Recipe for unique mushk budiji aroma includes altitude and temperature: study

About Mushk budiji Rice:

• It is short, bold aromatic rice grown in the higher reaches of Kashmir valley. It possesses a harmonious blend of taste, aroma and rich organoleptic properties.
• It is mainly grown in areas of Sagam, Panzgam and Soaf Shali of district Anantnag.
• The consumption of aromatic rice in Kashmir has now been limited to special occasions, marriages and festivals. It has received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

Highlights of the study:

• Scientists conduct a study of selected locations on the flavour profile of mushk budiji using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) and an ‘electronic nose’.”
• Based on these studies, the scientists identified 35 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in mushk budiji rice samples.
• Acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP) is a known aromatic compound found in some varieties – but it was present only in mushk budiji samples collected from higher altitudes.

What is Chromatography-mass spectroscopy?

• It is an analytical method used to reveal the presence of volatile compounds present in organic mixtures extracted from geological, environmental and biological samples.

Calendar for Auction of Government of India Treasury Bills

About Treasury Bills:

• Treasury bills or T-bills are money market instruments. These are short term debt instruments issued by the Government of India.
• Maturity period: At present, treasury bills are issued in three maturities — 91-day, 182-day and 364-day.
• These are zero coupon securities and pay no interest. Instead, they are issued at a discount and redeemed at the face value at maturity.
• Who can buy?
• Individuals, trusts, institutions and banks can purchase T-Bills. But they are usually held by financial institutions.
• Banks give treasury bills to the RBI to get money under repo. Similarly, they can also keep it to fulfil their Statutory Liquid Ratio (SLR) requirements.
• How do T-bills work?
• Treasury bills are issued at a discount to original value and the buyer gets the original value upon maturity. For example, a Rs 100 treasury bill can be availed of at Rs 95, but the buyer is paid Rs 100 on the maturity date.
• The return on treasury bills depends on the liquidity position in the economy. When there is a liquidity crisis, the returns are higher, and vice versa.

WTO’s investment facilitation negotiations are not illegal

About Investment Facilitation for Development:

• It is a joint Initiative launched at the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC11) in December 2017 on a plurilateral basis by 70 countries. This was done through a process known as the Joint Statement Initiative.
• Aim: This agreement aims to create legally binding provisions to facilitate investment flows. It also aims to develop predictable, transparent and open investment rules that will contribute to more efficient investment flows and increased business confidence and it is now in a formal negotiation phase. 
• Objective: A core objective of the framework is to facilitate greater participation by developing and least-developed WTO Members in global investment flows.
• The IFD agreement was finalised in November 2023 and at present around 120 of 166 WTO member countries (more than 70% of the membership) back this agreement.
• Key areas included in the IFD Agreement to promote and facilitate investment
• Improving regulatory transparency and predictability: such as publishing investment-related measures and establishing enquiry points;
• Streamlining and speeding up administrative procedures: such as removing duplicative steps in approval processes and simplifying applications;
• Enhancing international cooperation and addressing the needs of developing members – such as providing technical assistance and capacity-building for developing countries and least developed countries; and
• India is not a part of this initiative.

Future quantum computers will be no match for ''space encryption'' that uses light to beam data around — with the 1st satellite launching in 2025

About Quantum cryptography:

• It is also known as quantum encryption which uses the naturally occurring properties of quantum mechanics to secure and transmit data in a way that cannot be hacked.
• It is completely secure against being compromised without the knowledge of the message sender or the receiver.
• It is impossible to copy or view data encoded in a quantum state without alerting the sender or receiver. It uses individual particles of light, or photons, to transmit data over fiber optic wire.
• Process:
• Quantum cryptography is not replacing traditional cryptography; rather, it allows for a more secure transfer of the keys used in encoding and decoding.
• The amount of information which can be transferred using quantum cryptography is not very large or very fast, but it is very secure.
• The maximum speed, scale and security of the transfer is achieved by sending the secret key using quantum coding, but encoding and sending the data itself using traditional methods and algorithms.
• Benefits of quantum cryptography
• Provides secure communication:  Instead of difficult-to-crack numbers, quantum cryptography is based on the laws of physics, which is a more sophisticated and secure method of encryption.
• Detects eavesdropping:  If a third party attempts to read the encoded data, then the quantum state changes, modifying the expected outcome for the users.
• Offers multiple methods for security: There are numerous quantum cryptography protocols used. Some, like QKD, for example, can combine with classical encryption methods to increase security.

