• World Scout Day is observed annually on February 22 by millions of Boy Scouts worldwide.
• It honours Lord Robert Baden-Powell, who founded the Boy Scout Movement, on the day of his birthday.
• The day is observed by National Scout Organizations all over the world through events including fundraising campaigns, food drives, and other types of volunteer work.

World Thinking Day observed on 22nd February

• Every year on February 22, the World Organization of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) observes World Thinking Day.
• The goal of the day is to collect money for the 10 million girl scouts and guides who are active in more than 150 countries while also celebrating sisterhood, solidarity, and women’s empowerment.
• ‘Our World, Our Peaceful Future’ is the theme for World Thinking Day 2023.

• Governor of Odisha launched India’s first AI Chatbot for the Agricultural sector ‘Ama KrushAI’ at the valedictory session of ‘Krushi Odisha 2023’.
• Ama KrushAI chatbot will help the farmers with the best agronomic practices, inform them about government schemes, and loan products from more than 40 commercial and cooperative banks.
• Ama KrushAI will run under a pilot project involving more than 10,000 farmers and will be implemented in full-fledged in the next two months.

• The 18th UIC World Security Congress jointly organised by the International Union of Railways (UIC), Paris and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) began recently in Jaipur.
• Theme of this year’s Congress is “Railway Security Strategy: Responses and Vision for Future”.
• The World Security Congress is a globally recognized security platform that brings together representatives from member Railway Organizations, delegates of UIC, policy makers, senior law-enforcement officials from State Polices and Railway Protection Force to discuss the current security challenges and deliberate on innovative solutions in the Railway Sector.
  • The UIC (Union International Des Chemins) or International Union of Railways was established in 1922
  • It is headquartered in Paris.
  • It is the worldwide professional association representing the railway sector for research, development & promotion of rail transport.

• As per Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas are home to more than one-third of all types of rhododendrons found in India.
• Rhododendron, meaning rose tree in Greek, is a genus of flowering plants.
• It is native to temperate regions of Asia, North America, and Europe.
• It is considered an indicator species for climate change.
• Habitat range: Subtropical and temperate to subalpine and alpine ecosystems.
• Health benefits: Prevention and treatment of diseases associated with heart, dysentery, diarrhoea, etc

About Botanical Survey of India (BSI)

• The East India Company (EIC) established the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) in 1890, during the pre-independence era.
• It is located in Kolkata, West Bengal.
• Parent institution- Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Climate Change.
• It conducts surveys, research, and conservation of India’s plant riches.
• It also gathers and manages gene banks of threatened and endangered plant species.

• Recently The Supreme Court held that children should be subjected to DNA tests only as a last resort for establishing infidelity.
• Supreme Court observed that Courts should mind that children are not material objects to be subjected to forensic/DNA testing, particularly when they are not parties to the divorce proceedings.
• The rights of privacy, autonomy and identity of children are recognised under the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• A child’s genetic information is part of his fundamental Right to privacy.

DNA paternity test

• DNA is the genetic material children inherit from their parents.
• DNA paternity testing uses DNA profiles to determine whether an individual is the biological parent of a child.
• A 24-marker DNA profile of the parent and child is compared to identify biological parents.

• Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) signed TKDL Access Agreement.
  • Through Agreement, EAPO shall gain access to TKDL database for purposes of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) grant.
• TKDL, first of its kind globally, is a database of Indian traditional knowledge established in 2001, by CSIR and Ministry of AYUSH.
• It contains information related to Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa, and Yoga in five international languages (English, German, French, Japanese and Spanish).
• It prevents misappropriation of country’s traditional medicinal knowledge through patenting.
• It is an effective deterrent against bio-piracy.

• Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) scientists have developed three climate-smart varieties of wheat.
• These varieties are characterised by “mild vernalisation requirement” i.e., need for a certain minimum period of low winter temperatures for initiation of flowering.
• Three varieties are: HDCSW-18 (officially notified in 2016), HD-3410 and HD-3385.
• HD-3410 (released in 2022), has higher yield potential (7.5 tonnes/hectare) with lower plant height (100-105 cm).
• HD-3385 variety looks most promising. With the same yields as HD-3410, plant height of just 95 cm and strong stems, it is least lodging-prone and most amenable for early sowing.
  • Lodging refers to permanent displacement of aboveground parts of a crop from its upright position.

About Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)

• Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), popularly known as Pusa Institute, began in 1905 at Pusa (Bihar) with the generous grant from an American philanthropist, Mr. Henry Phipps.
• Following a devastating earthquake in 1934, the institute was shifted to Delhi on 29th July 1936.
• Post-independence, the institute has been renamed as Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI).
• The green revolution bloomed from the fields of IARI with the development of famous wheat varieties that ensured mass production.

• Russia is suspending its participation in New START, last remaining major military agreement with US.
• New START is a treaty between US and Russia for reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms.
• It entered into force in 2011, and placed verifiable limits on intercontinental-range nuclear weapons.
• START-I was signed between US and erstwhile USSR in 1991.
  • It was expired in 2009.

• UPI-PayNow integration will enable people in both countries to send money real-time via QR-code based or simply by entering mobile numbers linked to bank account.
• With this, Singapore became the first country to allow cross-border Person to Person (P2P) payment facility.
• Earlier, at selected merchant outlets in Singapore, UPI payments through QR codes were made available.
• Significance of UPI-PayNow linkage
  • Benefit Indian diaspora, especially migrant workers, and students by allowing faster and cost-efficient funds transfer.
  • Enable users to transfer funds instantly without the need to get on board the other payment system.

Other details

• PayNow is a fast payment system in Singapore. It enables peer-to-peer funds transfer service, available to retail customers through participating banks and Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NFIs) in Singapore
• UPI: It is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood.
  • It was developed by NPCI in 2016. UPI supports both P2P and Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payments.
• NPCI: It is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India, established by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) in 2008 under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
  • It has been incorporated as a “Not for Profit” Company under the provisions of Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956 (now Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013), with an intention to provide infrastructure to the entire Banking system in India for physical as well as electronic payment and settlement systems.

• 20 Russian banks have opened Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVA) with partner banks in India.
• A Vostro account is an account that domestic banks hold for foreign banks in the former’s domestic currency, in this case, the rupee.
  • Domestic banks use it to provide international banking services to their clients who have global banking needs.
• The SRVA is an additional arrangement to the existing system that uses freely convertible currencies and works as a complimentary system.
• Banking services such as wire transfers, conducting business transactions, accepting deposits and gathering documents on behalf of the other bank.
• Domestic banks gain wider access to foreign financial markets and serve international clients without having to be physically present abroad.
• Three important components of SRVA are:

1. Invoicing: All exports and imports must be denominated and invoiced in INR.
2. Exchange Rate: The exchange rate between the currencies of the trading partner countries would be market-determined.
3. Settlement: The final settlement also takes place in Indian National Rupee (INR).

Eligibility Criteria of Banks

• Banks from partner countries would approach an authorised domestic dealer bank that would then seek approval from the apex banking regulator for opening an SRVA.
• The domestic banks would be responsible to ensure that the correspondent bank is not from a country mentioned in the updated Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Public Statement on High Risk & Non-Co-operative jurisdictions.
• Authorised banks can open multiple SRV accounts for different banks from the same country.

Benefits

• The Economic Survey (2022-23) pointed out that SRVA would reduce the net demand for foreign exchange, for the settlement of current account-related trade flows.
• Reduce the need for holding foreign exchange reserves and dependence on foreign currencies, making the country less vulnerable to external shocks.
• Indian exporters could get advance payments in INR from overseas clients and in the long-term promote INR as an international currency once the rupee settlement mechanism gains acceptance.

Vostro vs Nostro Account

• Nostro and Vostro are Latin words that translate to ‘ours’ and ‘yours’ respectively.
• While a Nostro Account is said to be a record of deposits held by a bank with a foreign bank in the currency of the country holding the funds, a Vostro Account is one that is again managed by a correspondent bank on another bank’s behalf.
• The difference between the two is that it is described from the point of view of the two different banks i.e., depositor and holder.