Union Minister Piyush Goyal participates in PGII, IPEF investors forum in U

Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII)

• It is a developmental initiative aimed at narrowing the infrastructure gap in developing countries as well as helping to accelerate progress on SDGs globally.
• The infrastructure plan was first announced in June 2021 during the G7 Summit in the UK.
• Funding: It aims to build projects through grants and investments.
• The emphasis of the PGII is on building human infrastructure in the developing world and improving the quality of education and health care facilities.

G7 Group

• It is an intergovernmental organisationof leading industrialised nations formed in 1975.
• **Member countries:**Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
• It meets annually to discuss issues such as global economic governance, international security, and energy policy.
• The host of the G7 summit, also known as the presidency, rotates annually among member countries.
• It was formerly referred to as the G-8 until Russia was suspended from the group in 2014 after annexing Crimea.

Pamban vertical bridge likely to be inaugurated by Feb

New Pamban Bridge

• It is India’s first vertical-lift railway sea bridge.
• It connects Rameswaram on Pamban Island to Mandapam on the mainland in Tamil Nadu.
• Bridge Length:
• The total length of the bridge is 078 km.
• It will have 99 spans with 18.3-meter-long girders. The navigational span will be 63 metres.
• It will replace the iconic Pamban Bridge, India''s first sea bridge, which opened in 1914.
• The new bridge is being built parallel to the old Pamban Bridge by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited.
• Features:
• The most unique feature of the new Pamban Bridge is its vertical lift facility. It will help boats pass under the bridge smoothly.
• While the old bridge has the ''Scherzer'' rolling lift technology, in which the bridge opens up horizontally to let ships pass through, the new bridge will lift vertically upwards, remaining parallel to the deck. It will be done using sensors at each end.
• The vertical lift span will have electromechanical control interlocked with the train control system.
• To allow for shipping traffic to pass under the vertical lift section of the bridge, rail traffic would be stopped. The navigational span would move up vertically to create enough height for boats to pass.
• It will allow a full horizontal length of 72.5 metres for navigation.
• While the new Pamban Bridge is 3 metres higher than the old bridge, it also has a navigational air clearance of 22 metres above mean sea level.
• It has been designed for a double railway line and future electrification as well.

Scientists uncover enormous cosmic structure containing a whopping 20 galaxies!

• According to the study, the Cosmic Vine was spotted after poring over data collected by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), humanity’s most powerful tool for peering into the far reaches of space and time.

Cosmic Vine

• It is a massive “vine-like structure” that encompasses 20 galaxies and stretches for over 13 light years.
• It’s also very ancient. The researchers pegged it at redshift 3.44, meaning it’s situated in the early universe. (Redshift refers to the way light stretches as it travels longer distances through time, with higher redshifts indicating an object is older).
• A redshift of 3.44would mean light from the Cosmic Vine has been traveling for between 11 and 12 billion years before reaching JWST. To provide context, current methods estimate the universe''s age at 13.7 billion years.
• It harbours two of the most massive galaxies ever discovered at such a high redshift—Galaxy A and Galaxy E, both in a quiescent state, indicating a reduced rate of star formation.
• Researchers believe that the Vine might serve as the precursor to a galaxy cluster, providing insights into the formation of such clusters and the emergence of massive galaxies within them.

Light Year

• A light-year is a measurement of distance and not time (as the name might imply).
• It is the distance a beam of light travels in a single Earth year, which equates to approximately 6 trillion miles (9.7 trillion kilometres).
• It is used to measure the vast distances of space.

