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🐢 Asian Giant Tortoise: • Asian Giant Tortoise (Manouria emys phayrei). • It is classified as "Critically Endangered" in the IUCN Red List.

🗞 India pushes for new biodiversity fund: • Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR) was established as the seventh principle of the Rio Declaration adopted at the Earth Summit in 1992. • CBDR is defined as states have common but differentiated responsibilities in view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation. https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/cop15-india-pushes-for-new-dedicated-fund-for-biodiversity-conservation/article66277386.ece

🗞 Missile destroyer INS Mormugao commissioned into Indian Navy: • INS Mormugao, the second of four ‘Visakhapatnam’-class destroyers (also classed as P-15B stealth, guided-missile destroyers) was commissioned into Indian Navy. It was indigenously designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau. • The warship, christened after the historic port city in the coastal State of Goa, was built by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDSL). • The INS Mormugao was launched in September 2016 and commenced her sea trials on December 19, 2021, coinciding with 60 years of Goa’s Liberation from Portuguese rule. Her commissioning coincides with the day that ‘Operation Vijay’ was launched in 1961 to free Goa from Portuguese rule. • The contract for construction of four ships under Project-15B was signed in January 2011 at a project cost of about 29,643.74 crore. • The design of the ships has been developed in house by the Directorate of Naval Design and constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd., Mumbai. • They are a follow-on of the Kolkata class destroyers and named after major cities from all four corners of the country Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Surat. • INS Visakhapatnam, was commissioned in 2021. INS Imphal and INS Surat are at various stages of outfitting and trials. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/stealth-guided-missile-destroyer-mormugao-commissioned-into-indian-navy/article66277565.ece

⚽ FIFA World Cup 2022: •  Argentina won its third World Cup title by beating France 4-2 in a penalty shootout after a 3-3 draw. • Argentina has already won two FIFA World Cups (1978 & 1986). • Golden Boot Award: Kylian Mbappe (France). • Golden Ball Award: Lionel Messi (Argentina). • Golden Glove Award: Emiliano Martinez (Argentina). • FIFA Young Player Award: Enzo Fernandez (Argentina).

🗞 UN ranks ‘Namami Gange’ among Top 10 World Restoration Flagship programmes: • The National Mission for Clean Ganga initiative, also called as Namami Gange initiative has been recognised by the United Nations (UN) as one of the Top 10 World Restoration Flagships programmes aimed at reviving the natural world. • The award was received by G. Asok Kumar, the Director General of the Namami Gange project during a function at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) in Montreal, Canada on 14th December 2022, the World Restoration Day. • These initiatives were selected under the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global movement coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). • It is designed to prevent and reverse the degradation of natural spaces across the planet. • The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has previously won the "Public Water Agency of the Year" in the Global Water Awards, 2019 by Global Water Intelligence 3. • The documentary 'Ganga: River from the Skies' co-produced with National Geographic India, has also received awards under three categories- Best Documentary, Best Current Affairs and Best Natural History or Wildlife Programme- in the Asian Academy Creative Awards, 2022. □ About Namami Gange Programme: • Namami Gange Programme is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as a ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in June 2014 to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution and conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga. • It's a Central sector scheme (fully funded by the Union Government). • It is being operated under the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti. • The program is being implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and its state counterpart organizations i.e State Program Management Groups (SPMGs). • Namami Gange Programme was started in June 2014 to rejuvenate River Ganga and committed over 5 billion dollars to ensure that the river gets clean. • The river Ganga is important for India as it is home to 40 per cent of India's population, 2500 species of flora and fauna and 8.61 billion sq. km. basin, which is home to over 520 million people. • NMCG has been celebrating Ganga Utsav since 2017 every year on 4th November, the day on which river Ganga was declared the National River of India in the year 2008.

🗞 Success rate of startups in India higher than in other countries: Piyush Goyal: • The success rate of startups in India was much higher than in other countries of the world, and the number of startups in the country had increased from 452 in 2016 to 84,012 till November 2022. • In order to boost the startup ecosystem, the government had launched the Startup India initiative on January 16, 2016, and put in place an action plan for the same. • The Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) and the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS), were the schemes which extended support to startups at various stages in their business cycle. • The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme was approved for four years starting 2021-22 and is being implemented with a corpus of ₹945 crore. It is aimed at providing financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialisation. https://www.thehindu.com/business/success-rate-of-startups-in-india-relatively-higher-than-rest-of-world-piyush-goyal/article66261888.ece

