About Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR):

• It refers to the proportion of highly liquid assetsheld by financial institutions to ensure that they maintain an ongoing ability to meet their short-term obligations (i.e., cash outflows for 30 days). 
  • 30 days was selected because, in a financial crisis, a response from governments and central banks would typically take around 30 days.
• It is intended to make surethat banks and financial institutions have a sufficient level ofcapital to ride out any short-term disruptions to liquidity. 
• LCR in banking resulted from the Basel III agreement, which is a series of measures undertaken by the Basel Committee on Bank Supervision(BCBS).
• In India, RBI issued Basel III liquidity guidelines in 2012.
• RBI implemented LCR in January 2015, and as per a circular in 2020, banks should maintain sufficient HQLA at all times to meet unexpected withdrawals.
• Calculation:
  • LCR = (High Quality Liquid Assets (HQLA)) / (Total net cash outflows over the next 30 calendar days)
  • Every asset that can be easily and instantly converted into cash at minimum or no cost of value is a HQLA.
  • These assets include cash, reserves with central banks, and central government bonds, which can easily be converted into cash. 
  • In India, all Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) eligible assets, which need to be maintained by the banks as per the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, are permitted to be considered HQLA under LCR requirements if they are in excess. This helps maintain and optimise both liquidity requirements.

Q1: What is Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)?

Statutory Liquidity Ratio or SLR is a minimum percentage of deposits that a commercial bank has to maintain in the form of liquid cash, gold or other securities. It is basically the reserve requirement that banks are expected to keep before offering credit to customers. These are not reserved with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), but with banks themselves. The SLR is fixed by the RBI.

Source: Banking Central | RBI’s proposed norms on LCR could be a dampener for some banks

About PARAKH: 

• PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) is a unit established within NCERT in 2023 to standardise school board assessments nationwide.
• PARAKH team will consist of leading assessment experts with a deep understanding of the education system in India and internationally. 
• Objective: To fulfil the basic objectives of setting norms, standards, guidelines and implement activities related to student assessment along with other tasks as mandated by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
• The mandate of PARAKH is to work on bringing the school boards across the States and the Union Territories to a common platform.
• Major areas of focus
  • Capacity Development in Competency Based Assessment
  • Large-Scale Achievement Survey
  • Equivalence of School Boards
  • Holistic Progress Cards for the Foundational, Preparational, Middle and Secondary Stages.

Q1: What is the National Council of education and training?

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation set up in 1961 by the Government of India to assist and advise the Central and State Governments on policies and programmes for qualitative improvement in school education.

Source: PARAKH report proposes including Class 9-11 marks for Class 12 final scores

About National Culture Fund:

• It was set up as a Trust on 28th November, 1996 under the Charitable Endowment Act, 1890 with a view to mobilize extra resources through Public Private Partnerships (PPP) towards promoting, protecting and preserving India’s tangible & intangible cultural heritage.
• Objectives of NCF
  • To administer and apply the Fund for conservation, maintenance, promotion, protection, preservation and up-gradation of monuments protected or otherwise;
  • To impart training and facilitate development of a cadre of specialists and cultural administrators
  • To facilitate in providing additional space in existing museums & construct new museums to accommodate or create new & special galleries.
  • Documentation of cultural expressions and forms that have lost their relevance in contemporary scenario and are either fading out or facing extinction.
• Features
  • It is managed and administered through a Governing Council chaired by the Hon’ble Minister of Culture and has a maximum strength of 25 members to decide the policies.
  • An Executive Committee headed by Secretary (Culture) and has a maximum strength of 11 Members, to execute those policies.
  • Donations to the National Culture Fund are eligible for 100% tax benefit under Section 80G (ii) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
  • NCF’s activities are covered under Schedule VII No. (v) of the Companies Act, 2013 as valid receptacle of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) contribution under: - Protection of national heritage, art and culture including restoration of buildings and sites of historical importance and works of art; setting up public libraries; promotion and development of traditional arts and handicrafts.”
  • Annual Accounts are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
• NCF can receive donations from Corporates, PSUs, Trusts and Individuals for maintenance and preservation of Centrally Protected monuments/ cultural projects through NCF. All donors/sponsors have the responsibility to comply with the terms & conditions of the MoU agreed for any particular project.

Q1: What is Intangible cultural heritage?

Intangible cultural heritage means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated with them that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as a part of their cultural heritage.

Source: NATIONAL CULTURE FUND

About Ideas4LiFE portal: 

• It was launched for inviting ideas related to products and services, which induce behavioral changes related to environment-friendly lifestyles.
• This initiative aims to encourage and motivate students, faculty and research scholars to contribute their innovative ideas to the global initiative of Mission LiFE.
• It is a remarkable opportunity for inspired minds to participate in global movement dedicated to environmental sustainability.

Key facts about Mission LiFE

• Mission LiFE, or Lifestyle for Environment, is an India-led global mass movement to nudge individual and community action to protect and preserve the environment.
• It was launched at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021.
• The program hopes to “mobilize one billion Indians as well as people in other countries to become individuals who practice sustainable lifestyles.
• It emboldens the spirit of the P3 model, i.e., Pro Planet People.
• It aims at following a three-pronged strategy for changing people's collective approach towards sustainability,
  • nudging individuals to practice simple yet effective environment-friendly actions in their daily lives (demand)
  • enabling industries and markets to respond swiftly to the changing demand (supply)
  • to influence government and industrial policy to support both sustainable consumption and production (policy).

Q1: What Is Nudge Theory?

“Nudge theory” is a behavioral science concept that proposes people’s decisions and behaviors can be influenced in predictable ways by small changes in how choices are presented.

