‘LaQshya’ to improve quality of care in labour room, maternity OTs: Govt

• It aims to ensure Quality of Care during intrapartum and immediate post-partum periods in Labour Room and Maternity Operation Theatre.
• It covers all Government Medical College Hospitals, District Hospitals & equivalent health facilities, designated FRUs as well as high case load CHCs.
• Goal: To reduce preventable maternal and newborn mortality, morbidity and stillbirths associated with the care around delivery in the Labour room and Maternity OT and ensure respectful maternity care.
• Under the purview of LaQshya, one of the facility-level targets is to achieve a 5% or less Surgical Site Infection Rate in Maternity OT or at least a reduction of 30% from the baseline.
• At the time of LaQshya certification, compliance with the above-mentioned requirement is verified by the independent empanelled NQAS assessors.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Oldest sea reptile remains from 2 million years ago found on Arctic island

Ichthyosaurs:

• Ichthyosaurs were a group of animals that strongly resembled modern dolphins.
• They evolved from land-dwelling creatures that returned to the sea in the Early Triassic, thriving until the late Cretaceous.
• A changing climate and slowness to adapt brought their time to an end around 95 million years ago.
• These reptiles quickly adapted to life in the water: their legs turned to fins, their snouts elongated and filled with fish-snatching teeth, and their bones became spongy like those of modern cetaceans.
• It was fully adapted to life as a marine reptile within 2 million years of the final days of the End-Permian Mass Extinction.

Permian Mass Extinction

• It is also called the Permian-Triassic extinction, a series of extinction pulses that contributed to the greatest mass extinction in Earth’s history.
• Many geologists and palaeontologists contend that the Permian extinction occurred over the course of 15 million years during the latter part of the Permian Period (299 million to 252 million years ago).
• This event ranks first in the severity of the five major extinction episodes that span geologic time.

Spitsbergen Island

• It is the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago,
• It is the only permanently inhabited part of Svalbard.

Gauhati HC Directs Forest Dept to File Report on Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary’s Border Issue

Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary:

• The Amchang Wildlife sanctuary is located on the eastern fringe of Guwahati,
• It comprises three Reserve forests-Khanapara, Amchang, and South Amchang.
• It stretches from the Brahmaputra River in the north to the hilly forests of Meghalaya in the south, forming a continuous forest belt through Meghalaya''s Maradakdola Reserve Forests.
• Flora: Khasi Hill Sal Forests, East Himalayan Mixed Deciduous Forest, Eastern Alluvial Secondary Semi-evergreen Forests and East Himalayan Sal Forests.
• Fauna: Flying fox, Slow loris, Assamese macaque, Rhesus macaque, Hoolock gibbon, Porcupine. White-backed Vulture, Slender-billed Vulture.
• Tree yellow butterflies (gancana harina) are found at the Amchang wildlife sanctuary which is indigenous to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and northeast India

New species of Moray eel discovered off Cuddalore coast named after Tamil Nadu

• Moray eels or Muraenidae are a family of eels found worldwide
• They have small eyes and rely primarily on their highly developed sense of smell to ambush prey. Their body is mostly patterned.
• Moray eels live in shallow water among reefs and rocks in all tropical and subtropical seas.
• Moray eels can be found in both freshwater and saltwater environments.
• They are distinguished by two types of jaws: regular (oral) jaws with large teeth and the pharyngeal jaw (which drags prey inside the eel''s stomach).
• The newly discovered species has been named after Tamil Nadu as Gymnothorax tamilnaduensis with common name as Tamil Nadu brown moray.

CRISP: Rubber Board launches comprehensive rubber information system

• The Comprehensive Rubber Information System Platform (CRISP) application has been developed by the Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII) in collaboration with the Digital University of Kerala.
• It gives information to rubber cultivators related to production and productivity enhancement, reduction of cultivation cost, maintenance of soil fertility, disease control measures, etc.

