Urban-20 (U20) event being organised under G20 presidency of India

• It is a city diplomacy initiative launched on December 12, 2017, at the One Planet Summit in Paris.
• Urban-20 (U20) provides a platform for cities from G20 countries to facilitate discussions on various important issues of urban development including climate change, social inclusion, sustainable mobility, and affordable housing, and propose collective solutions.
• C40 Cities (C40) and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) convene the U20 under the leadership of a Chair city that rotates annually, based in the G20 host country.
• The U20 2023 Cycle will be chaired by the City of Ahmedabad.
  • Ahmedabad will showcase its unique urban development and climate change initiatives and rich culture and heritage to the participants.

IFSCA and CEEW sign MoU to cooperate on sustainable finance

• It is a statutory authority established under the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019 (“IFSCA Act”).
• Mandate: To develop and regulate the financial products, financial services, and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centres (‘IFSC’).
• The IFSCA aims to develop a strong global connection and focus on the needs of the Indian economy as well as to serve as an international financial platform for the entire region.
• Before the establishment of IFSCA, the domestic financial regulators, namely, RBI, SEBI, PFRDA and IRDAI regulated the business in IFSC.
• GIFT-IFSC is the maiden IFSC in India.

Members

The International Financial Services Centres Authority consist of nine members, appointed by the central government.

• They will include the chairperson of the authority, a member each from the RBI, SEBI, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority.
• Two members from the Ministry of Finance. In addition, two other members will be appointed on the recommendation of a Selection Committee.
• **Term:**All members of the IFSC Authority will have a term of three years, subject to reappointment.

Textiles sector offers 4.5 crore jobs, 1,17,678 MUDRA loans sanctioned

• Government of India launched the “Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector (SCBTS)” which is called SAMARTH, for the entire value chain of textiles except Spinning and Weaving in the organized sector, for a period of three years from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

Objectives:

• To provide demand-driven, placement-oriented National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) compliant skilling programmes to incentivize and supplement the efforts of the industry in creating jobs in the organized textile and related sectors, covering the entire value chain of textile, excluding Spinning and Weaving.
• To promote skilling and skill upgradation in the traditional sectors of handlooms, handicrafts, sericulture and jute.
• To enable the provision of sustainable livelihood either by wage or self-employment to all sections of the society across the country.

Implementing Agencies:

• Textile Industry.
• Institutions/Organizations of the Ministry of Textiles/State Governments having training infrastructure and placement tie-ups with the textile industry.
• Reputed training institutions/ NGOs/ Societies/ Trusts/ Organizations/ Companies /Start-Ups / Entrepreneurs active in the textile sector having placement tie-ups with the textile industry.

Stellar discoveries of the 40-inch telescope at the Vainu Bappu Observatory in Kavalur highlighted at 50-year celebration

• Vainu Bappu Observatory is considered one of the most renowned observatories in India it is Located on Javadi Hills at Kavalur, Tamilnadu
• The 40-inch telescope was installed in 1972 and started producing important astronomical discoveries soon after. More than a generation of astronomers were trained at this telescope as well.
• The telescope in the observatory is under the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), an institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST)

Vainu Bappu

• He was an Indian astronomer who helped to establish several astronomical institutions in India including the Vainu Bappu Observatory which is named after him.
• He has played a significant role in astronomy with major discoveries like the presence of rings around the planet Uranus, a new satellite of Uranus, and the presence of an atmosphere around Ganymede which is a satellite of Jupiter.

Other Observatories in India:

• Solar Observatory in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu
• Indian Astronomical Observatory in Hanle, Ladakh
• Udaipur Solar Observatory in Udaipur, Rajasthan
• Gauribidanur Radio Observatory in Bangalore, Karnataka

PM2 elephant acclimatising to new habitat in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, positive behavioural changes noticed

• It is located in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu.
• It is at the tri-junction of three states, viz, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and it plays an unique role by forming part of the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve.
• Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve is the first Biosphere Reserve in India, declared during 1986.
• It has a common boundary with Wyanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) on the West, Bandipur Tiger Reserve (Karnataka) on the North, and the Nilgiris North Division on the South and East and Gudalur Forest Division on the South West, together forming a large conservation landscape for flagship species such as Tiger and Asian Elephant.
• The name Mudumalai means ” the ancient hill range”. Indeed, it is as old as 65 million years when Western Ghats were formed.

Important Flora And Fauna

• The Reserve has tall grasses, commonly referred to as “Elephant Grass”, Bamboo of the giant variety, valuable timber species like Teak, Rosewood, etc.
• There are several species of endemic flora. Such a varied habitat is inhabited by a variety of animals which include Tiger, Elephant, Indian Gaur, Panther, Sambar, Spotted Deer, Barking Deer, Mouse Deer, Common Langur, Malabar Giant Squirrel, Wild Dog, Mangoose, Jungle Cat, Hyena, among others.

India to embark on beneath-the-sea aquatic exploration mission ''Samundrayaan'' by 2026

• Samudrayaan Mission is aimed to develop a self-propelled manned submersible to carry three human beings to a water depth of 6,000 meters in the ocean with a suite of scientific sensors and tools for deep ocean exploration.
• The experts will be sent in a manned submersible vehicle called ''MATSYA 6000''.
• This vehicle is being designed and developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
• It has an endurance of 12 hours under normal operation and 96 hours in case of emergency for human safety.
• Manned submersible provides a feel of direct physical presence for researchers and has better intervention capability.
• With the launch of ''Samudrayaan'' in October 2021, India joined the elite club of nations such as the US, Russia, Japan, France, and China to have niche technology and vehicles to carry out subsea activities.

