1) Nairobi flies: also called Kenyan flies or dragon bugs, are small, beetle-like insects that belong to two species, Paederus eximius and Paederus sabaeus. They are orange and black in colour, and thrive in areas with high rainfall, as has been witnessed in Sikkim in the past few weeks.
- Like most insects, the beetles are attracted by bright light.
- These flies do not bite, but if disturbed while sitting on anyone’s skin, they release a potent acidic substance that causes burns.
- This substance is called pederin, and can cause irritation if it comes in contact with the skin, leading to lesions or unusual marks or colouring on the skin.
2) Banni Grassland: it is situated near the Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.
- It is considered to be the largest Grassland in Asia.
- Formation: The land here was formed from the sediments that were deposited by the Indus and other rivers over thousands of years.
- Ecosystem: Two ecosystems, wetlands and grasslands are juxtaposed in Banni.
- The vegetation in Banni is sparse and highly dependent on rainfall. It is dominated by low-growing forbs and graminoids, many of which are halophiles (salt-tolerant), as well as scattered tree cover and scrub.
3) Bhagyalakshmi temple: it is a small temple dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, adjacent to the southeast minar of Charminar. Made of bamboo poles and tarpaulins, it has a tin roof, and the southeast minar forms its back wall.
- There is no definitive version on how and when exactly it came up, but it has been there since at least the 1960s. Secunderabad MP G Kishan Reddy claimed that the temple predates Charminar, whose construction was started in 1591.
- Sources in the Archaeological Survey of India said the temple encroaches on the protective perimeter of Charminar.
4) Planned Obsolescence: describes a strategy of deliberately ensuring that the current version of a given product will become out of date or useless within a known time period.
- It is a trick used by companies to turn a customer into a repeat customer, with or without their knowledge.
- Eg: In terms of hardware, the companies use inferior parts designed to decrease the life of a product to 2-3 years.
5) TiHAN Testbed for Autonomous Navigation: is a multidisciplinary initiative of the IIT-Hyderabad.
- It aims to make India a global player in the futuristic “Smart Mobility technology”.
- TiHAN is developing and deploying a real-time Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) utilising autonomous UAVs and ground/surface vehicles for many application sectors of the national importance of this decade.
- It is a first of its kind futuristic autonomous navigation facility to develop unmanned terrestrial & aerial vehicles.
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