1) Phukot Karnali Hydro Electric Project: Recently, NHPC Limited and Vidhyut Utpadan Company Limited (VUCL), Nepal signed an MoU for development of Phukot Karnali Hydro Electric Project (480MW) in Nepal. It is conceived as a Peaking Run-of-River (PRoR) type scheme.
- The project will use the flow from the Karnali River for power generation and the generated power will be fed into integrated power system of Nepal
- Other Hydropower project between India and Nepal:
- Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project: River Sarda
- Saptakoshi and Sun-Kosi Storage project: River Kosi
- Naumere Multipurpose Project: River Rapti
- Kamla Dam Multipurpose Project: River Kamla
- Bagmati Multipurpose Project: River Bagmati
2) The Pandemic Fund: It is a multi-stakeholder global partnership officially established in November, 2022. It is one of the Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF).
- It is a collaborative partnership among donor countries, co-investors (countries that are eligible to receive funding), foundations and civil society organizations (CSOs).
- Objective – It will provide a dedicated stream of additional, long-term financing to strengthen critical pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPR) capabilities in low- and middle-income countries. The financial volume depends upon contributions from donors.
- Secretariat and Trustee – The World Bank
- India is believed to have placed a funding request of around $55 million in its first call with the Pandemic Fund of the World Bank.
3) Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) 2023: It is jointly released by UNICEF, WHO and World Bank.
- Prevalence of overweight children increased in India in 2022 compared to 2012.
- India continues to show a reduction in stunted children under 5 years in 2022 compared to 2012.
- In India 2/3rds of children at 12 or 24 months had wasting at birth or at one month of age.
- It is caused by maternal malnutrition.
4) Myristica Swamps: These swamps are found in the Sacred Groves or evergreen forest patches and are included in the littoral and swamp forest groups. Kammadam Kavu is the largest in Kerala.
- This species has stilt roots, or knee roots that pop up above the water level to breathe creating a varied habitat for many life forms.
- These forests are characterized by trees with large protruding roots jutting out of waterlogged soil which remains inundated throughout the year.
- In India, these unique habitats occur in the Western Ghats and a smaller distribution exists in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- Typically, Myristica swamps are seen next to rivers and help in retaining water and act as a sponge, ensuring perennial water availability.
- Climate change and human intervention threaten the Myristica swamps of Kerala.
5) Agni-1 Missile: It is a medium-Range Ballistic Missile having range 700–900 km.
- It is a single-stage, solid-fuel missile.
- It is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead with an estimated payload of 1,000 kg.
- It is road-mobile, which gives it a high degree of mobility and makes it difficult for an enemy to target.
- The latest upgrade to the Agni-1 missile includes a new guidance system that makes it more accurate and a new warhead that increases its destructive power.
