Prelim Bits 03-02-2018

Shigmo Festival

• Shigmo is the traditional spring festival celebrated by farmers in rural Goa.
• It is an annual float parade held in major cities of the state.
• The Goan folk art such as GhodeModni, Goff, and Fugdi are performed.
• It was traditionally celebrated as the homecoming of the warriors who had left their homes and families at the end of Dusshera to fight invaders.

World Wetlands Day

• Feburary 2^nd of every year is celebrated as world wetlands day, marking the adoption of Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
• The MoEF&CC in collaboration with Department of Forests, Assam government is organizing the national-level celebration of World Wetlands Day (WWD), 2018 at DeeporBeel, a Ramsar Site in Guwahati,Assam.
• The 2018 theme ‘Wetlands for a sustainable urban future’ marks the role of healthy wetlands play in making cities and towns liveable.

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

• The Convention was adopted in 1971 at the Iranian City of Ramsar.
•  It is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
• India is a party to the Convention since 1982.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the nodal Ministry for wetlands conservation in India.
• Wetlands in India account for 4.7% of the total geographical area

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)

• IWAI signed an project agreement with the world bank for the Jal Marg Vikas on Ganga (NW1)
• The IWAIcame into existence for development and regulation of inland waterways for shipping and navigation.
• Functions of IWAI with respect to National Waterways

1. Survey
2. Navigation, Infrastructure and Regulations
3. Fairway Development
4. Pilotage
5. Coordination of IWT with other modes

Initiatives of FSSAI for Nutritional and Safe Food

• Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has developed science-based standards for various categories of food products to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food in the country.
• FSSAI has introduced +F Logo for fortified foods.
• To promote awareness among consumers on Nutrition, mandatory labelling requirements for pre-packaged foods, is prescribed.
• FSSAI has also undertaken ‘Safe and Nutritious Food (SNF)’initiative to promote awareness towards consumption of safe and nutritious food.

Rabi Crops Sowing

• The area under the sowing reached 324 lakh hectares
• The word ‘rabi’ in Arabic means winter
• Rabi crops are sown in winter from Octoberto December and harvested in summer fromApril to June.
• Some of the important rabi cropsare wheat, barley, peas, gram and mustard.
• Punjab, Haryana,Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are importantfor the production of  rabicrops.
• Western temperate cyclones during winter provides the precipitation in these areas

Source: PIB, The Hindu, BusinessLine, Business Standard