Swavalambini Initiative

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Recently, the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in collaboration with NITI Aayog launched the Swavalambini initiative to promote women entrepreneurship in northeast India.

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• This initiative is aimed at empowering female students in select Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the northeast by equipping them with the essential entrepreneurial mindset, resources, and mentorship. The initiative has the following components: - 

Entrepreneurship Awareness Programme (EAP):

• A 2-day session designed for 600 female students.
• Introduces entrepreneurship as a career option.
• Covers basic entrepreneurial concepts and opportunities.

Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP):

• Offered to 300 selected students.
• An intensive 40-hour training program.
• Focuses on key business areas such as Training and skills development, Access to finance, Market linkages.

Taranaki Maunga has been granted legal personhood

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Recently, New Zealand has granted legal personhood to a mountain named ‘Taranaki Maunga.’

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• The legal personhood status extends to the surrounding peaks and environment, collectively named Te Kāhui Tupua.
• It is now the third natural feature in New Zealand to receive the same rights, duties, and protections as an individual following the designation of Te Urewera National Park in 2014 and the Whanganui River in 2017.
• New Zealand’s parliament unanimously passed the law in 2025 to change the name of the mountain from Mount Egmont to Taranaki Maunga (Maori Name).

Taranaki Maunga Mountain

It is the second-highest mountain (2518m) on New Zealand’s North Island.

• Mount Cook (3724m) is the highest mountain in New Zealand.

The mountain is located in the west-central North Island, New Zealand, on the Taranaki Peninsula.

Mt. Taranaki is the youngest and most southerly of a group of volcanoes.

Taranaki Maunga is one of the most symmetrical volcanic cones in the world.

It is around 120,000 years old and last erupted in 1775 it is 'dormant' rather than extinct.

Forward Faster Sustainability Award 2025

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National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited India has received the prestigious Forward Faster Sustainability Award 2025 in the Water Resilience category.

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• NTPC has focused on water conservation through principles like Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
• NTPC advanced wastewater treatment plants and achieved 100% sweet water self-sufficiency at its Ratnagiri Gas and Power Pvt. Ltd. (RGPPL) plant.

Forward Faster Sustainability Award 

These awards are organized by the UN Global Compact Network India (UN GCNI) to spotlight organizations in India that have made significant strides in advancing sustainability and corporate responsibility, aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

• UN GCNI: It was formed in November 2000 and was registered in 2003 as a non-profit society. It is the first Local Network in the world to be established with full legal recognition. 

National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) 

• It is a central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Power established in 1975. 
• NTPC Ltd. is India's largest integrated power utility, contributing one-fourth of India’s power requirements and has an installed capacity of over 77 GW.
• NTPC became a Maharatna company in May 2010.

Munich Security Conference 2025

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The 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) took place from February 14 to 16, 2025, in Munich, Germany.

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• At this three-day conference, key global security challenges such as climate change, European security and regional conflicts were discussed.
• There are around 700 participants, 50 Heads of State and Government, 150 Ministers, and representatives of NGOs, think tanks and businesses.

Munich Security Conference 

• Since its foundation in 1963, the Munich Security Conference has been constantly evolving. 
• Originally established as "Wehrkunde," a private initiative by the founder Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist, the conference has become the world’s leading independent forum for international security policy.

Gyanesh Kumar appointed as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)

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Recently, the Law Ministry notified the appointment of Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as the new chief election commissioner. 

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• This is the first time that a CEC is selected under provisions of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. 
• He was appointed after a meeting of a three-member committee of the Prime Minister (head), Home minister and leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha in New Delhi.

Gyanesh Kumar

• He is a 1988-batch former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Kerala cadre and retired as Union Cooperation Secretary in 2024. 
• On March 14, 2024, he was appointed Election Commissioner.
• As an Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs from 2018 to 2021, he played a pivotal role when Article 370 was abrogated in 2019 and Jammu & Kashmir was split into the two Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir.

Election commission

• The Election Commission is a constitutional body established on 25 January 1950 by the Constitution of India.
• Originally the commission had only a Chief Election Commissioner. It currently consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.
• The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
• They have tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. 
• They enjoy the same status and receive salary and perks as available to Judges of the Supreme Court of India.