| National and International News |
| Black Sea Grain Initiative |
Key points:
- It is associated with the Russia-Ukraine war.
- It was set up to resume vital food and fertilizer exports from Ukraine to the rest of the world.
- It was brokered between Russia and Ukraine by the United Nations and Turkey.
Do you know?
- The Initiative allowed exports of grain, other foodstuffs, and fertilizer, including ammonia, to resume through a safe maritime humanitarian corridor from three key Ukrainian ports: Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi, to the rest of the world.
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| African Union to join G-20 as Sherpas reach a deal |
African Union
- The African Union (AU) is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African Continent.
- It was officially launched in 2002 and replaced its predecessor, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which was founded in 1963.
- Primary Objective: To promote unity, cooperation, and development among African nations while advancing the continent’s interests on the global stage.
- It aims to strengthen political, economic, and social integration among African countries, with a vision of achieving an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful Africa.
- Headquarters: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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| G-20 Structure
Do you know?
The G20 works in three major tracks — two of them are official and one is unofficial
- Sherpa Track
- Finance Track
- Engagement groups or civil society groups (Unofficial)
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Finance Track
- It is headed by the finance ministers and central bank governors, who usually meet four times a year, with two meetings being held on the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings.
- It mainly focuses on fiscal and monetary policy issues such as the global economy, infrastructure, financial regulation, financial inclusion, international financial architecture, and international taxation.
Sherpa Track
- It was established after the forum became a leaders’ summit in 2008.
- It consists of representatives of heads of state, and it focuses on socio-economic issues such as agriculture, anti-corruption, climate, digital economy, education, employment, energy, environment, health, tourism, trade, and investment.
The unofficial track comprises engagement or civil groups. |
| Clear illegal constructions in ESZ, buffer zone of Bandipur |
What are eco-sensitive zones (ESZ)?
- An area around a protected area like a national park or wildlife sanctuary
- To conserve the biodiversity and ecosystems of protected areas by regulating human activities
- The government can regulate and restrict certain activities in ESZs through guidelines and laws
Bandipur Tiger Reserve
- It was established in the 1930s as a wildlife sanctuary, which became a tiger reserve in 1973 under Project tiger.
- It is situated in Karnataka and located at the tri-junction area of the States of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
- This area has the River Kabini in its north and River Moyar in its south.
- It comprises diverse vegetation of dry deciduous to tropical mixed deciduous. It includes rosewood, Indian kino tree, sandalwood, Indian laurel, clumping bamboo and giant clumping bamboo etc.
- It is a shelter for the largest population of wild Asian elephants in South Asia. It comprises other mammals such as Bengal tiger, gaur, sloth bear, golden jackal, dhole and four-horned antelope etc.
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| Water Hyacinth |
Key points:
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- Water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes) is an invasive species native to South Africa.
- The plant has naturalised itself in many other parts of the world.
- Water hyacinth acts as a water purifier by removing heavy metals from water when present in small quantities.
- However, the plant is a prolific spreader and when it covers the entire surface of a water body, it does not allow sunlight to penetrate the water and also starts depleting oxygen.
- This leads to death of aquatic animals and plants, which in turn decompose and further reduce oxygen levels
- The presence of water hyacinth indicates that there are high nitrogen levels in the water.
- It is a symptom of an underlying problem and how the water nutrients behave.
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| Major security threat reported from Idukki Dam |
Idukki Dam
- The Idukki Dam is a double curvature Arch dam constructed across the Periyar River in a narrow gorge between two granite hills located in Idukki District in Kerala.
- At 168.91 metres it is one of the highest arch dams in Asia.
- This dam was constructed along with two other dams at Cheruthoni and Kulamavu.
- Together, the three dams and Two saddle dams, Kulamavu Saddle Dam (Near Junction) and Kulamavu Saddle Dam (Right Bank) have created an artificial lake in the area.
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| Crocodiles |
Mugger or Marsh Crocodile:
- An egg-laying and hole-nesting species, also known to be dangerous.
- Mainly restricted to the Indian subcontinent where it may be found in a number of freshwater habitat types and also in coastal saltwater lagoons and estuaries.
- It is already extinct in Bhutan and Myanmar.
- IUCN List of Threatened Species: Vulnerable
- CITES: Appendix I
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
Estuarine or Saltwater Crocodile:
- Considered as the Earth’s largest living crocodile species, infamous globally as a known maneater.
- Found in Odisha’s Bhitarkanika National Park, the Sundarbans in West Bengal and the Andamans and Nicobar Islands.
- Also found across Southeast Asia and northern Australia.
- IUCN List of Threatened Species: Least Concern
- CITES : Appendix I (except the populations of Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, which are included in Appendix II).
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 : Schedule I
Gharial:
- Sometimes called gavials, are a type of Asian crocodilian distinguished by their long, thin snouts which resembles a pot (ghara in Hindi).
- The population of Gharials is a good indicator of clean river water.
- Known to be a relatively harmless, fish-eating species.
- Mostly found in fresh waters of the himalayan rivers.
- The Chambal river in the northern slopes of the Vindhya mountains (Madhya Pradesh) is known as the primary habitat of gharials.
- Other himalayan rivers like Ghagra, Gandak river, Girwa river, Ramganga river and the Sone river are secondary habitats.
- IUCN List of Threatened Species: Critically Endangered
- CITES: Appendix I
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule
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| Important fact:- |
As per a report by UNESCO in 2018, 42 languages are heading towards extinction in India. |
| Heat Index |
Heat Index will calculate the temperature along with the humidity levels to provide a more accurate measure of what the temperature actually feels like. |
| Food Processing sector to create 9 million jobs by 2024. |
India’s household consumption will quadruple, making it the world’s 5th largest consumer of food and food technology. |
