• NTPC Renewable Energy (NTPC REL), a subsidiary of NTPC, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Rajasthan government for the development of 10 gigawatts (GW) Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Power Park in the State.
• NTPC Group has set a target of 60 GW renewable energy capacity by 2032.
• In less than 2 years since its inception, NTPC REL has won 4 GW renewable energy.

• India added 540 species to its faunal database in 2021 taking the total number of animal species to 1,03,258.
• Among the new species discovered is one species from mammal, 35 reptiles and 19 species of pisces.
• The new mammal species discovered is Crocidura narcondamica, a white ­toothed shrew, from Narcondam Island of the Andaman and Nicobar group of islands. Among the reptiles discovered in 2021, notable is Boiga whitakeri, or Whitaker’s cat snake, from the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu.
• The most number of new discoveries was from the faunal group Hymenoptera, an order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants, in which 80 species, including one new genus, were discovered.
• Scientists from the ZSI had contributed to 68% of the animal discoveries in 2021.
• India contributes to 6.1% of faunal diversity in the world.
• According to the BSI, regions such as the Western Ghats and the northeastern regions have contributed 28% of the total discoveries.
• In State­ wise analysis, the most number of discoveries were made from Kerala with 51 taxa followed by Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Recently, Zoological Survey of India ((ZSI), observed its 107th foundation day on July 1.

• The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi has received a patent from the Indian Patent Office for its nanotechnology-based cancer detection system for early and effective identification of cancer.
• The order was issued by the patent office after the institution amended its claims and submitted all the required documents in recent months.
• The cancer detection system comprises an antibody against a target protein bio marker selected from microseminoprotein-beta, a prostate specific antigen (PSA) or combination thereof, a Quantum Dot conjugated with the antibody specific to target protein biomarkers.
• It also provides novel immuno-nano-fluorescent-assay, which has advantages over conventional Elisa based detection systems in terms of higher prognosis, specificity, sensitivity, robustness, portability, less time consuming and cost effectiveness.
• According to the institution, the prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in men globally as well as in India that killed an estimated three lakh men around the world in the year 2010.
• Out of the prostate cancers detected, almost 85 per cent of the cases were detected in the late stages in the country, mostly in the third or the fourth stages.
• The report was released based on testing of almost 4.46 lakh samples tested across the country.
• Higher levels of abnormal prostate cancer results were identified in men with more than 85 years of age, while the second highest were in men between 61 to 85 years.

• India and the European Union concluded the first round of talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) and the next round of talks is scheduled at Brussels in September 2022.
• India and the 27-nation bloc resumed negotiations, after a gap of over eight years, on the proposed agreements on trade, investments and Geographical Indications (GI). The first round of talks, which began on June 27,2022 concluded on July 1, 2022.
• The week-long negotiations were held in a hybrid fashion – with some of the teams meeting in Delhi and the majority of officials joining virtually.
• During the first round, 52 technical sessions covering 18 policy areas of FTA and seven sessions on investment protection and GIs were held.
• India’s bilateral trade with the EU amounted to USD 116.36 billion in 2021-22.
• Currently, the EU is India’s 2nd largest trading partner after the US, and the second largest destination for Indian exports.
• The trade agreement with the EU would help India further expand and diversify its exports of goods and services, including securing the value chains.

• The Kerala government sounded an alert in Thrissur district after Anthrax, an infectious disease which affects domestic as well as wild animals, was reported in wild boars.
• According to the Thrissur administration, the presence of the bacteria was found in carcasses of wild boars in hilly regions of Athirappilly village.
• Anthrax is caused by a spore-forming bacterium. It mainly affects animals. Humans can be infected through contact with an animal or by inhaling spores.
• Symptoms depend on the route of infection. They can range from a skin ulcer to difficulty breathing. Antibiotics cure most infections. Inhaled anthrax is harder to treat and can be fatal.

