07 March 2016 Current Affairs
New species of snake in Western Ghats
Indian, British scientists have discovered a new species of burrowing snake in the biological hotspot of the northern Western Ghats, after a gap of 144 years. The snake has been named after well known herpetologist from Maharashtra, Neelam Kumar Khaire, as Melanophidium Khairei. The research paper about it has been published in the scientific journal, Zootaxa in first week of March. This snake belongs to the family Uropeltidae, and all species in this group are burrowers and live mostly underground.
Union Government launched Mahila E-HAAT
Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Maneka Sanjay Gandhi launched “Mahila e-Haat”, an online marketing platform for women on 7 March 2016. Mahila e-Haat is a unique online platform where participants can display their products. It is an initiative for women across the country as a part of ‘Digital India’ and ‘Stand Up India’ initiatives of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. The Mahila E-Haat will help to meet the goal of financial inclusion of women and it is a big step forward for empowerment of women. Mahila E-Haat is an initiative for meeting aspirations and need of women entrepreneurs which will leverage technology for showcasing products made/manufactured/sold by women entrepreneurs. Participation in e-Haat is open to all Indian women citizens more than 18 years of age and women SHGs desiring for marketing their legal products/services after indemnifying RMK from any or all acts of transaction. The entire business of e-Haat can be handled through mobile phone.