Indian Virtual Herbarium, Country’s Largest Database of Flora

• In the Mann Ki Baat episode on July 31, PM Modi spoke about the novel initiative, and said that the herbarium was an interesting collection of plants and preserved parts of plants.
• Developed by scientists of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), the herbarium was inaugurated by Union Minister of Environment Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav in Kolkata on July 1. Since then, the portal has had nearly two lakh hits from 55 countries.
• Each record in the digital herbarium includes an image of the preserved plant specimen, scientific name, collection locality, and collection date, collector name, and barcode number.
• The digital herbarium includes features to extract the data State-wise, and users can search plants of their own States, which will help them identify regional plants and in building regional checklists.

The ongoing violence in Gaza between Israel and Palestine

• The Gaza Strip or simply Gaza, is a Palestinian enclave on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Egypt on the southwest for 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) and Israel on the east and north along a 51 km (32 mi) border.
• The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are claimed by the de jure sovereign State of Palestine.
• The territories of Gaza and the West Bank are separated from each other by Israeli territory.
• Both fell under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, but the Strip has, since the Battle of Gaza in June 2007, been governed by Hamas, a militant, Palestinian, fundamentalist Islamic organization, which came to power in the last-held elections in 2006.
• It has been placed under an Israeli and US-led international economic and political boycott from that time onwards.

The Peninsular Rock Agama (Psammophilus dorsalis) which is a type of garden lizard has a strong presence in southern India.

• Habitat loss and other such features of urbanisation have affected the presence of the animal in urban centres.
• A study carried out by researchers from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, undertook to characterise urbanisation in the region and also to understand where the rock agama reside in and around Bengaluru specifically.
• The study, published in Frontiers in Conservation Science, examined several environmental factors that could affect the presence of the lizard and revealed that they are found mainly in rocky places and warm spots. Thus, the inference is that conservation efforts must point towards retaining rocky patches even while reviving landscapes by planting trees.

8th National handloom day is being observed on August 7, 2022.

• The day has special significance in the history of the freedom struggle in the country. On the same day in 1905 Swadeshi Aandolan was started.
• Announcing the date to celebrate National handloom day in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that all families in the country must keep at least one product of khadi and one of handloom.

ISRO launches India`s maiden SSLV-D1EOS-02 mission

• This is for the first time that the Indian space agency will demonstrate its capabilities in launching SSLV to inject smaller satellites in low earth orbit.
• It will carry the Earth Observation Satellite and another small satellite developed by the student team of Space Kidz India and named as AzaadiSAT.
• The girl students from Government schools across the country had participated in making this eight kg Cubesat to mark the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence. It carries 75 different payloads with earth observation applications.
• SSLV developed by ISRO has solid fuel in the first three stages and a fourth stage that carries liquid propulsion-based Velocity trimming module. It offers on demand quick launch feasibility and requires minimal launch infrastructure as compared to PSLV and GSLV launch vehicles of ISRO.
• The launch marks the beginning of a journey that, in a few years’ time, is expected to see the SSLV becoming the most frequently used launch vehicle by ISRO, replacing the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) which has done over 50 flights till now.

CAT achieved 91% disposal rate in 5 years

• The Central Administrative Tribunal had been established under Article 323 - A of the Constitution for adjudication of disputes and complaints with respect to recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to public services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or other authorities under the control of the Government.
• There are 17 Benches and 21 Circuit Benches in the CAT all over India.
• In addition to the Ministries and Departments of Central Government, the Government of India has notified 214 organizations under section 14 (2) of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 to bring them within the jurisdiction of the Central Administrative Tribunal, from time to time.
• In addition the Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench is dealing with the matters of Govt. of National Capital Territory of Delhi.

A controversy has broke out over the imposition of 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on garba passes this year.

• ‘Navratri’ is a Gujarati word meaning the festival of nine nights.
• While celebrated nationwide, the festivities stand out in Gujarat due to the rich garba dances, done to pay respect to and worship Goddess Amba.
• The festival involves worshipping a lamp placed in perforated earthen pots, which is symbolic of the power of the Mother Goddess and denotes her ‘garbha’ or womb that brings new life.
• With many organisers opening bookings for the upcoming Navratri festival, to be held from September 26 to October 5, a controversy has broken out over the imposition of 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on garba passes this year.
• Exemption from the GST only applies to organisers charging less than Rs 500 per pass.