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History (GS-I)

Who was Fatima Sheikh?

Recently, 192nd birth anniversary of Fatima Sheikh has been observed on 9^th January which was Celebrated by Google doodle.

About:

• Fatima Sheikh was a pioneering teacher, anti-caste activist, proponent of girls’ education, and social reformer in 19th century Maharashtra.
• Along with Savitribai and Jyotirao Phule, she started the first girls’ school in the country, in spite of loud, threatening opposition. 

Her contributions:

• In 1848, Savitribai, Fatima and Jyotirao opened the first school for girls inside the premises of Fatima’s home in Pune.
• Savitribai and Fatima took on the work of teaching a small group of girls.
• Other schools for Dalits and women followed, with Fatima and Savitribai going to individual families across the town in attempts to persuade them into enrolling their children.

Polity and Governance (GS-II)

India, U.K sign and exchange letters for Young Professionals Scheme

The governments of India and the U.K. marked Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on January 9, 2023, and signed the Young Professionals Scheme.

About the scheme:

• The agreement will permit up to 3,000 of their degree-holding citizens aged between 18 and 30 to live and work in each other’s countries for a period of two years.
• The scheme was announced in November, 2022 at the G20 summit in Bali.
• The scheme will commence in early 2023. Both India and UK will allow young professionals in their Countries to hold degree programs.
• India is the first country to benefit from such a scheme, highlighting the strength of the UK-India Migration and Mobility Partnership agreed upon last year.
• Objective: The Young Professionals Programme is a recruitment initiative aiming to improve geographical representation, and promote gender parity in the Organization at the international level.

Environment (GS-III)

U.N. says ozone layer slowly healing, hole to mend by 2066

Earth’s protective ozone layer is slowly but noticeably healing at a pace that would fully mend the hole over Antarctica in about 43 years, a new U.N. report says.

About the study:

• As per the report, in the upper stratosphere and in the ozone hole is getting better.
• A few years ago, emissions of one of the banned chemicals, chlorofluorocarbon-11 (CFC-11), stopped shrinking and were rising.
• A third generation of those chemicals, called HFC, was banned a few years ago helped against the heat-trapping of greenhouse gas.
  • The new report says that the ban would avoid 0.5 to 0.9 degrees (0.3 to 0.5 degrees Celsius) of additional warming.
• The report also warned that efforts to artificially cool the planet by putting aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect the sunlight would thin the ozone layer by as much as 20% in Antarctica.

Science and Technology (GS-III)

Global Science for Global Wellbeing' to be theme of National Science Day 2023

At the launch of the theme event of National Science Day 2023, science and Technology minister has mentioned that India has a global role and rising visibility in the international arena of science.

About the event:

• National Science Day is celebrated every year on February 28 to commemorate the discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’.
• Theme: ‘Global Science for Global Wellbeing’.

When National Science Day was first celebrated?

• In 1986, the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) asked the Government of India to designate 28 February as National Science Day which the then Govt. of India accepted and declared the day as National Science Day in 1986.
• The first National Science Day was celebrated on February 28, 1987.