Exercise La Perouse between navies of India, US, Japan, France, UK and Australia begins

• The third edition of the multilateral maritime exercise is conducted in the Indian Ocean Region.
• This edition will witness the participation of personnel, ships and integral helicopters of the Royal Australian Navy, French Navy, Indian Navy, Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force, Royal Navy and the United States Navy.
• The biennial exercise La Perouse is conducted by the French Navy and is aimed at enhancing maritime domain awareness and optimising maritime coordination amongst the participating navies in the Indo-Pacific Region.
• The two-day exercise provides an opportunity for like-minded navies to develop closer links in planning, coordination and information sharing for seamless maritime operations.
• The exercise will witness complex and advanced naval operations including surface warfare, anti-air warfare, air defence exercises, cross-deck landings and tactical manoeuvres.
• Indigenously built guided missile frigate INS Sahyadri and fleet tanker INS Jyoti will be participating in this edition of the exercise.
• Participation of the Indian Navy in the exercise showcases the high levels of synergy, coordination and interoperability between the friendly navies, and their commitment to a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific region.

Bumchu Festival Of Tashiding Monastery

• Bumchu Festival is the Tashiding holy water vase ritual which is a unique and important occasion that draws travellers from all over the world.
• Annual performances of this ancient ceremony are held at the Tashiding Monastery, located in the western part of Sikkim.
• The Bumchu festival commemorates a supernatural occurrence that took place in the 18th century under Chogyal Chakdor Namgyal.
• Bumchu means “pot of sacred water” in Tibetan. The vase is opened during the event, and the water inside is shared among the worshippers.
• The water is thought to have healing qualities and to grant luck and riches to those who drink it.
• The celebration takes place on the 14th and 15th of the first lunar month, which often falls in February or March.
• In Sikkim, the Bumchu festival is a time of intense delight and celebration. At the event, pilgrims travel to Tashiding from all around India as well as from close by nations like Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Tashiding Monastery

• It is one of the most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage sites, located on a hilltop overlooking the Rangeet River in Sikkim.
• Guru Padmasambhava, better known as Guru Rinpoche, the great Buddhist guru who brought Buddhism to Tibet, blessed the location of the monastery.
• A Nyingma teacher named Ngadak Sempa Chempo Phunshok Rigzing later founded the monastery in the 17th century.

Identification of 75 Water Heritage Sites

• The Ministry of Jal Shakti had constituted a Committee to identify 75 Water Heritage Structure (WHS) in reference to 75 years of India''s Independence.
• The Committee has recommended 75 water heritage structures, which include 5 Water Heritage structures from Gujarat and 4 Water Heritage structures from Andhra Pradesh respectively.
• In this connection, the "Jal-Itihas" sub-portal under the India-WRIS portal, showcasing the 75 WHS, was launched at the 1st All India State Ministers Conference on Water at Bhopal.
• Jal Itihaas showcases some selected water heritage structures more than 100 years old.

India-WRIS portal

• It is a web-enabled Water Resources Information System popularly known as India-WRIS.
• It was initiated through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Central Water Commission (CWC), the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (now Ministry of Jal Shakti) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
• The Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS), under the National Hydrology Project, launched the first version of the India Water Resources Information System (India-WRIS) in July 2019.
• India WRIS is, at present, receiving data from many central and state agencies like CWC, CGWB, IMD, NRSC, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat etc. on regular basis.
• The MoJS has established a dedicated organization**, National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC)**to maintain and update India WRIS.

National Hydrology Project

• It aims to improve the extent, quality and accessibility of water resources information and to strengthen the capacity of targeted water resources management institutions in India.

Bengaluru to get Centre of Excellence for dragon fruit

• Dragon Fruit is a herbaceous perennial climbing cactus widely known as Pitaya, has its origin in Southern Mexico, Central America and South America.
• Its flowers are hermaphrodites (male and female organs in the same flower) in nature and open at night.
• It grows in all kinds of soil and does not require much water.
• The plant sustains yield for more than 20 years, is high in nutraceutical properties(medicinal effects) and good for value-added processing industries.
• It is widely cultivated in South-East Asia, India, the USA, The Caribbean Islands, and Australia throughout the tropical and sub-tropical world.
• The world’s largest producer and exporter of dragon fruit is Vietnam, where the plant was brought by the French in the 19th century.
• In India, the cultivation of Kamalam Fruit is done in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands**, Mizoram and Nagaland**.
• In this endeavor under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), a roadmap is being prepared for the cultivation of this crop.

Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) Mission

• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root & tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo.
• Under MIDH, the Government of India (GOI) contributes 60%, of the total outlay for developmental programmes in all the states except states in the North East and the Himalayas, and 40% share is contributed by State Governments.
• In the case of North Eastern States and Himalayan States, GOI contributes 90%.
• In the case of the National Horticulture Board (NHB), Coconut Development Board (CDB), Central Institute for Horticulture (CIH), Nagaland and the National Level Agencies (NLA), GOI contributes 100%.

