Trees Beyond Forests initiative launched in Assam

Trees Beyond Forests initiative launched in Assam

• The “trees outside forests in India (TOFI)” program was introduced by the Assam government and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) with the goal of bringing together farmers, businesses, and private institutions to increase the number of trees in the State’s non-traditional forests.
• It aims to increase carbon sequestration, aid local populations, and boost agriculture’s climate resilience, supporting global climate change mitigation and adaptation goals.
• Assam has given increasing the tree cover outside of forest regions great priority, as evidenced by the State Action Plan on Climate Change and the recent creation of the Assam Agroforestry Development Board (AADB).

GEAC gives its nod for commercial cultivation of GM mustard yet again

• The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) that functions under the Union Environment Ministry have yet again cleared the proposal for commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) mustard. 
• Though the GEAC cleared the proposal in 2017, the Ministry vetoed it and suggested that the panel hold more studies on GM crops.
• A GEAC meeting held on October 18 allowed the environmental release of two varieties of genetically engineered mustard so that it can be used for developing new parental lines and hybrids under the supervision of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR).

ISRO to boost NavIC, widen the user base of the location system

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working on a series of improvements to NavIC, or India’s equivalent of the Global Positioning System (GPS) so that more people are motivated to install and use it. Plans are also afoot to give it a global reach.
• NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), or the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), is a constellation of seven satellites akin to the U.S. GPS, the European Galileo and the Russian GLONASS, and can be used to track location. 
• Though available for use in mainland India and within 1,500 km around it, the system is not in wide regular use in India primarily because mobile phones have not been made compatible to process its signals. 
• The Indian government has been pressing manufacturers to add compatibility and has set a deadline of January 2023, but this is unlikely before 2025.

Rajasthan approves fund to set up digital libraries in schools

• Rajasthan government has approved Rs 36 crore to set up digital libraries in govt-run residential schools across the state. Rajasthan Chief Minister has released the financial provision for digital libraries as well as other necessary facilities for students studying in classes 9 to 12.
• The amount has been approved by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in compliance with the announcement made during the discussion of the Finance and Appropriation Bill 2022-23.
• Digital libraries will be established soon which will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. It will be established in various residential schools, multipurpose hostels and Kasturba Gandhi Schools run under the Tribal Area Development Department.

Kharge takes charge as Congress president

• Taking charge as the first Congress president from outside the Gandhi family in 24 years, Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday declared that the party will demolish the current regime’s “system of lies, treachery and hatred”.
• Passing on the baton, Sonia Gandhi, who steered the party for over two decades, noted that “change is the rule of the world”.
• Soon after Mr Kharge assumed office, all the existing members of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) resigned to allow the new chief to have his own team.

Two more Indian Beaches enter the coveted list of Blue Beaches

• The coveted International eco-label "Blue Flag", has been accorded to two new beaches - Minicoy Thunder Beach and Kadmat Beach- both in Lakshadweep. This takes the number of beaches certified under the Blue Flag certification to 12.
• This is another recognition of India's commitment to protecting and conserving the pristine coastal and marine ecosystems through holistic management of the resources.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the people of Lakshadweep after Minicoy, Thunder Beach and Kadmat Beach made it to the coveted list of Blue Beaches, an eco-label given to the cleanest beaches in the world.