🗞 Geographical Indication tag sought for Beypore Uru: • The Geographical Indication tag sought for Kerala's Beypore Uru. • It is a wooden dhow (ship / sailing boat / sailing vessel) handcrafted by skilled artisans and carpenters in Beypore, Kerala. • The Beypore Urus are purely made of premium wood, without using any modern techniques. • The wood used to build the Uru is still sawed the traditional way which requires immense expertise. It takes anywhere between 1-4 years to build each Uru and the entire process is done manually. • The history of Khalasis, skilled natives engaged in launching the Uru boats at Beypore, dates back to 2000 years. Hence, based on the above discussion on the historical origin and historical records of the Beypore Urus, it can be concluded that this traditional handicraft has been in existence for 2000 years. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/geographical-indication-tag-sought-for-beypore-uru/article66263585.ece

🗞 Open sea cage fish farming to be introduced in Tirunelveli district: • ‘Open Sea Cage’ culture involves growing fishes in the sea in natural conditions while being enclosed in a net cage which allows the free flow of seawater into the cage. • It is a fish production system comprising a floating frame of varying dimensions and shape, net materials and mooring system to hold and culture a large number of fishes. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/open-sea-cage-fish-farming-to-be-introduced-in-tirunelveli-district/article66262411.ece

🗞 Forest department launches ‘Vanikaran’ project to restore natural vegetation: • The Forest department in association with Noolpuzha grama panchayat has launched the ‘Vanikaran’ (afforestation) project to root out invasive plants, especially Senna spectabilis, and restore natural forests. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/forest-department-launches-vanikaran-project-to-restore-natural-vegetation/article66247671.ece

■ India's 1st suicide prevention policy: • The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 21st November announced a National Suicide Prevention Strategy, the first of its kind in the country, with time bound action plans and multi-sectoral collaborations to achieve reduction in suicide mortality by 10% by 2030. • The strategy broadly seeks to establish effective surveillance mechanisms for suicide within the next 3 years, establish psychiatric outpatient departments that will provide suicide prevention services through the District Mental Health Programme in all districts within the next five years, and to integrate a mental well-being curriculum in all educational institutions within the next eight years. • It envisages developing guidelines for responsible media reporting of suicides, and restricting access to means of suicide. • The strategy is in line with the WHO’s South East-Asia Region Strategy for suicide prevention. • Globally, suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15 to 29 year olds and also the second leading cause of death for females aged 15 to 19 years, as per WHO estimates. • September 10 - World Suicide prevention Day. □ Suicides in India: • In India, more than one lakh lives are lost every year to suicide, and it is the top killer in the 15-29 years category. • India’s contribution to global suicides increased from 25.3% in 1990 to 36.6% in 2016 among women, and from 18.7% to 24.3% among men. • In the past three years, the suicide rate has increased from 10.2 to 11.3 per 1,00,000 population. • The most common reasons for suicide include family problems and illnesses, which account for 34% and 18% of all suicide-related deaths • As per National Crime Records Bureau statistics, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka have the highest percentage share of suicides (2018-2020), ranging between 8% to 11%. • Importantly, the document notes that contrary to belief, the majority of suicides are preventable.

📰 ISRO inks MoU to establish Space Tech Innovation Network: • The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has signed an MoU with Social Alpha, a multistage innovation curation and venture development platform for science and technology start-ups, to launch Space Tech Innovation Network (SpIN). • SpIN is India's first dedicated platform for innovation, curation, and venture development for the burgeoning space entrepreneurial ecosystem. • The space agency said that the tie-up is a one of a kind public-private collaboration for start-ups and SMEs in the space industry.

📰 'India will require 1 lakh drone pilots by next year': • India will become a hub of drone technology and would require at least one lakh drone pilots by next year, Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister for Informa- tion and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs and Sports, has said. • The Minister inaugurated a drone yatra organised by the Chennai-headquartered start-up Garuda Aerospace. He said each pilot would earn at least ₹50,000 to ₹80,000 a month. • Detailing the advancements in drone technology in India, the Minister said during the Beating Retreat, the entire nation was mesmerised by the spectacular display of 1,000 'Made in India' drones, by Indian start-up 'Botlab Dynamics'. • As a part of the SWAMITVA scheme (Survey of villages and mapping with improvised technology), the survey of the land and houses were being prepared through drones in the villages. Drones are increasingly being used to sprinkle pesticides and nano fertilizers in the fields. • Garuda Aerospace made an announcement about India's first Drone Skilling and Training Virtual E-Learning Platform at its Chennal manu- facturing facility. • Garuda Aerospace's drone yatra, 'Operation 777' will educate and demonstrate the efficacy of drones for agricultural purposes across 777 districts in India. □ About SWAMITVA scheme: • SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) scheme is a Central Sector Scheme of Ministry of Panchayati Raj. • It was launched nationwide by the Hon'ble Prime Minister on National Panchayati Raj Day, 24th April 2021 after successful completion of pilot phase of scheme (2020-2021) in 9 states. • It aims for the establishment of clear ownership of property in rural inhabited (Abadi) areas, by mapping of land parcels using drone technology and providing ‘Record of Rights’ to village household owners with issuance of legal ownership cards (Property cards/Title deeds) to the property owners.