• India has been removed from Review of Significant Trade (RST) for Red Sanders, under Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
• It can be a major boost to farmers who grow Red Sanders for export.
• India was under the Review of Significant Trade (RST) process for Red Sanders since 2004.
• RST is a process through which the CITES Standing Committee places increased scrutiny on the exports of a species from a country to determine if the Convention is being properly implemented.
• The CITES RST process enables disciplinary action in the form of trade suspensions directed at countries that do not meet their obligations.

ABOUT CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES (CITES)

• CITES is an international agreement (Secretariat – Geneva, Switzerland) between governments to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species.
  • It is also known as the Washington Convention.
• The Convention provides a framework for the member nations. The framework includes-
  • regulations for the import, export, and re-export of listed species,
  • establishment of permits and certificates,
  • creation of a list of species that are subject to trade controls, and
  • the prohibition of trade in certain species.
• It is a global treaty established in 1975.
• CITES currently has 183 member nations.
  • India has been a party to the CITES since 1976.
• Secretariat – Geneva, Switzerland
• Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties, it does not replace national legislation.

ABOUT RED SANDERS

• Red sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus) is a high market value tree
• It is restricted to Eastern Ghats and endemic to few districts in Andhra Pradesh.
• Red Sanders usually grow in the rocky, degraded and fallow lands with Red Soil and hot and dry climate.
• The species has been listed as Appendix II under CITES since 1994.
• IUCN red list- Endangered
• Threats – illegal harvesting and smuggling, leading to depletion from natural forests.

• The centuries-old annual “Pathron Ka Mela” (stone-pelting fair), a unique festival held a day after Diwali, was celebrated at Dhami, about 30 km from Shimla.
• The festival, marked by pelting of stones between two groups of villagers, started in the presence of the former ruler of Dhami known as Halog and lasted for 50 minutes.
  • It ended when a person sustained a minor injury which caused bleeding.
• As per the tradition, the stone pelting takes place between residents of Halog and Jamog who line up on either side of a circular structure and pelt small stones at each other.
• The fair begins when the priest of Narsingh Devta temple walks to the Kali Devi temple accompanied by a team of musicians.
• As per traditions, the festival continues till blood starts oozing from the wounds of the injured people. The villagers smear “tilak” of blood on the forehead of goddess Kali.

• World Kindness Day is observed globally to promote and celebrate acts of kindness on November 13^th.
• The theme for the year 2023 is a powerful reminder – “Be Kind Wherever Possible.”
• The theme underscores the importance of kindness as a universal principle that should be practiced in every corner of the globe and in every aspect of our lives.
• World Kindness Day was first introduced by the World Kindness Movement (WKM) back in 1998.

• The 4^th edition of the Bilateral Exercise between the Indian Navy and Bangladesh Navy, BONGOSAGAR-23, and the 5th edition of Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) by the two navies were held at Visakhapatnam.
• Ships and aircraft from both navies undertook joint patrolling along the International Maritime Boundary Line and maritime exercises to enhance interoperability.
• Indian Navy Ships Kuthar, Kiltan and Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) Dornier participated in the exercise.
• The ships undertook communication drills, surface gun-shoots, tactical maneuvers and other exercises.
• CORPAT-23 also included the maiden Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief drills held between the two navies.

• Amid the challenges of paddy stubble burning and air pollution in Delhi- NCR region, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Delhi has developed a high-yielding short-duration variety namely Pusa-2090 which will help in dealing with the menace.
• The new paddy variety is an improved version of currently used Pusa-44.
• PUSA-2090 variety matures in only 120 to 125 days as compared to Pusa-44 which takes 155 to 160 days to mature.
• The new paddy variety will give around 30 days time to farmers to ready their fields for the next crop.
• It was developed by crossing Pusa-44 with CB-501, an early-maturing Japonica rice line known for stronger stems and higher grain production.

