Facts in News

Facts in News

Jiyo Parsi Scheme

• The scheme resulted in a rise in the number of births in the Parsi community.
• It was formulated by the Ministry of Minority Affairs in September 2013.
• Objective: To reverse the declining trend of Parsi population by adopting a scientific protocol and structured interventions to  stabilize their population and increase the population of Parsis in India.
  • The scheme is meant for the notified minority community i.e. Parsi/Zoroastrian only.
  • Under the scheme, medical assistant for Assisted Reproductive Treatments are provided, 
• India’s Parsi-Zoroastrian population has been falling every decade since 1941. Between the 2001 and 2011 censuses, their numbers fell from 69,000 to 57,000. 

Anchor Investors

• The Government plans to bring in anchor investors to invest up to ?25,000 crore in the shares of Life Insurance Corporation  of India (LIC) in its planned mega initial public offering (IPO).
• Anchor investor is a concept launched by Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in 2009. 
• They are institutional investors who are invited to subscribe the shares before the Initial Public Offers (IPOs).
• They are required to take up the share at a fixed price to make other investors confident and improve the demand of the share.
  •  This process also helps to improve the investment opportunity for retail investors with the company.
• Each anchor investor needs to invest a minimum of Rs 10 crore in the issue.
• The anchor investor who applies for the anchor quota surely gets a guaranteed allotment.

• They are able to make an offer of shares anywhere.
  •  It is to be noted that it should be within the price band which is declared by the company
• There is a lock-in of 30 days on shares for every anchor investor
  • The anchor investor is not allowed to sell his/her share for at least 30 days after the allotment. 
  • Investors who want to flip shares on the listing are advised not to use this anchor route.

• Allocation to anchor investors is done on a discretionary basis for IPOs above ?250 crore. 

UN Security Council (UNSC)

• Recently, the 75th session of the General Assembly was held  in New York to elect five new non-permanent members to the Security Council.

• UNSC is one of the UN’s six main organs and is aimed at maintaining international peace and security.
• It held its first session on 17th January 1946 in Westminster, London.
• Headquarter: New York City.
• Membership:
  • Permanent Members:
    • The USA, the UK, Russia, China and France, are permanent members (P-5).
    • They have veto rights.

• Non-permanent Members:
  • Each year the General Assembly elects five non-permanent members (out of 10 in total) for a two-year term.
  • Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were elected by the 75th?session of the General Assembly  to serve as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for the 2022-2023 term.The newly elected five will join India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway, the other non-permanent members
  • Non-permanent members do not have veto rights.

• Functions:
  • To maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the UN.
  • To help parties reach an agreement through mediation, appointing special envoys, dispatching a mission or requesting the UN to settle the dispute.
  • Responds to crises and takes action based on options that do not involve armed force.
  • To call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression.
  • However, Chapter VII of the UN charter allows the council to authorise the use of force “to maintain or restore international peace and security”.
  • To recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and, together with the Assembly, to elect the Judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Bharitalasuchus Tapani

Recently, researchers from the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata have thrown light on a carnivorous reptile that lived 240 million years ago.

• The specimens have been found in the rocks of the Yerrapalli Formation in what is now Telangana.
• Scientific Name: Bharitalasuchus tapani
  • In Telugu, Bhari means huge, Tala means head, and Suchus is the name of the Egyptian crocodile-headed deity.
  • The species is named after paleontologist Tapan Roy Chowdhury in honour of his contribution to Indian vertebrate paleontology and especially his extensive work on the Yerrapalli Formation tetrapod fauna.
• It belongs to a genus and species previously unknown to science and to a family of extinct reptiles named Erythrosuchidae.
  • The first Erythrosuchidae remains were discovered in South Africa in 1905 and more were found in China and Russia.
  • The South African one is about 245 million years old, while the ones from China and Russia are around 240 million years old and the Indian fossil is one of the youngest.
• These were robust animals with big heads and large teeth probably predated other smaller reptiles.
• They were approximately the size of an adult male lion and might have been the largest predators in their ecosystems.
• Tooth marks have been found in its first trunk vertebra, which indicates that a smaller animal took a bite probably after the death of the specimen.
  • This gives a nice example of evidence of biological interaction that occurred 240 million years ago.

(Image Courtesy: TH)

Rosewood

Recently, steep demand in the international market for musical instruments and furniture fashioned out of rosewood has increased its widespread illegal felling.

• Scientific Name: Dalbergia latifolia
• Habitat and Distribution
  • It occurs in evergreen or deciduous tropical or subtropical forests with deep, well-drained and moist soils, within an elevational range of 300 to 1,000 m above sea level.
  • It is native to India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Java and Indonesia.
• Features
  • It is a large hardwood tree that can grow up to 40 meter tall.
  • It is highly utilised as a timber species and is renowned for the colour and fragrance of its wood.
  • It is particularly prized for making musical instruments (e.g. guitars), furniture, veneer, flooring, plywood, carvings, and moulding. 
• Threats
  • Timber is of high commercial value and wild subpopulations are widely overexploited. 
  • Continued deforestation across its range due to human settlement and agriculture.
  • Although it is grown in commercial plantations, its slow growth rate and long rotation period make it difficult for plantations to meet demand for the timber.
• Conservation Efforts
  • It is protected under the Indian Forest Act, 1927 with the export of logs or sawn timber being banned.
  • The Kerala Restriction on Cutting and Destruction of Valuable Trees Rules, 1974, does not allow cutting of rosewood that has not attained a girth at breast height (GBH) of 2.5 metres.
• Protection Status
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
  • CITES: Appendix II

(Image Courtesy: TH)

Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) Challenge

Recently, the Defence Minister of India has approved the budgetary support of Rs. 498.8 crore to iDEX challenge for the next five years.

• It is funded and managed by a Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) formed as a not for profit company as per Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013.
• It was established by the Department of Defence Production (DDP).
• Aims
  • To promote innovation and indigenisation in the aerospace and defence sector at the start-up level.
  • To provide financial support to start-ups, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), individual innovators and partner incubators.
• India is the world’s largest defence equipment importer and is expected to spend around USD 220 billion in the coming decade to modernize its armed forces.
• In recent years, the government of India has initiated various schemes like Make In India, Startup India, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), etc. to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in the Indian commercial ecosystem.