• On the occasion of Guru Purnima 2023, the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), celebrated the day as the Chakra Pravartana Divas.
• The celebration is an annual flagship event of the IBC, which comes under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture.

ABOUT ASHADHA PURNIMA

• The day is also celebrated as Guru Purnima and it falls every year on the full moon day of the month of Ashadha as per the Indian lunar calendar.
• The day is also celebrated as Esala Poya in Sri Lanka and Asanha Bucha in Thailand.
• The day is remembered for the first teaching of Gautam Budha after attaining Enlightenment to the first five ascetic disciples (panchavargiya) on at ‘Deer Park’, Risipatana Mrigadaya in the present day Sarnath, near Varanasi.
• This day is also aptly observed as Guru Purnima by both Buddhists and Hindus as a day to mark reverence to their gurus.
• This day also marks the beginning of the rainy season retreat for the Monks and Nuns also starts with this day.
  • The season lasts for three months from July to October. During the season they remain in a single place, generally in their temples dedicated to intensive meditation.

• Unpredictable weather patterns, early springs, and above-average temperatures have left gucchi mushroom hunters in distress in Kashmir.

ABOUT GUCCHI MUSHROOMS (MORCHELLA ESCULENTA)

• Also known as Morel Mushrooms, are the costliest among fungi in the world.
• Ideal weather conditions for the great morel are when daytime Celsius is between 15 and 20 and night-time temperatures are in the 5 to 9.
• Gucchis vary in colour from blonde to dark black.
• It grows in clusters on logs of decaying wood.
• They can normally be found on southerly slopes and sunny areas before showing up on the northern side of hills or in the shade.
• Growth is limited to a few weeks in the spring and is found in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir.
• Gucchi mushrooms cannot be cultivated commercially and does not grow at the same spot every time.
• Health Benefits: rich in potassium, vitamins (including Vitamin D), copper and antioxidants.
• Gujjars living in the mountains are known as skilled morel hunters.

• Maximum discoveries of both flora and fauna were made in Kerala.

FLORA

• “Animal Discoveries – New Species and New Records 2023” by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) was released.
• In 2022, India added a total of 664 animal species to its faunal database. This includes 467 new species and 197 new records, which are species found in India for the first time.
• Major species discovered
  • Miniopterus phillipsi, a long-fingered bat, and Glischropus meghalayanus, a bamboo-dwelling bat from Meghalaya.
  • Sela macaque (Macaca selai), a new macaque species found in Arunachal Pradesh.
  • Macaca leucogenys, a white-cheeked macaque (found in Modog, Tibet) sighted in India for the first time in AP.
  • The yellow-rumped flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia) was also found in Narcondam Island of the Andaman archipelago after being known from various other regions.

ABOUT ZSI

• It is a subordinate organization of the MoEFCC and was established in 1916 as a national center for the faunistic survey and exploration of the resources leading to the advancement of knowledge on the exceptionally rich faunal diversity of the country.
• ZSI has its headquarters at Kolkata and 16 regional stations located in different geographic locations of the country.

FLORA

• “Plant Discoveries 2022” by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) was released recently.
• India added 339 new plant taxa to its floral database in 2022, consisting of 186 taxa new to science and 153 taxa as new distributional records within the country.
• Major species discovered
  • Nandadevia Pusalkar, found in the Uttarakhand Himalayas.
  • Nilgiriella Pusalkar, endemic to the southern Western Ghats in Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
  • Calanthe lamellosa, an orchid species earlier recorded in China and Myanmar, found in India in Japfu mountain range in Kohima, Nagaland.

ABOUT BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

• It is the apex research organization under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEFCC) for carrying out taxonomic and floristic studies on wild plant resources of the country.
• It was established in 1890.
• It has 9 regional circles with headquarters is in Kolkata.

• Phina Singh Canal and Shah Canal command area irrigation projects in Kangra district are stuck for want of funds from the Union Government.
• The Rs 643-crore Phina Singh Canal project is being set up in the Nurpur area of Kangra district. The project has been hanging fire for the past over 11 years and its cost has gone up from initial Rs 204 crore to Rs 643 crore now.
• The project was envisaged in 2011 for interlinking two Beas tributaries, the Chaki river and Kalam nullah, in the Nurpur area and the construction of a concrete gravity dam across the Chaki river.

• National Postal Worker Day is observed on July 1^st every year to show gratitude and recognize the tireless efforts of postal workers.

• Indian government announced the extension of Brajendra Navnit’s tenure as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

• India has won the Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023 by defeating Iran.
• It was held at the Dong-Eui Institute of Technology Seokdang Cultural Center in Busan, Republic of Korea.

• Appointments Committee of Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister has approved re-appointment of existing SGI- Tushar Mehta and 6 Additional SGIs (Vikramjit Banerjee, K.M Nataraj, Balbir Singh, S.V Raju, N. Venkataraman, and Aishwariya Bhati).
• Solicitor General is the second most senior law officer after Attorney General (who is appointed under Article 76).
• He is assisted by Additional SGIs.
• Term of office is of 3 years, or until further notice, whichever should be earlier.
• Solicitor General and Additional Solicitors General are only statutory positions.
• He also advises the government in legal matter.

• Finance Ministry has permitted all Public Sector Banks and eligible Private Sector Banks to implement and operationalize Mahila Samman Savings Certificate (MSSC, 2023.)

ABOUT MSSC

• MSSC is a one-time savings scheme introduced in Budget 2023-24 to encourage women to invest.
• It is available for two years, from April 2023-March 2025.
• It offers a fixed interest rate of 7.5% per year and has a flexible investment and partial withdrawal options, with a maximum limit of Rs 2 lakh.
• Maturity date is two years from deposit date.
• Minimum amount to be invested is Rs.1,000 and any sum in multiples of Rs.100.
• It does not have any credit risk since it is backed by govt.
• The Mahila Samman Savings Certificate can be done only in the name of a girl child or woman.
• A woman or the guardian of a minor girl child can open a Mahila Samman Saving Certificate scheme.
• A woman or guardian of a girl child can open a second Mahila Samman Savings Certificate account after a minimum gap of three months from the opening of the existing account.
• The account holder can withdraw up to 40% of the account balance after one year from the account opening date.

• Government has approved the 27^th sale of EBs from July 3, 2023.

ABOUT ELECTORAL BOND SCHEME

• EBs, introduced in 2017-18, as interest-free bearer instruments to cleanse the system of political funding in country.
• Only the political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and have secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in the last general election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly, are eligible to receive electoral bonds.
• EBs are valid for 15 days from the date of issue and can be purchased by a citizen of India or entities incorporated or established in India.
• Sold in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh, and Rs 1 crore.
  • One can purchase these bonds only digitally or through cheques.
• SBI is the only bank authorised to sell them.
• The bonds are available for purchase by any citizen of India for a period of ten days each in the months of January, April, July and October as may be specified by the Central Government.