• According to the Green Business Certification Inc. and US Green Building Council, India ranks first globally in LEED Zero-certified green building projects surpassing the US and China.
• India has 73 LEED Zero certified projects, comprising 45% of the more than 150 total LEED Zero certifications.
• Haryana and Tamil Nadu are leading the way in certifications.
• In India, realty firm DLF and FMCG player ITC are leading in the LEED Zero green certification initiative.

ABOUT LEED CERTIFICATION

• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is the world’s most widely used green building rating system in the world.
• It is available for virtually all building types.
• This certification provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings, which offer environmental, social and governance benefits.
• It is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership.
• To achieve LEED certification, a project earns points by adhering to prerequisites and credits that address carbon, energy, water, waste, transportation, materials, health and indoor environmental quality.
• This rating system is developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).
• It has 4 types of ratings: Certified<Silver<Gold<Platinum.

GREEN RATING FOR INTEGRATED HABITAT ASSESSMENT (GRIHA)

• It is the national rating system of India for any completed building construction.
• It was jointly set up by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
• Aim- To help design green buildings and help evaluate the ‘greenness’ of the buildings.

• A 10-year-old boy was allegedly killed recently following an attack by a crocodile sparking fresh bouts of man-animal conflict in areas in close vicinity of Bhitarkanika National Park.

ABOUT BHITARKANIKA NATIONAL PARK

• It is located in Kendrapara district in the state of Odisha.

• It is India’s second-largest mangrove ecosystem after the Sunderbans.
• It is a 145 Sq. km large national park, designated in 1998.
• It was declared a Ramsar site in August 2002
• This National Park is a network of creeks and canals which are inundated with waters from rivers Brahmani, Baitarani, Dhamra and Patasala, forming a unique ecosystem.
• Flora comprises of mangrove species, casuarinas, and grasses like the indigo bush.
• Bhitarkanika has one of the largest populations of saltwater crocodiles in India.
• The Gahirmatha Beach, which forms the boundary of the park in the east, is the largest colony of the Olive Ridley Sea Turtles.
• Other mammals include monkeys, jackals, common langurs, otter, sambar deer, jungle cats, fox, Mongoose, wolfs, fishing cats, hyenas, etc.

ABOUT SALTWATER CROCODILE

• Saltwater crocodiles, or estuarine crocodiles, are enormous creatures and the world’s largest living reptiles.
• Global habitat- It inhabits brackish waters of wetlands and marine intertidal environments from Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar east to the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu and south to Australia’s northern coast.
• They are nocturnal hunters.
• The species is known for its aggressive nature, as shown by numerous attacks on people and livestock each year.
• IUCN: Least Concern

• Gita Press, Gorakhpur has been awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 by the Government of India.
• The prize was announced by the Ministry of Culture.

ABOUT GANDHI PEACE PRIZE

• Gandhi Peace Prize Awards for Social, Economic and Political transformation through Non-violence was instituted in the year 1995, on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, as a tribute to his ideals and contributions to humanity.
• Award carries a cash prize of ₹1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item.
• The award is conferred by the President of India at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• Consideration
• This award is given to individuals, associations, institutions or organizations who have worked selflessly for peace, non-violence and amelioration of human sufferings.
• It is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or gender.
• The Award may be divided between two persons / institutions.
• Work by a person since deceased cannot be the subject of an Award.
  • If, however, his death occurred subsequent to a proposal having been submitted to the Jury(headed by the Prime Minister) in the manner stipulated in the Code of Procedure, then a Posthumous Award may be made.
• Recent awardees include Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, Oman (2019) and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (2020),
  • Among Organizations: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Ramakrishna Mission, Vivekananda Kendra, Akshaya Patra, Sulabh.

ABOUT GITA PRESS

• Jaya Dayal Goyandka and Hanuman Prasad Poddar established the Gita press in 1923.
• Gita Press is one of the world’s largest publishers of Hindu religious texts, having published 7 crore books in 14 languages, including 16.21 crore copies of Shrimad Bhagvad Gita.
• Gita Press also runs a monthly magazine called Kalyan, which covers topics such as spirituality, culture, history, ethics and morality.
• It also runs a charitable hospital called Kalyan Chikitsalaya in Gorakhpur, which provides free medical services to the poor and needy.

• The Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force have achieved a consensus on the establishment of theatre commands by 2024.
• The revised plan entails the creation of three integrated theater commands, each headed by a senior three-star general, namely, a Lieutenant General, an Air Marshal, or a Vice Admiral.
• These commands will be responsible for managing northern borders with China, western front with Pakistan, and a maritime command in peninsular India.
  • Moreover, the proposal for an Air Defence Command (ADC) has been dropped.

ABOUT THEATRE COMMAND

• Theatre Command means putting specific number of personnel from three services (Army, Navy and Air Force) under a common commander in a specified geographical territory.
• Shekatkar committee and Kargil review committee had recommended the creation of theatre commands.
• India has 19 military commands in total with 17 of them service-oriented.
  • Army-7, IAF-7, and Navy- 3
• Currently, India has two unified commands:
  • Andaman and Nicobar Command, which is geographical.
  • Strategic Forces Command, which is functional and handles the country’s nuclear arsenal.

