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- The Government of India has initiated the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) with a view to address cyclone risks in the country.The overall objective of the Project is to undertake suitable structural and non-structural measures to mitigate the effects of cyclones in the coastal states and UTs of India. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) under the aegis of Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) will implement the Project in coordination with participating State Governments and the National Institute for Disaster Management (NIDM). The Project has identified 13 cyclone prone States and Union Territories (UTs), with varying levels of vulnerability. These States/UT have further been classified into two categories,based on the frequency of occurrence of cyclone,size of population and the existing institutional mechanism for disaster management.Category I: Higher vulnerability States are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Category II: Lower vulnerability States – Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Goa, Pondicherry, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This project receives financial assistance from the world bank.
- Train 18 – The new train comes fitted with amenities on a par with the best in the world — from on-board Wi-Fi to GPS-based passenger information system, ‘touch-free’ bio-vacuum toilets, LED lighting, mobile charging points, and a climate control system that would adjust the temperature according to occupancy and the weather. Train 18 does not have a locomotive to pull the coaches. It is a self-propelled, semi-high-speed trainset. It can reach a maximum speed of 160 km per hour. The train can both accelerate and pull to a stop rapidly, thereby consuming much less energy. It has been built at the Integral Coach Factory at Chennai. About 80% of the design, technology and manufacture of Train 18, a predecessor to ‘Train 20’, is Indian. The coaches in the fully air-conditioned train are linked with advanced bridge plates, leaving the train free of the shaky gangways.
- The lesser florican, also known as the likh or kharmore, is the smallest in bustard family and the only member of the genus Sypheotides. It is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent where it is found in tall grasslands and is best known for the leaping breeding displays made by the males during the Monsoon season. These bustards are found mainly in northwestern and central India during the summer but are found more widely distributed across India in winter. Breeding areas are today restricted mainly to Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, some areas in southern Nepal and parts of Andhra Pradesh.
- Amur falcons are the world’s longest travelling raptors. Doyang Lake in Nagaland is better known as a stopover for the Amur falcons during their annual migration from their breeding grounds in Mongolia and northern China to warmer South Africa.
- The Vantangiya people, who were brought here from Mayanmar during colonial rule for afforestation activities, are settled in Uttar Pradesh. Recently, five villages in Gorakhpur and 23 villages in Maharajganj, where they mostly live, were declared as ‘revenue villages’. A revenue village is a small administrative region with defined borders. One revenue village may contain many hamlets. A village administrative officer is the head officer of a revenue village.
- Situated near the Great Rann of Kutch, Banni, the largest grassland of Asia, spread over 2,717 sq.km. The area is known for its scarce rainfall and semi-drought conditions; it is for the first time in 13 years that the Maldharis, the nomadic natives of Banni, are leaving their villages in droves as water gets scarce.
- China inaugurated a 55-km bridge (world’s longest sea crossing bridge) that will deepen the integration of Hong Kong and Macao with the rest of China. The bridge will be at the heart of an integrated Greater Bay Area (GBA).
- The Green Climate Fund is a fund established within the framework of the UNFCCC as an operating entity of the Financial Mechanism to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change. The GCF is based in Incheon, South Korea. It was established at the Conference of Parties (CoP) 16 at Cancun.
- U.S. recently pulled out of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia, a crucial Cold War-era treaty banning the development, testing and possession of short and medium range ground-launched nuclear missiles with a range of 500-5,000 km. The treaty, signed in 1987, was central to ending the arms race between the two superpowers, and protected America’s NATO allies in Europe from Soviet missile attacks.
- AG600 is China’s indigenously designed and built amphibious aircraft AG600.
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