MERA GAON MERI DHAROHAR

• Recently, the Mera Gaon, Meri Dharohar (MGMD) Program’s Indian government decided to map and document every hamlet.

Context:

• On July 27, 2023, a web site about MGMD was also introduced.

About:-

• Launched July 27, 2023.
• Ministry: The Ministry of Culture.
• The project’s primary goal is to create a thorough virtual map of India’s 6.5 lakh villages, which are spread over 29 States and 7 Union Territories, based on their respective cultures.

Salient Features:-

• It is a National Mission on Cultural Mapping pan-Indian project.
• Information is gathered under the MGMD in seven major categories, which are shown below:
  Village of Arts and Crafts
• An environmentally conscious village
• Indian Textual and Scriptural Traditions Connected to a Scholastic Village
• Epic Village associated with oral epics and Puranic traditions, the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata
• Architectural Heritage Village connected to Local and National History Historical Village
• Any other feature that should be highlighted, like a village that is known for its shepherding, horticulture, or fishing, etc.
• Cultural organizations can apply for financial aid for the promotion of art and culture through the Ministry of culture
• Culture’s Scheme of Financial aid for the Promotion of Art and Culture, which consists of eight components.
• The goal of the MGMD is to gather thorough data about the customs, history, and way of life of Indian villages and to make it accessible to both online and in-person visitors. Vigorous Villages Initiative
• This all-inclusive portal displays vital details about every hamlet, such as its location, demographics, and descriptions of customs, decorations, handicrafts, temples, fairs, festivals, and much more.
  
  

Benefits:-

• It acts as a one-stop shop for learning about, investigating, touring, and pretty much visiting every community in the nation.

International Energy Agency (IEA)

• The Renewables 2023 study from the International Energy Agency (IEA) was just issued.

Context:

• It presents a nuanced image of the renewable energy industry, emphasizing both achievements and difficulties.

About the International Energy Agency (IEA):-

• It was founded in 1974 as an intergovernmental organization.
• Head Office: Paris
• There are 31 member nations that make up the IEA.
• The organization’s goal is to advance clean, inexpensive, and dependable energy for both its member nations and the global community.
• The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) oversees the IEA, which was given its current mandate and organizational structure by the Agreement on an International Energy Program (IEP Agreement).
  
  

Eligibility Criteria for membership:

• An eligible nation for the International Energy Agency (IEA) must possess reserves of crude oil and/or products (Strategic Oil Reserves) equal to ninety-days’ net imports from the previous year. These reserves must be immediately accessible by the government, even if it does not directly own them, and should be sufficient to counteract disruptions to the world’s oil supply.
• In 2017, India joined the IEA as an Associate member.
• In order to improve collaboration on international energy security, stability, and sustainability, India and the IEA signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement in 2021.
• India now has 9.5 days’ worth of strategic oil reserves.
• India is a significant economic partner but does not belong to the OECD.
• India received an invitation from IEA to become a full Member and expand their partnership.

Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR)

The Odisha government recently revealed plans to build the world’s first melanistic tiger safari close to the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR).

Context:

According to the State Forest and Environment Agency, the Similipal Tiger Reserve is now the only place on Earth where melanistic tigers may live in the wild.

About Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR):-

• Place: North East India.
• Similipal, a national park and Tiger Reserve in the northern region of Orissa’s Mayurbhanj district, gets its name from the “Simul” (Silk Cotton) tree.
• 2750 square kilometers in size.
• It boasts Joranda and Barehipani, two stunning waterfalls.
• The Kolha, Santhala, Bhumija, Bhatudi, Gondas, Khadia, Mankadia, and Sahara are notable tribes.
• In 1956, it was designated as a “Tiger Reserve.”
• Since 1973, it has been a part of the national conservation initiative known as “Project Tiger.”
• UNESCO added the STR and a 2250 square kilometer “transitional area” to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 2009.
• Flora: A variety of forest types and habitats are predominant, with some semi-evergreen regions dominated by Northern Tropical Moist Deciduous forests.
• Here, sal is the most common species of tree.
• Wildlife includes the Barking and Spotted Deer, Sloth Bear, Mongoose, Flying Squirrel, Royal Bengal Tiger, Leopard, Gaur, Elephant, and Langur.

e-NAM

Farm-gate and inter-mandi e-NAM sales have shown a spike in FY2024.

