1) High-Powered Committee on Wild Animals: It is set up under the chairmanship of former judge Justice Deepak Verma, to consider approval, dispute, or grievance concerning the transfer or import of wild animals into India or their procurement or welfare by any rehabilitation center or zoo.
- It was initially constituted to oversee the transfer of captive wild elephants from the northeastern States, restricted to Tripura and Gujarat. It will now cater to all wild animals in need of rehabilitation or rescue anywhere in India
- All State and Central authorities shall report the seizure of wild animals or abandonment of captive wild animals to the Committee.
2) Bobbili Veena: also known as Saraswathi Veena or the Ekanda Veena, it is a large plucked string instrument used in Carnatic classical music. It is carved from a single piece of Jackwood. Jackwood is a rainforest tree.
- It earned a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2012 for its unique design and high-quality craftsmanship and is made in Andhra Pradesh.
3) Terran 1 Rocket: It is the world’s first 3D-printed rocket built by California aerospace startup Relativity Space.
- Eighty-five percent of its mass is 3D printed with metal alloys, including the engines.
- It is powered by Aeon engines using liquid oxygen and liquid natural gas as propellants.
- It has nine 3D-printed Aeon 1 engines in its first stage and one 3D-printed Aeon Vacuum engine in its second stage.
- The rocket will eventually be capable of putting up to 2,755 pounds (1,250 kilograms) into low Earth orbit.
4) National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC): established in 1994 as an autonomous institution of the University Grants Commission (UGC) it is Headquartered in Bengaluru.
- Function: Evaluation, assessment, and accreditation of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the country.
- Assessment is a performance evaluation of an institution and its units and is accomplished through a process based on self-study and peer review using defined criteria.
- Accreditation refers to the certification given by NAAC, which is valid for a period of five years. The ratings of institutions range from A++ to C. If an institution is graded D, it means it is not accredited.
- At present, the Assessment and Accreditation by NAAC is done on a voluntary basis.
- The Chairperson of the UGC is the President of the General Council of the NAAC.
5) National Startup Advisory Council: constituted by DPIIT under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry to advise the Government on measures needed to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country
- Chairman: Minister for Commerce & Industry.
- Ex-officio Members:Nominees of the concerned Ministries/Departments/Organisations not below the rank of Joint Secretary.
- NSAC is playing an important role in identifying areas of intervention for the expansion of the startup ecosystem and ideating and nurturing national programs under the Startup India initiative.
