• The Mircha rice variety from Bihar has recently been granted the GI tag.

About the Mircha or Marcha rice

• The GI tag has been awarded to the indigenous variety of paddy called Mircha Rice, which is produced exclusively in the West Champaran region of Bihar.
• This unique rice has a grain size and shape similar to black pepper, which is the reason behind its name.
• It is known for its distinct aroma, palatability, and the quality of rice flakes (chura) it produces.
• The application for the GI tag was submitted by the Marcha Dhan Utpadak Pragatisheel Samuh, a registered organization of paddy cultivators.
• The rice is primarily grown in the Mainatand, Gaunaha, Narkatiaganj, Ramnagar, and Chanpatia blocks of West Champaran district, with an average yield of 20-25 quintals per hectare.
• The tall plants of this paddy are ready for harvest in 145-150 days. Out of the 18 blocks in West Champaran, this rice is cultivated in six blocks.
• Other agriculture and horticulture products from Bihar that have received GI tags include-
• Zardalu mango, Katarni rice of Bhagalpur, Shahi litchi of Muzaffarpur, Magahi paan of Magadh region, and Makhana of Mithila.

• The World Health Day is celebrated every year on April 7^th, to bring global attention to a specific health issue that impacts people worldwide.
• This day is also significant as it coincides with the founding day of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1948.
  • This year marks the 75th anniversary of WHO.
• The World Health Day 2023 has adopted the theme “Health for All” with the objective of reflecting on the accomplishments of public health in enhancing people’s quality of life over the past seven decades.
• History- In July 1946, the World Health Organization’s constitution was ratified, and on April 7th, 1948, it came into effect with the participation of 61 nations in its establishment.
  • The first World Health Day was celebrated on July 22, 1949, but later moved to April 7^th.

• This ‘vampire fish’, as it is called due to its nature to extract the blood of its prey, was discovered on the Dutch island of Texel.
• They belong to the oldest group of vertebrates, the Agnatha, which existed more than 400 million years ago before there were fish with jaws.
• According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a US government agency, sea lamprey is a parasitic fish native to the northern and western Atlantic Ocean. It is often confused with eels.
• Unlike other fish, lampreys lack scales, fins, and gill covers and their skeletons are made of cartilage.
• The lampreys attack fish to suck the blood out using their sucker-shaped mouth.
• NOAA said the fish uses its rough tongue to rasp away other fish’s flesh so it can feed on its host’s blood and body fluids.
• It further said that one sea lamprey kills about 40 pounds of fish every year.

• Anjali Sharma, a mountaineer from India, has made history by successfully scaling the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa while wearing a traditional Gaddi dress, or Luanchadi.
• She is the first Indian woman to achieve this feat while wearing the Gaddi costume.
  • The Luanchadi, or Gaddi dress, is a traditional costume from the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.

About Mount Kilimanjaro

• Mount Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano situated in Tanzania, in the eastern part of Africa.
• It is the highest summit in the continent and the highest single free-standing mountain in the world, with its summit reaching an elevation of 5,895 meters above sea level.
• The mountain is made up of three distinct volcanic cones, namely Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, with Kibo being the highest and most well-known of the three.

• Bidri craftsman Shah Rasheed Ahmed Quadri recently received Padma Shri Award by President Droupadi Murmu.

About Bidriware

• Bidriware is a metal handicraft from the city of Bidar in Karnataka.
• This art form has obtained a Geographical Indications (GI) Tag.

Process

• Bidriware techniques are influenced by Persian art.
• Flowers, leaves and geometric designs are commonly used Patterns.
• The metal used is white brass that is blackened and inlaid with silver.
• Bidri artisans blacken their wares using soil obtained from a 15th-century fort in Bidar, which is rich in potassium nitrate.
• This craft was developed by the Bahamani sultans.

About Bahmani Sultanate

• Ruled Bidar in the 14^th –15^th
• The Bahmani Sultanate was the first independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan.
• It was founded in 1347 by Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah.
• It later split into five successor states that were collectively known as the Deccan sultanates.

