About Purandar figs:

• Purandar’s figs, known to be one of India’s finest figs, are a GI commodity, known for their sweet taste, size, and nutritional benefits. 
• It is cultivated in many villages of Purandar talukin Pune district, Maharashtra.
• The agro-climatic factors such as dry weather, hilly slopes,well drained medium land are essential for Purandar Fig cultivation.
• Purandar has red and black soil that has high Calcium and Potassium content, which is responsible for the violet colour and size of the fig.
• It was awarded the GI Tag in 2016.
• Features:
  • Purandar fig is bell-shaped, larger in size than other varieties, and has a distinctive violet skin colour that differentiates itself from other varieties.
  • It has more than 80 percentpulp or edible part.
  • The pulp colour is pinkish red and is highly nutritious.
  • It is a rich source of vitamins and minerals.

What is the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)?

• APEDA was established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act of 1985.
• It works under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Objective: To develop and promote the export of scheduled products.
• The products specified under the APEDA ACT are called scheduled products, and exporters of such scheduled products are required to register under APEDA.
• It provides financial assistance, information, and guidelines for the development of scheduled products.
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Functions:
  • Setting the standards and specifications for the scheduled products.
  • Registration of exporters of the scheduled products on payment of required fees.
  • Improving packaging and marketing of the Scheduled products.
  • Carrying out an inspection of products to ensure the quality of such products.
  • Training in various aspects of the industries connected with the scheduled products.
  • Development of industries relating to the scheduled products and undertaking surveys, feasibility studies, etc.
  • Collection of statistics from the owners of factories or establishments and publication of such statistics.
• Examples of scheduled products: Fruits, Vegetable, Meat,Poultry, Dairy Products, Confectionery, Biscuits, Bakery Products, Honey, Jaggery, etc.

Q1: What is a Geographical Indication Tag?

Geographical Indication Tag is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. This is typically used for agricultural products, foodstuffs, wine and spirit drinks, handicrafts and industrial products. The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 seeks to provide for the registration and better protection of geographical indications relating to goods in India. This GI tag is valid for 10 years following which it can be renewed.

Source: India’s GI-tagged agro-product Figs juice exported first time to Poland

About National Film Awards:

• The National Film Awards were established in 1954, when the awards were given for the films of the year 1953.
• It aims at encouraging the production of films of aesthetic & technical excellence and social relevance and also to increase appreciation of different cultures and communities across India.
• The awards were initially called ‘State Awards’ and two President’s Gold Medals, two certificates of merit, and 12 silver medals for regional films were presented in the earlier years.
• The National Film Awards are given in three sections: Feature Films, Non-Feature Films, and Best Writing in Cinema.
• These awards have been administered by the Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.

Key points about the Directorate of Film Festivals

• It was set up under this Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in 1973.
• Objectives: Promotion of Indian films and cultural exchange through organization of various events in the country and participation in various International film festivals abroad.
• The Directorate of Film Festivals has been designated as Nodal Agency for scrutiny of applications received for financial assistance under the Film Promotion Fund.

Q1: What is a non-Feature Film?

A non-feature film, which may also be called a documentary, draws upon reality and presents a point of view about a certain topic.

Source: 70th National Film Awards | Rishab Shetty wins Best Actor for ‘Kantara,’ ‘Aattam’ bags Best Feature Film

About Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA):

• DGQA is an Inter-Service Organisation functioning under the Department of Defence Production in the Ministry of Defence.
• This organisation is more than a hundred years old and is responsible for second-party Quality Assurance (QA) of all defence stores and equipment, both imported as well as indigenous, for the Army, Navy (excluding Naval Armaments), and common user items for the Air Force procured from Private Sector, Public Sector Undertakings, and Ordnance Factories.
• DGQA approval implies that the products have been subjected to extensive testing, including simulations of extreme conditions.
• Apart from QA activities, the organisation is responsible for import substitution and associates with DRDO in the development projects.
• It also ensures Documentation, Codification and Standardisation Action for minimizing the variety of components/equipment. 
• The other services rendered are promotion of small-scale industries, post-procurement services,Defect Investigations and Technical Consultancy to the users, the Ministry and the production agencies.
• Organisational Structure:
  • DGQA Organisation is structured into eleven Technical Directorates, each responsible for a distinct range of equipment.
  • The Technical Directorates are structured in two tiers for functional purposes, comprising of Control lerates and Field Quality Assurance Establishments.
  • In addition, there are Proof Establishments in Armament Discipline for carrying out proof of weapons and ammunition.

What is Nipun Munition?

• Nipun is a soft-target munition designed and developed by the Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE), in association with the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune.
• NIPUN is highly user-friendly and deadly against the enemy.
• It is completely safe during handling, transportation, and laying.

Q1: What is the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)?

DRDO is the R&D wing of Ministry of Defence, Govt of India, with a vision to empower India with cutting-edge defence technologies and a mission to achieve self-reliance in critical defence technologies and systems, while equipping our armed forces with state-of-the-art weapon systems and equipment in accordance with requirements laid down by the three Services. DRDO was formed in 1958 by merging the then-existing Technical Development Establishment (TDEs) of the Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production (DTDP) with the Defence Science Organisation (DSO).

