1) Surjapuri and Bajjika dialects: Bihar State education department is to set up academies for the promotion of the Surjapuri and Bajjika dialects on the lines of the Hindi and Urdu academies.
- Surjapuri is spoken mainly in Kishanganj and other parts of Seemanchal in northeastern Bihar. The dialect, a mix of Bangla, Urdu, and Hindi, is also spoken in parts of West Bengal.
- Bajjika, one of five dialects spoken in Bihar, is a mix of Hindi and Maithili and is spoken mainly in Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, and parts of Sitamarhi, Sheohar and Samastipur. Bajjika is not as well known as other dialects such as Bhojpuri and Maithili.
2) Coffee-ring Effect: When a drop of spilt coffee dries up, the outermost edge of the dried drop is a little darker than the centre, forming a darker ‘ring’. This is called the ‘coffee ring effect’.
- This is caused by the outward drift of suspended coffee particles from the centre, causing a denser, darkened rim. Gapped coffee ring – The inward movement takes place because the particles are ‘squished’ between the solid plate and the evaporating liquid interface.
- Hence, the ‘coffee’ ring is not formed at the point where the liquid touches the solid, but there is a small gap between the outermost edge and the ring.
- Using the theory of evaporating drops, the researchers could calculate the rate at which the liquid interface gets flattened.
3) Avalanche Monitoring Radar: An avalanche monitoring radar (the 1st of its kind) has been installed in North Sikkim by the Army and Defence Geoinformatics and Research Establishment (DGRE), a lab under the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO).
- The radar has the capability to detect avalanches within 3 seconds of its trigger in the super high altitude areas. This radar can also be employed to detect landslides.
- The radar can see through snow, fog as well as in the night, making it an all-weather solution.
4) NavIC: Navigation in Indian Constellation (NavIC) is an Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
- IRNSS consists of eight satellites, three satellites in geostationary orbit and five satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The main objective is to provide reliable position, navigation and timing services over India and its neighbourhood.
- It works just like the established and popular U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) but within a 1,500-km radius over the sub-continent.
5) Rotterdam Convention: International trade of two new hazardous pesticides — Iprodione and Terbufos — has been recommended for “prior informed consent” (PIC) procedure under the Rotterdam convention.
- The Rotterdam Convention is an international treaty designed to facilitate informed decision-making by countries with regard to trade in hazardous chemicals.
- Terbufos is a soil insecticide used commonly on sorghum, maize, beet and potatoes. It has also been found to pose risk to aquatic organisms due to its toxicity. In India, the use of these chemicals was permitted by the 2015 Anupam Verma committee report. The country is among the largest exporters of Terbufos.
- Iprodione, a fungicide used on vines, fruits, trees and vegetables, has been classified as carcinogenic and toxic for reproduction.
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