indian government plans to establish a digital university to provide world-class quality Education and promote online Learning in several Indian languages.

The government will also expand the One Class One TV Channel programme under the PM e-Vidya scheme to address the learning loss which has been caused due to the closure of schools because of the pandemic.

The digital university

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which has been proposed along with the increased education through television programmes will help in guiding the nation through a pioneering, modern, and practical blueprint.

National Digital University

The Union Budget for 2022-23 looks to implement the National Education Policy (NEP). To help this the decision to establish a National

Digital University was announced that will look to solve Indias seat scarcity problem in educational institutions.

The digital university will provide access to high-quality higher education in several languages while also complying with the National Education Policy 2020.

Kisan Drones

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged 100 Kisan drones in several cities and towns of India to assist farmers in spraying pesticides in their farms.

Highlights

This is a replacement chapter in the direction of recent agricultural facilities of the 21st century. This move will be a milestone in

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the development of the drone sector and can also open the sky to unlimited possibilities.

Union minister of finance Nirmala Sitharaman announced central stimulus for farming and Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture sector in Budget 2022-23.

The center will promote Kisan Drones, public-private partnerships to deliver digital & high-tech Services, and chemical-free natural farming to farmers across India during 2022-23.

Drone Shakti Scheme

This scheme was announced in Union Budget 2022. The budget pushed for promoting drones using start-ups and skilling at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).

Under the scheme, start-ups will be promoted during a bid to facilitate ‘Drone Shakti’ for Drone-As-A-Service (DrAAS).

Ramban Lavendar Cultivation

The central government is to start the ‘Purple Revolution’ in the Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Highlights

The purple revolution will be planned by encouraging lavender cultivation under CSIR-IIIM’s Aroma Mission through the Ministry of Science and Technology. It will be planned on lines of the Doda and Reasi districts.

Cultivation of Lavender is often started in Ramban to increase income sources for the district’s youth.

In Doda and Reasi, 500 youth enjoyed the purple revolution and augmented their income.

Purple Revolution

Under the mission, farmers got free lavender saplings

for the primary time in the Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Those that had cultivated lavender before were charged Rs. 5-6 per sapling.

This revolution was started for supporting agro-economy-supported domestic aromatic crops by moving from imported aromatic oils to homegrown varieties.