WHY IN NEWS?

The Rajasthan government will develop a tiger corridor connecting the newly proposed ‘Ramgarh Tiger Reserve’, Ranthambore Tiger Reserve and Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve.

• Sariska Tiger Reserveis another Tiger reserve in Rajasthan.

About the Animal Corridor:

• Wildlife or animal corridorsare meant to ensure safe passage for animals between two isolated habitats.
• In wildlife parlance, corridors are mainly of two types: functional and structural.
  • Functional corridorsare defined in terms of functionality from the perspective of the animal (basically areas where there has been recorded movement of wildlife).
  • Structural corridorsare contiguous strips of forested areas and structurally connect the otherwise fragmented blocks of the landscape.
• When structural corridors are affected by human anthropogenic activities, functional corridors automatically widen because of animal use.
• In 2019, the National Tiger Conservation Authorityin collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India published a document, mapping out 32 major corridors across the country, management interventions for which are operationalized through a Tiger Conservation Plan.
• The states are required to submit a Tiger Conservation Planunder section 38V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

WHY IN NEWS?

NASA has announced the launch of the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover(VIPER) Mission in 2023.

About VIPER Mission: 

• VIPER Mission is a mobile robot to be launched by NASA in the year 2023.
• It will be the first resource mapping mission on any other celestial body.
• Celestial Body is any natural body outside the Earth’s atmosphere. Easy examples are the Moon, Sun, and the other planets of our solar system.

Objectives of the Mission: 

• To get a closer view of the Moon’s South Pole
• To evaluate the concentration of water as well as other potential resources on its surface
• To understand if it is possible for human life to sustain there, by using locally available resources.

Significance of the Mission: 

• VIPER will directly analyze water ice on the surface and subsurface of the Moon at varying depths and temperature conditions within four main soil environments.
• The data VIPER transmits back to Earth will be used to create resource maps helping scientists determine the location and concentration of water ice on the Moon.
• These findings will inform future landing sites under the Artemis Mission by helping to determine locations where water and other  resources can be harvested to sustain humans over extended stays

WHY IN NEWS?

A team of Indian scientists has discovered a new plant species in Antarctica named Bryum Bharatiensis.

About Bryum Bharatiensis: 

• Bryum bharatiensis is a species of moss. It was discovered by a team of researchers from the Central University of Punjab.
• Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta. They are distributed throughout the world except in salt water and are commonly found in moist shady locations.
• Named after: The species has been named after Bharati, the Indian research station in Antarctica. The station itself was named after the Hindu goddess Bharati.

WHY IN NEWS?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the launch of the RBI Retail Direct scheme.

About RBI Retail Direct Scheme: 

• RBI Retail Direct Scheme is a one-stop solution to facilitate investment in government securities (G-secs) by individual investors.
• Under the scheme, retail investors (individuals) will have the facility to open and maintain the ‘Retail Direct Gilt Account’ (RDG Account) with the RBI.
• A gilt Account means an account opened and maintained for holding Government securities.
• This RDG account can be opened through an online portal provided for the purpose of the scheme.
• The online portal will then allow the registered users access to primary issuance of G-secs and access to NDS-OM (Negotiated Dealing System — Order Matching (NDS-OM).

WHY IN NEWS?

• Veteran Indian Ayurveda practitioner, Dr P.K. Warrier, who was the most respected name in Ayurveda across the world, has passed away. He was 100.
• He was the chief Physician and Managing trustee of Arya Vaidya Sala, a healthcare centre located in Kottakkal, Kerala, and known for its heritage and expertise in Ayurveda.
• The doyen of Ayurveda, Dr Warrier, was honoured with the Padma Shree in 1999 and Padma Bhushan in 2010. His autobiography titled Smrithiparvam won the Kerala Sahitya Academy Award in 2009.

WHY IN NEWS?

• Lionel Messi-led Argentina beat Neymar’s Brazil 1-0 to win the Copa America final match, held at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. With this win, Lionel Messi has secured his first major international trophy.
• The 2021 Copa America was the 47th edition of the annual international men’s football championship organised by South America’s football ruling body CONMEBOL.
• Earlier the tournament was scheduled to be held in July 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first time since 1991 that no guest nation took part in the tournament.

WHY IN NEWS?

• Indian-American Samir Banerjee has won the Wimbledon Junior Men`s title at Number 1 Court. He defeated Victor Lilov of America by 7-5, 6-3 in the Junior Men`s finals to lift the trophy at All England Club.
• For the first time since 2014, and only the second time since 1977, there was an all-American conclusion to the boys` singles event. Notably, both 17-year-olds were unseeded for The Championships.

WHY IN NEWS?

• Hyderabad’s hunger activist Syed Osman Azhar Maqsusi, who has been feeding thousands of people every day as part of his food drive ‘Hunger Has No Religion’ was awarded a top UK award recently.
• In order to honour Maqsusi’s efforts, he was conferred with the Commonwealth Points of Light award for his drive that helps to feed 1,500 people on a daily basis. The award is for those ‘outstanding individuals who are making a change in their community.

WHY IN NEWS?

• India’s first cryptogamic garden, with around 50 different species grown, has been inaugurated in Deoban area of Dehradun in Uttarakhand.
• The garden is situated at a height of 9,000 feet and is spread over an area of three acres. Located in the district’s Chakrata town, the garden was inaugurated by social activist Anoop Nautiyal.
• Cryptogamae means “hidden reproduction” referring to the fact that no seed, no flowers are produced. Thus, cryptogams represent the non-seed bearing plants.
• Algae, bryophytes (moss, liverworts), lichens, ferns and fungi are the best-known groups of cryptogams that require moist conditions to survive

WHY IN NEWS?

• The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, inaugurated India’s first private Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility plant at Nagpur in Maharashtra. The plant has been set up on Kamptee Road near Nagpur Jabalpur Highway, by Baidyanath Ayurvedic Group, the makers of Ayurvedic medicines.
• Once operational, this LNG filling station in Nagpur will be the first such facility to operate on a commercial basis. LNG is a clean, pollution-free and cost-effective liquid fuel, which is also easy to store and reduces logistics costs.