About Kui Language:

 

• Kui (also known as Kandh, Khondi, Khond, Khondo), is a South-Eastern Dravidian language spoken by the Kandha community. 
• It is primarily spoken in the state of Odisha. 
• It is closely related to other languages in the Dravidian family, such as Gondi and Kuvi. It was also referred to as the Kuinga language during the historical period.
• With 941,988 registered native speakers, it figures at rank 29 in the 1991 Indian census.
• Script: Kui is traditionally written using the Odia script, which is also used for writing the Odia language. 

 

8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution:

• It lists the official languages of India. 
• Although there are hundreds of languages spoken across the country, the eighth schedule recognises a total of 22 languages as the official languages. 
• Languages in 8th Schedule:
  • The 22 languages now included in the eighth section of the Constitution are, Manipuri, Maithili, Kashmiri, Hindi, Kannada, Gujarati, Konkani, Malayalam, Assamese, Marathi, Nepali, Bengali, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, Urdu, Bodo, Dogri, and Santhali.
  • Fourteen of these languages were originally listed in the Constitution. Sindhi was introduced in 1967, Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali in 1992, and Santali, Dogri, Maithili, and Bodo by the 92nd Amendment Act of 2003.

 

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Q1) Who are the Kandha community?

Khonds (also spelt Kondha and Kandha ) are an indigenous Adivasi tribal community in India.The Kandha is numerically the largest tribe of Orissa. They organize themselves into territorial clan groups. Each clan is strictly exogamous. Kondh clans can be divided into four functional groups, namely, mondal, bismajhi, jani and pujari.

Source: Inclusion of Kui Language in 8th Schedule of Constitution gets Odisha Cabinet nod

About Mukurthi National Park:

 

• Location: 
  • It lies in the western corner of Nilgiris Plateau in the state of Tamil Nadu.
  • The park is a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It is sandwiched between the Mudumalai National Park and the Silent Valley National Park.
  • The area was declared as a wildlife sanctuary in 1982 and upgraded to a National Park in 1990.
  • It was established with the prime motive of conserving its keystone species – the Nilgiri Tahr.
  • It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was formerly known as Nilgiri Tahr National Park. 
  • It is also home to Mukurthi Peak (2,554m), the fourth highest peak in the Nilgiri Hills. 
• Rivers: Pykara and Kundah rivers flow through the park along with several perennial streams that originate in the park and drain into the Bhavani Puzha.
• Vegetation: 
  • The majority of the landscape in the reserve is covered with shrubs and mountainous grasslands. 
  • The area in the National Park which are at an elevation and experience high rainfall are covered with sholas and lush green tropical grasslands.
• Flora: 
  • Along sholas, shrubs like Gaultheria fragrantissima, Helichrysum and Berberis tinctoria are found.
  • Other plants which can be seen here are Rhododendrons, Cinnamon, Mahonia, Satyrium, Raspberries etc.
• Fauna:The park houses some of the endangered wild species like Nilgiri tahr, Indian elephants, Nilgiri Langur, Bengal tiger and bonnet macaque.

 

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Q1) What are Keystone species?

A keystone species—which can be any organism, from animals and plants to bacteria and fungi—is the glue that holds a habitat together. It may not be the largest or most plentiful species in an ecological community, but if a keystone is removed, it sets off a chain of events that turns the structure and biodiversity of its habitat into something very different.

Source: T.N. Forest Department steps up vigil around Mukurthi National Park in Nilgiris to curb poaching

About Shelf Cloud:

 

• A “shelf cloud” or “Arcus cloud” generally forms along the leading edge of thunderstorms.
• It is a type of low-lying, horizontal cloud formation characterized by a clearly defined line of solid clouds.
• It is known for its distinctive wedge-shaped formation. They usually appear as a broad arc across the sky that can sometimes appear to be rotating horizontally.
• Formation: 
  • Shelf clouds form when cold and dense air is forced into a warmer air mass by wind.
  • This rush of cold air often occurs in a thunderstorm’s downdraught, where cold air rushes towards the ground before spreading out to create a gust front.
  • Shelf clouds produced by thunderstorms are always preceded by a rush of dry and cold air ahead of the cloud, with rain arriving after the shelf cloud has passed overhead.

