OPEC Urges Countries to Invest Significantly More in Oil

• What is it? It is a permanent intergovernmental organization of oil-exporting countries.
• Mission:
  • To coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries.
  • Ensure the stabilization of oil prices in the international oil markets, with a view to eliminating harmful and unnecessary fluctuations.
• Formation: It was established in 1960 by the five founding members Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.
• Currently, it has 13 members, including Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates
• Headquarters: Vienna, Austria.

OPEC+

• It is a group of oil exporters consisting of 23 member countries which meet regularly to decide how much crude oil to sell on the world market.
• It comprises 13 OPEC countries plus Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mexico, Malaysia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Oman.

Mammatus Clouds: sagging pouch-like structures - WW2010

• Mammatus clouds refer to distinctive cloud formations that are separated by a bulge or protrusion emerging from the base of another cloud.
• They are usually formed in association with large cumulonimbus clouds.
• Typically, turbulence within the cumulonimbus cloud will cause Mammatus to form, especially on the underside of the projecting anvil as it rapidly descends to lower levels.
• Mammatus clouds generally form in the most unstable cumulonimbus, meaning that there is also a chance of hail, heavy rain and lightning in the vicinity, and if the air is cold enough during winter they can produce snow.

Diyodar meteorite in 2022 was India''s first aubrite in 170 years

• The pieces that fell in the two villages have been named the Diyodar meteorite, after the taluka in which the villages are located.
• This is only the second recorded crash of an aubrite in India. The last was on December 2, 1852, in Basti, Uttar Pradesh.

Aubrite meteorites

• Aubrite meteorites are coarse-grained igneous rocks that are formed in oxygen-poor conditions.
• They contain a variety of exotic minerals that are not found on Earth.
• The recently found aubrite meteorite in Gujarat is composed of orthopyroxene.

Pyroxenes

• Pyroxenes are silicates consisting of single chains of silica tetrahedra (SiO 4)
• Pyroxenes such as diopside and jadeite have been used as gems.
• Spodumene was historically used as lithium ore and rocks with pyroxene have also been used to make a crushed stone that is used in construction.

Survey records 290 bird species in Nagarahole

• Nagarahole is an important Tiger Reserve in Karnataka and is a major hub of conservation under Project Tiger and Project Elephant.
• Nagarahole Tiger Reserve previously known as Rajiv Gandhi National Park was named after the river Nagarahole.
• This tiger reserve forms a critical connecting habitat for tigers and elephants to other areas of the Western Ghats through the Brahmagiri wildlife sanctuary and to the Eastern Ghats through the Bandipur Tiger reserve.
• Flora: It consists mainly of moist deciduous forests with predominating trees of teak and rosewood.
• Fauna: Tiger, Leopard Asiatic, Wild Dog, Sloth Bear, Asiatic Elephant, Gaur, Sambar Chital Muntjac, Four Horned Antelope etc.

Here''s how India is leading the AI revolution, CIO News, ET CIO

• It is the National artificial intelligence Portal of India which was launched on 28th May 2020.
• It is a joint initiative by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), National e-Governance Division (NeGD) and NASSCOM.
  • NeGD: In 2009, NeGD was created as an Independent Business Division under the Digital India Corporation (a not-for-profit company set up by MeitY).
  • NASSCOM: It is a not-for-profit industry association and the apex body for the IT and IT-enabled products and services sector in India.
• It is the single central knowledge hub on artificial intelligence and allied fields for aspiring entrepreneurs, students, professionals, academics, and everyone else.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

• It is a wide-ranging branch of computer science concerned with building smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence.

Climate change may worsen cholera crisis in Africa

• It is a life-threatening infectious disease and a public health hazard.
• It is an acute, diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with the bacterium Vibrio cholera.
• Symptoms: Profuse watery diarrhoea, Vomiting, Leg cramps etc
• It is transmitted to humans through water or food which is contaminated with the cholera bacterium.
• The disease can spread rapidly in areas with inadequate treatment of sewage and drinking water.
• Currently, there are three WHO pre-qualified oral cholera vaccines (OCV), Dukoral, Shanchol, and Euvichol-Plus. All three vaccines require two doses for full protection.

