• The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Madras has developed a technology called ‘AMRIT’ (Arsenic and Metal Removal by Indian Technology) for the removal of Arsenic and Metal ions from water.
• The technology uses nano-scale iron oxy-hydroxide, which selectively removes arsenic when water is passed through it.
• This water purifier has been developed for both domestic as well as community levels.
• The technology aligns with the broader goals of the Jal Jeevan Mission, which aims to provide safe and potable tap water to rural households in India.
• Also, the technology has been recommended by the erstwhile ‘Standing Committee’ of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation for the examination of the best technologies concerning water and sanitation.

 ARSENIC POLLUTION

• Arsenic is a natural component of the earth’s crust and is widely distributed throughout the environment in the air, water and land.
• It is highly toxic in its inorganic form.
• Long-term exposure to arsenic from drinking water and food can cause cancer and skin lesions.
  • Chronic poisoning can cause Blackfoot disease (BFD), which affects the blood vessels in the lower limbs.

• The Supreme Court in a 5-0 unanimous ruling upheld the Centre’s abrogation of Article 370.
• It upheld the constitutional validity of the two Presidential Orders CO (The Constitution (Application To Jammu and Kashmir) Order) 272 and 273 of August 5 and 6, 2019 respectively by which the entire Constitution of India was made applicable to J&K, and all provisions of Article 370 were declared inoperative.

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS OF JUDGMENT

• Jammu and Kashmir surrendered completely its sovereignty after it joined the Union of India after Independence.
• The President of India had the power to abrogate Article 370 without a prerequisite for a recommendation by the Jammu and Kashmir assembly.
• Article 370 was introduced to serve two purposes.
  • First, the transitional purpose: to provide for an interim arrangement until the Constituent Assembly of the State was formed,
  • and second, a temporary purpose: an interim arrangement in view of the special circumstances because of the war conditions in the State
• The Supreme Court has instructed the ECI to hold the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir latest by September 30, 2024.
• SC also urged for the earliest reinstatement of statehood in the Union Territory.

• The PM Vishwakarma Scheme has received over 21 lakh applications in two and a half months as per Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
• The highest number of applications had come from Karnataka followed by West Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

ABOUT PM VISHWAKARMA SCHEME

• It was launched on September 17, 2023.
• It is a central sector scheme that is aimed at supporting and providing skill-upgradation training to artisans and craftspeople.
• The Vishwakarma Scheme provides formal training for upgradation and modernisation of traditional skills amid a changing economic landscape.
• It also offers financial assistance and creates avenues of “market linkage” for persons working in 18 trades and crafts.
  • These include carpenter, boat-maker, armourer, blacksmith, hammer and tool kit maker, locksmith, goldsmith, potter, sculptor, cobbler, mason, basket-maker, doll and toy-maker, barber, garland maker, washerman, tailor, and fishing net-maker.
• The applicants are vetted at three levels – by village committees, district and state levels.
• Applicants will attend basic training of five to seven days and advanced training of 15 days with a stipend of ₹500 per day that will expose them to modern tools, latest technologies, design elements, and digital and financial skills.
• The budget envisaged for the scheme from FY 2023-24 to FY 2027-28 is ₹13,000 crore.
• Only after the artisans and craftspeople have attended the training will they receive a tool kit incentive of ₹15,000, to purchase modern tools specific to their trade.
• They will also receive collateral-free loans at lower interest rates of nearly 8% up to ₹1 lakh and an additional ₹2 lakh for setting up their business.

• The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has launched the Indian Forest & Wood Certification Scheme.
• It offers voluntary third-party certification designed to promote sustainable forest management and agroforestry in the country.
• The scheme includes
  • forest management certification,
  • tree outside forest management certification, and
  • chain of custody certification.
• It can provide market incentives to various entities such as, state forest departments, individual farmers, or Farmer Producer Organizations, that adhere to responsible forest management and agroforestry practices in their operations.
• The Forest Management certification is based on the Indian Forest Management Standard, consisting of 8 criteria, 69 indicators and 254 verifiers, which is an integral part of the National Working Plan Code 2023.
• A separate Trees Outside Forests Standard, is now introduced as a part of the newly launched Indian Forest & Wood Certification Scheme.
• The Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme, will be overseen by the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Council, which will act as a multistakeholder advisory body.
  • It is represented by members from Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Forest Survey of India, Quality Council of India, Indian Institute of Forest Management including representatives from the Ministries of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Ministry of Commerce and Industry, State Forest Departments, Forest Development Corporations, and representatives from wood-based industries.
• Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal will act as the scheme operating agency and will be responsible for overall management of the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme.
• The National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies under the Quality Council of India will accredit the certification bodies.
  • These will carry out independent audits and assess adherence of various entities on the standards prescribed under the scheme.

• A ‘Global River Cities Alliance’ (GRCA) inspired by India’s River Cities Alliance was launched at COP28, Dubai.
• GRCA is a unique alliance covering 275+ global river-cities in 11 countries, international funding agencies and knowledge management partners and is first of its kind in the world.
• The other nations are Denmark, Cambodia, Japan, Bhutan, Australia, Netherlands, Egypt, and Ghana and river-cities of The Hague (Den Haag) from the Netherlands, Adelaide from Australia, and Szolnok of Hungary.
• The National Mission for Clean Ganga, under the Jal Shakti ministry and Housing and Urban Affairs ministry’s National Institute for Urban Affairs (NIUA), will take on the role of the Secretariat of the GRCA to generate the initial momentum of the alliance activities.
• These activities will include knowledge exchange, capacity development, high-level advocacy, and bi-lateral interactions among member cities.

