- VISHING
- It is short form of voice+phishing, is carried out through a call on a mobile phone or landline.
- It’s a technique wherein a threat actor calls the victim over the phone and tries to trick him/her into clicking on malicious files or emails, which can then take one to a legitimate-looking website asking to share personal information.
- In other cases, the attacker can solicit sensitive information from the victim.
- It can be so tricky that the caller might appear as the manager or colleague of the victim, enticing her to share sensitive information, at times using urgency as the tactic.
2. Calcium Carbide
- The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has alerted traders’/fruits handlers/Food Business Operators (FBOs) operating ripening chambers to strictly ensure compliance with the prohibition on calcium carbide for artificial ripening of fruits, particularly during the mango season.
- It is a compound with the chemical formula CaC2 and also known as ‘masala’.
- It is commonly used for ripening fruits like mangoes, releases acetylene gas which contains harmful traces of arsenic and phosphorus.
- Manufacturing: It is manufactured by heating a lime and carbon mixture to 2000 to 2100°C (3632 to 3812°F) in an electric arc furnace.
- It has been prohibited as per the provision in the sub-regulation of Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulation, 2011.
- Application
- It is used in mining and metal industries as well as in the production of acetylene gas.
- It is a highly reactive compound and releases acetylene gas which is used to artificially ripen fruits.
3. National Endangered Species Day
- It is observed to create awareness about the consequences of human activities and what we can do to save endangered species.
- Every year, National Endangered Species Day is observed on the third Friday of the month of May.
- History
- In the year 2006, David Robinson and the Endangered Species Coalition established National Endangered Species Day to be celebrated every year to urge people to contribute to the safety and protection of endangered species.
- According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, forty percent of animals, insects and plants on this planet are at risk of extinction.
- The theme for the year 2024: Celebrate Saving Species.
- Significance
- The day promotes conservation efforts and encourages individuals and organisations to participate in activities that help protect endangered species.
- This includes habitat restoration, supporting conservation laws, and advocating for stronger environmental policies.
4. UK-India Strategic Dialogue
- The annual U.K.-India Strategic Dialogue was held in London recently.
- India and Britain have promised to conclude a mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
- India and Britain have reviewed the progress made on the 2030 Roadmap.
- 2030 Roadmap was established in 2021 to enhance cooperation in various sectors.
5. Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)
- India is “seriously considering” starting talks for a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Foreign Minister of Belarus declared during his two-day visit to India recently.
- It is an international economic union and free trade zone comprising countries located in central and northern Asia and Eastern Europe.
- It was established by the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union signed on May 29, 2014, in Astana.
- Member countries include Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
- The EAEU is being created to comprehensively upgrade, raise the competitiveness of and cooperation between the national economies, and promote stable development in order to raise the living standards of the nations of the Member-States.
- The EAEU provides for free movement of goods, services, capital and labor, pursues coordinated, harmonized, and single policy in the sectors determined by the Treaty and international agreements within the Union.
ONE LINER
- India’s Nikanth Sareen and Meenakshi won gold at the Elorda International Boxing Championship
- India and Britain reaffirmed their commitment to conclude a mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at the annual U.K – Indian Strategic Dialogue
