SNIPPETS 07 FEBRUARY 2026

Exercise KHANJARXIII: India–Kyrgyzstan Joint Special Forces Exercise+ 13th edition, held annually+ Hosted alternately by both countries+ Location (2026): Misamari, Sonitpur district, Assam+ Focus areas: Urban warfare, Counter-terrorism, UN-mandated operations

Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary: Protected area in the Western Ghats, known for its exceptional biodiversity, wide altitudinal range, and intact forest ecosystems+ Its position on the Nilgiri slopes places it within a critical Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot+ Notified in 2020+ Kerala’s 18th Wildlife Sanctuary and 24th Protected Area+ Hosts key Western Ghats endemics such as Nilgiri tahr and lion-tailed macaque Rich diversity of birds, butterflies, odonates, amphibians, reptiles, and freshwater fish

Bharat Taxi: India’s first cooperative-sector, driver-owned ride-hailing platform, designed as an indigenous alternative to aggregator-based models like Ola and Uber, with drivers (Sarathis) as owners and stakeholders+ Organisation(s) involved: Ministry of Cooperation – policy guidance, Sahkar Taxi Cooperative Limited – operating entity, Registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002+ To promote inclusive, citizen-centric mobility by empowering drivers through cooperative ownership, ensuring fair income distribution, social security, and freedom from exploitative commission-based platforms.

Bharat VISTAAR (Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources): Will be a multilingual AI (Artificial Intelligence) tool that will integrate the AgriStack portals and the ICAR package on agricultural practices with AI systems+ AgriStack has been envisaged as a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Agriculture, based on India’s Digital Ecosystem Architecture (InDEA) 2.0+ VISTAAR is an open, interoperable, and federated public network dedicated to agricultural information and advisory services+ Potential Significance:  Enhancing farm productivity through data-driven and timely interventions, Improving farmer decision-making at every stage etc