• PM Modi wished for joy, harmony, health and prosperity for the citizens of Tripura on the eve of Ker Puja.
• It is a festival celebrated in Tripura that takes place two weeks after Kharchi Puja and honours Ker, a guardian god.
• In the Kokborok, a local tribal language, Ker means boundary or specific area.
• During the festival, entrances to Agartala are closed to create a protected area and people are not allowed to light fires, dance, sing or even wear shoes.
• During Ker Puja offerings, sacrifices are made to please gods for the welfare of the villages so that they can save them from calamities, epidemics and external aggression.
• It is also held in few other northeastern states, as well as in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh

• Tamil Nadu Forest Department has stepped up vigil around Mukurthi National Park in Nilgiris to curb poaching.

ABOUT MUKURTHI NATIONAL PARK

• It is located in the northwest corner of Tamil Nadu in the Western Ghats.
• It is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve along with Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Bandipur National Park, Nagarhole National Park, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and Silent Valley.
  • Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve was the first Biosphere reserve of India and is a UNESCO world heritage site.
• It is also home to Mukurthi Peak (2,554m), the fourth highest peak in the Nilgiri Hills.
• Pykara and Kundah rivers flow through the park along with several perennial streams that originate in the park and drain into the Bhavani Puzha.
• Flora includes montane grasslands and shrublands on a high altitude with shola forests scattered around along with Rhododendron, raspberries and black berries etc.
• The main faunal species of Mukurthi National Park is Nilgiri Tahr (IUCN red list – Endangered). Other species like the Royal Bengal Tiger, Sambar, Leopard, panthers, Nilgiri Marten, Barking Deer, Nilgiri Langur; jackals Asian Elephant are also found.

• The collections under the revamped Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) jumped 176% on year to Rs 55,000 crore in the first quarter of the current financial year.
• The SCSS has added 6,52,000 new accounts in the first three months of FY24.

ABOUT SENIOR CITIZEN SAVINGS SCHEME (SCSS)

• SCSS was launched with the main aim of providing senior citizens in India a regular income after they attain the age of 60 years old.
• Eligibility
  • Indian citizens above the age of 60 years.
  • Retirees in the age bracket of 55-60 years who have opted for Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) or Superannuation.
  • Retired defence personnel above 50 years and below 60 years of age.
• Tenure- It has a maturity period of 5 years.
  • But, a depositor can extend one’s maturity period for another 3 years.
• Premature withdrawal is allowed after 1 year of opening the account.
• Individuals are allowed to operate more than one account by themselves or open a joint account with their spouse.
• Deposit Limits
  • Minimum Deposit– 1,000 (and in multiples thereof)
  • Maximum Deposit– 30 Lakh (doubled in Budget for FY24 from 15 lakh)
• Under SCSS, the interest amount is paid to the account holders quarterly.
• Deposits in SCSS qualify for deduction under the section 80-C of Income Tax Act.

• Global Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index 2023 titled – ‘Unstacking global poverty: Data for high impact action’ was recently released by United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
• The index is designed to measure acute poverty, understood as a person’s inability to meet minimum internationally agreed standards.
• It focuses on SDG 1, i.e. ending poverty in all its form.
• The MPI tracks deprivations in 10 indicators across 3 dimensions for 110 countries.
• It was first launched in 2010.

MAJOR FINDINGS

• 25 Countries have halved Multidimensional Poverty within 15 Years.
• About 11 Billion of total population of 6.6 Billion in 110 countries (near 18%) remains Multidimensionally poor.
• Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia are home to approximately five out of every six poor people.
• Nearly two-thirds of all poor people (730 million) live in middle-income countries, and low-income countries constitute only 10% of MPI.

WITH RESPECT TO INDIA

• India is one of the 25 nations that halved its multidimensional poverty within 15 years.
• India still has more than 230 million people who are poor.
• Almost 415 million poor people moved out of poverty from 2005-06 to 2019-21.
• Incidence of poverty declined significantly from 1% to 16.4% over the same period.
• India progressed significantly in all the three deprivation indicators: Health, Education, Standard of living.
• The poorest states and groups, including children and people in disadvantaged caste groups, had the fastest absolute progress.

