• The local Municipal Corporation will set up five charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) in Shimla.
• Following Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s announcement that he plans to replace all government vehicles running on fossil fuel with electric ones as part of the efforts to make the state pollution free, there’s a sense of urgency to build the required infrastructure for facilitating the switch from conventional to EVs.
• Five sites have been allotted for setting up the charging stations to two PSU companies and a private one. We have already signed an MoU with Rajasthan Electronics Industries Limited and Sunfuel Electric, a private Gurugram-based company. A pact with Energy Efficiency Service Limited will be signed shortly,” said MC Commissioner Ashish Kohli.
• These companies will set up five charging stations —two each by two PSUs and one by Sunfuel Electric — at different places in the city.
• These companies will build, operate and maintain these charging stations and share the revenue with the civic body as per their agreements.
• Sunfuel Electric, which will set up a charging station near Hotel Cecil and primarily cater to tourist vehicles.
• “EVs will be more effective than conventional vehicles, owing to regenerative braking system and instant torque delivery. Also, driving an EV will be much cheaper than the vehicle running on fossil fuel. An EV will cost you from 80 paise to Rs 1.30, depending on the vehicle one is driving,” said Sudhir Nayak, one of the co-founders of the company.
• The charging time for any car through a fast charger is normally 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the rate and size of the battery.
• The vehicle once fully charged could cover at least 250 km. “Considering distances travelled are short on a daily basis in the hilly terrain, it’s another advantage of having an EV.

• Argentina clinched their 3rd World Cup trophy from six final appearances in history, seeing off France 4–2 on penalties to win the biggest prize in men’s football at the at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar.
• It had won two in 1978 and 1986 under Diego Maradona.
• The 2026 World Cup will be held across three different countries, the United States, Canada and Mexico.

2022 FIFA World Cup Awards:

• Top 4 team Rankings: Argentina (Winner), France (2nd), Croatia (3rd) and Morocco (4th)
• Golden Boot Award: Kylian Mbappe (France); (8 Goals)
• Golden Ball Award: Lionel Messi (Argentina); (7 goals and registering 3 assists)
• Golden Glove Award: Emiliano Martinez (Argentina)
• FIFA Young Player Award: Enzo Fernandez Enzo Fernandez
• FIFA Fair Play Award: England
• Silver Boot Award: Lionel Messi
• Bronze Boot Award: Olivier Giroud (France)
• Silver Ball Award:Kylian Mbappe
• Bronze Ball Award: Luka Modric (Croatia)

About the black robe that Messi was wearing when he lifted the World Cup.

• In his crowning moment Lionel Messi’s white and light blue iconic Argentine jersey was covered by the robe the Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani made him wear just before he was handed the trophy.
• The bisht is a robe made of camel hair and goat wool worn in the Arab world on special occassions. It is a garment worn by royalty or religious leaders.

• International Migrants Day is observed annually on December 18 to bring attention to the social and economic realities of migrants around the world.
• This day is observed to guarantee that the rights of migrants are equally respected and not violated. The mobility of people is still influenced by a range of factors despite the world’s rapid growth and change.
• Currently, 281 million individuals are international migrants who reside in nations other than their own.
• International Migrants Day serves as a reminder that the challenges faced by migrants in every country remain unresolved, and policymakers must continue to develop constructive and comprehensive policies to address the issue.

International Migrants Day 2022: Significance

• The day is set aside to honour the health, security, and welfare of all migrants. During the Intergovernmental Conference in December 2018, it was decided to adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration.
• The concepts of shared accountability, non-discrimination, and immigrant human rights are highlighted on this day. The purpose of the day is to recognise how to manage the risks associated with migration while maximising its overall benefits for individuals and communities in the countries of origin, transit, and destination.

International Migrants Day: History

• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)proclaimed December 18 as International Migrants Day on December 4, 2000.
• This special day came into existence after considering the enormous and rising number of migrants around the world. On this day in 1990, the UNGA adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

About:

• The launched satellite is named as SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography).
• The advanced radar satellite is designed to give an unprecedented view of the life covering 70% of the planet, shedding new light on the mechanics and consequences of climate change.
• The satellite incorporates advanced microwave radar technology which will collect surface measurements of oceans, lakes, reservoirs and rivers in high-definition details.

Partners:

• SWOT is being jointly developed by NASA and Centre National D’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and United Kingdom Space Agency.

