SHORT ARTICLES
|
Art & Culture
World Heritage Week
|
- The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is observing the annual World Heritage week from November 19 to 25.
- At present, 3,691 monuments across India are protected by the ASI, with the highest number, 745, in Uttar Pradesh.
- The Member States of UNESCO adopted the World Heritage Convention in 1972.
- India is a signatory to the World Heritage Convention.
- As of 2022, India boasts 40 World Heritage Sites located in India, out of which 32 are cultural, 7 are natural, and 1 is of mixed type.
|
Polity & Governance
Madhya Pradesh Notifies PESA Rules
|
- Madhya Pradesh has notified its PESA Rules on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas on 15th November 2022.
- PESA is an Act to provide for the extension of the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to the Panchayats to the Scheduled Areas.
- Out of the ten PESA States, eight States namely; Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana have framed and notified their State PESA Rules under their respective State Panchayati Raj Acts.
- Presently, 10 States viz. Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Telangana, have Fifth Schedule Areas in their respective States.
|
Economy
National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF)
|
- 5th Meeting of Governing Council of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF)
- NIIF is India’s first-ever sovereign wealth fund (SWF).
- The state-owned fund was set up by the Indian Government in the year 2015.
- The primary goal of setting up NIIF was to optimize the economic impact largely through investing in infrastructure-related projects.
- Currently, the NIIF is managing the
- Master Fund
- Fund of Funds
- Strategic Fund
|
Environment
Red-crowned roofed turtle
|
- India has put forward a proposal to better protect a species of freshwater reptile called the red-crowned roofed turtle (Batagurkachuga) under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
- CITES is an agreement regulating the movement across international borders of certain wild animal and plant species.
- The Batagurkachuga or the red-crowned roofed turtle is found in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
- In India, the Chambal sanctuary is among the last viable habitats.
- The red-crowned roofed turtle is already classified as critically endangered under the IUCN Red List.
|
Science & Technology
North Korea's new Hwasong-17 'monster missile'
|
- North Korea test-fired its massive new Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
- The Hwasong-17 is nuclear-armed North Korea's biggest missile yet and is the largest road-mobile, liquid-fuelled ICBM in the world.
- Its diameter is estimated to be between 2.4 and 2.5 meters, and its total mass, when fully fuelled, is likely somewhere between 80,000 and 110,000 kg, according to 38 North, a U.S.-based program that monitors North Korea.
- Countries that have ICBMs:
- India, Russia, the United States, North Korea, China, Israel, the United Kingdom, and France.
- North Korea conducted the first successful test of its Hwasong-14 ICBM in July 2017.
|
Science & Technology
Antimalarial drug
|
- WHO launches new strategy to tackle antimalarial drug resistance in Africa.
- Malaria is an acute febrile illness caused by Plasmodium parasites, which are spread to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
- There are 5 parasite species that cause malaria in humans, and 2 of these species – P. falciparum and P. vivax – pose the greatest threat.
- P. falciparum is the deadliest malaria parasite and the most prevalent on the African continent.
- P. vivax is the dominant malaria parasite in most countries outside of sub-Saharan Africa.
|