- Sinho Commission – A Commission for Economically Backward Classes, chaired by Major General S.R. Sinho (retired). It submitted its report in the year 2010. The report said that 18.2% of the general category came under the below poverty line (BPL).
- The discovery of the starry dwarf frog – a nocturnal amphibian that lives under leaf litter on a mountaintop in Kerala’s Wayanad. The team named the new species the starry dwarf frog Astrobatrachus kurichiyana (genus Astrobatrachus after its starry spots and kurichiyana in honour of the Kurichiya tribal community who live in the area). It is just 2 cm long and sports pale blue spots and brilliant orange thighs.
- UNSC 1267 – is the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee. Recently, the 1267 Sanctions Committee failed to designate Masood Azhar as a terrorist, after China placed a hold on a listing request that the U.S., the U.K., and France had brought before the Committee.
- ‘Utsavabali’ ritual is a part of the annual festival at the Ayyappa temple (Sabrimala Temple). ‘Utsavabali’ is an important ritual performed as part of the annual temple festival immediately after ‘utchapuja’.
- West Nile fever, is a relatively unknown viral infection that has been detected in the Malabar region in recent times. Though awareness is low, the virus is endemic to several States. The first documented WNV case in Kerala was in Alappuzha in 2011, with the numbers then growing. This microbe is serologically similar to the Japanese Encephalitis virus, which means the test, ELISA, often fails to differentiate JE antibodies from WNV antibodies.
- Global Environmental Outlook (GEO) is prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme.
- Biya naam (marriage carols), ojha paali (dance), and dhuliya (percussion ensemble) are Assamese folk art. The authorities of western Assam’s Nalbari district would be using these folk art forms to increase awareness among voters for the Lok Sabha elections.
- The first shipment under the United Nations ‘Transports Internationaux Routiers’ (TIR) convention arrived in India from Afghanistan through Iran’s Chabahar Port. TIR convention will help in fast and easy movement of goods across multiple countries under a common customs document and guarantee. India had joined the TIR Convention (the United Nations Customs Convention on International Transport of Goods under cover of TIR Carnets) on June 15, 2017. The convention allows goods to be outlined in a TIR carnet and sealed in load compartments.Customs officials verify the carnet and check the seals, with no need for physical checking of the contents, enabling shipments to pass through countries without being opened at borders.
- Mudumalai Tiger Reserve is in Tamil Nadu.
- Recently a Calcutta High Court Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri was established. The new Bench is the third one of the Calcutta High Court, the other two being the principal Bench in Kolkata and a permanent Circuit Bench in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Categories: POINT IAS
POINT IAS 