• Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, launches the realigned Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) Scheme.
• About Scheme 
  • Objective:  Incentivise investments in dairy, meat processing infrastructure and Animal Feed Plant and related sector. 
  • Scheme Type:  Central Sector Scheme
  • Eligible entities: Individual entrepreneurs, private Companies, Dairy Cooperatives, Farmer Producer Organization (FPOs), Medium Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) etc.  
  • It will provide: 
    • Interest Subvention of 3% payable up to 8 years and ceiling on the loan amount
    • Credit guarantee cover unto 25% of the term loan.
    • Loan up to 90% of the estimated/actual project cost

• Parasitic creeper Cuscuta dodder is choking the Chengalpet forests and Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary  threatening the local vegetation,
• Cuscuta dodder
  • Also known as Akashbel or Amarbal.
  • invasive weed, native to North America.
  • This parasitic angiosperm plant grows a large cover on the host plant and sends out many tendrils. 
    • It creates a thick display before it chokes and finally kills the host plant.
• Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary-one of the oldest bird-protected areas in the country.
  • Located at Chengalpattu District (erstwhile Kancheepuram) of Tamil Nadu.

• Kerala passed a resolution urging the center to amend Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) to decrease man-animal conflict and declare wild boar as vermin.
• Vermins are animals that threaten humans, crops, livestock or property and are declared as per section 62 of WPA by central government
• Section 11 (1) (a) of WPA, empowers the Chief Wildlife Warden to permit any person to kill a wild animal specified in Schedule I.
• WPA was amended to reduce the earlier six schedules to four.

• Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) certified more than 500 hospitals as ‘Eat Right Campuses’, under the Eat Right India initiative.
• About Eat Right India (2018)
  • Objective: Ensure safe, healthy and sustainable food for all Indians. 
  • Adopts a judicious mix of regulatory, capacity building, collaborative and empowerment approaches to ensure that food is good both for the people and the planet.
  • Aligned to the National Health Policy 2017.
• FSSAI is a statutory body, established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

• A novel method for directly synthesising Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on glass substrates at a temperature of 750 °C.
  • It used Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) Technique.
• About Carbon nanotubes (CNTs)
  • Nanocarbon materials with tubular structures composed of rolled-up graphene sheets. 
  • They can be single-walled (SWCNT) or multi-walled (MWCNT). 
  • Properties: High surface to volume ratios, enhanced conductivity and strength, biocompatibility, etc.
• Applications: Rechargeable batteries, flexible electronics, aerospace, transparent electrodes, touch screens, supercapacitors, and medicine.

• WHO releases guidelines for clinical management of diphtheria.
• Diphtheria is an infection caused by strains of bacteria called Corynebacterium diphtheriae.
  • It spreads from person to person, usually through respiratory droplets.
  • It infects the respiratory tract and skin.
  • Incubation Period: 2 to 5 days
  • Symptoms: Weakness, Sore throat, Mild fever, and Swollen glands in the neck.
  • Vaccines are available.

• Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) approved Boehringer’s Jardiance for chronic kidney disease in India.
  • CDSCO is the national regulatory authority responsible for the approval of Drugs, Conduct of Clinical Trials, laying down the standards for Drugs, etc.
• About Chronic diseases
  • It is  a disease or condition that usually lasts for 3 months or longer and may get worse over time.
  • Tends to occur in older adults 
  • Can usually be controlled but not cured.
  • Most common types of chronic disease: cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and arthritis.  

• Regulations of 70th National Film Awards 2022 reflect the changes suggested by the Committee for Rationalization of Film Awards.
• Key changes
  • Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director renamed as ‘Best debut film of a director’.Prize money will now only go to director.
  • Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration renamed as Best feature film promoting national, social and environmental values.
    • This category also merges award sections for social issues and environment conservation into one.
  • Dadasaheb Phalke Award money increased to Rs. 15 lakh.
  • Swarn Kamal awards Prize money increased to Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh for Rajat Kamal winners across categories.

Madagascar (Capital: Antananarivo)

• Indian PM met President of Madagascar on the occasion of the World Governments Summit 2024 (Dubai). 
• Political Boundaries 
  • Island country, lying off the southeastern coast of Africa.
  • Maritime borders: Comoros, France, Mauritius, Mozambique and Seychelles.
• Geographical features
  • Physiographic Division: Central plateau, the coastal strip in the east, and the zone of low plateaus and plains in the west.
  • Major Rivers: Mangoky River
  • Highest point: Maromokotro