State PCS - Jharkhand (JPSC)

• 26 Mar 2026

Jharkhand MLA Kalpana Soren Honoured with BRICS CCI Award

Why in News? 

Jharkhand MLA Kalpana Soren was conferred with the prestigious Women Empowerment Trailblazer Award at the 6th edition of the BRICS CCI WE Annual Women Summit and Felicitation 2026 held in New Delhi. 

Key Points 

• About: Kalpana Soren is a Member of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly, representing the Gandey constituency.  
  • She has been actively involved in social and community development work, particularly focusing on women’s empowerment and inclusion in socio‑economic processes.  
• Organiser: The three-day summit, organised by the BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry Women Empowerment Vertical (BRICS CCI WE) from 21st - 23rd March 2026. 
• Theme: It was held under the theme “Women in Innovation, Science Leadership, Innovation & Entrepreneurship (WISE) – Inspiring Change, Shaping Tomorrow.” 
  • The WISE initiative, first launched during the BRICS Women Business Alliance Annual Plenary Meeting in Rio de Janeiro in 2025, has since evolved into a global platform aimed at enabling ecosystem partnerships and advancing women-led innovation across geographies. 
• Other Awards: 
  • Veteran actor Shabana Azmi, honoured with the “Trailblazer: Living Legend” award. 
  • Debjani Ghosh, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. 
• BRICS: 
  • The inaugural BRIC Summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009 
  • The acronym BRIC originally represented Brazil, Russia, India, and China; South Africa joined later in 2010, making it BRICS. 
  • During the 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil (2014), the leaders signed the Agreement establishing the New Development Bank (NDB).  
  • The group expanded in 2024 with the inclusion of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE. 
  • Indonesia became a member in 2025. 

Read More: BRICS 

Indus River Green Corridor Initiative in Ladakh

Why in News? 

Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena launched the Indus River Green Corridor Eco‑Restoration Plantation project at Spituk Pharka in Leh, Ladakh. 

Key Points 

• About: The Indus River Green Corridor is a one-of-a-kind cold desert river bank restoration project in India that seeks to build green buffers along the Indus River in the fragile high‑altitude landscape of Ladakh’s Leh region.  
  • Nearly 1000 saplings of indigenous species like Oleaster, Sea buckthorn were planted on the riverbank through collaborative efforts of civil administration, military, police, and local communities. 
  • 1000 saplings of Cherry Blossom and Apricot were also planted along the roadside in Leh city, aimed at enhancing the green aesthetics of the city. 
• Objectives: 
  • To restore the ecological integrity of the Indus riverbanks and enhance biodiversity in Ladakh’s cold desert ecosystem. 
  • To address pressing ecological challenges like soil erosion, desertification, and low green cover. 
  • To develop Ladakh as a sustainable and resilient environment while improving the region’s aesthetic appeal. 
• Irrigation Techniques: Adopting gravity-based solar submersible strip irrigation and drip irrigation systems, to optimise water usage in plantation and afforestation activities. 
• Ecological Benefits: Strategic plantation efforts will help reduce wind speed through shelter belts, prevent soil erosion along riverbanks, improve micro‑climatic stability, enhance oxygen levels, and support biodiversity conservation in a challenging environment. 
• Significance: Ladakh’s current forest cover stands at less than 1%. The Lieutenant Governor set an ambitious target to raise forest cover to 5% in the coming two years. 
  • It will help attain the national goal of restoring 2.6 crore hectares of degraded land by 2030. 
• Indus River:  
  • Indus (In Tibetan called Sengge Chu/‘Lion River’) is a major river in South Asia, originating in Tibet near Mansarovar Lake in the Trans-Himalaya. 
  • The river flows through Tibet, India and Pakistan and about 200 million people live in the area of its drainage basin. 
  • The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan, with the support of the World Bank 

Read More: Indus Waters Treaty