Facts in News
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North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited
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- Recently, The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a revival package of Rs.77.45 crore for the revival of North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited (NERAMAC)
Benefits of the revival
- Remunerative prices to the farmers of the North Eastern Region (NER )will be ensured for their products.
- It will help NERAMAC to implement various innovative plans namely providing better farming facilities, training to farmers in clusters, organic seeds and fertilizer, post-harvesting facilities in order to promote the products of NE farmers in the world market through participation in events, registration of Geographical Indications(GI) products etc.
- It will generate employment both directly and indirectly in the farming sector, projects and events management sector, logistics, sorting & grading and value addition, entrepreneurship and marketing.
About NERAMAC
- It is a central Public Section Enterprises under the administrative control of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Regional (MDoNER).
- It was set up to support farmers/producers of North East getting remunerative prices for their produce and thereby bridge the gap between the farmers and the market
- It also enhances the agricultural, procurement, processing and marketing infrastructure of the Northeastern Region of India.
- The authorised capital of the Corporation is Rupees 1000 Lakh and the paid-up Capital is Rupees 762 Lakh.
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International Bullion Exchange
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- Recently, the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) launched the pilot run for the International Bullion Exchange.
- It is scheduled to go live on October 1, 2021, the Foundation Day of IFSCA.
International Bullion Exchange.
- It is a precious metals dealer with an established reputation as a trusted and dedicated resource for people wanting to diversify their holdings with intelligent precious metals and diamond investments.
- It shall be the “Gateway for Bullion Imports into India”, wherein all the bullion imports for domestic consumption shall be channelized through the exchange.
- The exchange ecosystem is expected to bring all the market participants to a common transparent platform for bullion trading.
- It will provide efficient price discovery, assurance in the quality of gold, enable greater integration with other segments of financial markets and help establish India’s position as a dominant trading hub in the World
International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA)
- It was established on April 27, 2020, under the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019.
- It is headquartered at GIFT City, Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
- Role of IFSCA
- The IFSCA is a unified authority for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in India.
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Wanchuwa Festival
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About
- The Wanchuwa festival is one of the most important celebrations in the life of the Tiwa tribe of Assam living in the hills because of its connection with agriculture, the mainstay of their economy.
- The Wanchuwa festival is usually marked by the sacrifice of a pig and prayers being offered for a bountiful harvest and as well as protection from pests and natural calamities.
Tiwas
- The Tiwas or Lalungs are a culturally rich tribal community inhabiting the northeast Indian states of Assam and Meghalaya.
- They are also found in some parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. They are recognized as a Scheduled tribe within the State of Assam.
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UNITE AWARE Platform
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- India will launch ‘UNITE AWARE’, a mobile tech platform for the United Nations Peacekeepers to improve their safety and security in the line of duty.
About
- The launch of the UNITE AWARE platform came as India assumed the Presidency of the 15-nation UN Security Council for the month of August.
- India has developed the technology platform in partnership with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Operational Support.
UNITE Aware
- It is a situational awareness software programme that utilises modern surveillance technology for real-time threat assessments to peacekeepers.
- This initiative is based on the expectation that an entire peacekeeping operation can be visualized, coordinated, and monitored on a real-time basis.
- It can also record data on critical incidents and events and follow daily operational activities.
- The platform will be deployed initially in four UN Peacekeeping Missions: MINUSMA (Mali), UNMISS (South Sudan), UNFICYP (Cyprus) and AMISOM (Somalia).
- India has contributed USD 1.64 million to this project.
UN Peacekeepers
- UN peacekeepers (often referred to as Blue Berets or Blue Helmets because of their light blue berets or helmets) can include soldiers, police officers, and civilian personnel.
- Peacekeeping forces are contributed by member states on a voluntary basis. The civilian staff of peace operations are international civil servants, recruited and deployed by the UN Secretariat.
- UN peacekeepers provide security and political and peacebuilding support to help countries make the difficult, early transition from conflict to peace.
- India’s Contribution:
- India is one of the major troop-contributing countries to the UN’s peacekeeping.
- It has contributed more than 250,000 troops in 49 UN peacekeeping Missions in which 175 of its peacekeepers laid down their lives.
- In 2007, India became the first country to deploy an all-women contingent to a UN peacekeeping mission.
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Adi Cascade Frog
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- A team of researchers have discovered a new species of cascade frog in Arunachal Pradesh.
- It has been named after the indigenous Adi tribe and the hills they inhabit.
About the Species
- Discovered on the Adi hills in Arunachal Pradesh.
- Scientific Name: Amolops Adicola
- The genus Amolops is one of the largest groups of ranid frogs (family Ranidae) with currently 73 known species that are widely distributed across Northeast and North India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, through Indochina, to the Malaya Peninsula.
- Cascade frogs are named so because of their preference for small waterfalls or cascades in flowing hill streams.
Image Courtesy: IE
Adi Tribe
- The Adi tribe are one of the most populous groups of indigenous peoples in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
- The Adi tribe is believed to have come from southern China in the 16th century.
- They speak the Tibeto-Burman language speaking population.
- They reside in the far north inhabiting the East Siang and Lower Dibang Valley districts of Arunachal Pradesh.
- The Adis are experts at making cane and bamboo items.
- Solung (harvesting festival where animal sacrifices and rituals are performed) and Aran ( a hunting festival where all the male members of the family go for hunting) are two major festivals of the Adi tribes.
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Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary
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- It is a wildlife sanctuary on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra in Morigaon district in Assam, India.
- It was declared a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1987.
- It holds one of the largest Indian rhinoceros populations in the world and is often called ‘Mini Kaziranga’ due to its similar landscape and vegetation.
- Pobitora is running a successful Rhino breeding program within its sanctuary.
- It is running under the Indian Government as “Indian Rhino vision 2020”.
- It is also home to more than 2000 migratory birds and various reptiles and also an Important Bird Area.
Image Courtesy: researchgate
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