Advantages of the satellite:

• It sweeps of the planet at least twice every 21 days, will enhance Ocean circulation models bolster weather and climate forecasts and aid in managing scarce freshwater supplies in drought-stricken regions.
• It is equipped to observe the entire length of nearly all rivers wider than 330 feet and more than 1 million lakes and reservoirs larger than 5 acres.
• It will precisely measure fine differences in surface elevations around smaller currents and eddies, where much the oceans’ drawdown of heat and carbon is believed to occur.

About:

• This Group of Friends will act as a platform to promote accountability for all acts of violence against the United Nations peacekeepers by facilitating support to the host state, creating awareness, exchanging information, sharing best practices, supporting initiatives, and mobilizing resources.
• Bangladesh, Egypt, France, India, Morocco and Nepal have joined the group as co-chairs to promote accountability for crimes against peacekeepers.
• Group of Friends represents the “political will” of member states, particularly of the troop and police contributing countries, to champion the implementation of the provisions of U.N. Security Council resolution 2589, which was adopted in August last year under India’s Presidency of the Council.
  • Resolution 2589had called upon member states, hosting or having hosted United Nations peacekeeping operations, to take all appropriate measures to bring to justice perpetrators of the killing of, and all acts of violence against United Nations personnel, including, but not limited to, their detention and abduction.

• The Tamil Nadu Idol Wing DGP, Jayanth Murali’s swift move against the auction of a 500-year-old stolen idol from the state has prevented the selling by the French auction house, Christies.
• The elite idol wing DGP on finding that the auction house had put the idol on auction in a price band of Euros 2,00,000 to Euros 3,00,000 (around Rs 1.76 crore to Rs 2.64 crore), he tweeted, “STOP AUCTION, Return it to us This is stolen from India, TN”.
• Jayanth Murali also tagged “Antiquities Coalition” that runs an international campaign against cultural racketeering and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).
• Immediately after the police informed the state government, the message was passed to the Union Home ministry which took up the issue with the French authorities through the Indian embassy in Paris.
• The Director General of Police of States (DGP) told that the Idol wing established communication using diplomatic channels to prevent the auction.
• The 500-year-old Nataraja idol belongs to Sri Kothanda Rameswara Temple at Kayathar in Thoothukudi district and was stolen in 1972.
• The bronze idol, according to the Archeological Survey of India authorities belongs to the Vijayanagara period (15th to 16th century)
• The idol wing officers after identifying that the idol was being auctioned cross-checked the images of idols at the Indo-French Institute, Puducherry, and found that the images of the stolen idol and on the records of the institute were similar.

What is a Geographical Indication?

• A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
• India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection)Act, 1999 has come into force with effect from 15th September 2003.
• GI Tag is basically given to the products related to agriculture, handicrafts, foodstuffs, spirit drinks and Industrial Products.
• In 2004-2005 the Darjeeling Tea was given the first GI Tag in India.

About:

• Attappady Attukombu Avara (beans), Attappady Thuvara (red gram), Onattukara Ellu (sesame), Kanthalloor-Vattavada Veluthulli (garlic), and Kodungalloor Pottuvellari (snap melon) are the latest Geographical Indications that have been registered.
• The unique features of the products, imparted by the agro-climatic conditions of the geographical area of their production, are the basis for getting geographical indication tag.

 Attappady Attukombu Avara:

• Attappady Attukombu Avara, cultivated in the Attappady region of Palakkad, is curved like a goat’s horn as its name indicates.
• Its higher anthocyanin content compared to other dolichos beans imparts violet colour in the stem and fruits.
• Anthocyanin is helpful against cardiovascular diseases along with its antidiabetic properties.
• Other than this, calcium, protein, and fibre content are also high.
• The higher phenolic content of Attappady Attukombu Avara imparts resistance against pest and diseases, making the crop suitable for organic cultivation.

Attappady Thuvara:

• Attappady Thuvara is having seeds with white coat.
• Compared to other red grams, Attappady Thuvara seeds are bigger and have higher seed weight.
• This delicious red gram, which is used as vegetable and dal, is rich in protein, carbohydrate, fibre, calcium and magnesium.

Kanthalloor-Vattavada Veluthulli (garlic):

• Compared to the garlic produced in other areas, the garlic from the Kanthalloor-Vattavada area of Devikulam block panchayat in Idukki contains higher amount of sulphides, flavonoids, and proteins.
• It is rich in allicin, which is effective against microbial infections, blood sugar, cancer, cholesterol, heart diseases, and damages to blood vessels.
• The garlic cultivated in this area is also rich in essential oil.

Onattukara Ellu (sesame):

• Onattukara Ellu and its oil are famous for its unique health benefits.
• Relatively higher antioxidant content in Onattukara Ellu helps in fighting the free radicals, which destroy the body cells.
• Also, the high content of unsaturated fat makes it beneficial for heart patients.

