- Monsoon croaks project ropes in public to document frogs in farms and backyard
- The survival of frogs which serves as an indicator of the ecosystem’s health is being challenged by many factors such as climate change and untimely rainfall patterns. As a result, 41% of the world’s frogs are on the IUCN Red List of endangered species.
- The Centre for citizens science and Biodiversity Informatics under the Kerala Forest Research Institute is organising monsoon croaks bioblitz 2024 which is a citizen science programme aimed at documenting the frogs of Kerala during the monsoon.
2. Startup Agni Kul
- The Chennai Headquartered Space Startup Agni Kulp Cosmos Pvt Ltd launched the world’s first rocket with a single piece 3D printed engine from Sriharikota.
- The rocket is named Agnibaan Sub Orbital Technology demonstrator.
- It is India’s first launch from a private launchpad called Dhanush established by Agnikul.
- It is also India’s first semi cryogenic engine powered rocket launch and the world’s first single piece 3D printed engine designed and built indigenously.
- The semi-cryogenic engine (SCE) utilizes liquid oxygen (LOX) as an oxidizer and refined kerosene as fuel.
3. Kuruvai Special Package Scheme
- For the past two years, after opening the Mettur dam for irrigation in the second week of June, the Tamil Nadu government had implemented kuruvai special packages for the delta districtssuch as Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Mayiladuthurai, and Nagapattinam and in the delta regions of Cuddalore, Ariyalur, and Tiruchi districts.
- The package includes 45 kg of urea, 50 kg of Di-ammonium Phosphate, and 25 kg of potash per acre at no costto the farmers and paddy seeds at a 50% subsidised rate besides other benefits.
- The kuruvai special package was extended for 5,700 acres and in 2023 it was raised to 6,500 acres. This year, an increase was expected.
4. India’s Sugar Subsidy
- Brazil, Australia, and Guatemala had filed the cases against India on Indian support measures to Sugarcane farmers.
- According to their study, over the four-year period from 2018-19 to 2021-22, India has provided market price support on sugarcane in excess of the limits set out in the Agreement on Agriculture (10 per cent of the total value of sugarcane production) by a margin of 92-101 per cent.
- Subsequently, World Trade Organization’s (WTO) trade dispute settlement panel ruled that the country’s domestic support measures for sugar and sugarcane are inconsistent with global trade norms
- India has appealed against a ruling of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) in 2022 in the WTO’s Appellate Body, which is the final authority on such trade disputes and is not functioning.
- In its appeal, India has stated that the WTO’s dispute panel ruling has made certain “erroneous” findings about domestic schemes to support sugarcane producers and exports and the findings of the panel are completely “unacceptable” to it.
- The US and Australia have also presented a joint counter notification regarding India’s sugar subsidies
5. NAVAL SHIP KILTAN
- INS Kiltan is the third of four P28 Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvettes indigenously designed and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.
- The visit by Indian Naval Ship Kiltan is focused on professional interactions, sports fixtures, social exchanges and community outreach reflecting the shared values of both nations and navies.
- The visit is part of Operational Deployment of the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet to South China Sea. This visit is poised to further strengthen the friendship and cooperation between the two maritime nations.
- The visit will conclude with a Maritime Partnership Exercise at sea between the Indian Navy and Royal Brunei Navy.
- The two navies will undertake tactical evolutions which will bolster interoperability and exchange of best practices.
ONE LINER
- Semicryogenic engine test success at Mahendragiri ISRO
- Inauguration of Nakshatra Sabha for Astrotourism in India for the first time – organized by Uttarakhand Tourism Board
