PUNJAB
Punjab governor nod to shooting range extension on forest land
Punjab governor and UT administrator V P Singh Badnore has given his approval to use 11acres of forest land in Sector 25 to extend the shooting range to bring it to international standards.
Around 16 acres of land is approved in exchange for the forest land in Sector 53 (10 acres) and Maloya (6 acres). However, both the sites are at the border of the city, adjoining Mohali. Moreover, Maloya land has been found to be encroached. Sources said it will be difficult to remove encroachments as religious structures too have come up. Another worrying factor is that the land in Sector 53 does not have enough green cover.
The UT administration has prepared sketches and drawings of the initial phase of work to develop trap and skeet facilities at the range. The UT will now seek the approval of the shooting federation for its construction.
INTERNATIONAL
At 18 million, India has largest diaspora in the world: UN
The Indian diaspora is the largest in the world, with 18 million people from the country living outside their homeland in 2020.
The United Arab Emirates, the US and Saudi Arabia host the largest numbers of migrants from India.
Other countries with a large diaspora included Mexico and Russia (11 million each), China (10 million) and Syria (8 million).
India’s large diaspora is distributed across a number of major countries of destination, with the UAE (3.5 million), the US (2.7 million) and Saudi Arabia (2.5 million) hosting the largest numbers of migrants from India.
Other countries hosting large numbers of migrants from India included Australia, Canada, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and the UK.
NATIONAL
Third phase of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana launched in 600 districts across country
The third phase of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 3.0 launched in 600 districts across the country.
Spearheaded by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, this phase will focus on new-age and COVID-related skills.
The third phase of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana envisages training of 
eight lakh candidates over a scheme period of 2020-2021 with an outlay of 948.90 crore rupees.
Skill India Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 has gained tremendous momentum through the launch of its flagship scheme PMKVY to unlock the vision of making India the Skill Capital of the world.
PM Modi to interact with startups and address ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with startups and address ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’ through video conferencing.
The two day Summit is being organized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
It is being organised as a follow up of the announcement made by the Prime Minister at the fourth Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu in August 2018 wherein India committed to host the BIMSTEC Startup Conclave.
The Summit marks the fifth anniversary of the Startup India initiative, launched by the Prime Minister on 16 January, 2016.
The objective is to focus attention on global capital for startups in India, mobilize domestic capital, provide opportunities for accessing international markets to our startups and evolve enabling policy provisions.
Govt brings forward target of 20% ethanol-blending with gasoline by 2025
India plans to achieve 20% ethanol-blending with gasoline by 2025, five years ahead of its previous target, to help reduce its dependence on costly oil imports.
In 2020, the government had set a target of reaching 10% ethanol-blending by 2022 – meaning 10% of ethanol mixed with 90% of gasoline – and 20% by 2030.
India relies on foreign suppliers to meet more than 80% of its demand.
Archaeologists Discovered the Worlds Oldest Cave Art
Archaeologists discovered the oldest cave art in the world. It is a life-size photo of a wild boar, which was painted in Indonesia at least 45,500 years ago. The photo was found in Leang Tedongnge cave in a remote valley in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Sulawesi Warthog painting can be traced back at least 45,500 years ago.
It shows a pig with short upright hair on the top of the head and a pair of horn-shaped warts in front of the eyes, which are characteristic of adult male Sulawesi warthogs.
The Sulawesi Warthog is the most commonly depicted animal in the island’s ice age rock art, which shows that they have long been regarded as food and the focus of creative thinking and artistic expression.
The pig was painted with red stone paint and seems to be observing the fighting or social interaction between the other two warthogs.
Gk bit: Cave Paintings in India:
Ajanta Cave is located in the Aurangabad area of Maharashtra. Ajanta’s famous murals are of dying princesses, flying fairies and missionary Buddha.
Ellora is located in the Aurangabad region of Maharashtra. This cave is popular for the largest monolithic excavation in the world-the great Kailasa.
Elephanta is located on the Elephanta Islands in Mumbai. The Elephanta team has excavated 7 caves.
Bhimbetka is located between Hoshangabad and Bhopal, at the foot of Vindhya Mountain. It has one of the oldest paintings in India and the world.
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