NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANISATION(NATO)

About NATO:

• It is also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an Intergovernmental Military Alliance between 29 North American and European countries.
• The organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949.
• NATO’s Headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons, Belgium.
• Objectives: It constitutes a system of collective defence by which its independent member states agree for mutual defence in response to any attack on any member by any external party

CENTRAL STATISTICS OFFICE (CSO)

• It is a governmental agency in India under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
• It is responsible for co-ordination of statistical activities in India, and evolving and maintaining statistical standards.
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Its activities includes:
• National Income Accounting; conduct of Annual Survey of Industries, Economic Censuses and its follow up surveys, compilation of Index of Industrial Production, as well as Consumer Price Indices for Urban Non-Manual Employees, Human Development Statistics, Gender Statistics, imparting training in Official Statistics, Five Year Plan work relating to Development of Statistics in the States and Union Territories; dissemination of statistical information, work relating to trade, energy, construction, and environment statistics, revision of National Industrial Classification, etc.,

ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION (PREVENTION AND CONTROL) AUTHORITY (EPCA)

Context: Central Government recently re-constituted EPCA.

About EPCA:

• It was constituted under Section 3(3) of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• It was empowered by the Supreme Court for protecting and improving the quality of the environment and preventing and controlling the environmental pollution in the National Capital Region.
• It was also mandated to enforce Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for Delhi and the NCR region, which comprises the graded measures for each source framed according to the AQI categories.

MEASLES

• Context: Where India stands in battle against measles, how Sri lanka eliminated it.
• Measles is a highly contagious viral disease.
• It remains an Important Cause of death among young children globally, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. Under the Global Vaccine Action Plan, measles and rubella are targeted for elimination in five WHO Regions by 2020
• Transmission: Measles is transmitted via droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected persons
• Symptoms: Initial symptoms, which usually appear 10–12 days after infection, include high fever, a runny nose, bloodshot eyes, and tiny white spots on the inside of the mouth. Several days later, a rash develops, starting on the face and upper neck and gradually spreading downwards.
• Vaccine: The measles vaccine has been in use since the 1960s. It is safe, effective and inexpensive. WHO recommends immunization for all susceptible children and adults for whom measles vaccination is not contraindicated.

WAYANAD SANCTUARY

Context: Recently, Elephant sustained injuries after a truck knocked it down at Ponkuzhi on the Kerala- Karnataka border under the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is an animal sanctuary and the second largest wildlife sanctuary in Wayanad, Kerala.
• A variety of large wild animals such as Indian bison, elephant, deer and tiger are found there.
• Established in 1973, the sanctuary is now an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
• It is bounded by protected area network of Nagarhole and Bandipur of Karnataka in the northeast, and on the southeast by Mudumalai of Tamil Nadu.
• It is part of the Deccan Plateau and the vegetation is predominantly of the south Indian moist deciduous teak forests.
• The wildlife sanctuary comes under Protect Elephant and one can spot herd of elephants roaming in the area.

WORLD COFFEE PRODUCER FORUM

• It is a not-for-profit organization that represents over 25 million coffee- growing families across 60 countries
• It is formed to analyze and address the challenges faced by the coffee value chain, especially in regards to those who grow and produce the raw, un-roasted product.
• Created in 2017, the World Coffee Producers Forum is an environment for discussions with an agenda prepared by coffee growers aiming to reach more sustainable ways for global coffee activity.
• In the 2019 Edition of the event, Brazil together with other producing countries will follow with the purpose of addressing and resolving scenarios that can compromise the future of coffee supply by inviting all the productive chain links to participate in order to act jointly and co-responsibly.

PADMANABHASWAMY TEMPLE

Context: The Hindu’s special volume on Padmanabhaswamy temple was recently released

About Padmanabhaswamy temple:

• It is located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
• The temple is built in an intricate fusion of the indigenous Kerala style and the Tamil style (kovil) of architecture associated with the temples located in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, featuring high walls, and a 16th-century Gopuram.
• The Supreme Principal Deity Para brahman, Maha Vishnu/Adi Narayana is enshrined in the “Anantha Shayanam” posture, the eternal yogic sleep on the serpent Adisheshan.
• Sree Padmanabhaswamy is the tutelary deity of the royal family of Travancore

ASRAAM MISSILE

Context: IAF to adopt ASARAAM missile for fighter fleet

About ASARAAM missile:

• The Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile, also known by its United States identifier AIM-132, is an imaging infrared homing (“heat seeking”) air-to-air missile, produced by United Kingdom’s MBDA corporation.
• It is designed to dominate the within visual range combat mission.
• It is currently in service in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), replacing the AIM-9 Sidewinder.
• ASRAAM is designed to outrange and outrun any other IR missile in service, allowing the pilot to fire and then turn away long before the opposing aircraft can close for a shot.