186 species spotted during bird survey in Tansa Sanctuary

• Location: It is located in the Thane District of Maharashtra, 90 km northeast of Mumbai in the foothills of the Western Ghats.
• It is known to be a paradise for birdwatchers.
• It has two rivers, the Tansa and Vaitarna, and the sanctuary gets its name from the former, which divides the sanctuary into two parts.
• The sanctuary forms the catchment area of Tansa lake, along with the surrounding forests of Khardi, Vaitarna, Wada, and Shahapur ranges.
• Tansa reservoir, along with Vaitarna and Bhatsa reservoirs, is the major source of water for the cities of Mumbai and Thane.
• Within Tansa Sanctuary is a fort at Mahuli, situated on a 762 m high hilltop.
• Vegetation: The Sanctuary has Southern Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest, with a few patches of Evergreen forest.
• Flora: It consists of trees like Kalamb, Bibla, Khair, Hed, Teak, and Bamboo.
• Fauna:
  • At least 54 species of animals and 200 species of birds exist in the sanctuary.
  • Major wild animals are Panther, Barking deer, Mouse deer, Hyena, Wild boar,
  • Two Critically Endangered Gyps species of vultures, the Vulnerable Pallas’s Fish-Eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus, is also seen here.

Frozen lake marathon in Ladakh on February 20

• Pangong Lake or Pangong Tso is a long narrow, endorheic (landlocked) lake situated at a height of more than 14,000 ft (4,350 meters) in the Ladakh Himalayas.
• The lake is 5 kilometers wide and 134 kilometers long, with one-third of it lying in India & the other two-thirds in China.
• It is the world''s highest saltwater lake.
• The lake is also very deep and reaches a maximum depth of almost 328 feet.
• It is also known to change colors, appearing blue, green, and red at different times

SEBI proposes to enhance role, accountability of mutual fund trustees

• The trustees serve as an independent body to protect the interests of the investors and ensure compliance with the SEBI Mutual Fund regulations.
• Powers and Functions:
  • The Board of trustees or trustee company holds the property of the mutual fund in trust for the benefit of the unit holders.
  • They appoint an Asset Management Company (AMC) to float schemes for the mutual fund and manage the funds mobilized under various schemes.
  • The trustee will set the responsibilities of the AMC and monitor any new scheme that is introduced.
  • The trust also ensures that all the key personnel of a mutual fund is appointed with adequate qualifications and skills.
  • It has the authority to request any information from the AMC pertaining to the operations of the fund.
  • The trustee is also authorized to initiate action against the AMC or even penalize the AMC if SEBI regulations are not complied with or if the interests of the unit holders are not protected.
• Structure:
  • Every mutual fund must have a minimum of 4 trustees, or they can appoint a trustee company with a minimum of 4 directors.
  • Two-thirds of the trustees will have to be independent.
  • Trustees cannot be appointed from within the same group to which the AMC belongs.

Asset Management Company (AMC)

• The AMC is the investment manager of the trust.
• It takes care of the day-to-day operation of the mutual fund and manages the investors'' money as well.
• The AMC consists of the Chief Investment Officer, the fund managers and analysts, who are together responsible for managing the various schemes launched.

Lightning Strikes Brazil''s Christ The Redeemer Statue

• Location: It is located at the summit of Mount Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil.
• It depicts Christ standing with his arms crossed and looking at the city.
• It was completed in 1931 and stands 98 feet (30 metres) tall.
• Its horizontally outstretched arms span 92 feet (28 metres).
• It is made of reinforced concrete and is the largest Art Deco-style sculpture in the world.

Art Deco

• Art Deco, also called style moderne, is a movement in the decorative arts and architecture that originated in the 1920s and developed into a major style in western Europe and the United States during the 1930s.
• It is a modern art style that attempts to infuse functional objects with artistic touches.
• This movement is different from the fine arts (painting and sculpture), where the art object has no practical purpose or use beyond providing interesting viewing.
• Art Deco works are symmetrical, geometric, streamlined, often simple, and pleasing to the eye.
• Art Deco design represented modernism turned into fashion.
• Its products included both individually crafted luxury items and mass-produced wares.