Source: DRDO hands over Authority Holding Sealed Particulars of ‘Nipun’ munition to Directorate General of Quality Assurance

About National Coal Index (NCI):

• The NCI is a price index which reflects the change in the price level of coal in a particular month relative to the fixed base year.
• NCI combines the prices of coal from all the sales channels-Notified Prices, Auction Prices, and Import Prices.
• It has been rolled out on 4th June 2020, and the aim is to have an index that will truly reflect the market price.
• The concept and design of the index as well as the representative prices have been developed by the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.
• It is released every month by the Ministry of Coal.
• The base year is FY 2017-18.
• The index is meant to encompass all transactions of raw coal in the Indian market.
• This includes coking and non-coking of various grades transacted in the regulated (power and fertilizer) and non-regulated sectors.
  • Washed coal and coal products are not included.
• The NCI's upward movement indicates rising demand for coal, which will encourage coal producers to take maximum benefit by further scaling-up domestic coal production to meet the growing energy demands.
• The downward trajectory of the NCI signifies a more equitable market, harmonizing supply and demand dynamics.

Q1: What is Coal?

Coal is a sedimentary deposit composed predominantly of carbon that is readily combustible. Coal is black or brownish-black, and has a composition that (including inherent moisture) consists of more than 50 percent by weight and more than 70 percent by volume of carbonaceous material. It is formed from plant remains that have been compacted, hardened, chemically altered, and metamorphosed by heat and pressure over geologic time.

Source: National Coal Index declines 3.48% in June 2024

About Guam Island:

• It is the largest, most populous, and southernmost of the Mariana Islands in the Northern Pacific Ocean.
• It is an island territory of the United States of America.
• It was a Spanish colony till 1898, then became a US territory after the Spanish-American War.
• Climate: has a pleasant tropical climate tempered by the northeast trade winds and the north equatorial ocean current that flows west across the Pacific.
• Native Guamanians, ethnically called Chamorros, are of basically Malayo-Indonesian descent with a considerable admixture of Spanish, Filipino, Mexican, and other European and Asian ancestries.
• Capital: The capital city is Hagatna.

Key facts about INS Shivalik

• It is the first stealth multi-role frigates built for the Indian Navy.
• It is built at the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL), located in Mumbai.
• It was commissioned into the Indian Navy on April 29, 2010.
• Features:
• Maximum Speed: 32 knots (59 km/h)
• It features improved stealth and land-attacking features over the preceding Talwar-class frigates. 
• It is also the first Indian Navy ship to use the CODOG propulsion system.
• It is equipped with a mix of Russian, Indian, and Western weapon systems.

Q1: What are Ocean currents?

These are horizontal flow of a mass of waters in a fairly defined direction over great distances. They are like stream of water (like rivers) flowing through the main body of the ocean in a regular pattern. Ocean currents (Avg speed 3.2 km to 10 kmph) with higher speed are called streams and currents with lower speed are called drifts.

Source: INS Shivalik reaches Guam, an island territory of the U.S.

About RISE Accelerator:

• The India Australia Rapid Innovation and Start-up Expansion (RISE) Accelerator is a bilateral program led by CSIRO and the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog.
• It addresses India and Australia’s shared challenges with a focus on environment and climate issues by supporting the expansion of innovative agritech solutions across borders.
• It was launched in 2023 - has been instrumental in supporting start-ups and MSMEs in validating, adapting, and piloting their technologies for new markets.
• The Rapid Innovation and Start-up Expansion (RISE) Accelerator programme is designed to support businesses aiming for international expansion between India and Australia.
• This marks a significant milestone in fostering innovations that address India and Australia’s most pressing shared challenges in the agriculture sector.
• The Climate Smart Agritech cohort of the RISE Accelerator will focus on
  • Start-ups and MSMEs with technologies and solutions that enhance agricultural productivity and resilience in the face of growing climate variability, resource scarcity and food insecurity.
  • The program is particularly interested in start-ups and MSMEs with solutions that prioritise farmer needs, priorities, and on-farm practices. 
  • Over the course of the nine months of the accelerator program, the selected start-ups and MSMEs will benefit from a blend of self-paced online learning and in-person sessions, including immersion weeks in both India and Australia.
  • The program will also involve field trials and technology pilot in the latter half.

Q1: What is Atal Innovation Mission?

It is the Government of India's flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country and was set up in 2016. Its objective is to create and promote an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship across the country at school, university, research institutions, MSME and industry levels.

Source: India Australia RISE Accelerator calls for Start-ups and MSMEs in Climate Smart Agritech

About Gross Environment Product Index:

• It is presented as a novel, integrative metric designed exclusively to evaluate ecological development caused by human interventions.
• It will be determined by the condition of four main constituents of the environment which are directly impacted by development activities including air and water quality, number of trees planted in a year and the measure of the area of organic soil.
• The formula is, GEP index = (Air-GEP index + Water-GEP index + Soil-GEP index + Forest-GEP index)
• It provides quantzierte assessments of improvements in air, water, soil, and forest quality. 
• Significance
  • It helps in assessing the impact of anthropological pressure on our ecosystem and natural resources.
  • It provides a robust and integrated method for assessing a state's ecological growth, capturing various facets of environmental well-being as a result of human actions

Q1: What is anthropology?

It studies human beings in aspects ranging from the biology and evolutionary history of Homo sapiens to the features of society and culture that decisively distinguish humans from other animal species.

Source: What is Gross Environment Product Index? Uttarakhand leads the way in eco-conservation