• Recently, a new island emerged near Japan’s Ogasawara island chain.
  • The Ogasawara island chain, also known as the Bonin Islands, constitutes a volcanic arc comprising over 30 islands and islets, some of which remain volcanically active.
• An unnamed undersea volcano recently erupted about half a mile off the southern coast of Iwo Jima. Just 10 days later, there was enough debris on the shallow seabed to allow a new island—formed of volcanic ash and splintered rocks—to poke 66 feet above the ocean’s surface.
• The island is about 100 meters in diameter, standing 20 meters above the sea less than a mile off Iwo Jima island.
• The island took shape through phreatomagmatic eruptions.
• The term “phreatomagmatic” combines “phreatic,” relating to water, and “magmatic,” referring to magma.
• These eruptions are actually triggered when magma reacts with seawater, thereby resulting in explosive releases of ash and steam.

• The current Israel-Palestine crisis in the Middle East has refocused attention on the ambitious Ben Gurion Canal Project.
• The idea is to cut a canal through the Israeli-controlled Negev Desert from the tip of the Gulf of Aqaba — the eastern arm of the Red Sea that juts into Israel’s southern tip and south-western Jordan — to the Eastern Mediterranean coast
• It will create an alternative to the Egyptian-controlled Suez Canal that starts from the western arm of the Red Sea and passes to the southeastern Mediterranean through the northern Sinai peninsula.
• This so-called Ben Gurion Canal Project, which was first envisioned in the 1960s would, if it were to be actually completed, transform global maritime dynamics by taking away Egypt’s monopoly over the shortest route between Europe and Asia.

• More than sixty years after it was last recorded, an expedition team has rediscovered an iconic, egg-laying mammal in one of the most unexplored regions of the world.

ABOUT THE SPECIES

• Scientific name– Zaglossus attenboroughi
• Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna, named after famed broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, was captured for the first time in photos and video footage using remote trail cameras set up in the Cyclops Mountains of Indonesia’s Papua Province.
• It was last seen in 1961.
• It belongs to the monotreme group of mammals, known for their unique characteristic of laying eggs.
  • This echidna is one of the five surviving monotreme species.
• Echidnas are notoriously difficult to find since they are nocturnal, live in burrows, and tend to be very shy.
• Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna has never been recorded anywhere outside the Cyclops Mountains.
• It is currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

• Scientists have now detected atomic oxygen in a thin layer sandwiched between two other layers of the Venusian atmosphere.
• They noted that this atomic oxygen, which consists of a single oxygen atom, differs from molecular oxygen, which consists of two oxygen atoms and is breathable.
• The oxygen is produced on the planet’s day side by ultraviolet radiation from the sun that breaks down atmospheric carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide into oxygen atoms and other chemicals. Some of the oxygen is then transported by winds to the Venusian night side.
• They used an instrument aboard the SOFIA airborne observatory.

ABOUT VENUS

• Also called Earth’s twin.
• Venus, with a diameter of about 7,500 miles (12,000 km), is slightly smaller than Earth.
• Unlike Earth, where oxygen makes up about 21% of the atmosphere, Venus has a thick and noxious atmosphere dominated by carbon dioxide (96.5%), with smaller amounts of nitrogen and trace gases.
• It has no moons and rotates clockwise (east to west).
• It is the hottest planet due to “runaway greenhouse effect”.

ABOUT SOFIA

• It is a Boeing 747SP aircraft modified to carry an infrared telescope.
• It is a joint project between NASA and the German Aerospace Center.

• Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to promote women-led enterprises among members of Self Help Groups (SHGs).
• This includes-
  • enhanced capacity and ability of State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLM) teams to promote the graduation of seasoned SHG members into micro-entrepreneurs;
  • , establishment of a reliable and sensitive support architecture for women-led enterprises, involving a network of field cadres, mentors, and experts;
  • implementation of standardized protocols within DAY-NRLM to support women-led enterprises.

ABOUT DAY-NRLM

• DAY-NRLM is the flagship initiative to cover 7 crore rural poor households, across 600 districts, 6,000 blocks, 5 lakh gram panchayats and 6 lakh villages in the country through SHGs and federated institutions and support them for livelihoods collectives in a period of 8-10 years.
• The scheme enables one member (preferably a woman) from each rural poor household to be brought under the SHG network.
• It is under the purview of Ministry of Rural Development.
• It adopts a demand-driven approach, enabling the States to formulate their own State-specific poverty reduction action plans.

About SIDBI

• Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is an independent financial institution aimed at aiding the growth and development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
• It is a statutory body set up under Ministry of Finance by an act of the Indian Parliament in