Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture:
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- Parties to Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture recently gathered in Rome for their 20th meeting (CGRFA-20).
- Originally established by Food and Agriculture Organization in 1983 to deal with plant genetic resources, FAO Conference broadened Commission’s mandate in 1995 to cover all components of biodiversity of relevance to food and agriculture.
- It is the only permanent intergovernmental body that specifically addresses biological diversity for food and agriculture.
- With its more than 170 members (including India) Commission holds each biennium a regular session.
- After seven years of negotiations in Commission, FAO Conference adopts International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture 2001. It entered into force on 29 June 2004.
Euclid Space Telescope:
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- A collage of galaxies captured by Euclid observatory and released on March 19.
- It is part of ESA’s Cosmic Vision Programme, which aims to explore the origin, components, and fundamental laws governing universe.
- It is named after Euclid of Alexandria, an ancient Greek mathematician known for his contributions to geometry.
- Objective: Study dark energy & dark matter, and cosmic structure.
- Orbiting at 1.5 million km above Earth, at Lagrange Point 2 (L2).
Sahyog portal:
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- It has been developed under Ministry of Home Affairs to automate process of sending notices to intermediaries by Appropriate Government or its agency under IT Act, 2000 to facilitate removal or disabling of access to any information, data or communication link being used to commit an unlawful act.
- It will bring together all Authorized Agencies of country and all intermediaries on one platform for ensuring immediate action against the unlawful online information.
Signal:
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- It is an end-to-end encrypted messaging application.
- Editor in Chief of The Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, said he was accidentally added to a group chat on app with top leaders of Trump administration.
Bharat Beej Brand:
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- Ministry of Cooperation has set up Bhartiya Beej Sahkari Samiti Limited under Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002.
- BBSSL will undertake production, procurement & distribution of quality seeds under single brand name ‘Bharat Beej’ through cooperative network to improve crop yield.
- Efficient logistics arrangement of BBSSL will ensure the timely availability of high-quality seeds under Bharat Beej brand to farmers including remote and rural areas.
- Seeds Act, 1966, Seed Rules, 1968 and Seeds (Control) Order, 1983 and amendments thereon to regulate quality of seeds sold in market.
- Above-said seed legislation empowers State Governments to check quality of seeds and curb sale of sub-standard/spurious seeds.
- Department of Agriculture & Farmer’s Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer’s Welfare allocates breeder Seeds of various crops to State and private Seeds companies also against their breeder indents received one year in advance for the production of foundation and certified Seeds for distribution to the farmers.
- Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer’s Welfare, Govt. of India has already launched Seed Authentication, Traceability & Holistic Inventory (SATHI) portal – Seed Traceability for effective monitoring, efficiency and transparency covering Seed chain from Nucleus-Breeder-Foundation- Certified Seed on 19th April, 2023.
Baalpan ki Kavita initiative: Restoring Bhartiya rhymes/poems for young children
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- National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 emphasizes critical importance of universal and high-quality Early Childhood Education along with power of multilingualism and importance of including children’s languages in primary education.
- To fulfil the vision of NEP 2020, Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSE&L), Ministry of Education has launched “Baalpan ki Kavita initiative: Restoring Bhartiya rhymes/poems for young children” for preparing a compendium of nursery rhymes/poems in all Bhartiya Bhasha and also in English, focusing on content relevant to the Indian context.
- Purpose of this initiative is that young children can have better learning at Foundational stage by becoming familiar with world around them through easily understandable and joyful poems and rhymes, in their mother tongue.
- To further this initiative, DoSE&L in collaboration with MyGov is inviting contribution to “Baalpan ki Kavita initiative: Restoring Bhartiya rhymes/poems for young children”.
Lyme Disease:
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- It is caused by bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi.
- Infection can lead to problems with the skin, heart, brain, and joints.
- Spread to humans through a tick bite of deer ticks.
- It is prevalent in wooded and grassy areas worldwide, particularly during warmer months. It is most commonly reported in North America, Europe, and some parts of Asia.
- Symptoms: fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans.
PRACTICE MCQs
Q1. Which of the following is an objective of ‘Sahyog’ portal?
a) To automate process of sending notices to intermediaries by Appropriate Government or its agency under IT Act, 2000.
b) To facilitate easy access to women led cooperatives in farming sector.
c) To ease the visa approval process for foreign tourists visiting India.
d) To facilitate the return of illegal emigrants to India.
Answer: A
Q2. Consider the following statements about Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture:
1. It has been established by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
2. It is the only permanent intergovernmental body that specifically addresses biological diversity for food and agriculture.
3. India is not a member country to the Commission.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) 1 and 3 only
Answer: A
Q3. Consider the following statements about the Euclid Space Telescope:
1. It is part of the NASA’s Cosmic Vision Programme.
2. Its objective is to study dark energy, dark matter, and cosmic structure.
3. It is orbiting at 1.5 million km above Earth, at Lagrange Point 2 (L2).
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 1 and 2 only
c) 2 only
d) 2 and 3 only
Answer: D
Q4. Which of the following statements is incorrect about Lyme disease?
a) It is caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi.
b) Spread to humans through mosquito bite.
c) It is prevalent in wooded and grassy areas worldwide, particularly during warmer months.
d) It is most reported in North America, Europe, and some parts of Asia.
Answer: B
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