• Among the places attracting tourists is the famous tourist place Shikari Mata temple in Mandi district. A large number of tourists from different parts of the country are thronging this sacred place to pay obeisance to local deity Shikari Mata.
• The Shikari Mata temple is situated in the Seraj Assembly constituency of Mandi district at an elevation of around 11,000 feet above sea level.
• Temple of Shikari Mata is roofless, which also arouses curiosity of visitors.
• The temple, it is believed, was in existence during the time of Pandavas. The temple has a great significance in the holy book Markandeya Purana and the Mahabharata.

• A cultural programme, ‘Sindhu Darshan 2022’, under the campaign ‘Not drugs, life is important’ was organised by the Public Relation Department at Kehloor auditorium in Raura sector, Bilaspur. The evening was organised in collaboration with North Zone Cultural Centre (NZCC), Patiala.
• Over 100 artistes from seven states presented a unique cultural bouquet and mesmerised the audience with folk dances and songs of their respective states.
• Various dance forms such as Siddhi Dhamaal of Gujarat, Bihu of Assam, Kalvelia of Rajasthan, Mor (Peacock) of Uttar Pradesh, Ghumar of Haryana, Jindua of Punjab and Kahluri dance of Himachal Pradesh were presented during the occasion.
• Artistes also performed a skit on drug abuse to create awareness among people about the ill-effects of drugs.
• NZCC started the cultural journey from Udhampur in Jammu on June 18 and culminated it in Bilaspur.

• July 1 marks the completion of five years since the Goods and Services (GST) was introduced in our country. It was first discussed in the report of the Kelkar Task Force on indirect taxes in 2003.
• GST Bill was first introduced in 2014 as The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill.
• This got an approval in 2016 and was renumbered in the statute by Rajya Sabha as The Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016.
• The tax base has almost doubled in the last five years from 6.63mn to over 13mn.
• The introduction of GST has simplified business processes, tax administration and compliances in India, that helped India in improving its rank in Ease of doing Business.
• GST has eliminated the tax arbitrage that existed among the states under the CST/VAT regime.

• The researchers from the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) rediscovered a rare, threatened and presumed extinct species Brachystelma attenuatum after a gap of 188 years.
• The scientists hail from BSI in Dehradun and Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla.
• This species was first discovered and described in 1835 by British botanists — John Forbes Royle and Robert Wight — from Doongie village (now Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh).
• In 2020, while conducting field surveys in the Western Himalayas, some interesting tuberous plants were observed in the Bhoranj region of Hamirpur.
• These plants were brought to the BSI and there it was identified as Brachystelma parviflorum, a species thought to be extinct by the scientists 186 years ago.
• Another presumed extinct species, ‘Brachystelma attenuatum’ has been rediscovered in Hamirpur and Mandi District of Himachal Pradesh.

• According to a report by the Hurun Research Institute titled Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2022, India is predicted to have 122 new unicorns in the following 2-4 years.
• The total worth of these potential unicorns is currently 49 billion US dollars. When a startup is valued at $1 billion USD, it is considered to be a Unicorn.

KEY POINTS:

• The city of Bengaluru, which currently has 33 unicorns, will receive 46 new additions, followed by Delhi NCR with 25, Mumbai with 16, Chennai with 5, and Pune with 3. Bengaluru currently has the most unicorns in the nation. It’s anticipated that the remaining unicorns will appear in 20 additional cities.
• Tiger Global has invested in 27 of these potential Unicorns, followed by the international venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, which has invested in 39 of them.
• The majority of these prospective unicorns were founded in 2015.

About the Survey:

• The survey states that 63% of these businesses focused on consumer-facing businesses, while the remaining 37% belonged to the business-to-business (B2B)industry that provided services to the financial services, logistics, healthcare, and education sectors.
• The report has divided would-be unicorns into groups: Gazelles, which are startups with the greatest likelihood of becoming unicorns in the next two years, and Cheetahs, which are startups with the potential to become unicorns in the following four years.
• It claimed that the pandemic had sped up the rise of startups.
• Experts claim that a record 44 unicorns emerged in 2021, making India the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world.
• In addition, the experts noted that there are now 65 percent more unicorns, 51 percent more gazelles, and 71 percent more cheetahs in the nation.
• According to the report’s findings, product and market fit will continue to be what motivates Indian businesses.