• Indian Navy and DRDO have successfully carried out control capabilities of TAPAS unmanned aerial vehicle from a distant ground station to onboard INS Subhadra.
• It is known as Tapas-BH 201(Tactical Airborne Platform for Aerial Surveillance-Beyond Horizon 201), formerly referred to as Rustom-II.
• It is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle.
• It is capable of operating at altitudes of up to 28,000 feet with an endurance of over 18 hours.
• The drone has a 20.6-meter wingspan and a maximum speed of 225 kmph.
• It can carry a variety of payloads up to a maximum of 350 kgs.
• It is being developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO).
• It is designed to fulfil the Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, Tracking & Reconnaissance (ISTAR) requirements of the tri-services
• It can effectively operate in both day and night conditions.
• It is pre-designed to carry certain weapons and can be converted into an armed platform as and when required by the user.

• BEOSP, also known as Brain Fingerprinting/Brain mapping/ P-300 test, is a neuro psychological method of interrogation.
• It is designed to bring up the information which could be hidden in a person’s brain by sensing brain wave responses respective to words, phrases, or pictures presented.

• BEOSP test is carried out via a process known as electroencephalogram (EEG Machine), conducted to study the electrical behaviour of human brain.
• It is a non-invasive technique with a great degree of sensitivity.
• Unlike polygraph test, it does not involve a question answer session with accused.
  • In a polygraph test, accused person’s physiological indicators are taken into account which includes blood pressure, pulse rate, respiration and skin conductivity.
• Brain mapping is considered much more credible than polygraph test.

COURT’S STAND

• Supreme Court, in Selvi versus State of Karnataka case (2010), stated that narco analysis, polygraph and brain mapping tests cannot be forced upon any individual without their consent and test results cannot be admitted solely as evidence.

• The Vice President of India recently conferred 4^th National Water Awards, 2022.
• Prominent winners are
  • Best State – Madhya Pradesh (1^st), Odisha(2^nd), and Andhra Pradesh and Bihar (jointly at 3^rd)
  • Best District– Ganjam in Odisha, Nammakkal in Tamil Nadu and Adilabad in Telangana secured top three spots.
  • Best Urban Body– Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.
  • Best NGO– Arpan Seva Sansthan, Udaipur, Rajsathan.
  • Best Industry for CSR technologies– HCL Technologies, Noida.

ABOUT NATIONAL WATER AWARDS

• First launched in 2018 by Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation.
• Awards were not given in the year 2021 due to COVID pandemic.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• Aim- To encourage various stakeholders towards adopting a holistic approach towards water resources management in the country
• These awards have been instituted to recognize and encourage exemplary work and efforts made by States, Districts, individuals, organizations, etc across the country in attaining the vision of a ‘Jal Samriddh Bharat’.
• It covers 11 categories Best State’, ‘Best District’, ‘Best Village Panchayat’, ‘Best Urban Local Body’ etc.
• The award winners in different categories are given a citation, trophy and cash prize.
  • The cash prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rank winners are Rs.2 lakhs, Rs.1.5 lakhs, and Rs.1 lakh, respectively.

• The state Tourism Department has initiated steps to launch water-based tourism and adventure activities in the Pong Dam reservoir.
  • The Pong Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Beas River in Kangra district.
• On the request of the Tourism Department, the wildlife wing of the state Forest Department has prepared a proposal to exclude two sites from the wildlife sanctuary.
• The two sites encompassing a total area of 7.5 sq km have been identified at Nangal Chowk near Dadasiba in Dehra subdivision and Matiyal in Fatehpur subdivision.
• The state Tourism Department has suggested activities like shikara rides, solar energy propelled houseboats, floating restaurants and tethered hot air ballooning in the Pong reservoir areas exempted from the wildlife sanctuary.

• Nagorno-Karabakh, known as Artsakh by Armenians, is a landlocked mountainous area in South Caucasus.
• It was claimed by both Azerbaijan and Armenia after the fall of Russian Empire in 1917 and has remained a point of tension ever since.
• Territory is internationally recognised as part of oil-rich Azerbaijan, but its inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Armenians.

MAYON VOLCANO

• Recently, the Mayon volcano began expelling lava recently, forcing nearly 18,000 people to flee to emergency shelters.
• Mayon Volcano is an active volcano located in the southeastern part of Luzon, Philippines.
• It is known for its picturesque conical shape and is the most active of 24 known volcanoes in the Philippines.

• Kari Ishad mango from Ankola taluk of Uttara Kannada, Karnataka has received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag from the Geographical Indications Registry under the Union Government.
• The GI certificate was issued to Matha Totagars Farmer Producer Company Limited.
• The mango is recognized for its exceptional attributes, including a distinctive aroma, delightful taste, generous pulp content, and desirable shape and size.