The Business & Climate Summit (BCS) is the leading annual forum for businesses, investors and policymakers on climate action.
The summit focuses on creating a roadmap for reaching net zero emissions over the next half century.
It demonstrates how low carbon strategies are good for business and good for growth.
3 editions have been organized so far in Paris (2015) and London (2016) and New Delhi (2017).
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), India's apex business organisation, is the host of BCS 2017.
Kinome
It is the complete set of protein kinases that make up the genome of an organism.
A protein kinase is an enzyme that modifies other proteins by chemically adding phosphate groups to them.
It constitutes 2% of all human genes and 30% of all human proteins are modified by kinase activity.
UNHCR
The UNHCR has issued refugee identity cards to the Rohingyas in India so as to shield them from harassment and arbitrary arrests.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a UN programme mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself.
It assists refugees in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country.
It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
It is a member of the United Nations Development Group (UNDG).
UNDG is a consortium of many United Nations agencies created in 1997 to improve the effectiveness of UN development activities at the country level.
Some of the members of UNDG are UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, FAO, ILO etc.
NITI Aayog
Economist Rajiv Kumar took over as the vice-chairman of Niti Aayog replacing Arvind Panagariya.
National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) is a government’s think tank formed via a cabinet resolution in 2015 replacing planning commission.
The Prime Minister serves as the Ex-officio chairman.
The governing council consists of all state Chief Ministers, chief ministers of Delhi and Puducherry, Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar.
Vice chairman is nominated by the Prime Minister.
In addition to full members, there are two part-time members and four ex-officio members and a chief executive officer.
They are selected from the leading universities and research institutions.
It has two hubs such as Team India Hub and the Knowledge and Innovation Hub.
The Team India Hub leads the engagement of states with the Central government, while the Knowledge and Innovation Hub builds NITI’s think-tank capabilities.
Water on Exoplanets
Recent evidence from NASA’s Hubble space telescope revealed that earth sized exoplanets in the Trappist-1 system may contain water.
TRAPPIST-1 is a system of seven Earth-size planets orbiting an ultra-cool dwarf star about 40 light-years away.
This is by far the largest collection of Earth-like planets in the habitable ‘Goldilocks’ zone of a star.
Goldilocks represents a zone which is neither too close nor too far from a star, which raises the possibility of liquid water being present on the surface.
Three of the planets in the system are within the habitable zone, which strengthens the possibility that they may be habitable.
Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve
NTCA has given nod for shifting tigers from Ranthambhore National Park to Mukundara Hills tiger reserve.
The Mukundara Hills, located in the south-eastern Rajasthan, is the third notified tiger habitat in the State, after Ranthambhore and Sariska.
It was established in 2013 to cater to the spill over tiger population from Ranthambhore.
The reserve covers the existing darrah, Chambal and jawahar sagar wildlife sanctuary.