Source: Shri Bhupender Yadav launches Ideas4LiFE portal for inviting ideas related to products and services for inducing behavioral changes related to environment-friendly lifestyles

About Achanakmar Tiger Reserve:

• Location: It is situated in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh. 
• Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1975 and was declared a tiger reserve in 2009. 
• It covers an area of 553.286 sq. km.
• It is part of the huge Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve.
• It has a corridor connecting to Kanha and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and plays a critical role in the dispersal of tigers among these reserves.
• River: The Maniyari River flows right from the centre of this reserve, which is the forest's lifeline.
• Tribe:
  • It is home to the Baigas, a forest-dwelling tribal community classified as a “Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG)”.
  • In 626 hectares of the core area of the reserve, there are 25 forest villages, with approximately 75 percent of the population belonging to the Baiga tribe and the remaining consisting of the Gond and Yadav communities. 
• Vegetation: Tropical moist deciduous vegetation covers the majority of the area.
• Flora: Sal, bija, saja, haldu, teak, tinsa, dhawara, lendia, khamar, and bamboo bloom here, along with over 600 species of medicinal plants.
• Fauna: It includes the tiger, leopard, bison, flying squirrel, Indian giant squirrel, chinkara, wild dog, hyena, sambar, chital, and over 150 species of birds.

Q1: What is a Tiger Reserve?

Tiger Reserve is a legally declared protected area dedicated to the conservation of striped big cats in its natural environment. A tiger reserve could be a national park or wildlife sanctuary. The Sariska Tiger Reserve, for example, is also a national park.

Source: Tiger count jumps from 5 to 10 in Chhattisgarh’s Achanakmar reserve

About Advanced Land Navigation System: 

• It is a Ring Laser Gyro (RLG) based navigation system.
• It is used for traversing a path defined by the coordinates of a military map in ESM format.
• The system provides Inertial, GPS and Hybrid Navigation data for the navigation requirements. 
• The system is spoof-proof with high levels of encryption.
• It can be operated in three different modes
  • Inertial Mode: In this, systems operate completely on the Inertial Sensor Inputs.
  • Hybrid Mode: It takes the inputs from inertial sensor as well as GPS receiver and selects the most accurate data for calculations of navigational parameters.
  • GPS Mode: In this, system is independent of inertial sensor inputs.
• ALNS Mk-II is compatible with Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, NAVigation using Indian Constellation (IRNSS, NavlC), India in addition to Global Positioning System (GPS) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS).
• The ALNS Mk-II offers compatibility with Defence Series Maps resulting in very high accuracy in navigational applications for AFVs.
• This equipment will be procured from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Chennai under Buy [lndian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured (lDDM)] category.

Q1: What is NavIC?

It is also known as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is an independent stand-alone indigenous navigation satellite system developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Source: DAC clears capital acquisition proposals to enhance the capabilities of Indian Army & Indian Coast Guard

About Vattezhuthu:

• Vatteluttu, popularly known as Vattezhuthu, was a syllabic alphabet of south India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) and Sri Lanka used for writing the Tamil and Malayalam languages.
• The name Vatteluttu is thought to mean either 'rounded script', 'northern script', or 'chiseled script'.
• It first appeared in stone inscriptions in southern India dating from the 4th century AD. 
• It probably developed from the Tamil-Brahmi script; a variant of the Brahmi script used to write Old Tamil between from about the 3rd century BC until the 1st century AD.
• Vatteluttu was used to write Tamil and Malayalam in Tamil Naduuntil the 9th century.
• In Kerala, Vatteluttu continued to be used until the 15th century. It changed over time to become the Malayalam script, with some letters borrowed from the Grantha script.
• Vatteluttu also developed into the Koleluttu script, which was used, especially by Christians and Muslims, in Keralauntil the 19th century.

Q1: What is Brahmi?

The Brahmi Script is the earliest writing system developed in India after the Indus script. It is one of the most influential writing systems; all modern Indian scripts and several hundred scripts found in Southeast and East Asia are derived from Brahmi.

About Nano-MIND Technology:

• Nano-MIND (Magnetogenetic Interface for NeuroDynamics) technology, opens up new possibilities for understanding and manipulating complex brain functions such as cognition, emotion, and motivation.
• It allows for wireless, remote, and precise modulation of specific deep brain neural circuits using magnetism.
• This innovative approach leverages magnetic fields and magnetized nanoparticles to selectively activate targeted brain circuits, offering a significant advancement over existing methods of brain manipulation.
• Highlights of the research
  • The research team demonstrated the technology's capabilities by activating specific neurons in different brain regions of mice.
  • One notable achievement was the activation of inhibitory GABA receptors in the medial preoptic area (MPOA), which is responsible for maternal behaviours.
  • When these neurons were stimulated in non-maternal female mice, the animals exhibited significantly increased nurturing behaviours, mimicking those of maternal mice.
  • The researchers also successfully regulated feeding behaviours by targeting motivation circuits in the lateral hypothalamus.
• Activation of inhibitory neurons in this area resulted in a remarkable 100% increase in appetite and feeding behaviours in mice. Conversely, when excitatory neurons were activated, the mice showed a more than 50% reduction in appetite and feeding behaviours.
• Significance: It represents a significant step forward in neuroscience research and could have far-reaching implications for the development of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and the treatment of neurological disorders.

Q1: What are Neurons?

These are nerve cells that send messages all over your body to allow you to do everything from breathing to talking, eating, walking, and thinking.

Source: Scientists use magnetism to mind-control mice in world's first experiment