Protect Moyar valley, the home of critically endangered Gyps vulture

About Moyar Valley:

• Location: It extends from Gudalur through the core area of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. This entire stretch is an important biome in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
• It is sheltering several vital species like tiger and elephant and the critically endangered Gyps vulture. It is the only region in peninsular India where you have the biggest nesting colony of Gyps vultures in the wild.
• How it supports Gyps population?
• This valley offers plenty of wild kills and natural deaths of wildlife from Moyar village to Bhavanisagar.
• This provides a stable food-chain to nature’s scavengers, simply because these carcasses are mostly free from NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs) and other poisonous chemicals.

Key facts Mudumalai Tiger Reserve

• It is located in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu, at the tri-junction of three states, viz, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• It lies on the Northeastern and Northwestern slopes of Nilgiri hills which is a part of the Western Ghats. It is part of the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve, the first Biosphere Reserve in India.
• It has a common boundary with Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) on the West, Bandipur Tiger Reserve (Karnataka) on the North, the Nilgiris North Division on the South and East, and Gudalur Forest Division on the South West.

Discovery of amino acid unveils how light makes stomata open in plants

About Stomata:

• They are tiny openings or pores in plant tissue that allow for gas exchange. They are typically found in plant leaves but can also be found in some stems. 
• They allow a plant to take in carbon dioxide, which is needed for photosynthesis. They also help to reduce water loss by closing when conditions are hot or dry.
• Stomata look like tiny mouths which open and close as they assist in transpiration. Plants that reside on land typically have thousands of stomata on the surfaces of their leaves. 
• The majority of stomata are located on the underside of plant leaves, reducing their exposure to heat and air currents. 
• In aquatic plants, stomata are located on the upper surface of the leaves. 
• A stoma (singular for stomata) is surrounded by two types of specialized plant cells that differ from other plant epidermal cells. These cells are called guard cells and subsidiary cells.
• Guard cells are large, crescent-shaped cells, two of which surround a stoma and are connected to at both ends.
• A stomate opens and closes in response to the internal pressure of guard cells. These cells enlarge and contract to open and close stomatal pores.
• Guard cells work to control excessive water loss, closing on hot, dry, or windy days and opening when conditions are more favourable for gas exchange. 
• Guard cells also contain chloroplasts, the light-capturing organelles in plants.
• Subsidiary cells, also called accessory cells, surround and support guard cells.
• They act as a buffer between guard cells and epidermal cells, protecting epidermal cells against guard cell expansion.
• For most plants, dawn triggers a sudden increase in stomatal opening, reaching a maximum near noon, which is followed by a decline because of water loss.

The polar vortex is ''spinning backwards'' above the Arctic after a major reversal even

About Polar Vortex:

• The polar vortex is a large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding both of the Earth’s poles. It weakens in summer and strengthens in winter. 
• The term "vortex" refers to the counter-clockwise flow of air that helps keep the colder air near the poles.
• Many times, during winter in the northern hemisphere, the polar vortex will expand, sending cold air southward with the jet stream.
• This occurs fairly regularly during wintertime and is often associated with large outbreaks of Arctic air in the United States and Canada.
• Portions of Europe and Asia also experience cold surges connected to the polar vortex. 
• The polar vortex extends from the tropopause (the dividing line between the stratosphere and troposphere) through the stratosphere and into the mesosphere (above 50 km). 
• Low values of ozone and cold temperatures are associated with the air inside the vortex.

