1.PBR and Biodiversity Management in India: National Campaign for Updation and Verification of People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR) was launched in Goa, marking a significant milestone in the documentation and preservation of India’s rich biological diversity. It was organised by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
- People’s Biodiversity Register serves as a comprehensive record of various aspects of biodiversity, including conservation of habitats, preservation of land races, folk varieties, and cultivars, domesticated stocks and breeds of animals, and micro-organisms.
- Biodiversity Management Committees (BMC) are created as per the Biological Diversity Act 2002 for promoting conservation, sustainable use, and documentation of biological diversity.
- Local bodies in the states and union territories constitute BMCs, which are entrusted with the preparation of People’s Biodiversity Registers in consultation with local communities.
- India’s Biological Diversity Act (BDA) 2002, is in close synergy with the Nagoya Protocol and aims to implement provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
2. Sengol to be Installed in New Parliament Building: On May 28th 2023, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the new Parliament building, which is part of the Central Vista redevelopment project. One of the highlights of the event will be the installation of a historic golden sceptre, called Sengol, near the Speaker’s seat.
- The Sengol is profound in meaning, derived from the Tamil word “Semmai”, it means “Righteousness”. It was made of gold or silver and was often decorated with precious stones.
- The Cholas had a tradition of handing over the Sengol sceptre from one king to another as a mark of succession and legitimacy.
- The ceremony was usually performed by a high priest or a guru who blessed the new king and conferred him with the Sengol.
- Before independence from the British rule in 1947, the then Viceroy – Lord Mountbatten posed a question to the to-be Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru: “What is the ceremony that should be followed to symbolise the transfer of power from British to Indian hands?”
- PM Nehru then consulted C. Rajagopalachari, commonly known as Rajaji, who went on to become the last Governor-General of India.
- The Sengol sceptre was presented to PM Nehru by Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam (a 500-year-old Saivaite monastery) on August 14, 1947.
- The Nandi, with its unyielding gaze as the beholder of “Nyaya”, is hand-carved at the top.
3. Advancements in Sodium-ion Batteries: Recently, Indian scientists have made a significant breakthrough in the development of Sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries by creating new cathode materials that offer high performance, cost-effectiveness, and environmental stability.
- This advancement addresses the challenges of air/water-instability and structural-cum-electrochemical instability in Sodium-transition-metal-oxide (Na-TM-Oxide) based cathode materials, leading to the production of stable and efficient energy storage systems.
- Cathode material is the electrode where sodium ions are stored during the battery’s discharge process. The newly developed cathode materials are known for being air/water-stable and high-performance.
- A sodium-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery comparable to the ubiquitous lithium-ion battery, but it uses sodium ions (Na+) as the charge carriers rather than lithium ions (Li+).
- Sodium-ion batteries are currently emerging as a potential alternative to current lithium-ion battery technology due to their lower cost, higher availability, and reduced impact on the environment.
