New species of bamboo-dwelling bat found in Meghalaya

• The species, found near the forested patch of Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary, has been named Glischropus meghalayanus. The present discovery is the first report of a thick-thumbed bat not only from India but also from South Asia.
• Thick-thumbed bats of the genus Glischropus are currently composed of four recognised species from Southeast Asia. The newly discovered species is small in size and has a dark brown colour with sulphur yellow belly.
• Bamboo-dwelling bats are a particular kind of bats living in the internodes of bamboos with specialised morphological characters that help them to adopt to the life inside a bamboo.
• With this new discovery, the total number of bat species known from India stands at 131.
• Meghalaya, a State with a small geographical area, harbours the highest bat diversity in the country with 67 species, which is about 51% of total bat species in the country.
• From the same forested patches outside the Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary, scientist found another species of disk-footed bat Eudiscopus denticulus which was a new record in India.

10% reservation in Central Armed Police Forces, Assam Rifles

• Agniveers will also get ten per cent reservation in Defence Ministry''s job vacancies.
• Reservations for agniveers meeting requisite eligibility criteria will be implemented in the Indian Coast Guard and defence civilian posts, and all the 16 Defence Public Sector Undertakings. This reservation would be in addition to existing reservations for ex-servicemen.
• The Ministry has also decided to give three years age relaxation beyond the prescribed upper age limit to Agniveers for recruitment in Central Armed Police Force and Assam Rifles.
• For the first batch of Agniveer, the age relaxation will be for five years beyond the prescribed upper age limit.

After a 9-year lull, India and EU re-launch negotiations for India-EU Free Trade Agreement

• Besides, negotiations were also launched for a stand-alone Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) and a Geographical Indicators (GIs) Agreement.
• While the proposed IPA would provide a legal framework for cross-border investments to enhance the confidence of investors, the GI pact is expected to establish a transparent and predictable regulatory environment, to facilitate trade of GI products including handicrafts and agri-commodities.
• Last year, in the India and EU Leaders’ Meeting held in Porto on 8th May 2021, an agreement was reached for resuming negotiations for a balanced, ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial FTA and starting fresh negotiations on the IPA and a separate agreement on GIs.
• Both partners are now resuming the FTA talks after a gap of about nine years since the earlier negotiations were left off in 2013 due to difference in the scope and expectations from the deal.
• This would be one of the most significant FTAs for India as EU is its second largest trading partner after the US.
• The India-EU merchandise trade has registered an all-time high value of USD 116.36 Billion in 2021-22 with a year-on growth of 43.5%. India’s export to the EU jumped 57% in FY 2021-22 to $65 billion. India has a surplus trade with EU.

Gujarat becomes first State in the country to launch Balika Panchayat.

• The country’s first-ever girl Panchayat, “Balika Panchayat”, which was started in several villages of Gujarat’s Kutch district, aims to promote the social and political development of the girls and ensure their active participation of girls in politics.
• This is a unique initiative of the Women and Child Development Welfare department of the Gujarat Government under the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ campaign.
• It started in Kunaria, Maska, Motagua, and Vadsar villages of the Kutch district.
• The Ministry of Women and Child Development is also planning to begin the girl panchayat across the country.
• “Balika Panchayat” is managed by people in the 11-21 age group and its main objective is to promote the social and political development of the girl child and to remove the evil practices from the society such as child marriage, and the dowry system.

Bangladesh Foreign Ministry denies any foreign funding in Padma Bridge construction

• It said that some quarters are trying to portray that the bridge which is to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 25 June has been constructed with foreign funds and is a part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China.
• The 6.15 kilometres long Padma Bridge is the largest bridge in Bangladesh. The bridge will help connect 19 south-western districts of Bangladesh with the rest of the country.

China''s PLA Navy launches its third aircraft carrier named ''Fujian''

• Fujian is the name of China''s eastern coastal province of Fujian. Fujian, in the southeast, is the closest province to Taiwan, a self-ruling province that China says must be reunified with the mainland, even by force.
• China''s first aircraft carrier, the ''Liaoning'', was a refit of the Soviet-era ship commissioned in 2012 followed by the indigenously built 2nd aircraft carrier ''Shandong'' in 2019. Liaoning and Shandong are names of two provinces of China.
• China plans to have around five aircraft carriers. The next aircraft carrier China plans to build is expected to be nuclear-powered.