• National Fish Farmer’s Day is an annually observed on July 10^th to honor and appreciate the vital role played by fish farmers, aquaculture industry professionals, and other stakeholders in developing a sustainable and successful fisheries sector.
• 10th July also marks the observance of the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) Foundation Day.
• NFDB was established in 2006 as an autonomous organization under the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying (MoFAH&D).
• The first Fish Farmers Day was observed in 2001 by the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR)- Central Institute of Fisheries Education (LIFE), a premier institute of Fisheries Education in India based in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• India has secured the second position with an impressive haul of 11 medals, including six gold, one silver, and four bronze in the recently concluded biannual event, 2023 World Archery Youth Championships in Limerick, Ireland.
• South Korea emerged as the top-ranked nation.
• Parth Salunkhe, a rising Indian archer created history by becoming the first Indian male archer to win the Youth World Championship in the recurve category.
• A grand total of 518 archers (comprising 277 men and 241 women) from 58 different countries participated in both individual and team events.

• A pathogen associated with diarrhoea, ‘Entamoeba Moshkovskii’ is circulating in Kolkata, according to a new study.
• First described in 1941 in Moscow, it is commonly found in anoxic sediments (oxygen deficient) to brackish coastal pools.
• E moshkovskii and other related species like E histolytica and Entamoeba dispar are morphologically identical.
• They also cause amoebiasis, which affects approximately 50 million people in tropical regions.
  • Of them, E histolytica infections are prevalent.

• Switzerland, which is known for its foreign-policy neutrality, along with Austria signed a declaration of intent to join the European air defence system Sky Shield.

ABOUT ESSI

• ESSI aims to create a European air and missile defence system through common acquisition of air defence equipment and missiles by European nations to strengthen NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence.
• Initiative was last year spearheaded by Germany after Russia invaded Ukraine.
• 19 countries have joined the Europe-wide defence system which also involves countries including the United Kingdom, the Nordic and Baltic countries, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.

• Scientist have detected Phosphine in deeper parts of Venus’ atmosphere using the James Clark Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) located at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii.
  • On Earth, microorganisms residing in low-oxygen environments generate phosphine.
• This discovery has sparked intrigue and led to the notion that phosphine could serve as a potential biosignature in other worlds.
  • “Biosignatures” are indirect signs of life on other planets and moons in the solar system and beyond.

ABOUT PHOSPHINE

• Phosphine is a phosphorus atom with three hydrogen atoms attached (PH3) – is highly toxic to people.
• It is a flammable, colorless and toxic gas on Earth that’s often thought of as swamp gas.
• Phosphine is still manufactured as an agricultural fumigant, is used in the semiconductor industry, and is a by-product of meth labs.

ABOUT VENUS

• Venus is the second planet from Sun and is Earth’s closest planetary neighbor (often called Earth’s twin).
• Surface temperatures reach a scorching 880 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to melt lead. It is the hottest planet in the solar system.
• Venus rotates on its axis backward i.e from east to west.
• The planet’s atmosphere is primarily made of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid clouds.

• A shelf cloud was seen recently in Haridwar.

ABOUT SHELF CLOUD

• A “shelf cloud” or “Arcus cloud” generally forms along the leading edge of thunderstorms.
• A shelf cloud is a type of low-lying, horizontal cloud formation characterized by a clearly defined line of solid clouds.
• It is known for its distinctive wedge-shaped formation.
• They usually appear as a broad arc across the sky that can sometimes appear to be rotating horizontally.
• It extends horizontally beneath the main cloud base and typically appears on the leading edge of a storm.
• The formation of shelf clouds occurs when a mass of cold and dense air is forcefully driven by the wind into a warmer air mass.
• This phenomenon takes place during the downdraft of a thunderstorm, where the cold air rapidly descends and disperses, creating a strong gust front.