• The regional bloc ECOWAS or the Economic Community of West African States has been playing an active role in Niger amid turmoil

About ECOWAS grouping

• Also known as CEDEAO in French, the regional group was established in 1975 through the Lagos Treaty – with a mandate of promoting economic integration among its members.
• Today, ECOWAS has 15 members: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’ Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.
• Around 400 million people live in this region.
• Headquarters: Abuja, Nigeria.
• ECOWAS’ larger aims are to have a single common currency and create a single, large trading bloc in areas of industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, financial issues, and social and cultural matters.
• Organisation structure includes the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government.
  • The Chairman is the current Head of State and Government and is appointed by other Heads of State and Government to oversee its affairs for one year.

• The Indian eagle-owl was classified as a species only in recent years, thus distinguishing it from the Eurasian eagle-owl.

Characteristics

• It is an imposing bird.
• The slightly larger female can reach a total length of two and a half feet, with a wingspan of six feet.
• Prominent ear tufts that look like horns are seen to project from its head.
• The widespread range includes the entire Indian peninsula.
• It has nocturnal habits have meant that very little is known about this bird.
• The Indian eagle-owl does not have a dependency on forests.
  • It feeds on rats, bandicoots, and even bats and doves, which are hunted over open scrubland and agricultural tracts.
  • Nearby rocky perches and crags provide ideal settings for its nests.
  • Near human settlements, they prefer mango trees.
• Farmers definitely profit from the presence of this owl as they feast on rodents near farms.
• IUCN Red List status– Least Concern

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Academy joined the Interpol Global Academy Network at a virtual event.
• IGAN was launched in 2019.
• The Network has members in all regions and supports academic collaboration amongst Law Enforcement Training Institution across the globe.

About CBI Academy

• The CBI Academy had become the 10^th member of Interpol Global Academy Network.
• According to the agency, over the years, it has emerged as a major police institution of the country and South Asia.
• Since 2005, it has imparted training to over 50,000 police officers, including around 1,432 foreign nationals from SAARC nations, Africa, South East Asia, Central Asia and West-Asia.
• Several programmes have been conducted in collaboration with foreign agencies such as S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, French Embassy, National Cyber Crime Unit and National Crime Agency (United Kingdom), Interpol and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Canada).
• CBI is National Central Bureau of Interpol for India as well as a Nodal Agency for Transnational Organised Crimes, Anti-Corruption Crimes, Bank Fraud Cases and Cyber Crimes.

• Foreign investors from Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore have been on the receiving end of a number of notices for gains from investment in fully or compulsorily convertible debentures (CCDs) issued by Indian companies.

About Debentures

• A debenture is a medium- to long-term debt security issued by a company as a means of borrowing money at a fixed interest rate.
• Unlike most investment-grade corporate bonds, it is not secured by collateral.
• It is backed only by the full faith and credit of the issuing company.
• In effect, an unsecured corporate bond is a
• A debenture comes in two forms – non-convertible and convertible.
  • Convertible debentures can be converted into the company’s equity after a predetermined period of time.
  • A compulsory convertible debenture (CCD) is a type of bond which must be converted into stock by a specified date.
  • It is classified as a hybrid security, as it is neither purely a bond nor purely a stock.
  • Under FDI guidelines, CCDs are treated as equity for the purposes of reporting to Reserve Bank of India.

• The first trial shipment of fresh ‘Bhagwa pomegranate’ has been exported to the US through the air route.
• This first export consignment was initiated by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) in collaboration with National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) of India.
• ‘Bhagwa’ pomegranate from Maharashtra has substantial export potential and almost 50 % of the fruit’s export from the country is from the state’s Solapur district.
• It has high antioxidant content and super fruit characteristics.

Pomegranate Cultivation

• The country ranks 7^th in the production of pomegranate in the world.
• The total area under cultivation is around 2,75,500 hectares.
• Major pomegranate-producing states are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh.
• Overall, India is the second largest producer of horticulture crops.

About National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO)

• Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage is the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) of India.
• It undertakes all phytosanitary responsibilities for export of Agriculture commodities by providing technical inputs to get foreign market access, phytosanitary inspection, treatment, certification etc. to promote safe trade.

• In the face of increasing cyber and malware attacks on defence as well as critical infrastructure across the country, the Defence Ministry has decided to replace the Microsoft Operating System (OS) in all computers connected to the Internet with a new OS,
• Maya OS is based on open-source platform Ubuntu, which is developed locally.
• Maya has the interface and all functionality like Windows and users will not feel much difference as they transition to it.
• In addition, an ‘end point detection and protection system’, Chakravyuh, is also being installed in these systems.
• Currently, Maya is being installed only in Defence Ministry systems and not on computers connected to the networks of the three Services.
• Maya was developed by government development agencies within six months.
• Maya would prevent malware attacks and other cyberattacks which had seen a steep increase.

• A parliamentary standing committee on ‘Coarse grains production and distribution’ has suggested
  • setting up at least one shop in each district through the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Tribes India and women’s self-help groups (SHGs) to exclusively sell millets and millet-based products, and
  • Asked the government to explore the possibility of distributing millets under the targeted public distribution system (TPDS) and other welfare schemes, as is already happening in some states.

About Millets

• Millets are collective group of small-seeded annual grasses that are grown as grain crops, primarily on marginal land in dry areas of temperate, sub-tropical and tropical regions.
  • These have been named and branded now as Shree Anna.
• India produces all the nine commonly known millets and is the largest producer and fifth-largest exporter of millets in the world.
• Major millets include sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet, while minor millets include foxtail, little millet, kodo, proso, and barnyard millet.
• Globally, India, Nigeria and China are the largest producers of millets in the world, accounting for more than 55% of the global production.
• Advantages
  • Millets are drought-resistant, require less water and can grow in poor soil conditions.
  • These are a good source of fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
  • These are naturally gluten-free, making them suitable for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance.
  • Millets can be grown in a variety of soils and climates, making them a versatile crop option for farmers.
• The United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
  • National Year of Millets was celebrated in 2018.

• The famous religious site of Baridhar in Arki sub-division of Solan would be developed as a tourist spot.
• A master plan has been prepared to develop Baridhar as a key religious pilgrimage centre where a ropeway would be set up from Svava village to Baridhar. The detailed project report of this ropeway was being prepared.
• It is said that the Pandava spent the last year of their exile at this place in the caves of the hill and forest.
• A temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is also situated here and local people call him BaraDev.

• Indian women’s compound team comprising Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Parneet Kaur, and Aditi Gopichand Swami, secured India’s inaugural Gold medal at the World Archery Championship in Berlin.
• Aditi Gopichand Swami became the youngest-ever senior world champion and the first Indian to win an individual compound gold medal at the World Archery Championships at the age of 17.

• CJI D.Y. Chandrachud announced in open court that the Supreme Court would appoint an all-woman committee of three former High Court judges, headed by Justice Gita Mittal, former Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court, to provide a “healing touch” in violence-torn Manipur.
• Justice Shalini Phansalkar Joshi, a retired Bombay High Court judge, and Justice Asha Menon, a former Delhi High Court judge, will be the members of the committee.
• This will be a broad-based committee which will be constituted to supervise, intervene and monitor relief and rehabilitation, restoration of homesteads, religious places of worships, better relief work, etc.