Art & Culture

Geographical Indication tag sought for Beypore Uru

The District Tourism Promotion Council, Kozhikode has applied for a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the famous Beypore Uru (boat).

About Beypore Uru (boat):

• It is a wooden dhow (ship / sailing boat / sailing vessel) handcrafted by skilled artisans and carpenters in Beypore, Kerala.
• The Beypore Urus are purely made of premium wood, without using any modern techniques.

History

Sri Aurobindo at 150

PM Modi participated in a programme commemorating Sri Aurobindo’s 150th birth anniversary, held in Kamban Kalai Sangam, Puducherry, under the aegis of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. He also released a commemorative coin and postal stamp in honour of Sri Aurobindo.

About:

• Sri Aurobindo, born on 15th August 1872, was a visionary who made lasting contributions to India's freedom struggle.
• His father sent him to England for education at the age of seven.
• Sri Aurobindo returned to India in 1893.
• At the partition of Bengal in 1905, Sri Aurobindo went to Calcutta to direct the newly awakened spirit of nationalism.
• He could remain in the political field only for four years but even during this short period, he revolutionized the political thought in the country through his writing, speeches and famous journals like Bande Matram, Karma Yogin and Dharma.
• In 1915, he quitted all political activities and retired to Pondicherry for peace and spiritual advancement.
• There he built an Ashram known as Aurobindo Ashram, where he spent the rest of his life doing Yoga Sadhna, meditation for spiritual growth and development.

Polity & Governance

Indian Navy allows women to join elite special force Marcos

In a historic move, the Indian Navy has decided to allow women to be part of its elite special forces the Marine Commandos (Marcos).

Who are the Marcos?

• The Indian Navy raised the Marcos in 1987.
• Initially, they were named the Indian Marine Special Forces (IMSF).
• However, in 1991, the Navy changed the name to “sabotage forces of the marines” – Marine Commando Force(MCF), who are also known as Marcos in short.
• The Marcos are trained to carry out intense operations in the sea, air and on land. 

Important Operations:

• Operation Tasha in 1991
• 1999 Kargil War

Polity & Governance

Over 1.1 cr passengers flew in 6 yrs under UDAN scheme: Aviation Ministry

• Ude Desh ka Aam nagrik scheme, also known as UDAN Scheme was launched in 2016.
• It is basically a part of a regional connectivity scheme for upgrading the under-serviced air routes.
• Through this scheme, air travel will be made affordable and widespread. 

Economy

Indore Municipal Corporation files for retail green bonds

Indore Municipal Corporation plans to issue green municipal bonds with an aim to raise up to Rs 244 crore to partly fund a solar power project in the city. 

• This would be the first time a municipal body is targeting individual investors.

About Municipal bond:

• A municipal bond is a debt instrument issued by corporations under municipal laws with the permission of the respective state governments.
• The funds raised are used to finance projects for socioeconomic development such as building bridges, schools and hospitals.

Economy

 RBI removes informal NDF restrictions on banks

India's central bank has lifted informal restrictions placed on banks for trading in the non-deliverable forward market (NDF).

About NDF

• An NDF is a short-term, cash-settled forwards contractthat investors use to trade in currencies in an offshore market.
• The two involved parties create a settlement between the contracted NDF rate and the leading spot price when both parties agree on a notional amount.
• NDFs in the non-deliverable forward market are always settled in cash and are non-deliverable, meaning the trader cannot take the delivery of the currencies.

Science & Technology

Carboplatin

Carboplatin increases cure rate, survival of triple negative breast cancer: Study

About

• Carboplatin belongs to the group of medicines known as alkylating agents.
• It is used to treat cancer of the ovaries

Science & Technology

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover collects its first dust samples

• NASA's Perseverance rover has collected its first samples of regolith (broken rocks and dust) from the Martian surface.
• Regolith can affect everything from spacesuits to solar panels and studying these samples will help engineers design future Mars missions.

Science & Technology

13-yr-old girl's leukaemia cleared after getting world's first cell-editing treatment

A 13-year-old girl suffering from an aggressive form of leukaemia became the world's first person to receive a base-edited T-cells treatment in London and went into remission.

About

• T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive malignant neoplasm of the bone marrow.
• It is a type of blood cancer that begins in the bone marrow and can spread to other organs.

Science & Technology

'Invisibility cloak' that hides human body from security cameras made in China

Chinese students have claimed to develop an "invisibility cloak" that can hide the human body from AI-monitored security cameras during the day or night.

About

• Dubbed 'InvisDefense', the coat uses customised prints to effectively escape detection from the cameras during the day.
• Meanwhile, it emits unusual heat signals to confuse cameras which identify humans through infrared thermal imaging at night.

Environment

Kerala’s Forest department launches ‘Vanikaran’ project to restore natural vegetation

Kerala’s Forest department has launched the ‘Vanikaran’ (afforestation) project to root out invasive plants and restore natural forests.

• Location: Sulthan Bathery forest range of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Major exotic invasive plants: Senna spectabilis, Eupatorium, Mikania micrantha, and Lantana camara.

About Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary:

• The area was declared a sanctuary in 1973. 
• Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is made up of two discontinuous pockets – Muthanga and Tholpetty.
• Cocooned in the Nilgiri Biosphere, Muthanga lies adjacent to Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka and Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. 
• It also borders Sulthan Bathery and Kurichiat Ranges within Kerala and is known for its rich biodiversity.

Environment

Greenland was once as green as its name, oldest DNA discovery reveals

World’s Oldest DNA Discovered:

• The oldest DNA ever recovered has revealed a remarkable two-million-year-old ecosystem in Greenland.
• Exact location: The DNA is found locked in sediments in a region called Peary Land called Kap København at the farthest northern reaches of Greenland.
• Technique: The researchers reconstructed ancient Peary Land using disembodied fragments of DNA.
• Temperature: Two million years ago, North Greenland was much warmer than it is now. The average annual temperatures were about 11-19C hotter.

Miscellaneous

India secures 11th position in WorldSkills Competition 2022

India secured 11th position in WorldSkills Competition 2022 (WSC 2022), with two silver medals, three bronze medals and 13 Medallions of Excellence.

About WorldSkills Competition:

• WorldSkills Competition is a global hunt known for raising the profile and recognition of skilled people.
• In India, candidates are selected by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)through IndiaSkills Competition.