1.Khon Ramlila

Why in News?

• The Culture Department of Uttar Pradesh government is going toorganise the countryʼs first training and performance programme ofworld famous KHON Ramlila in collaboration with Thailand government.

About:

• KHON Ramlila is a masked form of Ramlila art of Thailand and isincluded in the list of UNESCOʼs Intangible cultural heritage.
• Itʼs a form of masked dance depicting the scenes of Ramlila.
• It has no dialogues and background voices narrate the whole storyof Ramayana.
• It is also famous for its beautiful attire and golden masks.

2.Maritime State Development Council (MSDC)

Why in News?

• 17^th Maritime State Development Council (MSDC) meeting was recentlyheld in New Delhi.

About MSDC:

• MSDC is an apex advisory body for the development of the Maritimesector and aims to ensure integrated development of Major and non-Major Ports.
• The MSDC was constituted in May 1997 to assess in consultation withState Governments, the future development of existing and new MinorPorts by the respective Maritime States either directly or throughcaptive users and private participation.
• Further, MSDC also monitors the development of minor ports, captiveports and private ports in the Maritime States with a view to ensuretheir integrated development with Major Ports and to assess therequirements of other infrastructure requirements like roads/rail/IWTand make suitable recommendations to the concerned Ministers.

3.World Food Day

Why in News?

• On October 16, the world observes the annual Food Day

About:

• -It is observed in honour of the United Nations Food and AgricultureOrganisation (FAO).
• -The international authority was set up on this day in the year 1945 toend world hunger.
• -The theme of this yearʼs World Food Day is “Our Actions Are OurFuture, Healthy Diets for A #ZeroHunger World.” With the theme,the FAO aims to bring one of the major health issues to the table:Malnutrition.

4.Deemed Forests

Why in News?

• It has been 23 years since the Supreme Court asked all states in the country to identify deemed forests, but their status in several states is still unclear.

Deemed Forests:

• The SC, in a Dec 12, 1996 judgement, had broadened the definition of forest to include not just land classified as forest under forest or revenue departments, but also those that are forests according to the definition of a forest.
• It had then also asked states to form committees to identify forests, irrespective of the nature of land ownership or whether they are notified, recognised or classified in a time-bound manner.
• There are forests that are notified either with the forest department or revenue department.
• Then there are those areas that are like forests but are neither recorded, nor notified. The Supreme Court had ordered that the states identify and classify these as deemed forests.
• Deemed forests are already a legal category of forests in some states and they are not defined according to the dictionary definition.

5.GOAL (Going Online as Leaders) Programme

Why in News?

• The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs announced the second phase of GOAL (Going Online as Leaders).

GOAL:

• It is a Facebook program aimed at inspiring, guiding and encouraging tribal girls from across India to become village-level digital young leaders for their communities.
• It was launched in March 2019.
• It connects underprivileged young tribal women with senior expert mentors in the areas of business, fashion and arts to learn digital and life skills.
• In the second phase of the program, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Facebook together will digitally mentor 5000 young women in India’s tribal-dominated districts.
• The program will include weekly one-to-one mentoring sessions, focused on a range of skills such as digital literacy, entrepreneurship and online safety.
• In total, more than 200,000 hours of guidance will be provided using Facebook family of apps including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
• Following the program, the participants will graduate to the GOAL alumni and will continue to receive support and guidance from the Ministry and Facebook.
• The Ministry will also work with district administration and other government agencies to help secure qualified participants with a fellowship, so they can put their newly learned skills to work.