Kodungalloor Pottuvellari (snap melon):

• Kodungalloor Pottuvellari cultivated in Kodungalloor and parts of Ernakulam is consumed as juice and in other forms.
• This snap melon, which is harvested in summer, is an excellent for quenching thirst.
• It contains high amount of Vitamin C.
• Compared to other cucurbits, nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, fibre and fat content are also high in Kodungalloor Pottuvellari.

About:

• The Coalition for Nature is formed for the implementation and adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
• The goal of the coalition is to advocate for agreed common SIDS priorities and needs such as greater means of implementing biodiversity objectives in these places by putting up a unified front.

Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

• It is a new framework that will guide actions worldwide through 2030, to preserve and protect nature and its essential services to people

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) 

• SIDS are a distinct group of 38 UN Member States and 20 Non-UN Members/Associate Members of United Nations regional commissions that face unique social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities.
• The three geographical regions in which SIDS are located are: the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea (AIS).
• SIDS were recognized as a special case both for their environment and development at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

What is traditional knowledge?

• Traditional knowledge (TK) is knowledge, know-how, skills and practices that are developed, sustained and passed on from generation to generation within a community, often forming part of its cultural or spiritual identity.

About the MoU:

• The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and the CSIR-Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (CSIR-TKDL) Unit signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New Delhi for cooperation related to digitization and inclusion of information on traditional knowledge of India from manuscripts and traditional cultural expressions.
• India is home to over two crore manuscripts containing valuable information on Indian heritage and traditional knowledge (TK). Our traditional cultural expressions (TCE) are still passed on from one generation to the next through word of mouth.
• With fewer and fewer people understanding scripts and languages of these manuscripts and our cultural expressions, the MoU between IGNCA and CSIR-TKDL Unit will facilitate efforts towards protection and preservation of the manuscript knowledge for current and future times, through inclusion of the information into the TKDL database.
• This cooperation between the Parties is also expected to enable digitization and inclusion of non-written, oral and audio-visual materials related to traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions into the TKDL.

About CSIR-TKDL:

• The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) is a pioneering Indian initiative, jointly by the CSIR and Min of AYUSH, to prevent exploitation and to protect Indian traditional knowledge from misappropriation by way of wrongful Intellectual Property Rights.
• India’s rich traditional knowledge which exists in diverse languages such as Sanskrit, Hindi, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Tamil etc. is neither accessible nor comprehensible for patent examiners at the international patent offices.
• The TKDL contains Indian traditional medicine knowledge from classical/ traditional texts related to Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa Rigpa, and Yoga techniques in a digitized format and is available in five international languages (English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese) to patent examiners.
• The TKDL is accessed by 15 patent offices worldwide for search and examination of evidences related to TK in patent applications filed at their offices.
• Recently, the Cabinet, GoI approved widening of the access of the TKDL to users, beyond patent offices to stimulate R&D and innovation based on Indian TK.

About IGNCA:

• Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) is an autonomous institution under the Union Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
• The organization serves as a major resource centre for the arts, especially written, oral and visual source materials.
• It also undertakes research and publication programmes of reference works, glossaries, dictionaries and encyclopaedia concerning the arts and the humanities.
• The IGNCA initiative on “mera gaon meri dharohar” is related to mapping of information at village levels related to modern and traditional practices.

• The Indian Council of Agricultural Research-run Directorate of Mushroom Research (DMR), Chambaghat, near here, has developed a technique to cultivate turkey tail mushroom, which is believed to have medicinal properties, under controlled environment.
• DMR Director Dr VP Sharma said, “The research work has been planned by the directorate on the nutraceutical properties of the mushroom, after getting success in cultivating it under controlled environment in a mushroom house.”
• He said, “Turkey Tail mushroom is one of the most important medicinal mushrooms. It is a coloured bracket fungus and derives its common name from the colour pattern that resembles the tail of a turkey.”
• Different mushrooms have been used to treat various ailments as traditional medicine in different parts of the world. Sharma said that people use turkey tail mushroom to improve response to cancer medications and counter the side effects of treatment.
• This mushroom is commercially available in China and Japan, where it is used in the treatment of cancer,” said Sharma. However, there is no scientific evidence to support these uses, he added.
• Sharma said that it is in demand for its anti-cancer properties. The dry mushroom is being sold at Rs 5,000 per kg and its cultivation will yield rich dividends to the growers. He said that complete technology would be transferred to the growers and entrepreneurs for their benefit.