Rubber Plantations in India

• Natural rubber is a polymer made up of a chemical molecule called isoprene.
• It is a native of the Amazon basin which was introduced to countries in the tropical belts of Asia and Africa in the late nineteenth century.
• Climatic conditions required for Rubber
  • Rainfall: It requires moist and humid climates with heavy rainfall of more than 200 cm.
  • Temperature: It grows well in equatorial climates and temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius.
  • Soil: Well-drained, weathered soils.
• India is the world’s largest producer and the third-largest user of natural rubber.
• Rubber Growing Areas in India
  • Traditional Areas: Primarily in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari District and Kerala.
  • Non-traditional regions: Coastal Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra’s Konkan Region, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, the northeastern provinces, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, among other places.

PPF, Sukanya Samriddhi Account interest rate hike may remain elusive

• The PPF Scheme is a very popular long-term savings scheme in India because of its combination of tax savings, returns, and safety.
• The PPF was first offered to the public in the year 1968 by the Finance Ministry’s National Savings Institute.
• Objective: To help individuals make small savings and provide returns on the savings.
• It is one of the safest investment products. i.e., the government of India guarantees your investments in the fund
• Tenure: 15 years (Can be renewed in blocks of 5 years).
• Interest rate: Interest rates currently payable on such accounts stand at 7.1%.
• Investment Amount: Minimum Rs.500, Maximum Rs.1.5 lakh p.a.
• Who is eligible for a PPF account? Any Indian citizen can open a PPF account.
• The PPF accounts cannot be held jointly, though you can make a nomination.
• Investment in PPF is tax-exempt under section 80C of the Income Tax Act (ITA), and the returns from PPF are also not taxable.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana

• It was launched on 22 January 2015.
• Aim: Betterment of the girl child in the country by abolishing sex determination, gender discrimination, protection of girls, and higher participation of girls in education and other fields.
• Features of Sukanya Samriddhi Account:
  • Minimum deposit ₹ 250/- Maximum deposit ₹ 1.5 Lakh in a financial year.
  • Account can be opened in the name of a girl child till she attains the age of 10 years.
  • Only one account can be opened in the name of a girl child.
  • The account can be opened in Post offices and in authorised banks.
  • Withdrawal shall be allowed for the purpose of higher education of the Account holder to meet education expenses.
  • The account can be prematurely closed in case of marriage of girl child after her attaining the age of 18 years.
  • The account can be transferred anywhere in India from one Post office/Bank to another.
  • The account shall mature on completion of a period of 21 years from the date of opening of the account.
  • Deposit qualifies for deduction under Sec.80-C of I.T.Act.
  • Interest earned in the account is free from Income Tax under Section -10 of I.T.Act.

‘India supports marine protected areas in Antarctica to conserve ocean life’

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs):

• MPAs are areas of the ocean set aside for long-term conservation aims.
• They support climate change adaptation and mitigation while providing other ecosystem services.
• The specific purposes, legal authority, level of protection, management approaches, and use allowance of individual marine protected areas (MPAs) can vary greatly from site to site
• Many MPAs allow people to use the area in ways that do not damage the environment. Some ban fishing. A few do not allow people to enter the area at all.
• MPAs currently cover about 6.35% of the ocean. However, only just over 1.89% of that area is covered by exclusively no-take MPAs that do not allow any fishing, mining, drilling, or other extractive activities.

United Nations High Seas Treaty

• It is the first-ever treaty to protect the world''s oceans that lie outside national boundaries.
• It is also known as the ‘Paris Agreement for the Ocean.’
• It is a legally binding treaty to protect marine life in international waters.
• It aims to place 30% of the seas into protected areas by 2030 (a pledge made by countries at the UN biodiversity conference in 2022).
• It will provide a legal framework for establishing vast marine protected areas (MPAs) to protect against the loss of wildlife and share out the genetic resources of the high seas.

