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■ Places, Species, Other names in News (July 2022): (Part - 2) □ Other names: ● HIMARS rocket - High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is a multiple launch rocket system of the USA. ● Toda tribes - Toda Tribes mainly live in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil nadu. Toda tribe is one of the 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India. ● Rohini Commission - The Justice Rohini commission was set up on October 2, 2017 under Article 340 of the Indian Constitution. • It was tasked with sub-categorisation of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and equitable distribution of 27% benefits reserved for them. ● Kapur Commission - It was set up in 1966 to investigate the conspiracy behind the murder of Mahatma Gandhi. ● Article 44 - The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizen a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India. ● Intestacy and Succession, Wills, Joint Family and Partition and Marriage and Divorce - Entry 5 of List-III-Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. ● Right to food - It's a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution. ● G20 countries : Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. ● R M Lodha Committee - The Supreme Court appointed the committee in January 2015 to look into the functioning of the Indian board and suggest changes to its constitution. (To reform cricket administration). ● Anil Kakodkar Committee - The Ministry of Railways appointed a High Level Safety Review Committee in 2012 under the chairmanship of Dr. Anil Kakodkar to review the safety of the Indian Railways and recommend improvements. ● Changzheng 2 - Chinese nuclear powered submarine. ● INS Dunagiri - It's a Project 17A frigate.

Places, Species, Other names in News (July 2022): (Part - 1) □ Places: ● Dal lake - Jammu & Kashmir. ● Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary - Kerala. ● Malana Hydroelectric project - It is situated on the Malana nallah, a tributary of the Parvati river in Himachal Pradesh. ● Konark Sun temple - It was built in 1244 or 1250 AD by King Narasimhadeva I (1238-1264 AD) of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. The temple is in Odisha. It was declared as UNESCO's World Heritage Site in 1984. It is also known as Black Pagoda. The temple is known for its impressive Kalinga architecture. Its 24 wheels are decorated with symbolic designs and it is led by a team of 6 horses. ● Ukraine 🇺🇦 - Its capital is Kyiv. Ukraine borders with 7 countries. They are Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Russia, and Belarus. It also has a maritime border in the Black Sea where Ukraine has an Exclusive Economic Zone, and Azov Sea. ● Finland 🇫🇮 - Its capital is Helsinki. It shares borders with Russia, Sweden and Norway. ● Gulf of Oman - It connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then empties into the Persian Gulf. The Gulf of Oman is bordered by Pakistan and Iran in the north; by the United Arab Emirates in the west and by Oman in the south. ● Pilikula biological Park - Karnataka. ● Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park - West Bengal. ● Singalila National Park - West Bengal. ● Neora Valley National Park - West Bengal. ● Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary - Kerala. ● Kuno National Park - Madhya Pradesh. ● Karikili Bird Sanctuary, Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest, Pichavaram Mangrove - Tamil Nadu. ● Pala wetland - Mizoram. ● Sakhya Sagar wetland - Madhya Pradesh. ● Manas Tiger Reserve - Assam. ● Varanasi - It has been selected as the SCO region's first “Cultural and Tourism Capital”. □ Species: ● Weaver Ants - Oecophylla smaragdina. ● Chenkurinji tree (Gluta travancorica) - It is endemic to the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve. It belongs to Anacardiaceae family. ● Ariosoma albimaculata(white spotted stout conger) - This eel species is distributed along the south west coast of India, so far only in the coastal waters of Kanniyakumari. It is the eighth species of congrid eels to be documented in Indian waters ● Red panda (Ailurus fulgens) listed as "Endangered" in IUCN Red List. ● Snow leopard (Panthera uncia) - Vulnerable in IUCN Red List, Schedule 1 species of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. ● Light-mantled Albatross (Phoebetria palpe brate) - The bird species is native to the Antarctic seas. ● Malabar pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus) - It is endemic to low-elevation riparian forests. □ Other names: ● Census - Union list. ● Rampa Rebellion (Manyam Rebellion) - The Rampa Rebellion, also known as the Manyam Rebellion, was a tribal uprising, led by Alluri Sitarama Raju in Godavari Agency of Madras Presidency, British India. It began in August 1922 and lasted until the capture and killing of Raju in May 1924. ● Kai chutney - It is a popular in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district. It is made by Weaver Ants (Oecophylla smaragdina). Kai (Read Weaver Anat). ● Champaran Satyagraha (1917) - It was a peasants uprising, led by Mahatma Gandhi in the Champaran district of Bihar. It is the first Satyagraha led by Gandhi. ● Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) - It is a carbon pricing system by European Union proposed for imports into the EU. • The CBAM suggests taxing the imported goods based difference between carbon used in the production of domestic and imported goods. • The EU claims that CBAM is intended to reduce carbon leakage, create a level playfield for EU producers and encourage producers in other countries to adopt cleaner technologies.

