1) Advance Authorisation Scheme: Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) implements Advance Authorisation Scheme under the Foreign Trade Policy.
- Advance Authorisation Scheme allows duty free import of inputs, which are physically incorporated in an export product.
- In addition to any inputs, packaging material, fuel, oil, catalyst which is consumed/utilized in the process of production of export product, is also allowed.
- Advance Authorization covers manufacturer exporters or merchant exporters tied to supporting manufacturer(s).
2) IEA Oil 2023 – Supply and demand dynamics to 2028: Report was launched by International Energy Agency (IEA).
- Key Highlights
- Global oil demand is set to slow down, almost coming to a halt by 2028 due to shift towards cleaner energy technologies.
- Use of oil for transport is set to decline after 2026 as expansion of electric vehicles, growth of biofuels and improving fuel economy reduce consumption.
- Around three-quarters of 2022-28 increase will come from Asia, with India surpassing China as the main source of growth by 2027.
3) Gambusia affinis (G affinis): Andhra Pradesh released Gambusia fish into state’s water bodies to combat mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and dengue.
- Gambusia affinis is native to south-eastern United States.
- Fish, also known as mosquitofish, is widely used as a biological agent for controlling mosquito larvae.
- Multiple countries, including India have listed Gambusia as invasive species.
- Fish has a high breeding capacity.
- They are known to eat the eggs of competing fishes and frog tadpoles.
4) Steel slag: Steel slag, a by-product of steel making, is produced during separation of molten steel from impurities in steel -making furnaces.
- Benefits of using steel slag in road making: Construction cost is almost 30% less, less thicker, more durable and lower carbon footprint than roads built from natural aggregates.
- Other applications: agricultural sector due to its ability to correct soil acidity, as silicate fertilizer that is capable of providing silicon to plants, in manufacturing cement, to treat acidic water.
5) Cicada: A ‘foreign’ cicada that is commonly found in South India has assumed an Indian identity.
- Insect species Purana cheeveeda (after its Malayalam name Cheeveedu) used to be mistaken for Purana tigrina, a species that was first described in Malaysia in 1850.
- Cicadas are insects of Hemiptera family (a group of sound-producing insects).
- Two types of cicadas commonly exist: annual cicadas and periodical cicadas.
- Cicadas can provide some environmental benefits including valuable food source for birds, aerate lawns and improve water filtration into the ground, add nutrients to the soil.
6) Anticyclone: European heatwaves are being caused by an anticyclone named Cerberus.
- Areas of sinking air (diverges at the surface) which result in high pressure are called anticyclones.
- In an anticyclone, winds move out from a high-pressure area with wind direction clockwise in northern hemisphere, anti-clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
- High pressure systems have small pressure gradients (i.e. the air pressure doesn’t change rapidly).
- This means that the winds are gentle. As the air sinks, it warms up, leading to warm and dry weather.
