• India has initiated an anti-dumping probe into imports of poisonous chemical sodium cyanide from China, the European Union, Japan and Korea following a complaint by domestic players.
• Sodium cyanide appears as a white crystalline solid or powder.
• It releases hydrogen cyanide gas, a highly toxic chemical asphyxiant that interferes with the body’s ability to use oxygen.
• It is odorless when dry.
• It is used for extraction of gold and silver from their respective ores, manufacturing insecticides, dyes, pigments and bulk drugs.

• Parliamentary committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice has asked CAT to decide cases pending for more than 10 years on a priority basis.
• According to CAT (Procedure) Rules, 1987, every application should be heard and decided as far as possible, within six months from date of its registration.
• CAT had been established (under Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985) under Article 323 -A for adjudication of disputes and complaints with respect to recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to public services and posts.
• Members of defence forces, officers and servants of Supreme Court and secretarial staff of Parliament are not covered by it.
• CAT is a multi-member body consisting of a chairman and members.
• There are 17 Benches and 21 Circuit Benches in the Central Administrative Tribunal all over India.
• It is guided by the principles of natural justice.
• Appeals against the orders of CAT lie before concerned High Court.

• Recently Mathematicians have discovered an “einstein tile”
• An “einstein tile” – a shape that could be singularly used to create a non-repeating (aperiodic) pattern on an infinitely large plane.
  • Here, “einstein” is a play on German ein stein or “one stone” – not to be confused with Albert Einstein, the famous German physicist.

Aperiodic tiles

• Aperiodic tiles are a set of tile-types whose copies can form Patterns without repetition.
• History
  • In 1961, mathematician Hao Wang conjectured that aperiodic tilings were impossible. But his student, Robert Berger, disputed this, finding a set 104 tiles, which when arranged together will never form a repeating pattern.
  • In the 1970s, Nobel prize-winning physicist Roger Penrose found a set of only two tiles that could be arranged together in a non-repeating pattern ad infinitum. This is now known as Penrose tiling and has been used in artwork across the world.
• But since Penrose’s discovery, mathematicians have been looking for the “holy grail” of aperiodic tiling – a single shape or monotile which can fill a space up to infinity without ever repeating the pattern it creates.
• Mathematicians call this the einstein problem in geometry.
• The recent discovery named “the hat” is a 13-sided shape which has presented a deceptively simple solution.
• The hat comprises eight copies of a 60°–90°–120°–90° kite, glued edge-to-edge, and can be generalised to an infinite family of tiles with the same aperiodic property.
• Applications:
  • aperiodic tiling will help physicists and chemists understand the structure and behaviour of quasicrystals, structures in which the atoms are ordered but do not have a repeating pattern.
  • The newly discovered tile might become a springboard for innovative art.

• India’s first cool roof policy was recently announced by Telangana government to reduce the impact of heat on building.
• Cool roof policy is mandatory for all government and non- residential commercial buildings.
• It aims to make buildings thermally resilient and reduce their energy consumption.
• Occupancy certificate would only be given after compliance.
• A cool roof is mandatory for residential buildings that have a plot area of 600 sq yards or more. For those with a plot area of 600 sq yards or less, it is optional.
• It enumerates three different materials to insulate the roof
  • Paints or liquids with high reflectivity (lime wash or white plastic coating),
  • Prefabricated material like poly-vinyl chloride (PVC) membranes or bitumen-based sheeting,
  • High albedo, ceramic mosaic tiles or shingles.

• Recently, on The Vice President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar has greeted the people of the nation on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti.
• It is an auspicious day for the followers of Jainism as it marks the birth anniversary of Lord Mahavira, who was the last Tirthankara of Jainism.
• Lord Mahavira was born on the 13th day of the bright half of the moon in the month of Chaitra.
  • As per the Gregorian calendar, it is usually celebrated in the month of March or April.
• On Mahavir Jayanti, a procession is held with the idol of Lord Mahavira called the Rath Yatra, and the statue is given a ceremonial bath called abhisheka.

About Vardhaman Mahavira 

• He was the 24^th and last Tirthankara; succeeded the 23^rd Tirthankara,
• Born to King Siddhartha of Kundalgram and Queen Trishala, a Lichchhavi princess in 6^th century BC in Vajji kingdom (modern day Vaishali, Bihar)
• He abandoned worldly life at age 30 and attained ‘kaivalya’ (omniscience) at age 42.
• Delivered his first sermon at Pava (near Patna).
• Mahavira’s teachings revolved around the principles of ahimsa, Satya, brahmacharya, and aparigraha.
• He emphasized the importance of non-violence, truth, non-stealing, chastity, and non-attachment, which were later compiled into Jain Agamas.
• His teachings were simple and easy to understand as they were in Prakrit, a language that ordinary people could comprehend.
• It is believed that Lord Mahavira passed away at the age of 72 and attained moksha or liberation from the cycle of birth and death at Pavapuri near modern-day Rajgir in Bihar.

• Finland has officially become the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
• It marks a major shift in the security landscape in northeastern Europe as it adds some 1,300 kilometers (830 miles) to the alliance’s frontier with Russia.

About NATO

• It is a military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April, 1949, by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
• There are currently 30 member states (Finland became 31^st).
• Its original members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium.
• Objectives of NATO
  • NATO’s essential and enduring purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of all its members by political and military means.
  • NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defense and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.

• Hyderabad-based National Geophysical Research Institute has found large deposits of 15 Rare Earth Elements (REE) in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district.
• REEs (aka rare earth oxides) are a group of 17 silvery-white soft heavy metals that occur together in periodic table.
• Group consists of yttrium and 15 lanthanide elements (lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium).
• REEs are all metals having many similar properties, and that often causes them to be found together in geologic deposits.
• REEs are used in high end technology, defence applications, electronic devices like cell-phones, computers, electric vehicle etc. because of their luminescent and catalytic properties.

Related news

• Scientists from Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar, have estimated the quantity of REEs that can be recovered from Red Mud.
• Red Mud is a toxic byproduct of aluminium extraction from bauxite ore using Bayer process.
• Red Mud contains REEs.
• There are two strategies to recover REEs from red mud:
  • extract only REEs or
  • extract all metals (such as iron, titanium, and sodium) including REEs.
• Earlier an estimated 9-million tonne reserve of lithium, a crucial mineral for the manufacturing of electric vehicles and solar panels, had been discovered in Reasi district of J&K by the Geological Survey of India (GSI).

• Even as the state has been witnessing steady rainfall since around March 20, the last month ended with 41 per cent rain deficit.
• As against the normal rainfall of 113.4 mm, the state received 66.8 mm rainfall from March 1 to March 31.
• While Sirmaur, Bilaspur and Solan received excess rainfall, Kangra, Hamirpur, Mandi, Una and Shimla recorded normal rainfall. However, Chamba, Kullu, Lahaul Spiti and Kinnaur recorded less rain than normal.
• The current precipitation, has, however, dragged down the maximum temperature even as minimum temperatures are normal. The average maximum temperature has slipped 6.9 degree below normal, with Una, Sundernagar, Chamba, Solan and Mandi recording a deviation of around 10 degree Celsius.

• Salim Durani, a former Indian cricketer known for his striking looks, humor, and ability to hit powerful sixes, passed away at the age of 88.
• Salim Durani, who was originally from Kabul, Afghanistan, was a talented cricketer known for his explosive batting and left-arm orthodox bowling.

• Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev claimed his fourth title of the year by defeating Jannik Sinner in a closely-contested final match in Miami Opens 2023.