PRESIDENT’S GREETINGS ON THE EVE OF LOHRI, MAKAR SANKRANTI, MAGH BIHU AND PONGAL

• Bihu is one of Assam''s most prominent cultural events, celebrating the changing seasons.
• The festival of Bihu has three forms: Bohag Bihu, Kati Bihu and Magh Bihu. Each of these falls in the agriculture calendar.
• This day is considered auspicious in the Hindu lunar year as well and is known as the Makar Sankranti, i.e., the day when the sun begins its northward journey or Uttarayan and transitions into the Hindu zodiac sign of Makara.
• On this day the Sun God is worshipped in various parts of India in the form of different festivals such as Pongal (Tamil Nadu), **Maghi (**Punjab) and Uttarayan (Gujarat).

Indian researchers developing treatment for rare genetic disorder ''Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy''

• It is the most common and fatal type of muscular dystrophy marked by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness due to alterations of a protein called “dystrophin” that helps keep muscle cells intact.
• Patients (usually children) have reduced bone densityand an increased risk of developing fractures.
• India has over 5 lakh patients in the country suffering from DMD and the condition is predominantly seen in boys, but in rare cases, it can also affect girls.
• It can begin as early as age 2 or 3, first affecting the proximal muscles (those close to the core of the body) and later affecting the distal limb muscles (those close to the extremities).
• Symptoms: Enlargement of calves, a waddling gait, and lumbar lordosis (an inward curve of the spine)
• The current therapeutic options available to treat DMD are minimal and highly expensive treatment and are mostly imported from abroad.

India Honours Best Agripreneurs with Awards on National Youth Day

• This is a mega flagship Scheme of Govt. of India implemented in the country in collaboration with NABARD since 2002.
• Aim: To transform unemployed youth into self-employed Agripreneurs through a 45-day free residential training in different parts of the country with a provision for availing loans and subsidies from the banks.
• It is being implemented by the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad in different states in the country with a network of 136 Nodal Training Institutes (NTIS) spread across all the states.

Central Consumer Protection Authority issues notices to e-commerce entities for selling toys that violate compulsory BIS Standards

• CCPA has sought a response from the e-commerce entities within 7 days from the issuance of a notice, failing which necessary action may be initiated against them under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
• It has also written to District Collectors across India to investigate unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights concerning the manufacture or sale of such goods and submit Action Taken Report to CCPA.

Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA)

• It is a regulatory body established in 2020 based on the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
• Nodal Ministry: The Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
• Composition
  • It will have a Chief Commissioner as head, and only two other commissioners as members one of whom will deal with matters relating to goods while the other will look into cases relating to services.
  • The CCPA will have an Investigation Wing that will be headed by a Director General.
  • District Collectors too, will have the power to investigate complaints of violations of consumer rights, unfair trade practices, and false or misleading advertisements.

FSSAI notifies first-ever regulatory standards for basmati rice

• As per these standards, Basmati rice shall possess natural fragrance characteristics of basmati rice and be free from artificial colouring, polishing agents and artificial fragrances.
• It was issued to Brown Basmati Rice, Milled Basmati Rice, Parboiled Brown Basmati Rice and Milled Parboiled Basmati Rice.
• The standards are aimed at establishing fair practices in the trade of Basmati rice and protecting consumer interest, both domestically and globally. These standards will be enforced from 1st August 2023.

Basmati Rice

• It is cultivated in the Himalayan foothills of the Indian sub-continent and is universally known for its long grain size, fluffy texture and unique inherent aroma and flavour.

Climatic conditions

• Temperature: Between 22-32°C with high humidity.
• Rainfall: Around 150-300 cm.
• Soil Type: Deep clayey and loamy soil.
• Top Rice Producing States: West Bengal > Punjab > Uttar Pradesh > Andhra Pradesh

Notification of minorities | Centre submits views of 24 States to Supreme Court

• Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Zorastrians (Parsis) have been notified as minority communities under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act, 1992.

Minority status in India

• The Central Government decides who gets the minority community status in India.
• It is done under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
• Only those belonging to the communities notified under Section 2(c) of the 1992 law are regarded as minority citizens.
• The central government has notified only six communities as having the minority status at the national level. Five of them were declared minority communities in October 1993 Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis. In January 2014, the Centre added Jains to the list.
• States generally don’t have their separate lists of the minority communities. But there are exceptions. For example, Maharashtra has notified Jews as a minority community in the state.

Constitutional provisions

• Article 29 and Article 30 guarantee certain rights to the minorities.
• Article 29 protects the interests of the minorities by making a provision that any citizen / section of citizens having a distinct language, script or culture have the right to conserve the same
• Article 29 mandates that no discrimination would be done on the ground of religion, race, caste, language or any of them
• While Article 30 and Article 29 of the Constitution do not specify ''minorities'' in India, it is classified into religious minorities and linguistic minorities.
• Religious Minorities in India: The basic ground for a community to be nominated as a religious minority is the numerical strength of the community.
• Linguistic Minorities: Class or group of people whose mother language or mother tongue is different from that of the majority groups is known as the linguistic minorities.

Scientists reveal Earth''s most detailed recent climactic history

• The Holocene Epoch is the current period of geologic time.
• The Holocene Epoch began 12,000 to 11,500 years ago at the close of the Paleolithic Ice Age and continues through today.
• The Holocene begins at the end of the last major ice age and marks a "warm period" between ice ages.
• The Holocene is characterized with variable climate changes, from both natural and anthropogenic (human) causes.
• Another term that is sometimes used is the Anthropocene Epoch, because its primary characteristic is the global changes caused by human activity.

NRIs from 10 countries can use UPI with their international mobile numbers

• Transactions from mobile numbers of ten countries will be enabled to begin with — Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, United States of America, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom.
• These NRI accounts will be permitted to onboard and transact in UPI, provided the member banks ensure such accounts are only allowed as per the extant FOREIGN EXCHANGE MANAGEMENT ACT (FEMA) regulations and they adhere to the guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India.
• The NPCI noted that all onboarding and transaction level checks — such as cooling period and risk rules — will be applicable as per existing UPI guidelines.

Different NRI Account types:

• In India, there are three types of accounts that Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) can open – Non-Residential External (NRE) Account, Non-Residential Ordinary (NRO) Account, and Foreign Currency Non-Residential (FCNR) (B) Account.

NRE Account:

• NRE Account can be opened and maintained by NRIs with earnings originating from the respective individual’s country of residence but shall be held in Indian rupee denominations.
• Withdrawals can be made in the currency in which the NRI resides and therefore there is a possibility of amount fluctuation.
• Income from the NRE account is tax-free as the principal and interest amounts are exempted from taxation.

NRO Account:

• An NRO Account can be opened with income earned from within India.
• The source of income can either be rent, dividends, etc.
• Even though deposits can be in INR or any other foreign currency, the withdrawals can only be in Indian rupees in an NRO account.
• Interest earned on the income in an NRO account is liable for taxation.

FCNR (B) Account:

• Under this, NRIs or POI can make these deposits in the currency of their country of residence and shall be held in that account in any one of the foreign currencies prescribed by RBI.
• Income from the FCNR account is tax-free as the principal and interest amounts are exempted from taxation.
• The rate of interest does not fluctuate in an FCNR (Foreign Currency Non-Resident) account because of the deposits and withdrawals made in foreign currencies.

India''s industrial production index grows 7.1% in November

• The rise was aided by base effects as November 2021 had clocked just 1% growth, but also marked a 6% uptick in output levels over October 22, which incidentally recorded the lowest level for the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) since November 2021.

Base Effect

• The base effect is the impact that selecting a different reference point for a comparison between two data points can have on the comparison''s outcome.
• For Eg: In the context of inflation, the base effect is a distortion in a current inflation figure caused by exceptionally high or low levels of inflation in the previous reference period.
• If the inflation rate was low in the corresponding period of the last year, then even a small increase in the price index will give a high rate of inflation in the current year.
• When comparing two data points, choosing a reference point will be crucial as the base effect can highly distort or mislead the interpretation of numbers.
• The base effect could also result in major differences in percentage comparisons. If we chose a reference point that is too low, there could be an overestimation and if the base is too high, it could result in gross underestimation of the situation.

Index of Industrial Production (IIP)

• The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an index which shows the growth rates in different industry groups of the economy in a stipulated period of time.
• Who publishes IIP? The IIP index is computed and published by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on a monthly basis.
• Currently IIP figures are calculated considering 2004-05 as base year.

Four dinosaur species found in Chilean valley for first time

• Megaraptor was a large theropod of the Cretaceous Period, 84 to 65 mya.
• megaraptors possessed strong arms that wielded sickle-like claws that could inflict fatal wounds on prey, along with a more lightly built skull and jaws studded with smaller teeth.
• They also had air-filled, bird-like bones.
• Megaraptor was about 25–26 feet (7.5–8 meters) long.
• Incomplete Megaraptor remains were found in 1996 in Northwest Patagonia, Argentina, by paleontologist Fernando E. Novas. Novas named it in 1998.

Cretaceous Period:

• The Cretaceous Period, in geologic time, is the last of the three periods of the Mesozoic Era.
• The Cretaceous began 145.0 million years ago and ended 66 million years ago.
• It followed the Jurassic Period and was succeeded by the Paleogene Period.

Theropod?

• This group includes all the known carnivorous dinosaurs as well as the birds.
• They have a carnivorous dentition and large, recurved claws on the fingers.
• They have a distinctive joint in the lower jaw.

Patagonian Region:

• It is a sparsely populated region located at the southern end of South America, shared by Argentina and Chile.
• The region comprises the southern section of the Andes mountains as well as the deserts, steppes and grasslands east of this southern portion of the Andes.
• Patagonia has two coasts; a western one towards the Pacific Ocean and an eastern one towards the Atlantic Ocean.