Technology and Innovation Support Centre (TISC)
- Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and Punjab state council of Science and Technology has signed an agreement to establish TISC.
- TISC in Punjab is the India’s first TISC under the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) TISC program.
- It provides innovators in developing countries with access to locally based, high quality technology information and related services.
- The objective is to stimulate a balanced IPR system in India to foster creativity and innovation, thereby promoting entrepreneurship and enhancing social, economic and cultural development.
Sustainable Development Goals Index
- India is ranked 116 out of 157 nations on a global index that assesses the performance of countries towards achieving the 17 ambitious SDG.
- It is produced by Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).
- Sweden leads the list, followed by Denmark and Finland.
- India is ranked behind countries such as Nepal, Iran, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and China.
Solar Projects in India
- India’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) has compulsory domestic-sourcing clause in its solar energy generation programme.
- WTO has ruled against the domestic sourcing clause and calls for its abolition of it by this year end. And India is hopeful of adhering to WTO’s rule.
- Fresh projects under the third phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) will not have the local-sourcing regulation.
- The JNNSM aims to add 100GW of solar power by 2022.
- The mission is one of the several initiatives that are part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change.
Saraswati – Supercluster of Galaxies
- A team of Indian scientists has reported the discovery of a ‘supercluster’ of galaxies and named it Saraswati.
- It is located four billion light years away from Earth.
- Galaxies are themselves made of billions of stars and planets, and a cluster typically contains several hundreds of these galaxies.
- Superclusters, a group of clusters of galaxies, are the largest structures of stars, planets and other heavenly bodies in the universe.
- The Milky Way galaxy, of which Earth is a very small member, is part of the Laniakea supercluster, which was identified only in 2014.
Tiwa Tribe
- Tiwa tribes are indigenous ethnic groups inhabiting the states of Assam and Meghalaya.
- A striking peculiarity of the Tiwa is their division into two sub-groups, Hill Tiwa and Plains Tiwas, displaying much contrasted cultural features.
- The Hill Tiwas live in Karbi-Anglong (Assam) and Northeastern corner of Meghalaya and practice “Slash and Burn” method of farming.
- Plains Tiwas live on the flat lands of the Southern bank of the Brahmaputra valley and influenced wet rice cultivation methods, and rice has become their major crop
- Tiwa, or Lalung, is a Tibeto-Burman language of Assam in North East India.
- Panthai Langa is one of the rituals practised by them, which is meant to worship the deities of nature.
- Tiwa people who live in the hills are not permitted to prepare their paddy field for the next harvest before performing Panthai Langa ritual.
Jhum Cultivation
- Jhum cultivation, also known as the slash and burn agriculture, is the process of clearing vegetative/forest cover on land/slopes of hills, drying and burning it before onset of monsoon and cropping on it thereafter.
- The burnt soil contains potash which increases the nutrient content of the soil.
- After harvest, this land is left fallow and vegetative regeneration is allowed on it till the plot becomes reusable for same purpose in a cycle.
- The cultivation is locally called as “Podu” in A.P, “Dahi and Koman”, “Penda” in Central India, “Bewar” in M.P.
- It is also called as Ladang in Indonesia, Caingin in Philippines, Milpa in central America & Mexico, Ray in Vietnam, Taungya In Myanmar , Tamrai in Thailand, Chena in Sri Lanka, Conuco in Venezuela, Roca in Brazil, Masole in central Africa.
PEG ratio
- It is a metric used to evaluate the attractiveness of a stock by comparing its price-to-earnings ratio with its earnings growth.
- It is calculated by dividing the price-to-earnings ratio by the annual earnings growth rate.
- For example, the PEG ratio would suggest that a stock with a low PE is not necessarily a better buy than a stock with high PE.
Source : PIB, The Hindu, Indian Express, Business Standard