• The Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) in Arunachal Pradesh would soon be notified as a tiger reserve.
  • Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary, a biodiversity hotspot is home to rare Mishmi takin, musk deer, goral as well as clouded leopards, snow leopards and tigers.
  • It was notified in 1998.
• The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (WPA), require that rights of people recognized in forest areas within core and critical tiger reserves may be modified and resettled for providing inviolate spaces to tiger or wild animals. This provision also flows from the Forest Rights Act 2006.
• Idu Mishmi people feel that a tiger reserve would hinder their access to the forest.
• There are fewer restrictions is WLS compared to Tiger Reserve.
  • WLS is open to the public and its boundaries are fluid.

About Tiger reserves

• Notified by State Governments as per Section 38V of WPA, 1972 on advice of NTCA.
• Consists of:
  • ‘Core’ or ‘Critical Tiger Habitat’, managed as an inviolate area for tiger conservation.
  • ‘Buffer’ or Peripheral area immediately abutting a Core area, which may be accorded a lesser degree of habitat protection.

About Idu Mishmi tribe

• It is a major sub-tribe of Mishmi group.
• They inhabit the Lohit district, Dibang Valley district and Lower Dibang Valley
• They are of mongoloid stock and speak the Tibeto-Burman language.
• They are known for their weaving and craftsmanship skills.
• The tribe is estimated to comprise around 12,000 people (as per census 2011), and their language (also called Idu Mishmi) is considered endangered by UNESCO.

• MPC has decided unanimously to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent.
• By pausing, the RBI is trying to ensure that India’s financial system does not suffer the kind of crises seen by banking collapses in the US and Europe.

About Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)

• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is a committee of the Reserve Bank of India, headed by its Governor, which is entrusted with the task of fixing the benchmark policy interest rate (repo rate) to contain inflation within the specified target level.
• It was constituted in 2016 under Section 45ZB of RBI Act 1934.
• There are a total of six members in the committee, three members are from RBI itself and the rest of them are appointed by the Government of India.
• The MPC consists of six members:
  • RBI Governor (Chairperson)
  • RBI Deputy Governor in charge of monetary policy,
  • One official nominated by the RBI Board
  • The Government of India will propose three members [committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary].
  • Members of the MPC will serve for four years and are not eligible for reappointment.
• MPC is required to meet at least four times in a year.
• The quorum for the meeting is four members.

• Recently, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services(INCOIS) deployed two deep sea gliders into the Bay of Bengal to study climate change.

About Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)

• It was established as an autonomous body in 1999 under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and is a unit of the Earth System Science Organisation (ESSO).
• It is located in Hyderabad, Telangana.
• Objective-To provide ocean data, information and advisory services to society, industry, the government and the scientific community.
• It is chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences. A director along with a governing council oversees its functioning.
• Other functions –
  • To establish an Early Warning System for Tsunami and Storm Surges.
  • To promote research in the field of ocean information and related services including satellite oceanography.

• An MP presented a development report on Kongthong village in Meghalaya, India’s whistling village, to the PM.
• The village was adopted under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).

About Kongthong village

• Kongthong is located in the East Khasi Hills in Meghalaya.
• It is popular as the ‘whistling village’ due to its unique tradition of ‘Jingrwai Lawbei’ (meaning the Song of the Clan’s First Woman).
• It is a tradition under which mothers create a tune for their newborns.
  • These tunes are often used as names.
• Kongthong people belong to the Seng Khasi Tribe and speak Khasi language.
• According to Census 2011, the village has a population of 567, out of which 275 are males and 275 are females, and a literacy rate of 55%.

• Prime Minister recently paid tributes to Babu Jagjivan Ram (1908-1986) on his 116^th birth anniversary.
• He was born on April 5, 1908, in Chandwa village, Bihar to Sobhi Ram and Vasanti Devi.
• He was a freedom fighter, prominent leader of the untouchable.
• In 1934, he founded Akhil Bhartiya Ravidas Mahasabha and the All-India Depressed Classes League.
• In 1935, he appeared before Hammond Commission and demanded, for the first time, voting rights for Dalits.
• Participated in Civil Disobedience Movement, Satyagraha movement, and Quit India Movement.
• Babu Jagjivan Ram holds the world record for being a parliamentarian for 50 uninterrupted years, from 1936 to 1986.
• He also served as India’s defence minister during the Indo-Pak war of 1971.