• Yaya Tso Lake was declared Ladakh’s first biodiversity heritage site under the Biological Diversity Act.The Biodiversity Management Committee, the panchayat of Chumathang village, along with the SECURE Himalaya Project recently resolved the issue and declared Yaya Tso Lake a biodiversity heritage site.
• Lake Yaya Tso is known as a bird's paradise for its beautiful lake located at an altitude of 4,820 metres in Ladakh.It is a nesting habitat for a large number of birds and animals, such as the bar-headed goose, black-necked crane and brahminy duckIt is also one of the highest breeding sites of the black-necked crane in India.

• Uttar Pradesh (UP) will be a major beneficiary of the hike in ethanol blending to 20% with petrol in the next two years.
• The total number of distilleries in the state is 75 with a total production capacity of 49 crore litres per annum.The total number of ethanol producing distilleries is 55 with a production capacity of 166.17 crore litres per annum.Establishment of 17 new distillery units is underway and expected to be commissioned in the next two years.

• Indore Municipal Corporation, ranked top in cleanliness survey for six consecutive years, has become the country's first civic body to launch green bonds, seeking to raise Rs 244 crore for a 60-mw solar plant at its water pumping station.
• The public issues of the green bonds will be open for subscription from February 10-14, Pushyamitra Bhargav, mayor of Indore, and Divyank Singh, chief executive of the Indore Smart City Development Commission, told reporters.

• Jharkhand Agriculture Minister Badal Patralekh  launched a water conservation scheme with an outlay of Rs 467.32 crore to provide benefits to farmers in the state that experienced drought last year.
• Under the programme, 2,133 ponds will be renovated and 2,795 percolation tanks will be constructed in all the blocks of 24 districts of the state, an official release said.The minister also laid the foundation for the renovation work of 71 ponds and 184 percolation tanks.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) helicopter plant in Karnataka’s Tumakuru.
• This factory is Asia’s largest helicopter manufacturing facility and will initially produce the Light Utility Helicopters (LUH).As part of the programme, the Prime Minister unveiled a Light Utility Helicopter at the facility in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

• The government has extended PM-KUSUM scheme till March 2026 as its implementation was significantly affected due to the pandemic.
• Launched in 2019, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) aimed at adding solar capacity of 30,800 MW by 2022 with total central financial support of Rs 34,422 crore, including service charges to the implementing agencies.

• Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched the ‘Save Wetlands Campaign’ in the presence of Chief Minister of Goa. This campaign is structured on a “whole of society” approach for wetlands conservation, enabling affirmative actions for wetlands conservation at all levels of the society and involving all strata of the society.
• This campaign over next one year will include sensitizing people of the value of wetlands, increasing the coverage of wetland mitras and building citizen partnerships for wetlands conservation.

• Four Indian-American lawmakers-- Raja Krishnamoorthi, Pramila Jayapal, Ami Bera and Ro Khanna-- have been appointed as members of key US House Committees, reflecting the growing influence of the community in American politics.
• Congressman Krishnamoorthi was appointed on February 1, to serve as Ranking Member on the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Another Indian-American Congressman Khanna has also been made a member of this new committee, formed in the 118th Congress by Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for the specific purpose of investigating and developing policy to address the United States' economic, technological and security competition with the CCP.

• Reliance Industries unveiled India’s first Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine technology solution for heavy duty trucks.
• According to Reliance, it is a "unique and affordable", indigenously developed technology solution that could redefine the future of green mobility.RIL and its vehicle partner Ashok Leyland, along with a few other partners, together developed the technology under its Net carbon Zero vison. The first engines run with this tech was tested in early 2022.

• Former Indian National Team footballer Parimal Dey passed away at the age of 81.Parimal Dey was born on May 4, 1941, West Bengal.At the domestic level, he fondly called Jangla had the honour of winning the Santosh Trophy twice in 1962, 1969.
• He made 5 appearances for India and scored a goal in the country’s bronze medal finish in the 1966 edition of the Merdeka Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia & that was also his only goal for India.He holds the distinction of winning the Calcutta Football League and IFA Shield double thrice in 1966, 1970, and 1973.He also won the Durand Cup (1967, 1970), and Rovers Cup (1967, 1969, 1973).

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