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Bandipur completes 50 years as Project Tiger reserve. It was on April 1, 1973, that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi launched Project Tiger, the flagship conservation programme to arrest the big cat’s dwindling population. There were 12 tigers in Bandipur when Project Tiger was launched and now the number of tigers utilising the park is 173 while the number …

Nagaraja Thira’ was performed recently at the Sree Muchilottu temple at Kuthiravattom in Kozhikode. ‘Thira’, like Theyyam, is a dance that is part of a religious ritual performed in the temples of Kerala. While the person participating in Theyyam is considered god, the person taking part in ‘Thira’ is considered as possessed by god This art form …

The government will expand the definition of “political risk” under the export guarantee scheme. To cover any fresh imposition of non-tariff barriers by importing nations after a shipment has left Indian shores. The Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) indemnifies exporters for: losses when buyers turn insolvent or default on payments, political risks like war and sudden import restrictions or promulgations of laws or decrees But it does …

Chile is keen to partner with India on tapping into the lithium value chain by extending technical expertise in exploiting the newly established “inferred” lithium resources of 5.9 million tonnes in Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district in Jammu and Kashmir. Key details: The ‘inferred’ reserves of 5.9 mn tonnes in J&K’s Reasi are …

The Eravikulam National Park (ENP) in Kerala has a new attraction — a fernarium set up inside the park. This is the first time such a fern collection is being set up in the hill station. Key details: That ferns are the ecological indicator of healthy forests. The climatic condition inside the ENP is …

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has greeted the people on Utkal Dibasa. Utkala Diwas, also known as the Odisha Diwas, is the foundation day of Odisha. Every year, the state celebrates April 1 as the day of its origin. On this day, the state of Odisha was declared an independent province when divided by Bihar. The state …

Nothing lasts forever, neither the good times nor the bad times. Therefore, over centuries, numerous ancient texts and philosophers have advised people to prepare for the inevitable downturn, while enjoying the present upturn. For instance, Christine Lagarde, the former chief and managing director of the IMF and current president of the European Central …

Context: The Indian Space Research Organisation and its partners successfully demonstrated a precise landing experiment for a Reusable Launch Vehicle at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, Karnataka. Key details: The Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX) test was the second of five tests that are a part of ISRO’s efforts …

Context: Experimental work undertaken in mice has shown a novel quinoline derivative to be effective in sharply reducing the load of Leishmania donovaniin, also called kala-azar (black fever) both the spleen and liver of lab-grown mice. Key details: The quinoline derivative is a potent inhibitor of an enzyme called topoisomerase 1 (LdTop1), which is essential for …

The UN asked the International Court of Justice to give an ‘advisory opinion’ on whether countries have legal obligations to protect people from climate extremities. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution that asked the International Court of Justice at The Hague to provide an opinion on what kind of obligations countries have towards climate change reduction, based on …

An estimated 170 trillion plastic particles weighing about 2 million metric tons are currently afloat in the oceans across the world, according to a new study. What are microplastics? Microplastics are fragments of any type of plastic less than 5 mm in length. They cause pollution by entering natural ecosystems from a variety of sources, including cosmetics, clothing, food packaging, …

ISRO releases images of Earth captured by its EOS-06 satellite EOS-6 is the third-generation satellite in the Oceansat series. This is to provide continuity services of Oceansat-2 spacecraft with enhanced payload specifications as well as application areas. Payloads Ocean Color Monitor (OCM-3) Sea Surface Temperature Monitor (SSTM) Ku-Band Scatterometer (SCAT-3) ARGOS Mission Objectives To ensure the data continuity of Ocean colour …

Rapidly melting Antarctic ice is dramatically slowing down the flow of water through the world’s oceans, and could have a disastrous impact on global climate, the marine food chain and even the stability of ice shelves, new research has found. Key findings of the study: The “overturning circulation” of the …

India is responsible for 0.08 degrees Celsius of warming from the 1850s through 2021, a new study estimated. India’s emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from 1851-2021 have resulted in 0.04°C, 0.03°C and 0.006°C of global warming over pre-industrial levels, respectively. Overall, the country ranks fifth among the top 10 contributors to warming. Since 2005, India climbed to the …

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in) may soon be exempt from responding to queries under the Right to Information Act.  Key details: A proposal was reviewed to include CERT-in in the Second Schedule to the RTI Act, which deals with exempted organisations like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Border Security Force. The exemption would allow CERT-in …

Mahila Samman Savings Certificates made available in Post Offices. Mahila Samman Savings Certificate scheme is a small savings scheme backed by the government. It does not have any credit risk. This scheme is a one-time small savings scheme that will be made available for a period of two years, up to March 2025. Eligibility It can be done only in …

The Finance Ministry pared the disinvestment target for 2023-24 to a nine-year low of ₹51,000 crore and publicly acknowledged the multiple challenges it is facing in privatising public sector enterprises (PSEs) and raising funds through minority stake sales, a drive that has stalled since Air India’s sale. What is Disinvestment? …

ISRO releases images of Earth captured by its EOS-06 satellite EOS-6 is the third-generation satellite in the Oceansat series. This is to provide continuity services of Oceansat-2 spacecraft with enhanced payload specifications as well as application areas. Payloads Ocean Color Monitor (OCM-3) Sea Surface Temperature Monitor (SSTM) Ku-Band Scatterometer (SCAT-3) ARGOS Mission Objectives To ensure the data continuity of Ocean colour …

The closure of the Indira Gandhi Canal, considered the lifeline for northern and western Rajasthan districts, for repair and relining of feeders, is set to have an impact on the drinking and irrigation needs of 1.75 crore people in the State. Indira Canal: The Indira Gandhi Canal, originally called, Rajasthan Canal is …

The lower house of Parliament passed the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023 which seeks to amend the Competition Act, 2002. The Bill seeks to amend the Competition Act, 2002, to regulate mergers and acquisitions based on the value of transactions. The Act prohibits any person or enterprise from entering into a combination which may cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition. Deals with transaction …