• Shavuot in Hebrew means Weeks. It took seven weeks of trekking through the desert to reach Mount Sinai. It is called the “Feast of Weeks”. It is a Jewish holiday that occurs in the Hebrew month of Sivan, that is, between May 15 and June 14.

About Shavuot

• According to Bible, Shavuot marks the wheat harvest in the Land of Israel.
• Also, it commemorates the anniversary of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
• It is one of the three pilgrimage festivals of Judaism.
• It is celebrated traditionally in Land of Israel.

Significance

• At the Temple of Jerusalem, the Jewish farmers used to present their “Bikkurim” to the god.
• Bikkurim is the first ripe fruit offered in thanks to God.

NASA recently signed an agreement with Axiom space.

What is the Agreement?

• Under the agreement, Axiom is to send its astronauts to International Space Station. This is the first private astronaut mission to the space station. The mission has been named as Ax-1.

What is the plan?

• The Axiom astronauts will spend eight days in the space station. They will conduct activities to coordinate with the space station on the ground. This is like a testing or learning project. Also, Axiom will purchase crew supplies, orbit resources, cargo delivery to space and storage from NASA.

Background

The International Space Station is to retire by 2024 or 2028. Russia had already announced that it is moving out of International Space Station after the agreement ends in 2024. Russia is currently building its own space station.

With the ISS retiring, NASA is to open it up for commercial activities.

China recently launched Changsei 2C rocket from the Xichang satellite launch centre. It is a Yaogan satellite. This satellite has joined the previous seven groups in orbit that were launched after 2017.

About the launch

• China launched three Yaogan-30 satellites and Tianqi-12 satellite in its Long March 2C. It was launched from Jiuquan Launch Centre in Gobi desert.
• Prior to the Yaogan-30 mission, Yaogan-34 satellite was launched.
• China is planning to launch forty satellites in 2021.
• In May 2021, Tianzhou-2 Cargo and refuelling spacecraft is to be launched. It is a part of Tiangong Space Station.

Yaogan satellites

It is a series of Chinese Reconnaissance satellites. Reconnaissance satellite is a spy satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. However, Chinese claim that Yaogan satellites are launched for land survey, crop yield assessment, scientific experiment and disaster monitoring.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare recently announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the eighth instalment of Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi.

PM Kisan Samman Nidhi

Under the Scheme, the Government of India transfers Rs 6,000 to the account of small and marginal farmers. These funds are transferred in three instalments. The first instalment of Rs 2,000 is made between April and June. Second Instalment is made between August and November. The third instalment is made between December and March.

About the Scheme

• The scheme was begun in 2018.
• The scheme provides financial support to farmers who hold land ownership up to two hectares.
• Since its inception, the GoI has provided Rs 75,000 crores.
• It aims to cover 125 million farmers irrespective of their land size.

PM-Kisan Portal

The beneficiary of the scheme shall check his or her application status in the portal. They shall get the details by entering mobile number or Aadhaar number or Account Number.

It will provide farmer’s name and amount sent to his bank account.

Team India continued to hold its top spot on the ICC Test Team Rankings, which were released by the ICC on May 13, 2021.

• New Zealand’s skipper Kane Williamson tops the Test Batting Rankings followed by Australia’s Steve Smith at the second spot and Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne stands third.
• Test Bowling Rankings-Australia’s Pat Cummins takes up top spot, followed by India’s R Ashwin who stands second. Ashwin is the sole Indian in the top ten. The third rank is held by New Zealand’s Neil Wagner.
• West Indies’ cricketer Jason Holder leads the ICC Test All-Rounder Rankings list, followed by England’s Ben Stokes at 2nd rank and India’s Ravindra Jadeja at the 3rd rank.

On May 11, 2021, a video showing rockets fired by Hamas in Gaza targeting Israel can be seen being intercepted or blocked by the Israeli Iron Dome Air defence system. To the viewer, it appears that the rockets were hitting an invisible shield.

What is Iron Dome?

• It is an air defence system.
• It neutralizes any missiles or rockets.
• It is a short-range ground air-to-air defence system.
• It is used to counter rockets, mortars, aircraft, helicopters, mortars artillery and unmanned vehicles.

Origin of Iron Dome

In 2006, during the Israeli-Lebanon war, Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets in to Israel. Following this, Israel announced that the Rafael Advance System run by the Government of Israel will develop an air defence system to protect its people and cities. Thus Iron Dome was developed by Israel.

About Iron Dome

• It was deployed in 2011.
• According to Rafael Advance Systems, the Iron Dome has so far made more than two thousand interceptions. Its success rate is more than 90%.
• It is capable of protecting forward operating bases, urban areas, deployed and maneuvering forces.
• It can be used in all weather conditions. Also, it can be operated during the day and at night.
• The cost of interceptor Tamir Missile is 80,000 USD. Its battery and full unit costs 50 million USD.

A severe shortage of amphotericin, an anti-fungal injection, and other anti-fungal drugs used to treat mucormycosis is causing patients further problems. Mucormycosis is a life-threatening infection that occurs in around 30% of diabetics after Covid-19.

• The injection of Amphotericin B is used to treat severe and potentially fatal fungal infections.
• It belongs to the antifungal drug class.
• It functions by inhibiting the growth of infection-causing fungi.
• It’s usually injected into a vein.
• Amphotericin B was isolated from Streptomyces nodosus in 1955, and it was first used in medicine in 1958.
• It is in the Essential Medicines List of the World Health Organization.

With the aid of Beema Bamboo, the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) in Coimbatore has developed an “oxygen park.”

About Beema Bamboo:

• Beema or Bheema Bamboo is an excellent clone, selected from Bambusa balcooa, which is a bamboo species with higher biomass. The bamboo clone has been developed through conventional breeding methods.
• This species is thought to be one of the fastest-growing plants on the planet. Under tropical conditions, it grows one and a half feet every day.
• It is said to be the best “carbon sink” for reducing CO2 emissions.

Bambusa balcooa

• Bambusa balcooa is a very large, thick-walled, clumping bamboo, growing up to a height of 25 metres, and a thickness of 150 millimetres.
• The length and strength of Bambusa balcooa make it a useful material for the construction industry.
• It is a drought-resistant species with low rainfall requirements and can reach yields upwards of 100 metric tons per hectare.

Why in news?

In Karnataka, several members of the HakkiPikki Tribe survived Covid-19.

• The Gujrathioa, Kaliwala, Mewara, and Panwara clans of the HakkiPikki tribes are semi-nomadic tribal people.
• They speak a variety of south Indian languages, including Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam, as well as Vagribooli, a Guajarati-like language.
• In Kannada, the HakkiPikki means “bird catchers.”
• In Karnataka, it is classified as a Scheduled Tribe.

Origin and History:

• The HakkiPikki tribal groups have a long history that includes an ancestor who is said to be related to the legendary Ranapratap Singh.
• The HakkiPikki tribal community is a Kshatriya or warrior tribal group that was forced to move to southern India after defeating Mughal rulers.

The Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized by the WHO for emergency use and it is the first Chinese vaccine to be approved by the World Health Organization(WHO).

• It is a two-dose vaccine that’s still in use in hundreds of countries around the world.
• The vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, J&J, and the AstraZeneca jab made in India and South Korea have already been designated for emergency use by the WHO.
• Sinopharm vaccine is an inactivated coronavirus vaccine, such as Covaxin developed by Bharat Biotech India (BBIL) in cooperation with the National Institute of Virology (NIV).
• Inactivated vaccines use heat, chemicals, or radiation to destroy the disease-carrying virus (in this case, SARS-CoV-2).