Context:
In contrast to the extremely tiny quantity traded in the previous fiscal year, the total traded value of commodities on the digital platform using the farmgate model during April – January, 2023–24, was Rs 79 crore.

About e-NAM:-

• India’s eNAM platform is an online marketplace for exchanging agricultural commodities.
• A pan-Indian electronic commerce platform connecting agricultural produce market committees (APMCs) in every state was introduced in 2016.
• It was started with the intention of combining the current Mandis into an Indian “One Nation One Market” for agricultural products.
• It makes online commodity trading easier for buyers, sellers, and farmers.
• Traders no longer need to visit banks or mandis because it offers contactless remote bidding and mobile-based anytime payment.
• The main organization in charge of e-NAM implementation is the Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC).
• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare oversees its operations.
  
  

Benefits:-

• Through technological interventions such as digital weighbridge and weighing scale accuracy, e-NAM has been able to improve APMC mandi operations.
• precision in assaying with cutting-edge assaying apparatus.
• current commodity price information available online.
  
  
• increased access to buyers and sellers as well as trade transparency.
• payment transparency through a variety of online payment methods.
• increased productivity through digitization in mandi processes overall.

Green Propulsion System

A Green Propulsion System that was created by the DRDO’s Technology Development Fund (TDF) program has proved to be functional in orbit on a payload that was launched by the PSLV C-58 mission.

Context:

On January 1, 2024, ISRO’s PSLV-C58 launched the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPOSAT) into an orbit with a low inclination that was eastward.

About Green Propulsion System:-

• Bellatrix Aerospace Pvt Ltd, a Bengaluru-based start-up, was given approval to undertake this project, which is a 1N Class Green Monopropellant thruster for altitude control and orbit keeping of microsatellites (Development Agency).
• Under the direction of the DRDO Project Monitoring & Mentoring Group, the Development Agency completed the entire project.
• An apparatus that generates thrust to move an object forward is called a propulsion system.
• In this project, a 1N Class Green Monopropellant is used to control the height and maintain the orbit of microsatellites.
• The propellant, fill and drain valves, latch valve, solenoid valve, catalyst bed, drive electronics, and other components of the system are all domestically made.
• It has proven to be capable of both pulsed mode and steady-state firing in vacuum, as well as propellant realization, passivation of leftover propellant in space, and filling procedure establishment under TDF.
• Under the “Make in India” policy, the TDF is a flagship program of the Ministry of defense run by DRDO that provides support for innovation in defense and aerospace, particularly to start-ups and MSMEs.

Indian Gray Wolf

There have been reports of seeing Indian grey wolves inside the National Chambal Sanctuary (NCS).

Context:

Uttar Pradesh is home to the National Chambal Sanctuary (NCS).

About Indian Gray Wolf:-

• Call it Canis lupus pallipes, scientific name
• It is widely distributed, reaching as far as Israel and the Indian subcontinent. Approximately 3,000 animals, some in captive, can be found in India.
• This subspecies of grey wolves can be found all the way from the Indian Subcontinent to Southwest Asia.
• Its size is in between that of the Arabian and Himalayan wolves, although without the latter’s thick winter coat due to its warmer temperature.
• Its size is in the middle of that of an Arabian and Tibetan wolf.
• They hunt at night and wake up early.

Mekong River

A recent dam proposal in Laos across the Mekong River sparked concerns.

Context:

After the project is finished, more than 500 families should be displaced, and 20 communities will be affected.

About Mekong River:-

• East and Southeast Asian countries share the Mekong River as a transboundary river.
• It is the twelfth-longest river in the world.
• In Asia, it is the third longest.
• The river flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam before ending at the Tibetan Plateau.
• Navigation in the Mekong is challenging due to its rapids and waterfalls, as well as its drastic seasonal flow variations.
• The ancient river civilizations of India are linked to the rich historical and cultural legacy of the lower Mekong region.
• A significant commercial route connects Southeast Asia and western China via the river.
• Opportunities for tourism, academic exchanges, and collaboration in fields like science and technology are available throughout the Mekong area.