Key Facts about Jet Streams:

• Jet streams are narrow bands of strong wind that generally blow from west to east all across the globe.
• Earth has four primary jet streams: two polar jet streams, near the north and south poles, and two subtropical jet streams closer to the equator.
• What Causes Jet Streams?
• Jet streams form when warm air masses meet cold air masses in the atmosphere.
• The sun doesn’t heat the whole earth evenly. That’s why areas near the equator are hot and areas near the poles are cold.
• So, when Earth’s warmer air masses meet cooler air masses, the warmer air rises higher in the atmosphere while cooler air sinks to replace the warm air. 
• This movement creates an air current or wind. A jet stream is a type of air current that forms high in the atmosphere.
• Since these hot and cold air boundaries are most pronounced in winter, jet streams are the strongest during both the northern and southern hemisphere winters.
• On average, jet streams move at about 110 miles per hour. 
• They are located about five to nine miles above Earth’s surface in the mid to upper troposphere, the layer of Earth’s atmosphere where we live and breathe.

Southern Africa’s new ecoregion brimming with undocumented life but in urgent need of conservation

About South East Africa Montane Archipelago (SEAMA): 

• It is a newly recognised mountainous ecoregion. It stretches across northern Mozambique to Mount Mulanje in Malawi, southern Africa’s second-highest mountain. 
• The ecoregion encompasses 30 granitic inselbergs reaching > 1000 m above sea level, hosting the largest (Mt Mabu) and smallest (Mt Lico) mid-elevation rainforests in southern Africa, as well as biologically unique montane grasslands.
• SEAMA has distinctly higher annual rainfall and humidity, especially in the dry season, compared to surrounding regions.
• Since 2000, the SEAMA has lost 18% of its primary humid forest cover (up to 43% in some sites)—one of the highest deforestation rates in Africa. 
• The major cause of montane forest loss in SEAMA is slash and burn shifting agricultural practices, typically used for subsistence food production by local communities, along with charcoal production, for household cooking, and as a source of revenue.

What are Inselbergs?

• Inselberg, or Monadnock, is an isolated, steep-sloped ridge, hill, or small mountain that stands above well-developed plains. It appears like an island rising from the sea.
• Inselbergs are generally erosional remnants. Often, inselbergs are composed of harder igneous rock (such as granite) that is more resistant to erosion. However, inselbergs may also form in sedimentary rocks.
• These structures are one of several varieties of landforms called paleoforms that can survive with little modification for tens of millions of years.
• In inselberg landscapes, the active erosional processes are confined to valley sides and valley floors.

ESA, NASA Solar Observatory Discovers Its 5,000th Comet

About Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO): 

• It is a project of international collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It was launched in December 1995, SOHO was designed to study the Sun.
• In order to provide continuous observations, it was maneuvered to orbit the first Lagrangian point (L1), a point some 1.5 million km (900,000 miles) from Earth toward the Sun where the gravitational attraction of Earth and the Sun, combine in such a way that a small body remains approximately at rest relative to both. 
• It carries 12 scientific instruments to study the solar atmosphere, helioseismology and the solar wind. 
• Though its mission was scheduled to run until only 1998, it has continued collecting data, adding to scientists'' understanding of our closest star, and making many new discoveries, including thousands of comets. It is the longest-lived Sun-watching satellite to date. 

Sensing China threat, India joins race to mine new sea patch

About Afanasy Nikitin Seamount: 

• The AN Seamount is a structural feature in the Central Indian Basin, located about 3,000 km away from India’s coast.
• It comprises a main plateau, rising 1200 m above the surrounding ocean floor (4800m). It is rich in deposits of cobalt, nickel, manganese, and copper.

What is a Seamount?

• It is an underwater mountain formed through volcanic activity. These are recognised as hotspots for marine life.
• Like volcanoes on land, seamounts can be active, extinctor dormant volcanoes.
• These are formed near mid-ocean ridges, where the earth’s tectonic plates are moving apart, allowing molten rock to rise to the seafloor. The planet’s two most-studied mid-ocean ridges are the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the East Pacific Rise.
• Some seamounts have also been found near intraplate hotspots—regions of heavy volcanic activity within a plate—and oceanic island chains with volcanic and seismic activity called island arcs.
• Significance of seamounts:
• They provide information about the mantle’s composition and how tectonic plates evolve.
• These are helpful in understanding their influence on how water circulates and absorbs heat and carbon dioxide.
• They are good places for life because they can cause localised ocean upwelling, the process by which nutrient-rich water from deep within the ocean moves up to the surface.