The index is computed by World Economic Forum to provide a more complete measure of economic development than GDP growth alone.
The index has 3 pillars – Growth and Development, Inclusion and Intergenerational Equity and Sustainability.
IDI scores are based on the scale of 1-7 and it is computed separately for developed and developing countries and is not comparable.
Lithuaniatops the list of 79 developing economies, Azerbaijan and Hungary at 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.
India is placed at 60th place, much lower than the neighbouring countries. China (15th), Nepal (27th), Bangladesh (36th) and Pakistan (52nd).
Norway tops the list in developed economies followed by Luxembourg and Switzerland.
Reclamation of Saline lands in Maharashtra:
The World Bank will fund the reclamation of saline lands in Vidharba region under the “Climate Resilient Agriculture” Project.
National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture was launched by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in 2011 to enhance the resilience of agriculture to climate change.
Under this project, efforts would be made revive the natural drainage systems since the topography of the region does not allow the rain water to get drained easily.
The Majority of the region is in cotton producing districts of Maharashtra and in close proximity to Purna River, which is a tributary of Godavari.
Age of Moon:
The new research on the minerals brought by the "Apollo Mission” to the Moon reveals the new age of Moon. The minerals are called as “Zircons” and it is the best mineral in preserving the geological history of moon.
The research found that the moon formed only about 60 million years after the birth of solar system.
The moon was formed by a violent, head-on collision between the early Earth and a planetary embryo called “Theia”.
The Earth’s collision with Theia created a liquefied moon, which then solidified and most of the moon’s surface was covered with magma right after its formation.