India Slides Sharply on Global Talent Competitiveness Index

Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI)

• The Global Talent Competitiveness Index has seen India fall sharply from rank 83 ten years ago to rank 103 in its latest report out recently.
• It measures how countries grow, attract, and retain talent.
• It is an annual benchmarking report published by the prestigious chain of business schools, INSEAD.
• It provides a unique resource for decision-makers to understand the global talent competitiveness picture and develop strategies to boost their economies.
• The index uses two sub-indices: input and output.
• The input measures regulatory and business environments, as well as steps being taken to foster talent and retain it.
• The output side evaluates the quality of talent.
• Highlights of GTCI 2023:
• The 10th edition of the report covers 134 countries around the world across all income groups.
• Singapore, Switzerland, and the United States are among the top three countries on the index.
• Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Australia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom make up the rest of the Top 10.
• India is ranked 103, the worst among that of the BRICS countries. China remains at the top of the BRICS group of countries at rank 40, Russia at 52, South Africa at 68 and Brazil at 69.
• Other countries ranking better than India are Rwanda, Paraguay, Tunisia, Namibia, Bolivia, Ghana, El Salvador, Gambia, Kenya, Morocco, and Eswatini.
• As per the report, other emerging countries have shown improvements on this index, with China, Indonesia, and Mexico being cited for special mention.

The power of the rhododendron

Rhododendron

• It is a genus of flowering plants that includes over a thousand species, including trees, shrubs, and creepers.
• These are a diverse genus of about 1,000 species of woody flowering plants in the heath family (Ericaceae), notable for their attractive flowers and handsome foliage.
• Habitat:They occur in a variety of habitats, including alpine regions, coniferous and broadleaved woodlands, temperate rain forests, and even tropical
• Distribution:They are native to the temperate regions of Asia, North America, and Europe, as well as to the tropical regions of Southeast Asia and northern Australia.
• They also require slightly acidic soil to grow well.
• They exhibit an enormous diversity of size and shape, from prostrate ground covers growing no more than a few inches high to trees more than 100 feet tall.
• There are 132 taxa (80 species, 25 subspecies, and 27 varieties) of rhododendrons found in India.
• They are also known as "Lali Guras" in the local language, and is the national flower of Nepal and the state tree of the state of Uttarakhand in India.

Ladakh secures 4th GI tag for Sea Buckthorn

Sea Buckthorn

• Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) is a plant found throughout Europe and Asia.
• In India, it is found above the tree line in the Himalayan region, generally in dry areas such as the cold deserts of Ladakh and Spiti.
• It is naturally distributed over 11,500 hectares in the Ladakh region.
• It produces small orange or yellow-coloured berries that are sour in taste but rich in vitamins, especially vitamin C.
• The shrub can withstand extreme temperatures ranging from minus 43 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius and is considered drought-resistant. These two characteristics make the shrub an ideal plant species to establish in cold deserts.
• Sea Buckthorn berries have the unique characteristic of remaining intact on the shrub throughout the winter months despite the subzero temperature.
• Uses:
• It has been used traditionally for a variety of purposes.Every part of the plant—fruit, leaf, twig, root, and thorns—has been traditionally used as medicine, nutritional supplement, fuel, and fence.
• Many bird species feed on the berries when other sources of food are limited in the region.
• The leaves serve as protein-rich fodder for cold desert animals like sheep, goats, donkeys, cattle, and double-humped camels.
• Therefore, it is popularly known as the ‘Wonder Plant’, ‘Ladakh Gold’, ‘Golden Bush’, or ‘Gold Mine’ of cold deserts.

Geographical Indication Tag

• It is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
• This is typically used for agricultural products, foodstuffs, wine and spirit drinks, handicrafts, and industrial products.
• A geographical indication right enables those who have the right to use the indication to prevent its use by a third party whose product does not conform to the applicable standards.
• Geographical indications are covered as a component of intellectual property rights (IPRs) under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
• At the international level, GI is governed by the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO’s) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
• In India, Geographical Indications registration is administered by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
• This GI tag is **valid for 10 years,**following which it can be renewed.
• The first product in India to be accorded the GI tag was Darjeeling tea in the year 2004-05.

Indian Green Building Council Introduced Nest Initiative For Sustainable Housing

NEST initiative

• It is to promote sustainable and eco-friendly construction in the domestic housing sector.
• It would pave the way for individual house owners and the residential sector to adopt green building features in a big way to help bring down electricity consumption and water usage and create a healthy living space.

