• Collins Dictionary has declared “AI” which stands for Artificial Intelligence as the Word of the Year for 2023.
• The dictionary defines AI as the “modelling of human mental functions by computer programs.”
• It reflects the increasing prominence of Artificial Intelligence in our daily lives.

• The International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict is a global day observed on November 6^th every year.
• This day highlights the impact of armed conflicts on our environment.
• This day was inaugurated by the United Nations (UN) on November 5, 2001, through a UN General Assembly resolution.
• The major goals include-
  • Environmental Safety During Conflict
  • Promoting Peace and Sustainability
  • International Collaboration
  • Safeguarding Human Well-being
  • Advocating Legal Frameworks
  • Raising Public Awareness

• PM recently inaugurated the second edition of the “World Food India 2023” at Bharat Mandapam in the national capital.
• It has been organized by Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
• The first edition of the event was held in 2017.
• It aims to showcase India as the “food basket of the world” and celebrate 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
• More than 80 countries, 200 speakers and 12 partner ministries, departments and commodity boards took part in the three-day event.

• European Space Agency (ESA) has recently shared pictures of Kawah Ijen Lake.
• It is located in East Java, Indonesia.
• It has pH of less than 0.3
• It is a volcanic crater that is ‘full of acid that also spits blue flames’.
• It is the largest and most acidic crater lake in the world.
• Geologists call it the ‘The largest acid barrel on Earth’, due to its high concentration of sulfuric and hydrochloric acids, as well as dissolved minerals which also give the lake its blue-greenish colour.
• It also emits flammable and hot sulfurous gases that ignite upon contact with Earth’s oxygen-rich atmosphere.
• It is the source of the extremely acidic and metal-polluted river ‘Banyupahit’.

• India debuted its first-ever 50-year bond(dated government securities or G-Secs) at a cut-off yield of 7.46%.
• This is part of the government’s reorganisation of its borrowing profile.

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) received bids worth Rs 40,200 crore (4x) for these ultra-long bonds, against the notified amount of Rs 10,000 crore.

• Prior to this, India’s longest tenor government bond was the 40-year paper. The cut-off yield on that is close to 7.47%.
• The government plans to raise Rs 6.55 lakh crore in the second half of the current financial year as part of its stated borrowing plan.
• The 50-year bond will be used to raise 4.58% of this target, the government had disclosed earlier.

• More than 150 onchocerciasis partners, including national onchocerciasis coordinators from health ministries in endemic countries, national onchocerciasis elimination committee chairs, experts, researchers gathered in Mbour, Senegal, for the first meeting of the new Global Onchocerciasis Elimination Network (GONE).

ABOUT ONCHOCERCIASIS

• Onchocerciasis (also known as river blindness) is the second leading infectious cause of blindness after trachoma.
• It is classified as a neglected tropical disease (NTD).
• It can cause intense itching, rashes, skin discoloration, visual impairment and eye disease leading to permanent blindness.
• The parasite worm Onchocerca volvulus, is spread by the bites of infected black flies that breed in rapidly flowing rivers.
• Globally, at least 244 million people in 31 countries suffer from this debilitating and painful disease.
• Africa is home to 99% of the people at risk of onchocerciasis; the remaining 1% live on the border between Brazil and Venezuela.
• Four countries have been verified by the World Health Organization (WHO) for eliminating transmission of the disease: Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico.

• In a first-of-its-kind, over 50 grass species were identified during workshop and survey on ‘Grasses Identification and Grassland Management’ at the Gundla Brahmeswaram Wildlife Sanctuary in the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR).
• The NSTR comprises two sanctuaries, namely the Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and the Gundla Brahmeswaram Sanctuary.

ABOUT GUNDLA BRAHMESWARAM SANCTUARY.

• It is situated between Kurnool and Prakasam districts in Andhra Pradesh.
• Area- 1194 km sq
• It is situated on Gundla Brahmeshwaram plateau which runs from south to north of the Nallamala Hills.
• It is located between two important hill passes known as “Mantralamma kanuma” and “Nandi kanuma”.
• Gundlakamma river flows through the sanctuary on its eastern side.
• Renowned as one of the most picturesque forest areas in India, the sanctuary have mixed deciduous forest of Terminalia, Albizzia, Teak, Pterocarpuss, Anogeissius, Andug, Bamboo Dalbergia, Boswellia and Shisham at ease here.
• Fauna includes Wild Dog, Bonnet Monkey, Jungle Cat, Hyena, Tiger, Panther, Sloth Bear, Langur, Pangolin, Chinkara,  Nilgai, Chowsingha, Mouse Deer, Python, Sambar, Crocodile and Monitor Lizard.
  • The main attractions of the Wildlife Sanctuary include Tufted Gray Langur and Mouse deer.

