The navies of India and France recently conducted their second joint patrolling in the French island of La Reunion in the South-Western Indian Ocean.

• Objective: To demonstrate “joint surveillance and patrolling operations” capabilities.
• La Reunion is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France.
• It is located approximately 950km east of the island of Madagascar and 175 km southwest of the island of Mauritius.
• Réunion is an outermost region of the European Union and is part of the eurozone.

• Bird Count India is an informal partnership of organisations and groups interested in documenting and monitoring India’s birds.
• The initiative encourages birdwatchers to upload their bird lists to eBird (ebird.org/india), a global platform for bird observations.
• In India, the event was confined to Ladakh, J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, northwest Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Uttarakhand reported the highest number of bird species, at 293.
• The maximum number of checklists (lists of birds seen and heard by birdwatchers), at 192, was uploaded from Jammu & Kashmir.

At silver jubilee celebrations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), PM inaugurated country’s first 5G testbed.

• It will allow start-ups and industrial companies to test their products locally, eliminating reliance on international facilities.
• The 5G Radio Interface Technology, called 5Gi is a locally designed telecommunication network that has been designed by IIT Hyderabad, IIT Madras and the Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology.
• The technology will be an alternative to the global 5G standards.
• 5Gi offers more range at a lower frequency, which is the opposite of 5G. The latter works between the 700 MHz to 52,000 MHz bands and sacrifices on range.

• These are two indigenous warships of the Indian Navy launched recently at Mazgaon Docks Limited, Mumbai.
• Surat is a Project 15B (Nilgiri Class) Destroyer and Udaygiri is a Project 17A (Shivalik Class) Frigate.
• The Project 15B class of ships are the next generation stealth guided missile destroyers of the Indian Navy being built at the Mazgaon Docks Ltd, Mumbai.
• Existing indigenously built warships are built under Shivalik class, Talwar class, Brahmaputra class and Godavari class.

The centre is in the process of integrating the e-Shram portal of the Ministry of Labour and Employment with the One Nation One Ration Card scheme.

About the e-Shram Portal:

• Launched in August 2021 by the Union Ministry of Labour & Employment.
• It is a national database to register unorganised workers.
• Each registered worker will be issued an identity card, which can be used across the country to avail any benefits announced by the Government.

What is One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC)?

• The ONORC scheme is aimed at enabling migrant workers and their family members to buy subsidised ration from any fair price shop anywhere in the country under the National Food Security Act, 2013.
• ONORC was launched in August, 2019.
• Implementing Agency: Department for the nation-wide portability of ration cards under National Food Security Act (NFSA).
• Eligibility: Any citizen, who is declared under Below Poverty Line (BPL) category is eligible to get the benefit of this scheme across the country.

• National Cyber Forensic Laboratory’ (NCFL) was inaugurated on the premises of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Hyderabad.
• The NCFL plans to expedite the resolution of cybercrime cases in the country.

• The Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary in Rajasthan was notified as India’s 52nd tiger reserve.
• This is Rajasthan’s fourth tiger reserve after Ranthambore, Sariska and Mukundra.
• The newly notified tiger reserve includes the tiger habitat between Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in the northeast and Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve on the southern side and facilitates dispersal of tigers from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.

• Various amenities were inaugurated at ancient Kanheri Caves on the occasion of Buddha Purnima.
• They are located in the forests of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in the western outskirts of Mumbai.
• They cover the period from 2nd to 9th century AD. It has around 100 caves.
• They belong to the Hinayana phase of Buddhist architecture.
• However, additions were made when Mahayana Buddhism was gaining ground. Ex: 5th century image of Buddha.
• Kanheri was mentioned in the travelogues of foreign travellers. The earliest reference of Kanheri is ascribed to Fa-Hein who visited India during 399-411 CE.

• The Supreme Court has slammed the Kerala government for State’s inaction in providing relief to the Endosulfan pesticide exposure victims.
• From the mid-70s, Kerala villages used aerial spraying of endosulfan on 4,600-ha. cashew nut plantation. Locals reportedly experienced illnesses, palsies and deformities.
• This also amounts to a breach of the apex court’s 2017 judgment, which had ordered the State to pay ₹5 lakh each to the victims in three months.

What is endosulfan?

• It is a widely-banned pesticide with hazardous effects on human genetic and endocrine systems.
• It does not occur naturally in the environment.
• It is listed under the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent.
• Use of endosulfan is banned by Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
• The Supreme Court in India has banned the manufacture, sale, use, and export of endosulfan throughout the country, citing its harmful health effects in 2011.
• Uses: Sprayed on crops like cotton, cashew, fruits, tea, paddy, tobacco etc. for control of pests in agriculture such as whiteflies, aphids, beetles, worms etc.
• Effects on humans: This pesticide is a known carcinogen, neurotoxin and genotoxin (damages DNA).
• Environmental effects: Endosulfan in the environment gets accumulated in food chains leading to higher doses causing problems.

• At a conference hosted by New Delhi, India, Pakistan, and other members of the Shanghai Collaboration Organisation (SCO) discussed enhancing cooperation in fighting various regional security problems.
• The conference is being held as part of the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS).
• India assumed chairmanship of the Council of Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of SCO (RATS SCO) on October 28 last year for a period of one year.

About RATS:

The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), is headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and is a permanent organ of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which serves to promote cooperation of member states against the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism.