• It is Joint naval exercise between 4 Indo-Pacific partner nations: Australia, India, Japan and the United States.
• It will be conducted off the coast of Sydney, Australia.

• Cell culture is the process by which cells are grown in a petridish, in a lab in controlled conditions, outside of their natural environment.
• These cells are used in critical and path breaking scientific research to develop drugs, vaccines (polio), study the effects of radiation, how pathogens affect humans, gene mapping
• Usually cells cultured in the lab from human cells could be kept alive for only a few days, subject to the phenomenon of cellular senescence, or the cessation of cell division.
• However, all that changed when it was discovered that tumour cells from Henrietta Lacks , a patient with cervical cancer, could grow indefinitely in culture.
  • An immortalised cell line, simply, is a population of cells from which would normally not proliferate indefinitely but, due to mutations, has achieved the ability to keep on dividing, never reaching the point of senescence.
• Henrietta Lacks’ (HeLa) cells were the first human cells to be successfully cloned in 1953 by Theodore Puck and Philip I. Marcus at the University of Colorado.
• Since then, HeLa cells have ‘continually been used for research’.

• Meghalaya government has notified several sacred forests as Community Reserves.

About Community reserves

• Community reserves fall under protected areas, along with marine protected areas, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and conservation reserves, according to the Wild Life (Protection) Act (WLPA), 1972.
• It denotes protected areas that typically act as buffer zones between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, etc.
• Conservation reserves and community reserves are protected area categories were first introduced in the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002 — the amendment to WLPA, 1972.
• The provisions of the WLPA apply to an area once it has been declared a community reserve.
• State Government may designate any community land or private land as a Community Reserve if the members of that community or individuals involved agreed.
• Chief Wildlife Warden of the State becomes the governing authority of such forest.
• Once a forest area is designated as a community reserve, it becomes a no-hunting zone.
  • Similarly it cannot be used it for agricultural practices.

• The second phase of the annual Nationwide Mass Drug Administration initiative for Lymphatic Filariasis was launched recently.
• It will cover 81 districts in nine endemic States. This includes Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh.
• India is committed to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis by 2027, three years ahead of the global target(2030) through mission mode.
  • Over 40% of global cases are found in India.

About Lymphatic Filariasis

• It impairs the lymphatic system and can lead to the abnormal enlargement of body parts, causing pain, severe disability and social stigma.
• It is commonly known as elephantiasis.
• It is a neglected tropical disease (NTD).
• It is a vector-borne disease, caused by infection with parasites classified as nematodes (roundworms) of the family Filarioidea.
• Spread from person to person by mosquitoes.

• In a parliamentary democracy, a government can be in power only if it commands a majority in the directly elected House.
• Article 75(3) of our Constitution embodies this rule by specifying that the Council of Ministers are collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.
• A No confidence Motion is a parliamentary process that signifies that the present government is no longer deemed fit to hold positions of responsibility.
• Any Lok Sabha MP, who can garner the support of 50 colleagues, can, at any point of time, introduce a motion of no-confidence against the Council of Ministers.
  • Thereafter, a discussion on the motion takes place.
  • MPs who support the motion highlight the government’s shortcomings, and the Treasury Benches respond to the issues they raise.
  • Finally, a vote takes place – in case the motion carries, the government is bound to vacate the office.
• A no confidence motion can only be moved in the Lok Sabha.
• No prior reason needs to be stated for its adoption.
• It is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution.
• It was during the 3^rd Lok Sabha in 1963 that the first motion of no confidence was moved by Acharya J B Kripalani against the government headed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Since then, there have been 26 more no-confidence motions moved in the parliament (not counting the latest one), with the last one being in 2018, moved by the TRS against the previous Narendra Modi government.

• The report is conducted by the Development Intelligence Unit (DIU), a collaboration between Transform Rural India and Sambodhi Research and Communication Private Limited.
• The first ‘State of Elementary Education in Rural India’ report is based on data accumulated from 6,229 rural households across 20 states.
• The study was focused on children in rural communities between the age of 6 to 16 years.

Major findings

• 78% of parents in rural India aspire to educate their girls to graduation and beyond and 82% parents of boys in rural areas want to educate their children
• According to the survey, 25% of male children dropped out of school during primary schooling.
• The dropout rate at this stage was higher for female children at nearly 35 per cent.
• Nearly 75 per cent boys and 65 per cent girls dropped out of school after completing primary school education.
  • Girls dropped out because of-
    • a requirement to help out in the family’s earnings.
    • due to lack of interest in studies
    • had to take care of household chores and siblings at home.
  • Boys dropped out because of-
    • the lack of interest
    • to help out in family’s earnings.
  • Non-availability of schools with higher classes within the village or nearby villages was also a major reason for dropouts.
  • 89% of parents participated in extra-curricular activities with their children.

• The Himachal Pradesh government has notified the Mukhyamantri Van Vistar Yojana that aims to expand the green cover of the state through integrated site-specific afforestation by including 250 hectares of the barren areas under plantation in various hills and mountains in the first phase during the financial year 2023-24.
• For this purpose, a task force has also been notified with principal chief conservator of forest as the team leader.
• The scheme has objectives
  • to prevent soil erosion, excessive runoff on degraded and refractory hill slopes, and
  • provide forest ecosystem and livelihood opportunity to the local population in those areas which are devoid of forest cover in vicinity.

• It was launched by Kerala government to expedite the registration process for migrant workers.
• Contractors, who bring guest workers to the state, and employers can register the workers in the portal.
• It also allows workers to register themselves individually as well.

• It is a naval exercise between India and UAE to be conducted at Port Rashid (man-made commercial port) in Dubai this year.
• INS Visakhapatnam, and INS Trikand are participating in the exercise.

• Government e-Marketplace (GeM) commemorated its 7th Foundation Day
• Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is India’s online marketplace for public procurement.
• Launched in 2016, GeM facilitates transparent and efficient procurement for government t departments, organizations, and PSUs.
• Nodal Ministry– Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• The procurement of goods and services by Ministries and the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) is mandatory for goods and services available on GeM.
• Presently, the platform boasts an impressive catalogue of over 2.75 lakh services spanning across more than 280 categories, complemented by more than 34 lakh products.
• A hallmark of GeM’s success lies in its dedication to cost savings, having enabled the government to save over ₹45,000 crore since 2016.