Banks Must Give Opportunity Of Hearing To Borrowers Before Classifying Their Accounts As Fraud : Supreme Court

About Audi Alteram Partem:

• The literal meaning of Audi Alteram Partem is to “hear the other side”.
• It denotes that every party shall get an opportunity of hearing and no one shall go unheard in a case.
• Under this doctrine, every party shall get an opportunity to plead and assert evidence to support his case.
• This ensures a fair hearing and fair justice to both the parties.
• No decision can be declared without hearing both the parties. The aim of this principle is to give an opportunity to both the parties to defend themselves.
• The doctrine is the basic concept of the principle of natural justice.
• The following are the key components of this doctrine:
• Notice:
  • Before any action is taken, the affected party must be given a notice to show cause against the proposed action and seek his explanation.
  • A notice must contain the time, place and date of hearing, jurisdiction under which the case is filed, the charges, and proposed action against the person.
  • Any order passed without giving notice is against the principles of natural justice and is void.
• Hearing:
  • The order passed by the authority without providing the reasonable opportunity of being heard to the person affected by it adversely will be invalid and must be set aside.
• Evidence:
  • It is an important part which is to be brought properly before the Court in the presence of both the parties and a judicial or quasi judicial authority must have to act on the evidence produced as in the case.
• Cross-Examination:
  • Every person has the right to contest or object to the evidence presented by the other party.
• Legal Representation:
  • Every person is not able to present his case assertively. Thus, he needs some assistance from a specialised legal attorney to present his case.
  • The Indian Constitution also provides that every person has a right to get legal assistance.
• Exceptions to the doctrine of Audi Alteram Partem:
  • The word exception doesn’t mean the principles of natural justice and fair play will not be there.
  • These exceptions only denote those conditions in which nothing unfair will occur, even if certain conditions of this maxim are relaxed.
  • Some conditions for exceptions are:
    • Emergency;
    • Confidentiality;
    • Impractibility;
    • Statutory Exclusion;
    • Legislative Function

Putin says Moscow to place nuclear weapons in Belarus, US reacts cautiously

Tactical Nuclear Weapons:

• Nuclear weapons, just like other weapons, can be categorised into two types — strategic and tactical.
• Strategic Nuclear Weapons: They refer to nuclear weapons that have bigger objectives, such as destroying cities or larger targets, with larger war-waging objectives in mind.
• Tactical Nuclear Weapons (TNWs):
  • They are nuclear weapons used for specific tactical gains on the battlefield.
  • They are intended to devastate enemy targets in a specific area without causing widespread destruction and radioactive fallout.
  • These are designed for use in battle as part of an attack with conventional weapon forces.
  • These warheads can be delivered via a variety of missiles, torpedoes and gravity bombs from naval, air or ground forces. They could even be simply driven into an area and detonated.
  • The explosive yield of tactical nuclear weapons can range from under one kiloton to about 100 kilotons, whereas strategic nuclear weapons can have a yield of up to one thousand kilotons.
  • Delivery systems for tactical nuclear weapons also tend to have shorter ranges, typically under 310 miles (500 kilometres), compared with strategic nuclear weapons, which are typically designed to cross continents.
  • They are the least-regulated category of nuclear weapons covered in arms control agreements.
• Countries possessing TNWs:
  • Nine countries have tactical nuclear weapons, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
  • They are Russia, the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea.
  • Russia has a stockpile of an estimated 2,000 tactical nuclear missiles.
  • The U**.**S. has an estimated 200 tactical nuclear bombs, half of which are at bases in Europe.

SEBI getting set to regulate index providers

• Index providers are those institutions that formulate and manage indices.
• One of the important roles of the index provider is to classify and define markets, as their indices represent a market or a proportion of a market and provide a benchmark of performance for that market or sector.
• They have the responsibility to set the rules that decide what securities to include in each index, how the index will be managed and how securities will be added or removed from that index over time.
• They also usually determine how stocks can be classified, e.g. is a particular stock a Healthcare or an Oil & Gas stock, or is it a Developed or Emerging market stock.
• An index allows investors and other stakeholders to get a snapshot of the market.
• S&P Dow Jones, MSCI, and Bloomberg are some of the globally renowned institutions that provide indices.
• In India, this activity is generally carried out by subsidiaries of stock exchanges. The most prominent indices in India are the Nifty50 by NSE Indices and Sensex provided by a venture of S&P Dow Jones Indices and BSE Lied.