Govt likely to consider MEP for exports of specialty rice

Minimum Export Price

• It is the price below which an exporter is not allowed to export the commodity from India.
• It is imposed in view of the rising domestic retail/wholesale price or production disruptions in the country.
• It is a kind of quantitative restriction to trade.
• The government fixes MEP for the selected commodities to arrest domestic price rises and augment domestic supply.
• This is intended to be imposed for short durations and is removed when situations change.
• The removal of MEP helps farmers/exporters realise better and remunerative prices.
• MEP was first implemented on basmati rice in FY11 to deter exports and is typically implemented to contain surging domestic prices because of production disruptions.
• Legal backing
  • As per section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development And Regulation) Act, 1992, the Central Government may, from time to time, formulate and announce, by notification in the Official Gazette, the export and import policy and may also, in the like manner, amend that policy.

1 dead in Alabama from rare, mosquito-borne virus

Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) Virus

• It is an extremely rare but serious and often fatal infection that causes encephalitis or inflammation of the brain.
• EEE got its name because researchers first discovered the virus in horses (equines) in the 1830s.
• The virus can affect how your brain and nerves function.
• It is spread by the bite of a mosquito infected with EEE virus (EEEV).
• It can also infect a wide range of animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
• Fatality Rate: About 30% of people bitten by an EEE-infected mosquito develop encephalitis and die from the infection.
• Is EEE contagious?
  • It is not contagious. The virus can only spread to humans through an infected mosquito bite.
  • It can’t spread from human to human or from horses (or other animals) to humans.
• Symptoms:
  • EEEV infections in humans can vary in severity. Many people infected with the virus do not develop any symptoms (asymptomatic).
  • However, when symptoms do occur, they can include fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhoea, and various neurological symptoms such as encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), which can lead to seizures, coma, and, in some cases, death.
  • Severe cases are more common in infants and the elderly.
• Treatment:
  • There is no human vaccine for EEE or anti-viral drugs for the treatment of EEE.
  • Supportive care is provided to manage symptoms, especially in severe cases.

Centre Sets Up High Powered 9-Member Committee To Review DRDO''s Activities, Report Expected In 3 Months

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

• It is the R&D wing of the Ministry of Defence, Govt of India, with a vision to empower India with cutting-edge defence technologies and a mission to achieve self-reliance in critical defence technologies and systems.
• It is India''s largest research organisation.
• Formation: The organisation was formed in 1958 from the amalgamation of the then already functioning Technical Development Establishment (TDEs) of the Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development & Production (DTDP) with the Defence Science Organisation (DSO).
• Headquarters: New Delhi.
• It has a network of laboratories engaged in developing defence technologies covering various fields, like aeronautics, armaments, electronics, land combat engineering, life sciences, materials, missiles, and naval systems.
• Major Projects:
  • DRDO''s first project for the Indian military was in surface-to-air missiles (SAM) known as Project Indigo. However, it received little success and was therefore discontinued.
  • Since being set up, DRDO has achieved many successes in developing major systems and critical technologies like aircraft avionics, UAVs, small arms, artillery systems, EW Systems, tanks and armoured vehicles, sonar systems, command and control systems and missile systems.
  • In 2016, It successfully tested its first indigenously developed heavy-duty drone, Rustom 2, which is an unmanned armed combat vehicle developed on the lines of the US''s Predator drone.
  • DRDO co-developed INS Arihant, India''s first nuclear ballistic missile submarine, which became operational in 2018.
  • In March 2019, DRDO developed India''s first anti-satellite system that made India one of the space superpowers.
  • DRDO has also developed several ballistic missiles under its Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, which includes missiles like Prithvi, Trishul, Agni, Akash and Nag.

You Can Now Explore Pench Tiger Reserve On A Cycle

Pench Tiger Reserve

• Location: The Reserve is located in the southern reaches of the Satpura hills in the Seoni and Chhindwara districts in Madhya Pradesh and continues in Nagpur district in Maharashtra as a separate Sanctuary.
• It is named after the Pench River, which flows from north to south through the Reserve.
• It comprises of the Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park, the Pench Mowgli Sanctuary and a buffer.
• The area of the Pench Tiger Reserve and the surrounding area is the real story area of Rudyard Kipling''s famous "The Jungle Book".
• Terrain: It is undulating, with most of the area covered by small hills and steep slopes on the sides.
• Vegetation: The undulating topography supports a mosaic of vegetation ranging from a moist, sheltered valley to an open, dry-deciduous forest.
• Flora: The reserve boasts a diverse range of flora, including teak, saag, mahua, and various grasses and shrubs.
• Fauna:
  • The area is especially famous for large herds of Chital, Sambar, Nilgai, Gaur (Indian Bison) and wild boar.
  • The key predator is the tiger, followed by leopard, wild dogs and wolf.
  • There are over 325 species of resident and migratory birds, including the Malabar Pied Hornbill, Indian Pitta, Osprey, Grey Headed Fishing Eagle, White Eyed Buzzard, etc.

First ABDM microsite under NHA ''100 microsites project'' launched in Mizoram

Microsites project

• These are defined geographical regions where focused outreach efforts would be made to onboard small and medium-scale private healthcare providers.
• Types of facilities to be covered under a Microsite:
  • Private facilities such as standalone clinics, polyclinics, nursing homes, small hospitals (preferably <10 beds), labs, pharmacies, and any other healthcare facilities wherein health records are generated.
  • Health Facilities and Health Professionals from all the systems of medicine.
• Categories of a Microsite: Any State/UT can choose to implement any of the following categories of Microsites as per the regional priorities.
  • Category A Microsite: A microsite which consists of at least 1000 facilities, inclusive of all types of health facilities, as mentioned above
  • Category B Microsite: A microsite that consists of at least 500 facilities but less than 1000 facilities, inclusive of all types of health facilities, as mentioned above.
• Implementation:
  • These Microsites would be majorly implemented by State Mission Directors of ABDM, while the financial resources and overall guidance would be provided by NHA.
  • An interfacing agency under this program will have an on-ground team to reach out to the healthcare providers in the area.
  • This team will spread awareness about the benefits of ABDM. It will help the service providers to join the core registries under ABDM, besides promoting the use of ABDM to enable digital solutions for regular clinical documentation.
  • Patients will be able to link the health records generated at these facilities with their Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHAs). They will be able to view and share these records using any ABDM-enabled Personal Health Record (PHR) application on their phones.