 

What is a Thunderstorm?

• A thunderstorm is a rain shower during which you hear thunder. Since thunder comes from lightning, all thunderstorms have lightning.
• Formation:
  • Thunderstorms form when warm, moist air rises into cold air. 
  • The warm air becomes cooler, which causes moisture, called water vapor, to form small water droplets — a process called condensation.
  • The cooled air drops lower in the atmosphere, warms, and rises again.
  • This circuit of rising and falling air is called a convection cell. 
  • If this happens a small amount, a cloud will form. If this happens with large amounts of air and moisture, a thunderstorm can form.

 

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Q1) What is an Air Mass?

Air mass, in meteorology, is a large body of air having nearly uniform conditions of temperature and humidity at any given level of altitude. Such a mass has distinct boundaries and may extend hundreds or thousands of kilometers horizontally and sometimes as high as the top of the troposphere (about 10–18 km [6–11 miles] above the Earth’s surface).

Source: Terrifying 'Shelf Cloud' Reportedly Forms Over The Skies In Haridwar; WATCH Viral Video

About Project-75I:

 

• Under this, the Indian Navy will procure six advanced conventional submarines processed through the Strategic Partnership (SP) model.
• These will be diesel-electric submarines, having advanced Air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems.
• Project 75I requires an Indian bidder to tie up with a foreign collaborator and build six conventional submarines equipped with AIP systems.
• The first submarine must have a minimum of 45% indigenisation, with the indigenous content going up to 60% in the sixth.

 

What are the types of Submarines?

• Conventional or Diesel-electric submarine: They need atmospheric oxygen to run the diesel generator which in turn charges the batteries.
• Nuclear Submarine: It is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. They have considerable performance advantages over conventional submarines.

 

What is an Air-independent propulsion (AIP) System?

• With the emergence of submarines, there was a problem finding satisfactory forms of propulsion underwater.
• AIP is mostly implemented as an auxiliary source, with the traditional diesel engine handling surface propulsion.
• Most of these systems generate electricity, which in turn drives an electric motor for propulsion or recharges the boat’s batteries.
• A typical conventional power plant provides 3 megawatts maximum, and an AIP source around 10 percent of that. A nuclear submarine’s propulsion plant is much greater than 20 megawatts.
• Key features of the AIP system:
  • It allows the submarines to stay for longer hours in water. The submarines need to come to the surface of the water to charge their batteries. This is reduced by the AIP System.
  • It decreases the noise levels made by the submarines. This makes it hard to detect the submarines.
• Types of AIP: Open-cycle systems, Closed-cycle diesel engines, Closed-cycle steam turbines Stirling cycle engines and Fuel cells.

 

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Q1) What is the Strategic Partnership (SP) model?

The strategic partnership model seeks to identify a few Indian private companies as Strategic Partners who would initially tie up with a few shortlisted foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to manufacture big-ticket military platforms. In the initial phase, the selection of SPs would be confined to four segments: Fighter Aircraft, Helicopters, Submarines, and Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFV)/Main Battle Tanks (MBT).

Source: L&T, Nevantia join hands to bid for Indian Navy’s mega submarine acquisition programme

About Urban 20 (U20) Summit: 

 

• It is a city diplomacy initiative launched on December 12, 2017, at the One Planet Summit in Paris.
• It provides a platform for cities from G20 countries to facilitate discussions on various important issues of urban development including climate change, social inclusion, sustainable mobility, and affordable housing, and propose collective solutions.
• C40 Cities (C40) and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) convene the U20 under the leadership of a Chair city that rotates annually, based in the G20 host country.
• This year it was chaired by the City of Ahmedabad.
• The Communique was officially endorsed by 105 cities across the world, the highest ever number of endorsements received to date for any U20 Communiqué, and more than twice the number of endorsements for any previous communiqués.
• The Communiqué has been drafted as an action agenda for the six priorities identified collectively by U20 cities which include;
  • Encouraging environmentally responsible behaviours, accelerating climate finance, championing local culture and economy, ensuring water security, catalysing digital urban futures, and reinventing frameworks for urban planning and governance.