India remains world''s top arms importer: SIPRI report

• India remained the world’s largest arms importer for the five-year period between 2018-22.
• India accounted for an 11 percent share of total global arms imports in 2018–22.
• Russia accounted for 45% is India’s imports, followed by France (29%) and the US (11%).
• Russia was the largest supplier of arms to India in both 2013–17 and 2018–22, but its share of total Indian arms imports fell from 64% to 45%.
• India has seen an 11 percent drop in its arms import between 2013-17 and 2018-22.
• India was the biggest arms export market to three countries — Russia, France, and Israel and the second largest export market to South Korea.

SIPRI Report:

• The US was the world’s topmost military exporter in the past five years, accounting for 40% of global exports, followed by Russia (16%), France (11%), China (5.2%), and Germany (4.2%).
• United States'' share of global arms exports increased from 33 to 40 percent, while Russia''s fell from 22 to 16 percent between 2013-17 and 2018-22.
• France’s arms exports jumped 44% between 2013-17 and 2018-22, with India receiving 30% of its exports during the past five years.

India''s first behavioural lab to be set up in Jaipur

• It will be set up at the Patel Bhawan at Harish Chandra Mathur Rajasthan Institute of Public Administration (HCM-RIPA), Jaipur.
• The lab to be set up in about 2665.04 square feet area will be managed and operated by IIM Udaipur.
• The faculty of the IIM will impart training on applied methods, and certificate courses of Ph.D level will be conducted here.
• International experts will also be involved in conducting experiments and workshops.
• Human behavior will be studied with the help of innovative technology, including ultra-modern software and hardware.
• Training programs will be organized in various colleges and universities in the field of experiential studies through this laboratory, along with imparting training to teachers and programs for practical training.

Russian official: Black Sea grain deal extended for 60 days

• It was set up to resume vital food and fertilizer exports from Ukraine to the rest of the world.
• It was brokered between Russia and Ukraine by the United Nations and Turkey.
• The Initiative allowed exports of grain, other foodstuffs, and fertilizer, including ammonia, to resume through a safe maritime humanitarian corridor from three key Ukrainian ports: Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi, to the rest of the world.
• Joint Coordination Centre (JCC):
  • A JCC was established to monitor the implementation of the Initiative.
  • JCC Centre is hosted in Istanbul and includes representatives from Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine, and the United Nations.
  • The UN acts as the Secretariat for the Centre.
• Procedure:
  • Vessels wishing to participate in the Initiative will undergo inspection off Istanbul to ensure they are empty of cargo.
  • They then sail through the maritime humanitarian corridor to Ukrainian ports to load.
  • The corridor is monitored 24/7 to ensure the safe passage of vessels.
  • Vessels on the return journey will also be inspected at the inspection area off Istanbul.

Black Sea:

• It is an inland sea between Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
• It is bound by Ukraine to the north and northwest, Russia and Georgia to the east, Turkey to the south, and Bulgaria and Romania to the west.
• It links to the Sea of Marmara through the Strait of Bosphorus and then to the Aegean through the Strait of Dardanelles.

Doha Political Declaration adopted by world leaders to fast-track progress in least developed countries

• It is a key outcome of the second part of the LDC5 conference held under the theme “From Potential to Prosperity” in Qatar.
• The declaration welcomed the Doha Programme of Action (DPoA) and strongly committed to its implementation throughout the coming decade.
• The declaration also requested the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General to ensure the full mobilization and coordination of all parts of the UN system to facilitate coordinated implementation of the Doha Programme of Action

Doha Programme of Action (DPoA)

• The DPoA for the Least Developed Countries was adopted at the first part of the LDC5 conference held in New York in
• It is a 10-year plan to put the world’s 46 most vulnerable countries back on track to achieving the UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
• DPoA (2022-2031) consisted of six key focus areas:
  • eradicating poverty;
  • leveraging the potential of science and technology;
  • addressing climate change;
  • environmental degradation;
  • recovering from COVID-19 pandemic;
  • building resilience against future shocks for risk-informed sustainable development;

Least developed countries (LDCs):

• They are low-income countries confronting severe structural impediments to sustainable development.
• They are highly vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks.
• There are currently 46 countries on the list of LDCs which is reviewed every three years by the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) of the UN.
• LDCs have exclusive access to certain international support measures, particularly in the areas of development assistance and trade.

Tiger dies in Madhya Pradesh reserve, sixth death in the state this year

Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve:

• Location:
  • It is located in the Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh.
  • It is situated in the northeastern part of the state of MP and is bordered by the Guru Ghasidas National Park on the south.
• It consists of Sanjay National Park and Dubri Sanctuary, along with buffer areas taken from Sidhi and Shahdol districts.
• The reserve is part of the Bandhavgarh-Sanjay-Guru Ghasidas-Palamau landscape.
• It forms a wildlife corridor connecting Bandhavgarh and Palamau Tiger Reserve.
• Rivers: Banas, Gopad, Mawai, Mahan, Kodmar, Umrari and others.
• Flora:
  • It comprises of North Indian moist deciduous peninsular sal and North Indian dry deciduous peninsular sal.
  • The forests in the Dubri sanctuary range from dense to open sal forests with remains of degraded bamboo stumps.
• Fauna: The major species found are tiger, Sloth bear, Chital, Nilgai, Chinkara, Sambar, leopard, Dhole (wild dog), Jungle Cat, Hyena, Porcupine, Jackal, Fox, Indian Wolf, Indian Python Four-horned Antelope, and Barking deer.