OTHER NEWS

• Earlier, National Mission for Clean Ganga had signed a Memorandum of Common Purpose (MoCP) with the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI), representing 124 cities/towns situated along the banks of the Mississippi River, USA on the sidelines of COP28.

ABOUT RIVER CITIES ALLIANCE

• It was established in 2021 by National Mission on Clean Ganga(NMCG)
  • NMCG was registered as a society in 2011 under Societies Registration Act 1860.
  • NMCG acts as implementation arm of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA).
• It is a joint initiative of MoJS & MoHUA to connect river cities and focus on sustainable river centric development.
• The River Cities Alliance currently has 142 river cities in India and serves as a dedicated platform for members to discuss aspects related to enhancing the state of urban rivers within their administrative boundaries.

• International Mountain Day is an annual celebration designated by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11^th.
• It has been observed every year since 2003 to create awareness about the importance of mountains in our lives
• Mountains are home to 15% of the world’s population, host about half the biodiversity hotspots of the world, and provide fresh water for everyday life to half of humanity to sustain agriculture and supply clean energy and medicines.
• The theme for 2023 is Restoring Mountain Ecosystems.
  • It aims to increase awareness about the relevance of mountain ecosystems.

• A US F-16 jet on a training mission crashed into waters of Yellow Sea.

ABOUT YELLOW SEA

• It is located in the western Pacific Ocean.
• It is situated between mainland China to the west and north, the Korean Peninsula to the east, and the Shandong Peninsula and Liaodong Peninsula to the south.
• Hai River, the Yalu River, the Han River, the Taedong River, and the Yellow River drain into the sea.
• Its name is descriptive of the golden-yellow colour of the silt-laden water discharged from major rivers, sourced from yellowish sand particles originating from the Gobi Desert.

• The first Interpol operation against fraud schemes fuelled by victims of human trafficking has unearthed further evidence that the trend is expanding beyond the southeast Asian region.
  • The fraud schemes included fake cryptocurrency investments, fraudulent work-from-home offers, and lottery and online gambling scams.

About the mission

• Known as “Operation Storm Makers II”, the Interpol exercise resulted in the arrest of 281 persons in different countries, on charges such as human trafficking, passport forgery, corruption, telecommunications fraud, and sexual exploitation.
  • Indian enforcement agencies also participated in the exercise.
  • According to the Interpol, the Telangana police registered one of the first cases in India of human trafficking committed for the purpose of forcing victims to commit cyber fraud.
• This operation was a special mission organized by Interpol.
• It involved law enforcement in 27 countries across Asia and other regions.

ABOUT INTERPOL

• Established in 1923
• Headquarter- Lyon, France
• It facilitates criminal investigation of police forces across the globe through collection and dissemination of information received from various police forces.
• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is designated as the National Central Bureau of India.

• Tiriyani Block of Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district, Telangana secured the top position in the first delta rankings of Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP) announced by NITI Aayog.
  • Kaushambi block of Kaushambi District, Uttar Pradesh secured second place.
• Delta Ranking captures incremental change in blocks ranked based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) categorized into five themes.
• The blocks have also been geographically divided into six zones and two blocks from each zone have been given rankings.
• The winners will be felicitated with a prize amount of Rs. 1.5 crores for top rank and 1 crores for second rank in all zonal categories.

ABOUT ABP

• The Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP) was launched on January 7, 2023.
• ABP focuses on improving governance to enhance the quality of life of citizens in the most difficult and relatively underdeveloped blocks of India.
• 500 blocks from 329 districts across 27 states and 4 Union Territories of India are part of the programme.
• The Programme strategy is based on convergence of existing schemes, defining outcomes, and monitoring them on a constant basis.
• About 40 key performance indicators (KPIs) were chosen to measure progress of the blocks which have been grouped into 5 themes- Health and Nutrition, Education, Agriculture and Allied Services, Basic Infrastructure, Social Development.

• The researchers of Botanical Survey of India (BSI) have discovered a new species of plant from Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu.
• The plant has been named ‘Impatiens karuppusamyi’.
• Unique Characteristics
  • Conical spur with a horizontally straight, obtuse tip.
  • Base of the anterior lobe with two purplish, fleshy, and erect auriculate projections.
  • Stout biseriate purplish-blue hairs in front of the mouth.
  • Orange-pinkish pollen grains.
• There are more than 1000 species of Impatiens worldwide, of which more than 280 are found in India.
• It is distributed widely throughout tropical Africa, Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka and China.

ABOUT BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

• BSI is the apex research organization for carrying out taxonomic and floristic studies on wild plant resources of the country.
• Established- 1890
• Under the purview of Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEFCC)
• It has nine regional circles situated at different regions of the country.
• Headquarters- Kolkata, West Bengal

ABOUT KALAKAD MUNDANTHURAI TIGER RESERVE

• Located in Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu.
• It was declared as the “First Tiger Reserve of Tamil Nadu” and the 17th Tiger Reserve of the country.
• It consists of the Kanyakumari Wildlife sanctuary in the south and the Nellai Wildlife Sanctuary in the North.
• It is also part of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve.
• It is also known as the “River Sanctuary” with as many as 14 rivers originating from this Tiger Reserve.
• Flora– vegetation varies from dry thorn forest to dry deciduous, moist deciduous and a patch of West coast wet evergreen forests on the higher reaches of the reserve.

Fauna includes Tiger, Sambar, spotted deer, elephants, Lion Tailed Macaque, Nilgiri Tahr, leopards, wild dogs, etc and a large number of bird species, reptiles, etc.