 

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Q1) What is Climate change?

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in global or regional climate patterns, primarily caused by human activities, especially the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere. These changes have significant impacts on the Earth's ecosystems, weather patterns, and human societies.

Source: Urban 20 (U20) Mayoral Summit concludes with handover of the Communiqué to G20 Leaders

Why in news?

 

• Over 450 women artisans and cultural practitioners from Lambani community inhabiting Karnataka came together to create embroidered patches with Sandur Lambani embroidery, creating 1,755 patchwork pieces.

 

About Lambani embroidery patches: 

• The Lambani embroidery is an intricate form of textile embellishment characterized by colourful threads, mirror-work and stitch patterns.
• It is practiced in several villages of Karnataka such as Sandur, Keri Tanda, Mariyammanahalli, Kadirampur etc.
• The Lambani craft tradition involves stitching together small pieces of discarded fabric to create a beautiful fabric. 
• This embroidery had also found a place in the list of products with Geographic Indication (GI) tag in the country.

 

Key Facts about Lambani People

• The Lambanis are also known as Banjaras and most of them are found in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states in South India.
• This community settled across the country with different names, have permanently abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and settled in their settlements called Tandas.
• They speak Gor Boli also called Lambadi which belongs to the Indo-Aryan Group of Languages. Lambadi has no script.
• They celebrate the festival of Teej during Shravanam (in the month of august). In this festival young unmarried Banjara girls pray for a good groom.
• Fire dance and Chari are the traditional dance forms of the banjara people.

 

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Q1) What is Embroidery?

Embroidery is the art or craft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread. It involves creating decorative designs, patterns, or images by stitching various types of stitches onto a base fabric. Embroidery can be done by hand or by using specialized sewing machines.

Source: At G20 meet, a Guinness effort to shine light on Karnataka’s Lambani craft

About Candida auris: 

 

• It is a multi-drug resistant fungus that is capable of causing invasive infections in the human body.
• It was first identified in Japan in 2009
• The fungus has been reported in more than 40 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia.
• How is it contracted?
  • It is primarily contracted in healthcare settings such as hospitals and nursing homes.
  • It is generally thought to be spread through contact with contaminated surfaces or by person-to-person transmission.
  • The fungus can either colonize a specific region of the body, such as the skin, rectum, or mouth, without causing symptoms or it can cause severe invasive infections by entering the bloodstream or wounds.
• Symptoms
  • Its symptoms are often similar to those of other common diseases, such as fever and chills that do not go away after treatment with antibiotics.
• Treatment
  • It is resistance to multiple classes of antifungal drugs.
  • This makes treatment challenging and often requires the use of combination therapies.
  • Antifungal drugs called echinocandins are used to treat this infection;

 

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Q1) What is Fungus?

Fungus, also known as fungi (plural), is a diverse group of organisms that belong to their own kingdom called Fungi. Fungi are eukaryotic microorganisms that can be found in various environments, including soil, water, air, and on plants or animals. They play crucial roles in ecosystems as decomposers, symbiotic partners, and pathogens.

Source: Evidence of superbug found in Delhi's stray dogs

About eDAR Project: 

 

• The Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) / e-Detailed Accident Report (eDAR) Project is an initiative of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Government of India and is funded by World Bank.
• Objective: The project aims to develop an Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD), to enrich the accident databases from every parts of the country.
• The project would generate various types of insights by analyzing the collected road accident data across the country through implementation of data analytics technique.

 

How it works?

• The mobile application will enable police personnel to enter details about a road accident, along with photos and videos, following which a unique ID will be created for the incident.
• Subsequently, an engineer from the Public Works Department or the local body will receive an alert on his mobile device.
• He or she will then visit the accident site, examine it, and feed the required details, such as the road design.
• Data thus collected will be analysed by a team at IIT-M, which will then suggest if corrective measures in road design need to be taken.

 

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Q1) What is the role of World Bank?

The World Bank's primary goal is to reduce poverty and promote sustainable economic development. It aims to help countries achieve sustainable economic growth, improve living standards, and invest in human capital.

Source: App with live heatmaps to help reduce road fatalities