Government to launch ''Mera Bill Mera Adhikar'' GST reward scheme in six States, UTs from September 1

Mera Bill Mera Adhikar Scheme

• It is a Goods and Services Tax (GST) invoice incentive programme that offers cash incentives for uploading invoices.
• It would initially be introduced in the states of Assam, Gujarat, and Haryana, as well as the UTs of Puducherry, Daman & Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
• Objective: To encourage customers to request a bill whenever they make purchases.
• How does the scheme work?
  • All invoices issued by GST-registered suppliers to consumers will be eligible for the scheme.
  • A monthly and quarterly draw of lots will be made, and winners will be eligible for cash reward prizes beginning from Rs 10,000 to up to Rs 1 crore.
  • The minimum purchase value for the invoice to be considered for the lucky draw is Rs 200, and individuals can upload a maximum of 25 invoices in a month.
  • The ''Mera Bill Mera Adhikar'' mobile app will be made available on both IOS and Android platforms.
  • The invoice uploaded on the app should have the GSTIN of the seller, invoice number, amount paid and tax amount.

Tejas Test Fires Air-to-Air Missile Astra

ASTRA Missile

• It is an indigenous Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile.
• It is to engage and destroy highly manoeuvring supersonic aerial targets.
• It is designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and other laboratories of DRDO.
• The indigenous Astra BVR firing from homegrown Tejas fighters is a major step towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

LCA Tejas

• It is the lightest, smallest and tailless multi-role supersonic fighter aircraft in its class.
• This aircraft is designed to carry a range of air-to-air, air-to-surface, precision-guided weapons.
• It has the air-to-air refuelling capability.
• The maximum payload capacity of Tejas is 4000 kg.
• Speed: Mach 1.8.

New method gives an accurate analysis of the historical time series of images of the Sun

Equal Contrast Technique (ECT)

• It is known that there are large numbers of regions of weak magnetic field on the sun, which vary with time.
• These can be studied using magnetograms and Ca-K line images of the sun, as there is a strong correlation between the magnetic field and the Ca-K line intensity of the region on the Sun.
• The magneto-grams are available for short periods, and the characteristics of the instrument change with time.
• Ca-K line images have been available for a long period at Kodaikanal Observatory (KO), for more than 100 years, with no change in the optics of the instrument.
• Similarly, other observatories in the world, such as Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) have had this type of data for about 70 years.
• Using the data obtained at Kodaikanal observatory, the scientists have shown that the correlation between derived plage area (the bright region in the sun’s chromosphere) from the Ca-K images and sunspot number is excellent, even on a daily basis, over a period of about 100 years for the first time.
• Significance:
  • This type of accurate analysis of the historical time series of Ca-K images can be useful for reliable and accurate investigation of variations on the sun and the effect of this on the climatic condition of the earth.
  • It helps in understanding the dynamics of the sun, solar cycle variations, dynamo processes in the convection zone and resulting long-term climatic variations on the earth.

Magnetogram

• It is an image taken by an instrument that can detect the strength and location of the magnetic fields on the Sun.
• In a magnetogram, grey areas indicate that there is no magnetic field, while black and white areas indicate regions where there is a strong magnetic field.

NCDRC dismisses Cloudtail’s appeal in pressure cooker case

National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission

• It is a quasi-judicial commission in India, which was set up in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act of 1986.
• The Commission is headed by a sitting or a retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India or a sitting or retired Chief Justice of the High Court.
• The Act mandates the establishment of Consumer Protection Councils at the Centre as well as in each State and District to promote consumer awareness.
• The Central Council is headed by the Minister in charge of the Department of Consumer Affairs in the Central Government, and the State Councils by the Minister in charge of Consumer Affairs in the State Governments.
• It also provides for a 3-tier structure of the National Commission, the State Commissions and the District Commissions for speedy resolution of consumer disputes.
• Its head office is in New Delhi.

Central Consumer Protection Authority

• 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.

Ukraine says it destroyed Russian S-400 missile system in Crimea

S-400 Air Defence Missile System

• The S-400 Triumf (NATO: SA-21 Growler) is a mobile, surface-to-air missile system.
• It is one of the world’s most advanced air defence systems that can simultaneously track numerous incoming objects.
• It was developed by the Almaz Central Design Bureau of Russia.
• The system entered service in April 2007, and the first S-400 was deployed in combat in August 2007.
• India signed a US$ 5.5 billion deal with Russia in October 2018 to acquire five S-400 systems.
• Features:
  • It is equipped with four different missiles that can engage enemy aircraft, ballistic missiles, and AWACS planes at 400 km and 250 km, medium-range at 120 km, and short-range at 40 km.
  • The system can simultaneously engage 36 targets.
  • The system is a large complex of radars, control systems and different types of missiles.
  • The highly automated S-400 has radars that can pick up an incoming object up to 1,000 kilometres away, track several dozen incoming objects simultaneously and distribute the targets to appropriate missile systems.
  • The command post detects, tracks and identifies the target. Then, the tracked object is taken over by manned anti-aircraft missile systems of the complex, which launch the counterattack.