1) Hakki-Pikki tribe: They are a semi-nomadic tribal group belonging to the state of Karnataka.
- The community is known as the ‘bird catcher,’ which is their traditional occupation.
- The population is predominantly found in the Shivamogga, Davanagere and Mysuru districts
- Their mother tongue was designated as ‘Vaagri’ and is listed as endangered language by UNESCO. They have traditional medical knowledge that is in demand in several African countries. The community resided in the dense jungles for a long time and created its own plant and herb-based medicine systems.
2) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-55: ISRO, is scheduled to launch PSLV-C55 mission with Singapore’s TeLEOS-2 as primary satellite and Lumelite-4 as a co-passenger satellite.
- The PSLV-C55 mission will be the 57th flight of PSLV and the 16th mission using the PSLV Core Alone configuration. The PSLV C55 rocket has four stages; each one was self-contained, with its own propulsion system, thereby capable of functioning independently.
- The first and third stages used composite solid propellants.
- The second and fourth stage use earth-storable liquid propellant.
- LUMELITE-4: developed by Singapore, it is an advanced 12U satellite designed for the technology demonstration of the High-Performance Space-borne VHF Data Exchange System (VDES). Using the VDES communication payload Lumelite-4 aims to augment Singapore’s e-navigation maritime safety and benefit the global shipping community.
3) First-ever census of water bodies: conducted by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in convergence with the Sixth Minor Irrigation Census under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme – “Irrigation Census”.
- The census defines a water body as all natural or man-made units bounded on all sides with some or no masonry work used for storing water for Irrigation or Other purposes (example industrial, pisciculture, domestic/drinking, recreation, religious, groundwater recharge, etc).
- A structure where water from ice-melt, streams, springs, rain or drainage of water from residential or other areas is accumulated will also be treated as a waterbody.
- West Bengal has most (7.47 lakh) and Sikkim the least (134) number of water bodies.
- States with most: Ponds and reservoirs: West Bengal; Tanks: Andhra Pradesh; Lakes: Tamil Nadu; Water conservation schemes: Maharashtra.
- West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas: district with most water bodies across the country.
- 97% water bodies are located in rural areas.
- Decreasing order of water bodies: ponds (59%), followed by tanks, reservoirs, water conservation schemes/percolation tanks/check dams, lakes and others
4) Middle East quartet: The Quartet, set up in 2002, consists of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia.
- Its mandate is to help mediate Middle East peace negotiations and to support Palestinian economic development and institution-building in preparation for eventual statehood.
- It meets regularly at the level of the Quartet Principals (United Nations Secretary General, United States Secretary of State, Foreign Minister of Russia, and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy) and the Quartet Special Envoys.
5) Indian Nutrition Ratings (INR):
- FSSAI released a draft notification for front-of-pack labelling which would be known as the Indian Nutrition Rating (INR).
- It mandates pre-packaged foods to carry a star rating similar to the energy-efficiency ratings on electronic goods, to discourage the consumption of foods high in sugar, salt and fats.
- It provides 1 to 5 stars based on how healthy the product is, with 5 being healthiest and 1 for least healthy.
- Food such as milk and milk products, whey, butter oil, ghee, vegetable oil and fat, fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables, fresh and frozen meat, egg, fish, flour, and sweeteners will not have to display the star rating. Carbonated beverages without any energy or sugar will also not be eligible for declaring the rating.
