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Posted 21 Jun 2024

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World Investment Report 2024

World Investment Report 2024 released by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Key findings

  • Globally, foreign direct investment flows declined by 2% in 2023.
  • Sizeable declines were recorded in India.
  • Mobilization of funds for SDG investment through sustainable finance products is slowing down.

About UNCTAD

  • It is a permanent intergovernmental body established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1964.
  • It supports developing countries to access the benefits of a globalized economy more fairly and effectively.
  • Tags :
  • UN Trade and Development
  • World Investment Report 2024

Asiatic lion

Six Asiatic lions have migrated from Gir Forest to the Barda Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS).

About Asiatic lions

  • Protection status
    • IUCN status: Endangered
    • CITES: Appendix I 
    •  Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972: Schedule I and IV
  • Characteristics
    • They are slightly smaller than African lions.
    • Males have only moderate mane growth at the top of the head.
    • Lions have no particular breeding season.
  • Habitat: Only in Gir forest and other protected areas in Gujarat’s Saurashtra region.
  • Tags :
  • Asiatic lion
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972

Striped caecilian (Ichthyophis spp)

A striped caecilian has been added to fauna in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.

About Striped caecilian

  • Caecilians are a separate group of amphibians classified under order Apoda.
  • Characteristics
    • Limbless amphibians that spend most of their life burrowed under soil.
    • Wormlike animals, with smooth, moist skin which appears narrowly segmented.
    • Eyes are small and covered with skin, and their visual perception is limited to determining between light and dark.
    • Able to take in oxygen both through their skin and lungs.
    • Genus Ichthyophis are egg-laying.
  • Habitat: Six families of Caecilians are recognised ranging through Africa, South America and Southeast Asia.
  • Tags :
  • Kaziranga forest
  • Striped caecilian

Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus)

According to IUCN, conservation status of Iberian lynx has improved from Endangered to Vulnerable, reflecting significant increase in its population.

About Iberian lynx

  • Habitat: Medium-sized wild cat species native to Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, including Portugal and Spain.
  • Appearance: Weighs about half as much as Eurasian species, with long legs, short tail with a black tip, tufted ears and relatively small head.
  • Characteristics: Solitary hunter; nocturnal or crepuscular; may temporarily become diurnal during winter; live in small, isolated meta-populations; European Rabbit accounts for 80-99% of its diet.
  • Threats: Decreasing food base, Poaching, habitat loss etc.
  • Conservation status: Appendix I of CITES.
  • Tags :
  • IUCN
  • Iberian lynx
  • European Rabbit

Kolar Gold Fields (KGF)

Karnataka Government cleared the Centre’s proposal on reviving gold mining at KGF.

About KGF

  • These gold mines are located  about 100 kilometres from Bangalore in Kolar district of Karnataka.
  • These are operated by the Bharat Gold Mines Limited (BGML), a public sector undertaking.
    • BGML was established in 1972, under the Department of Mines with its office at KGF.
  • These mines are among the deepest in the world which makes mining of this ore a very expensive process.
  • Tags :
  • Gold
  • Bharat Gold Mines Limited (BGML)
  • KGF

Diatom

A new freshwater diatom genus named Indiconema discovered from Eastern and Western Ghats.

About Diatom

  • They’re unicellular algae belonging to a phytoplankton group. 
  • They’re eukaryotes and non-motile.
  • Only organisms with cell walls composed of transparent, opaline silica. Thus, the walls are indestructible. 
    • Diatom cell wall deposits accumulate over billions of years forming diatomaceous earth.

Significance

  • Chief ‘producers’ in oceans and produced 20-30% of global oxygen.
  • Excellent indicators of aquatic health.
  • Remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from atmosphere, convert CO2 to organic carbon in form of sugar, and release oxygen.
  • Serve as a base of aquatic food chain. E.g. Diatoms-Crustaceans-Herrings.
  • Help in nutrient cycling of marine and lake waters.
  • Tags :
  • Diatom
  • Phytoplankton
  • Unicellular algae

Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD)

Chad has become the first country in 2024 and 51st globally to eliminate a NTD i.e. gambiense form of Human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness).

  • It is a vector-borne parasitic disease caused by Trypanosoma parasite.

About NTDs

  • Diverse group of conditions caused by variety of pathogens (including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and toxins).
  • Examples: Dengue and chikungunya, leprosy, onchocerciasis etc.
  • Mainly prevalent among impoverished communities in tropical areas.
  • Preventable and treatable when detected early.
  • India has eliminated NTDs like guinea worm, trachoma, and yaws.
  • Initiatives to eliminated NTDsLondon Declaration, and Kigali Declaration on NTDs; World NTD Day (30 January); etc.
  • Tags :
  • Neglected Tropical Disease
  • Trypanosoma parasite

Methanol

Recently, Many people died after consuming hooch (or spurious liquor) in Tamil Nadu.

  • Spurious liquor is characterised by  high methanol content.

About Methanol

  • It is also known as wood alcohol.
  • Appears as a colorless fairly volatile liquid with a faintly sweet pungent odor like that of ethyl alcohol.
  • Uses: Solvent in paints, varnishes and chiefly for making formaldehyde.
  • Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations 2018 stipulate the maximum permissible quantity of methanol in different liquors.
  • Tags :
  • Methanol
  • wood alcohol

Mata-ni-Pachedi art style

Mata ni pachedi is an ancient art form from Gujarat is a religious textile folk art, drawing inspiration from the Kalamkari style of painting.

  • It means “behind the idol of Mother Goddess”.
  • Another form of Mata-ni-pachedi painting is Matano candarvo.

About Mata ni pachedi paintings

  • The Vaghari community is known to paint these pachedis.
  • These paintings are used  for rituals and are only painted by men.
  • It features the divine feminine at the centre, surrounded by depictions of devotees, flora and fauna. 
  • It is drawn with  kalam (pen) made of bamboo sticks.
  • Paintings are traditionally in maroon, black, white.
  • Tags :
  • Mata-ni-Pachedi
  • Kalamkari

Sangam: Digital Twin initiative

Department of Telecommunications held 1st networking event of Sangam-Digital Twin Initiative at IIT Delhi.

About Sangam: Digital Twin initiative

  • Initiative of Department of Telecommunication
  • It is a Proof of Concept focused on revolutionizing planning & design of infrastructure through integration of Digital Twin technology with Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things 
  • Aims to enhance utility value, optimise resource utilisation, and reduce costs through effective data integration.

Twin Technology

  • Virtual representation of a physical object or system.
  • It is dynamic model that mimics behaviour of its real-world counterpart in real-time or near-real-time.
  • Tags :
  • Twin Technology
  • Sangam: Digital Twin initiative
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