Short News Article

International Relations

Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM)

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar co-chaired the 4th India-CARICOM Ministerial Meeting with his Jamaican counterpart Kamina J Smith at the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana.

• The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) is a regional group of nations that encourage common policy and economic goals.
• The CARICOM was formed in 1973 and consists of 20 nations, including 15 full-time members and five associate members.
• The CARICOM was formed after the founders had enacted the Treaty of Chaguaramas.
• It was established to replace the Caribbean Free Trade Area, which had failed in its mission to develop policies in the region pertaining to labor and capital.
• The treaty was revised in 2002 to allow for the eventual establishment of a single market and a single economy.

International Relations

India, China hold 18th round of corps commander talks

India and China held the 18th round of Corps Commander Level talk at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point in the Eastern Ladakh sector.

The format

• The corps commander-level talks started to resolve the matters between the two sides in the eastern Ladakh area after the Chinese side tried to alter the status quo on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by aggressively moving forward with heavy weaponry and a large number of troops in 2020 during the initial period of the Covid pandemic.

Polity & Governance

Hakki Pikki in Sudan Conflict

More than 181 members of the Hakki Pikki tribal community from Karnataka are stuck in violence-hit Sudan.

Who are the Hakki Pikki?

• The Hakki Pikki is a tribe that lives in several states in west and south India, especially near forest areas.
• Hakki Pikkis (Hakki in Kannada means ‘bird’ and Pikki means ‘catchers’) are a semi-nomadic tribe, traditionally of bird catchers and hunters.
• In different regions, they are known by different names, such as Mel-Shikari in northern Karnataka and Maharashtra.
• They are divided into four clans, called Gujaratia, Panwar, Kaliwala and Mewaras. 

Polity & Governance

5th round of RCS-UDAN

Following the four successful rounds of bidding, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched the 5th round of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN).

• The government launched RCS-UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) in October, 2016.
• Aim: to enhance regional air connectivity from unserved and underserved airports in the country and make air travel affordable for the masses.
• UDAN is a self-financing scheme. It has a self-financing mechanism with the development of the Regional Connectivity Fund (RCF).

Science & Technology (GS-III)

Myelin basic protein (MBP)

Scientists have fabricated monolayers of pure myelin basic protein (MBP), which is a protective membrane that wraps around the axon of nerve cells and acts as a model protein in studying diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS).

About

• Myelin basic protein (MBP) is the second most abundant protein in central nervous system myelin.
• It is responsible for adhesion of the cytosolic surfaces of multilayered compact myelin.
• MBP helps in compactification of the myelin sheath.
• The fabricated tailored monolayers can give an in-depth understanding of the role of MBP in forming multi-lamellar myelin sheath structure as well as preserving the integrity, stability, and compactness of the sheath.

Environment

West Bengal adds four new biodiversity heritage sites

Bengal has added four new biodiversity heritage sites (BHS) in West Bengal, taking the total tally to eight.

The new sites

• Char Balidanga comprises two islands on the Hooghly with tropical riverine vegetation of tall grasses and swampy flat lands that are periodically inundated with tidal ebbs.
• State Horticulture Research and Development Station campus in Deypara, in Nadia
• Namthing Pokhari is a Himalayan natural wetland
• The Amkhoi Fossil Park has unique geological and paleo-botanical features. It is the first wood fossil park in West Bengal.