Why in news?

• As per a new study, an imbalance in nitrogen availability has been reported across the globe, with some places having an excess and others a shortage.
• Nitrogen (N) is one of the building blocks of life and is essential for all plants and animals to survive.
• Without nitrogen plants grow slowly and produce smaller flowers and fruits.
• Nitrogen is also a core component of amino acids (building blocks of proteins) and of nucleic acids (building blocks of genetic material RNA and DNA).
• When excessive nitrogen accumulates in the streams, inland lakes and coastal bodies of water, it could result in eutrophication, leading to harmful algal blooms, dead zones and fish kills.

Nitrogen Cycle

• Movement of nitrogen between the atmosphere, biosphere, and geosphere in different forms is called the nitrogen cycle.
• Bacteria in the soil “fix” atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, which plants need in order to grow. > Other bacteria convert the ammonia into amino acids and proteins. Then animals eat the plants and consume the protein.
• Nitrogen compounds return to the soil through animal waste. Bacteria convert the waste nitrogen back to nitrogen gas, which returns to the atmosphere.

About Nitrogen

• Earth’s atmosphere constitutes 78 percent of Nitrogen gas. In its gaseous form, nitrogen is colorless, odorless and generally considered as inert at normal temperatures and pressures.
• In liquid form it looks similar to water.

Why in news?

• Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) in Meghalaya has opposed the State government’s deal with Assam to resolve boundary dispute.
• ADCs are institutions of local governance created under Sixth Schedule with Executive, Legislative and Judicial powers.
• Sixth Schedule consists of provisions for administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
• There are 10 areas — three in Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram each and one in Tripura that are registered as autonomous districts.
• As per the Sixth Schedule, each ADC must have at least 30 members.

Why in news?

• Ministry of Culture inaugurated Photo exhibition on Baolis of Delhi on occasion of World Heritage Day.
• Baoli is a reservoir, man-made water tanks in which water can be stored.
• Baoli is commonly used in Gujarat, Rajasthan and parts of North India.
• A typical baoli usually consists of three elements, the well in which the water is collected, the flight of steps to reach the ground water through several stories and interconnected pavilions.
• Generally, Baolis are U – shaped but L – shaped rectangular or octagonal stepwells are also not uncommon.
• Stepwells located in the edge of the habitation like towns or satellite villages are mostly secular structures.

Why in news?

• Sarnia Suluhu Hassan became the first female President of Tanzania.
• Tanzania, country in East Africa, includes the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba, and Mafia.
• Boundaries: Bordered by the Indian Ocean and Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique.
• Geographical features: East African Rift System runs in two north-south-trending branches through mainland Tanzania.
• Volcano: Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa.
• Lakes: Lake Victoria (the world’s second-largest freshwater lake) in the north, Lake Tanganyika in the west, and Lake Nyasa in the southwest.

Why in news?

• A green agriculture project funded by the FAO’s Global Environment Facility (GEF) will help with the conservation of critical biodiversity in DNP.
  • GEF is a partnership of 18 agencies and 183 countries to address the world’s most challenging environmental issues related to biodiversity, climate change, land degradation, chemicals, and international waters.
• DNP lies in the Jaisalmer and Barmer districts of Rajasthan.
• Landform: sand dunes, craggy rocks and compact Salt Lake bottoms.
• Climate: Extreme hot, arid region of very low rainfall zone.
• Flora: Thorn forest, Khejritree etc.
• Fauna: Blackbuck, Chinkara, Indian Fox, desert fox, Great Indian Bustard, etc.

Why in news?

• Haryana has emerged as the champions of the 12th Senior Men’s National Hockey Championship by defeating Tamil Nadu 3-1 in the shootout after the final ended 1-1 in the regulation time.
• The tournament was held in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh from April 6 to 17, 2022. Haryana has won the trophy for the first time since 2011.
• Karnataka prevailed over Maharashtra 4-3 in the third/fourth place classification match.

Why in news?

• World Liver Day is observed on 19 April annually to spread awareness about the causes of liver disease and tips for its prevention so as to take holistic care of the liver.
• The liver is the second largest and the second most complex organ in the body, after the brain.
• It performs crucial body functions and is associated with a person’s digestion, immunity, metabolism, and nutrition storage.
• The liver regulates blood sugar, removes toxic substances from the body, helps blood clot, and controls cholesterol levels.

Why in news?

• India’s first-ever radio channel for the visually impaired, named ‘Radio Aksh’has been launched in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Nagpur’s 96-year-old institution, The Blind Relief Association Nagpur (TBRAN) and Samdrushti Kshamata Vikas Avam Anusandhan Mandal (Saksham) are the organisations behind this idea. The channel will be available on various internet radio platforms for free.
• A dedicated team of trained volunteers, mostly women, help in the creation of content for the radio channel, which can be streamed to the visually impaired across India and the world.
• The complex, carefully-performed processes of going through large amounts of content, recording, sound editing and making corrections do not dampen the productivity and the sense of servitude guides the entire team.

Why in news?

• Egypt, one of the world’s biggest importers of wheat which has been importing wheat from Russia and Ukraine, has agreed to source wheat from India.
• India is second largest producer of wheat after China.

Current Status of global food security

• Between 2019 and 2022, number of people at the brink of famine rose from 27 million to 44 million.
• 5 million people in 17 countries faced acute food insecurity.
• Global food prices rose by over 20% in February 2022.

Reasons for global food crisis includes

• Increasing prices of food, fertilizer, oil, gas and even metals like aluminium, nickel and palladium.
• Supply chain constraints and coronavirus pandemic has caused prices to spike.
• High energy costs.
• Climate change- droughts, floods and fires.

Suggestions to address food insecurity

• Integrating humanitarian, development and peace-building policies in conflict-affected areas.
• Scaling up climate resilience across food systems.
• Social protection policies.
• Strengthening resilience of the most vulnerable to economic adversity.
• Intervening along food supply chains to lower the cost of nutritious foods.

Why in news?

• As per Minister of State for Fishing, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, for the first time in country, a seaweed park will be set up in Tamil Nadu to improve the livelihood of fishermen.
• It will be implemented under the Prime Minister’s Matsya Sampada Yojana.
• Seaweeds, the primitive, marine non-flowering marine algae without root, stem and leaves, plays a major role in marine ecosystems.
• Range in colours from red, green, brown and black and also vary in size, from microscopic to large underwater forests.
• Large seaweeds form dense underwater forests known as kelp forests, which act as underwater nurseries for fish, snails and sea urchins.
• Found mostly in intertidal region (Southern Gulf of Mannar), shallow and deep waters of the sea and estuaries and backwaters.

Significance of seaweeds

• Storehouse of nutrients like iron, zinc, magnesium, riboflavin, thiamine, vitamin A, B, C & K etc.
• Act as a bio-indicator and balance out the ecosystem.
• Mitigating climate change.
• Used as fertilizers and to increase fish production.
• Can be buried in beach dunes to combat beach erosion.
• Used as an ingredient in preparing toothpaste, cosmetics and paints.
• Govt also runs a Seaweed Mission, launched by Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), for commercial farming of seaweeds and its processing.