India

• India has a unique maritime position, a 7517 km long coastline, which is home to nine coastal states and 1,382 islands.
• The mission aims to boost the Central government''s vision of ''New India'' that highlights the Blue Economy as one of the ten core dimensions of growth.
• For India, with its three sides surrounded by the oceans and around 30% of the nation''s population living in coastal areas and coastal regions play a major economic factor. It supports fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, livelihoods, and blue trade.

What is the latest clash between AAP and the Delhi L-G?

• Delhi Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) Vinai Kumar Saxena has recently directed Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to implement a 2016 order of the Committee on Content Regulation in Government Advertising (CCRGA).

Committee on Content Regulation in Government Advertising (CCRGA):

• It is a three-member body.
• It was formed by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in April, 2016, on the directions of the Supreme Court in its judgment in the Common Cause vs. Union of India case in May, 2015.
• The body is set up to regulate the content of Central and State government advertisements in all media platforms.
• The SC had also mandated States to constitute their own respective bodies.
• While some States have set up committees to regulate public advertising content, some have given consent to the CCRGA to monitor their advertisements.
• The SC, in its order had also issued a set of guidelines for public-funded advertising by governments.
• Some of the guidelines mentioned include that government advertising should maintain political neutrality and avoid glorification of political personalities or projecting a positive impression of the party in power or a negative impression of parties critical of the government.
• They also should not be used at patronising media houses.

Palm-leaf manuscript museum opens window to little-known history

• It was set up by the Department of Archives, Kerala Government.
• The ₹3-crore museum has eight theme-based galleries where select manuscripts from one of the biggest palm-leaf collections in the country will be displayed.
• As many as 187 old and rare manuscripts stored at Central Archives and the department’s regional offices in Ernakulam and Kozhikode will be housed in the museum.
• The manuscripts in ancient scripts such as Vattezhuthu, Kolezhuthu, Malayanma, and ancient Tamil and Malayalam are present in the museum.
• The manuscripts which delve into aspects as diverse as tax, administration, and trade to education, prisons, and festivals in the erstwhile Travancore, Kochi, and Malabar provide a fascinating glimpse of history that is rarely accessible to the common man.
• Besides palm-leaf manuscripts, scrolls, bamboo splints, and copper plates are included in the collection.

Galleries:

• The first gallery ‘History of Writing’ is an introduction to the evolution of writing, particularly in Kerala, and introduces visitors to the Marayur cave paintings and engravings and the stamps and seals used in Harappa, through their replicas.
• The other galleries are ‘Land and people’, ‘Administration’, ‘War and peace’, ‘Education and health’, ‘Economy’, ‘Art and culture’, amid the Mathilakom records (a collection of 3,000 cadjan manuscript rolls possessed by Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple).

Buffer zone: Livelihoods will be protected, says Kerala chief minister

• As per the National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016), issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, land within 10 km of the boundaries of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries is to be notified as eco-fragile zones or Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ).
• While the 10-km rule is implemented as a general principle, the extent of its application can vary.
• Areas beyond 10-km can also be notified by the Union government as ESZs, if they hold larger ecologically important “sensitive corridors”.

Eco-Sensitive Zones

• According to the guidelines issued by the Environment Ministry in 2011, Eco-Sensitive Zones are created as “shock absorbers” for the protected areas, to minimize the negative impact on the “fragile ecosystems” by certain human activities taking place nearby.
• These areas are meant to act as a transition zone from areas requiring higher protection to those requiring lesser protection.
• They are not meant to hamper the daily activities of people living in the vicinity, but are meant to guard the protected areas and “refine the environment around them”.

Activities prohibited in an Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ)

• Commercial mining, saw mills, commercial use of wood, etc., apart from regulated activities like felling of trees.

Permitted activities

• Ongoing agricultural or horticultural practices, rainwater harvesting, organic farming, among others.

Bengal village Lalbazar basks in the glory of an ancient metalcraft

• Dhokra is a form of ancient bell metal craft practiced by the Ojha metal smiths living in states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Telangana.
• However, the style and also the workmanship of this artisan community varies in different states.
• Dhokra or Dokra, is also known as bell metal craft.
• Its documented history is about 5,000 years old.
• Making dokra art is a difficult process. Each figurine takes about a month to make.
• Dokra artifacts are mainly made in brass and are highly unique wherein the pieces do not have any form of joints. The whole object is fully handcrafted.
• The traditional designs are considered highly aesthetic in nature and a collector’s delight.

Process

• There are many processes involved, for which seven to eight varieties of clay is required, apart from other raw material.
• The method of making Dokra is done by combining the metallurgical skills with that of the lost wax technique.
• The handicrafts are known for combining the metallurgical skills with wax technique for making artefacts of distinctive look and beauty.
• The lost wax technique is a distinct form where the mould is used only once and broken, which makes the figure one of its kind in the handicraft market.
• There are two process of lost wax casting.
• The first one is Solid casting which is the method followed in the South and hollow casting, practiced in other states.