📰 10 more Indian wetlands sites get Ramsar tag, number rises to 64: • India has added 10 more Ramsar sites, or wetlands that are of international importance, taking the number of such sites to 64. • The 10 new sites — six in Tamil Nadu and one each in Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha — encompass an area of 1,51,842.41 hectares, bringing India’s total wetland area to 1.2 million hectares. • Koothankulam Bird Sanctuary, Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve, Vembannur Wetland Complex, Vellode Bird Sanctuary, Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary and Udhayamarthandapuram Bird Sanctuary - Tamil Nadu. • Satkosia Gorge - Odisha. • Nanda Lake - Goa. • Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary - Karnataka. • Sirpur Wetland - Madhya Pradesh. • Wetlands are also known to have among the highest soil-carbon densities and therefore play a major role in buffering carbon dioxide emissions. • According to the Environment Ministry, Wetlands are an “area of marsh, fen, peatland or water; whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres, but does not include river channels, paddy fields, human-made water bodies/ tanks specifically constructed for drinking water purposes and structures specifically constructed for aquaculture, salt production, recreation and irrigation purposes”. • To be a Ramsar site, however, it must meet at least one of the nine criteria as defined by the Ramsar Convention of 1971 such as supporting Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically endangered species or Threatened ecological communities or, if it regularly supports 20,000 or more waterbirds or, is an important source of food for fishes, Spawning ground, Nursery and/or Migration path on which fish stocks are dependent upon. • Ramsar wetlands now comprise around 10% of the total wetland area in the country. • The National Wetland Inventory and Assessment compiled by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), estimates India’s wetlands to span around 1,52,600 square kilometres, which is 4.63% of the total geographical area of the country. • A little over two-fifths are inland natural wetlands and about a quarter are coastal wetlands. • India has 19 types of wetlands. • Gujarat has the maximum area followed by Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

📰 RBI raises rates, vows nimble policy: • With inflation remaining at ‘elevated levels’, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India unanimously decided to raise the policy repo rate by 50 basis points (bps) to 5.4%. □ What is Repo rate? • Repo rate is the interest rate at which the central bank of a country (Reserve Bank of India in case of India) lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds. • Repo rate is used by monetary authorities to control inflation. • In the event of inflation, central banks increase repo rate as this acts as a disincentive for banks to borrow from the central bank. • This ultimately reduces the money supply in the economy and thus helps in arresting inflation. 📰 Miyawaki forest flourishes in Dindigul: • “The Miyawaki forest developed near Ponnimanthurai in Dindigul is the fourth mega project of Dindi-Ma-Vanam, a voluntary organisation,” said M. Rajaram, the organisation’s core member. • Miyawaki forest is a successful type of closed plantation proposed by Akira Miyawaki, a Japanese botanist, to combat environmental issues caused by urbanisation. • The model involves planting saplings in a tight space which when planted after proper pit preparation and planning, will emerge as a mini forest in a surprisingly quick time. • Planting native varieties is an essential component of the forest model. • Mr Miyawaki calls the model as an ‘oxygen bomb’ as it caters to the need of the urban population. • The temperature will be cooler in the region thereby helping in the fight against climate change. • Reducing air pollution, acting as a home to birds and insects, increasing groundwater levels etc are a few advantages of this genius concept. • The quickest feature of this concept is that trees in Miyawaki forests grow 10 times faster than the trees planted in a regular manner and turn self-sustainable after a year of maintenance. 📰 Centre launches software to enrol names in ration cards: • The Centre has launched a common facility to register names in ration cards on a pilot basis for 11 States and Union Territories. • Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey told reporters on Friday, that the facility will enable these States to identify and verify the eligible beneficiaries, for coverage under the National Food Security Act. • Named as Ration Mitr, this software developed by the National Informatics Centre, can be used to enrol people of any State in ration cards from anywhere in the country. • He said the portal is only an enabler for States/UTs to complete their inclusion exercise under NFSA. • He added that the scheme will be extended to other States by the end of August. • The NFSA provides food security coverage for a maximum of 81.35 crore persons in the country. • The present NFSA coverage at the national level is about 79.74 crore against the total ceiling limit of 81.35 crore.