Indian Green Building Council

• It is part of the Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) and was formed in 2001.
• It is India''s Premier certification body.
• The council offers a wide array of services, which include developing new green building rating programmes, certification services,and green building training programmes.
• The council also organises the Green Building Congress, its annual flagship event on green buildings.
• It is also among the five countries that are on the board of the World Green Building Council, discussing global issues at COP and similar global platforms.
• The rating is based on six environmental categories, which include sustainable station facility, health, hygiene and sanitation, energy efficiency, water efficiency, smart and green initiatives and innovation and development.
• Headquarters: Hyderabad.

IAF Lands ‘Super Hercules’ Military Transport Aircraft on Unfeasible Strip for Tunnel Rescue Mission

C-130J Super Hercules

• It is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft.
• It is the latest production version of the C-130 Hercules. It replaced, in production, the previous C-130H.
• The C-130J Super Hercules made its first flight in 1996.
• It is the US Air Force’s principal tactical cargo and personnel transport aircraft.
• It was developed by Lockheed Martin, a US security and aerospace company.
• It primarily performs the tactical portion of the airlift mission, is capable of operating from rough, dirt strips, and is the prime transport for airdropping troops and equipment into hostile areas.
• The largest operators are the US Air Force, US Marine Corps, Australia, Canada, India, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
• Features:
• It has reduced crew requirements. A minimal crew of three men is required to operate this aircraft, including two pilots and one loadmaster.
• It has a payload capacity of 19 tonnes.
• It is powered by four Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 turboprop engines.
• It has digital avionics, including a Head-Up Display (HUD) for each pilot.
• Range: 6,852 km (no payload)
• Speed: 644 km/hr
• Endurance: 20+ hours
• It is capable of short takeoffs and landings from unprepared runways.
• C-130J-30:
• It is a stretch version of the C-130J.
• The C-130J-30 adds 15 feet to the fuselage, increasing usable space (two more pallets of equipment) in the cargo compartment.

World Energy Employment 2023 report

• Global employment in the energy sector grew by 3.4 million over pre-pandemic levels to 67 million in 2022.
• “Clean energy sectors added 4.7 million jobs globally over the same period and stand at 35 million.
• Fossil fuel jobs recovered more slowly after layoffs in 2020 and remain around 1.3 million below pre-pandemic employment levels, at 32 million.
• Job growth in the clean energy as well as fossil fuel sectors remained positive in India compared to pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
• With this, the country saw the fourth-highest number of new clean energy jobs being created in the past three years.
• The report mentioned five major sectors of the energy industry that led to maximum job creation post-pandemic.
• These sectors were solar PV, wind, electric vehicles (EVs) and battery manufacturing, heat pumps, and critical mineral
• These five sectors have employed around 9 million workers until Out of all the sectors, Solar PV emerged as the largest, with around 4 million jobs.
• On the other hand, the manufacturing of EVs and their batteries was the largest source of growth.

All about CARA, India''s adoption regulation body

Recently, the Supreme Court questioned the “great delay” plaguing India’s adoption regulation body, the Central Adoption Resource Authority.

Central Adoption Resource Authority

• It is a statutory body of the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India.
• It is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993, ratified by the Government of India in 2003.
• Function:
• It is the nodal body regulating the adoption of “orphaned, surrendered and abandoned children” in India.
• It monitors and regulates bodies such as the State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA), Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA), the Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency (AFAA), Child Welfare Committees (CWCs), and District Child Protective Units (DPUs).
• In India, a child can be placed with a family under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956; the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890; and the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000.
• The mandatory registration of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) and linking to CARA has been provided in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption

• The Convention provides safeguards for children and families involved in adoptions between participating countries and also works to prevent the abduction, sale, or trafficking of children.
• This section contains resources about the Convention for professionals involved in intercountry adoption.
• Objectives:
• To protect children and their families against illegal or ill-prepared Inter-Country adoptions.
• To prevent the abduction, sale, or trafficking of children.
• The Convention establishes minimum standards but does not intend to serve as a uniform law of adoption.