IMPRESSIVE TORTOISE (MANOURIA IMPRESSA)

• It is considered beautiful enough to be named ‘Impressed’ has been Discovered in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The Male Impressed Tortoise is Smaller than the Female which is 30 cm in length. This Manouria species is one-third the size of the Asian Forest Tortoise.
• There are Only Two Species of tortoises under the Manouria genus.
• India was known to be the home of Only the Asian Forest Tortoise (Manouria Emys) until the discovery of the Impressed Tortoise.
• The Asian Forest Tortoise, the largest in mainland Asia, is found only in the northeast, as are 20 of the other 28 species of chelonians.
• Chelonian is an order of Reptile that includes Turtles, Terrapins and Tortoises. 

P. THEAGARAYA CHETTY (27 APRIL 1852 – 28 APRIL 1925)

• He was an Indian Lawyer, Industrialist and a Prominent Political Leader from the erstwhile Madras province.
• He was one of the Founders of the Justice Party in 1916 along with C. Natesa Mudaliar, Dr. T. M. Nair. He had an avid interest in politics and served as a member of The Indian National Congress before founding the South Indian Liberal Federation in 1917.
• He served as the President of the federation from 1917 till his death in 1925.
• Chetty is regarded as one of the founders of the Non-Brahmin Movement in Tamil Nadu and the first to lead the movement.

ANIMAL WELFARE BOARD OF INDIA (AWBI)

• The Animal Welfare Board of India is a Statutory Advisory Body on Animal Welfare Laws and promotes animal welfare in the country.
• Established in 1962 under Section 4 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals  Act,  1960  (No.  59  of  1960),  the  Animal  Welfare  Board  of India  was  started  under  the  stewardship  of  Late  Smt.  Rukmini Devi Arundale, well known humanitarian.
• The Board consists of 28 Members including 6 MPs (4 from Lok Sabha and 2 from Rajya Sabha) The term of office of Members is for a period of 3 years.
• AWBI is headquartered at Ballabhgarh in Haryana state
• The  Board  was  initially  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Government  of  India’s  Ministry  of Food  and  Agriculture.  In  1990,  the  subject  of  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals  was transferred to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate change

Functions:

• Recognition    of    Animal    Welfare    Organisations:    oversees   Animal    Welfare Organisations (AWOs) by granting recognition to them if they meet its guidelines.
• Financial Assistance: provides financial assistance to recognised Animal Welfare Organisations (AWOs), who submit applications to the Board.
• Animal welfare Laws and Rules: suggests changes to laws and rules about animal welfare issues
• Raising Awareness: issues publications to raise awareness of various animal welfare issues.

CHHOTA HAMMAM (ROYAL BATH)

• Archaeological Survey of India has to conserve the Chhota Hammam (Royal Bath) near Asad Burj inside Red Fort
• At  least  4.46  metres  below  the  surface,  the  rectangular hammam is 21.5×6.3 square metre in size.
• Two stairways, made of Lakhori bricks and Red Sandstone, lead to the bath, which has 15 arches — including one which has space to keep at least 10 oil lamps that once lit up the hammam.

BHITARKANIKA MANGROVES

• Bhitarkanika Mangroves is a Mangrove Wetland in Odisha, India, covering an area of 650 km in the Brahmani and Baitarani river deltas.
• Bhitarkanika  Mangroves  were  designated  a  Ramsar Wetland of  International                       Importance  in 2002
• The national park is surrounded by the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary. Gahirmatha Beach and Marine Sanctuary lies to the east
• The national park was created in September 1998 from the core area of the Bhitarkanika Wildlife  Sanctuary,  which  was  created  in  1975.  The  sanctuary  is  the  second  largest mangrove ecosystem in India.
• The park is home to Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), White Crocodile, Indian python, King Cobra, black ibis, darters and many other species of flora and fauna.

 

MANGO LEAF EXTRACT CAN PREVENT STEEL FROM CORROSION

• Researchers from The National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, have fabricated an anticorrosive material made from mango leaves since conventional anticorrosive method is toxic and not always environment friendly.
• All Plants are rich in Phytochemicals which act as their defence mechanism to ward off external destructive agents such as Pathogens and Predators
• By using ethanol, phytochemicals were extracted from dried mango leaves as they contain the maximum amount of bioactive elements
• These bioactive elements form an Iron-Polyphenol-Insoluble-Organometallic- Compound, which is responsible for the anti-corrosive property.
• Since the pure extract cannot be sustained as a coating, researchers prepared a hybrid by loading the extract in amorphous silica — a commonly used inorganic material Commercial steel specimen was dip-coated with the product and subjected to simulated harsh environmental conditions. The formulation displayed a Maximum Efficiency of 99 per cent, indicating Anti-Corrosive Properties of the mango leaf extract.

FALCON HEAVY

• Elon Musk’s SPACEX launched its Falcon Heavy Spacecraft on its third mission, and the most complex one, because of its huge payload- — 24 satellites from various organisations, including Government Agencies.
• Falcon Heavy is a Reusable Super Heavy-Lift Launch Vehicle Designed and Manufactured by SpaceX, a private American aerospace manufacturer.
• It is the most powerful operational rocket in the world.
• It can lift about Twice the payload at one third of the cost by Delta 4 rocket which was the most powerful rocket till now. This lift capacity allows launching heavier satellites into low Earth orbit, or reaching higher geostationary orbits to keep station over the same part of Earth.
• Its three first-stage boosters are designed to be Reusable

LUNAR EVACUATION SYSTEM

• Developed by the European Space Agency (ESA)
• ESA is a Pyramid-Like Structure whose purpose is to rescue an astronaut should he or she suffer an injury on the lunar surface.
• Astronauts will be wearing heavy extravehicular activity (EVA) suits and, as ESA head of Spacewalk Training.
• There is no way an astronaut could carry their fallen crewmate over their shoulder while
• wearing an EVA suit.”
• LESA can be operated by a single astronaut to rescue a fallen colleague.
• It  enables  an  astronaut  to  lift  their  crewmate  onto  a  mobile  stretcher  in  less  than  10 minutes, before carrying them to the safety of a nearby pressurized lander.