• The Russian Defence Ministry recently confirmed that the country’s newest nuclear-powered submarine has successfully test-launched a ballistic missile.
• This comes just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin revoked Moscow’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty (CTBT) — adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996 to prohibit all testing of nuclear weapons.
• This puts Russia in the same category as the USA, a signatory that is yet to ratify the agreement.
• Russia has, however, maintained that it will not conduct nuclear tests as long as the US does not conduct any.
• The US signed the CTBT on 24 September 1996 but is yet to ratify the agreement.

 ABOUT CTBT

• It bans all nuclear explosions, whether for military or peaceful purposes.
• It seeks to establish CTBT Organization (CTBTO) to verify the ban worldwide.
• It was negotiated at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva in 1994.
• In 1996, the United Nations adopted the CTBT, which imposed a complete ban on nuclear weapons testing, closing the gaps left by previous treaties.
• The CTBT became available for signature in September 1996, signifying a major advancement in the global endeavour to halt nuclear testing across the world.
• It has been signed by 187 nations and ratified by 178.
  • However, the treaty cannot formally enter into force until it is ratified by 44 specific nations.
  • Eight of these nations have yet to ratify the treaty- China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Iran, Egypt, United States.
• India’s stand-
  • India has neither signed nor ratified the CTBT.
  • It was a part of the negotiations in 1996, but later withdrew before it was concluded.
  • India calls for universal and complete nuclear disarmament in a time-bound manner.

• A report titled ‘Crowdfunding for Terrorism Financing’ was recently released by Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
• The FATF report notes four main ways in which crowdfunding platforms can be abused for terrorist financing purposes —
  • abuse of humanitarian, charitable or non-profit causes;
  • use of dedicated crowd-funding platforms or websites;
  • use of social media platforms and messaging apps; and
  • interaction of crowd-funding with virtual assets.

ABOUT FATF

• The FATF is the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.
• The FATF was established in July 1989 by a G-7 Summit in Paris, initially to examine and develop measures to combat money laundering.
• After the 9/11 attacks, the FATF in October 2001 expanded its mandate to incorporate efforts to combat terrorist financing.
• It also works on the mechanisms to stop funding for weapons of mass destruction.
• Headquarters- Paris, France.
• The decision-making body of FATF is the FATF Plenary which meets thrice in a year.
• As of 2023 the FATF currently comprises 38 member jurisdictions and two regional organisations– European Commission and Gulf Cooperation Council.
  • India has been a member of the FATF since 2010.
• Countries which repeatedly fail to adhere to FATF Standards can be placed on its Grey list or Black list.

• Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) announced the launch of two nationwide programmes aimed at bolstering energy efficiency in households, marking a key step towards reducing environmental impacts.
• The two new initiatives are-
  • National Efficient Cooking Programme (NECP)
  • The National Efficient Cooking Programme (NECP) introduces induction-based cook stoves, which offer a 25-30% cost advantage compared to conventional cooking methods promising both energy savings and cost-effective cooking solutions.
  • The NECP will deploy 20 lakh such units.
  • It is a subset of the Clean Cooking Scheme.

• Energy Efficient Fans Programme (EEFP).
• EEFP focuses on deploying energy-efficient BLDC fans.
• Ceiling fans contribute to around 40% of total residential electricity consumption, which accounts for over a quarter of India’s overall electricity usage.
• By replacing all current ceiling fans with efficient models, nearly 20% of the total residential electricity consumption can be diminished.
• EESL aims to capitalise on this potential for savings by deploying 1 crore 5-star energy-efficient Brush-Less Direct Current (BLDC) ceiling fans across India.

ABOUT EESL

• Founded in 2009.
• EESL is promoted by Ministry of Power.
• It is a Joint Venture of four reputed public- sector undertakings – NTPC Limited, Power Finance Corporation Limited, REC Limited and POWERGRID Corporation of India Limited.
• EESL focuses on solution-driven innovation without taking support of any subsidy from the Govt.
• It is one of the main implementation arms of National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency– a mission under the National Action Plan on Climate Change.