Bihar Affairs
Butterfly rearing centre developed at Bodh Gaya
In a bid to dissuade illegal wild bird trade, the Gaya forest division has developed Jai Prakash Udyan in Bodh Gaya as abutterflyrearing centre and promoting awareness among the tourists and the tourist guides by providing Services of butterfly release. The park is adjacent to the world heritage Mahabodhi Mahavihara.
The habitat will have designated plots for establishment and maintenance of the Resources required for butterflies. Altogether 18,327 square feet area has been selected for intense plantation and remaining part of the park is to be used for isolated and sporadic strategic plantation. More than 4,000 Plants of 55 species will be used to set up the habitat in and around the park throughout the year.
The centre will felicitate the breeding of prominent species of butterfly, including lemon emigrant, common jay, Indian jezebel, blue mormon, common rose, plain tier, blue tiger, plains cupid, psyche, common crow, common leopard, striped tiger, common ciliate blue, commander and grass demon.
In the Buddhist texts, the Bodhi tree is known as the tree of awakening under which Lord Buddha attained enlightenment. The tree is scientifically known as Ficus religiasa, which has an ancient connection with butterflies. Common crow, which is a regular visitor to Jai Prakash Udyan, uses the sacred tree to complete its life cycle.
National and International Affairs
The First Ligo Project In India Has Been Granted Land
The Hingoli income division has given the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) project 225 hectares of land in Maharashtra.
Highlights:
The land was given to the country in order to organise primary facilities.
In the United States, just two such labs exist: Hanford in Washington and Livingston in Louisiana. Gravitational waves are studied at these labs.
This initiative will provide scientists and engineers more for Learning more about gravitational waves.
In 2016, the LIGO-India mega scientific plan for analysing gravity waves received “in principle” permission from the Indian government.
LIGO is a huge observatory designed to detect and experiment with cosmic gravitational waves. Its primary goal is to exploit gravitational-wave data in astronomy research.
The LIGO India project was suggested with the goal of relocating one of the most sophisticated LIGO detectors from Hanford to India.
The Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Department of Atomic Energy are piloting this initiative (DAE).
Foreign Exchange Reserves Decline By USD 763 Million to USD 640.112 Billion
The Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) has provided updated data on Foreign Exchange reserves. The country’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $ 763 million to $ 640.112 billion in the week ending November 12, according to new figures.
Highlights:
In the week ending November 5, foreign exchange reserves fell by USD 1.145 billion to USD 640.874 billion. Reserves, on the other hand, hit a new high of USD 642.453 billion in the week ending September 3, 2021.
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) weekly data shows that the reduction in forex reserves this reporting week was due to a drop in foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of overall reserves. FCA fell $2.094 billion to $575.487 billion in the reporting week, according to the data.
Foreign currency assets comprise the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units held in foreign exchange reserves, such as the euro, pound, and yen, expressed in dollar terms. In the reporting week, gold reserves increased by $ 1.461 billion to $ 40.239 billion.
World Toilet Day Is Commemorated On 19 November
On November 19, 2021, World Toilet Day will be recognised as an official United Nations international day all over the world.
Highlights:
Global Report On Trends In Prevalence Of Tobacco Use 20002025
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released the fourth edition of its Global Report on Tobacco Use Trends 2000-2025.
Highlights:
According to the research, the South-East Asia region had the fastest reduction in cigarette consumption. In 2020, the Average prevalence of smoking among males will be 25%, down from 50% in 2000.
Tobacco smoking among Women in the South-East Region has declined from 8.9% in 2000 to 1.6 percent in 2020.
In order to fulfil the Global NCD action goal plan by 2025, India and Nepal are anticipated to achieve a 30 percent relative decrease in tobacco usage.
According to the WHO research, if present tobacco control efforts continue, smoking rates in this region might drop to as low as 11% by 2025.