• A scientific expedition has discovered a previously unknown coral reef with abundant marine life off Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands. Reef has more than 50% living coral.
  • Corals are invertebrate animals belonging to a large group of colourful animals called Cnidaria.

About Galapagos island

• Galapagos Islands, a UNESCO world heritage site, are situated in eastern Pacific Ocean at confluence of three ocean currents (Humboldt current, Panama Flow and Cromwell current).
• They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere.
• The islands are known for their large number of endemic species that were studied by Charles Darwin during the second voyage of HMS Beagle.
• They are home to giant tortoise, albatross, cormants etc.

• Participants of G20 Meeting of Agriculture Chief Scientists on “Sustainable Agriculture and Food System for Healthy People and Planet” in Varanasi unanimously supported launch of MAHARISHI- Millets And Other Ancient Grains International Research Initiative.
• Its secretariat will be housed at Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), Hyderabad with technical support from ICRISAT, One CGIAR Centres and other International organisations.
• It will focus on research and awareness about agro-biodiversity, food security, and nutrition aligning with International Year of Millets 2023.
  • 2018 was observed as National Year of Millets in India.
• Millets are known as nutri-cereals or superfoods, mainly grown on marginal land in dry areas of temperate, sub-tropical and tropical regions.
• Some of the common millets available in India are Ragi (Finger millet), Jowar (Sorghum), Sama (Little millet), Bajra (Pearl millet), Variga (Proso millet) etc.
• India is the largest producer of millet in the world accounting for 20% of global production and 80% of Asia’s production.

• Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare recently launched SATHI portal and mobile app.
• SATHI (Seed Traceability, Authentication and Holistic Inventory) Portal and Mobile App is a Centralized Online System for seed traceability, authentication and inventory designed to deal with challenges of seed production, quality seed identification and seed certification.
• Seeds authenticity can be traced through a QR code system.
• Portal has been developed by National Informatics Centre in collaboration with MoA&FW on theme of Uttam Beej – Samriddh Kisan.
• It’ll consist of integrated 7 verticals of seed chain – Research Organisation, Seed Certification, Seed Licensing, Seed Catalogue, Dealer to Farmer Sales, Farmer Registration and Seed DBT.
• Training should be imparted through Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Krishi Vigyan Kendras and State Governments.

About Seed certification

• Seed certification is a process designed to maintain and make available to the general public continuous supply of high quality seeds.
• Seeds with valid certification can only be sold by valid licensed dealers to centrally registered farmers who will receive subsidy through DBT directly into their pre-validated bank accounts.
• In India, legal status to seed certification was given by Enactment of Seeds Act, 1966.
• Seed certification is voluntary but labelling is compulsory in India.
• India established Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights (PPV&FR) Authority, under PPV&FR Act, 2001 to ensure availability of quality seeds and planting material to farmer

• The State of World Population report is UNFPA’s annual flagship publication.
• It has been published yearly since 1978.
• This year the report is titled as SOWP 2023: 8 Billion Lives, Infinite Possibilities.
• India is most populous country in world.
  • India’s population is pegged to reach 86 crore against China’s 142.57 crore by mid- 2023.
• More than two-thirds of India’s population (68 percent) belongs to age group of 15- 64 years, followed by 10-24 years group (26%), making India one of the youngest countries in world.
• In India, life expectancy at birth is estimated at 71 years for men and 74 years for women in India.
• India’s total fertility rate is estimated at 2.0.
• Globally, Central and Southern Asia is expected to become the most populous region in world by 2037.
• The world’s population hit the 800-crore mark in November 2022.
• More than half of projected increase in global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in eight countries —Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines and Tanzania.

 About UN Population Fund (UNFPA)

• HQ- New York
• It is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency.
• It supports access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services – including voluntary family planning, maternal health care and comprehensive sexuality education.
• Its mandate is established by United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

• Himachal Pradesh CM recently directed officials to make the 100 MW UhlIII hydropower project functional by May next year.

About Uhl–III hydropower project

• It is located at the Rana Neri Khad River in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh.
• The Project comprises the diversion of tail water of Uhl Stage-II (Bassi), Neri Khad & Rana Khad.
• Installed capacity: 99.99 MW.
• The power plant is owned and operated by Beas Valley Power Corporation Limited.

• Telugu actor and comedian Allu Ramesh passed away.
  • He suffered cardiac arrest in his hometown, Visakhapatnam.
• He made his debut in Tollywood with Tarun’s Chirujallu and starred in almost 50 films.
• Allu Ramesh acted in movies like Napoleon, Tholubommalata, Madhura Wines, and Ravana Desam.

• World Liver Day is observed on April 19 in order to raise awareness about liver-related diseases.
• Liver plays a pivotal role in our body’s immunity, digestion and metabolism.
• Plus, it also carries out the filtration of toxins, stores vitamins and minerals, and produces bile, among other functions.
• The theme for this year’s World Liver Day is “Be vigilant, do a regular liver check-up, fatty liver can affect anyone.”

• RECENTLY, a major Buddhist Conference was hosted in Zemithang, Arunachal Pradesh.
• Zemithang was first stop of the 14th Dalai Lama during his flight from China-occupied Tibet in 1959.
• Zemithang or Zimithang, in the Pangchen Valley, is a village and the last circle headquarters bordering Bhutan and Tibet.
• Zemithang means “sand valley” and the people of the area are referred to as Pangchenpa, meaning “people who gave up sin”.
• It is on the Nyamjang Chu

• A new study shows that wheat, the world’s most important food crop, is threatened by a blast disease pandemic.

About Wheat Blast

• The wheat blast is a fungal disease that affects wheat production in tropical and subtropical regions.
• It is caused by Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum (MoT).
  • It was identified in Brazil in 1985.
• The fungus infects wild and cultivated grasses, most notably rice and wheat.
• It spreads through infected seeds, and crop residues as well as by spores that can travel long distances in the air.
• It spread to major-wheat producing areas in the country and then to other South American countries like Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina.
• Asia’s first outbreak of this pathogenic wheat blast was reported in Bangladesh in 2016.

• The Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj celebrating National Panchayat Awards Week from 17th – 21st April 2023 as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) 2.0 in the run-up to the National Panchayati Raj Day (24^th April 2023).

About National Panchayat Awards:

• The award was given to the best-performing Panchayats by assessing their performance in the attainment of SDGs.
• These annual awards were first instituted in 2011.
• The Awardee Panchayats under various categories of National Panchayat Awards–2023 namely,
  • Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar(DDUPSVP) for the performance under individual LSDG themes,
  • Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar(NDSPSVP) for the aggregate performance under all 9 LSDG themes and green initiative-related Special Categories.
  • Gram Urja Swaraj Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar.
  • Carbon Neutral Vishesh Panchayat Puraskar.
• During the event Union Minister of Rural Development launched the GS NIRNAY (National Initiative for Rural India to Navigate, InnovAte and Resolve PanchaYat decisions), a mobile application.
  • It will provide easy access to critical information discussed during a Gram Sabha; acting as a means of verification of facts where necessary or in case of queries that may arise regarding the resolutions undertaken during the Gram Sabha.