- India protests Chinese road construction in PoK Valley
- India has registered its protest with Beijing against China’s illegal attempts to alter facts on the ground in the Shaksgam Valley of Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
- The valley faces the Siachen Glacier.
- The valley is a part of the territory of India. India has never accepted the so called China-Pakistan boundary agreement of 1963 through which Pakistan unlawfully attempted to seat the area to China.
- Static takeaway: With China-Pakistan 1963 agreement, Pakistan handed over the Shaksgam Valley of Aksai Chin to China. The agreement is not recognized as legal by India, which also claims sovereignty over part of the land.
2. Illegal mining in the Aravalli Range must stop: SC
- The Supreme Court said that illegal mining in the Aravali range in Rajasthan must stop. The Rajasthan Govt was considering only those mountains which were 100 metres or more in height as part of the Aravalli Range and did not treat shorter hills as part of the range.
- Aravalli is a natural barrier and is the only geographical feature that stops dry winds from Pakistan and Afghanistan from coming to the Gangetic planes.
- Static takeaway: The length of the range is approximately 670 km which runs in south-west direction. The range starts near Delhi and passes through Haryana, Rajasthan and finally ends in Gujarat. The Aravalli Range is a significant ecological hotspot due to its rich geological history, diverse flora and fauna
3. Removing exotic plants will ensure food for wild animals, finds study
- Removing exotic plants from forest areas will help ensure food for wild elephants according to a study by the Kerala State Forest Protective Staff Organisation.
- Removing exotic species such as Acacia Maernsii and Eucalyptus from forests is vital to addressing the problems.
- This has been said in context of the Chinnakannal in Munnar
- Static takeaway: An exotic plant is one that is not native to our area, but which may survive and reproduce here, displacing native species and altering natural systems
4. April PMI signals second best gain in manufacturing sector in 42 months
- India’s manufacturing activity eased in April but still signalled the second best improvement in 3 ½ years as per the seasonally adjusted HSBC India manufacturing purchasing managers index which slid to 58.8 from March’s 16 year high of 59.1. Manufacturers reported higher confidence levels with expectation of higher output a year ahead.
- Even as input costs rose, producers raised input purchases to the highest level since June.
- Static takeaway: Purchasing Managers Index is a survey-based measure that asks the respondents about changes in their perception about key business variables as compared with the previous month. The PMI is a number from 0 to 100. A print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction. A reading at 50 indicates no change
5. NPCI’s global arm to develop UPI like system for Namibia
- NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL), the International arm of the National Payments Corporation of India has signed an agreement with the Bank of Namibia to support the institution in developing an instant payment system like the unified payment interface.
- The partnership seeks to help Namibia modernise its financial ecosystem.
- Static takeaway: NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), established in 2020. It is dedicated to promoting the international use of RuPay (India’s domestic card scheme) and UPI (Unified Payments Interface), a mobile payment solution.
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- India’s first private sector Built Earth Observation satellite “TSAT-1A”
- May 03 – World Press Freedom Day
