UPSC QUIZ 02.02.2024

Explanation:

ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has taken a pioneering initiative to grow fish meat in laboratory for the first time in India.

Key points

• It involves isolating and growing fish cells for research and development.
• In the initial phase, there is a plan to develop the meat of expensive marine fish like king fish, sear fish in the laboratory.
• The final product thus produced will be similar in taste, texture and nutritional properties to the original fish.

Its aim

• To meet the growing demand for seafood
• Making India a leader in marine fish meat sector
• Making fishermen self-reliant
• organizing fishing business

CMFRI has entered into a Collaborative Research Agreement with Neat Meet Biotech to take up this initiative in Public Private Partnership mode.

Explanation:

Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change released the report of the first survey of snow leopards on 30 January 2024.According to this survey, there are a total of 718 snow leopards in the country.

Number of snow leopards

• Ladakh – 477
• Uttarakhand - 124
• Himachal Pradesh - 51
• Arunachal Pradesh - 36
• Sikkim - 21
• Jammu and Kashmir - 9

The survey was conducted in collaboration with all snow leopard range states and two conservation partners “Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysuru and WWF India”.This was done in two phases from 2019 to 2023.In this survey, the estimated population of snow leopards was ascertained with the help of cameras.Indian snow leopards currently account for 10-15% of the global population.According to surveys, snow leopard numbers have increased.

Explanation:

• India's nomination for UNESCO tag for 2024-25 will be "Maratha Military Landscapes."
• The Culture Ministry on January 29 said the 'Maratha Military Landscape', representing the extraordinary fortifications and military system envisioned by the Maratha rulers, will be India's nomination for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List for the 2024-25 cycle.
• Maratha Military Landscapes' nomination is in the category of cultural property.
• The twelve components of this nomination are – Salher Fort, Shivneri Fort, Lohgad, Khanderi Fort, Raigarh, Rajgarh, Pratapgad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala Fort, Vijay Durg and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra and Gingee Fort in Tamil Nadu.
• These components, distributed over diverse geographical and physiographic regions, demonstrate the strategic military powers of the Maratha rule.
• The Maratha military ideology originated in the 17th century during the reign of the Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj until 1670 and continued under the later Peshwa rule until 1818.
• In 2021, 'Maratha Military Landscapes of India' was included in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
• In Maharashtra, there are over 390 forts, of which only 12 forts have been selected under the 'Maratha Military Landscape of India', and eight of these forts are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
• Currently, there are 42 World Heritage Sites in India, of which 34 are cultural sites, seven are natural sites and one is a mixed site.
• In Maharashtra, six sites have the UNESCO tag – five cultural and one natural.

Explanation:

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for India for the current financial year to 6.7% compared to the previous forecast of 6.3%.
• In its latest World Economic Outlook report, the IMF has raised India's medium-term GDP growth to 6.5% for 2025, 2026, an increase of 20 basis points from its October 2023 forecast.
• The IMF said the results reflected strong public investment and positive labor market outcomes.
• The IMF said India will reduce its current account deficit projection for FY24 to 1.6% of GDP from 1.8%.
• The agency said that India remains the fastest-growing economy among the major economies of the world.
• India's GDP grew by 7.2% in FY23 compared to the previous year.

Explanation:

• Union Minister Bhupender Yadav released the Status Report of Snow Leopards in India.
• During the National Board for Wildlife meeting held in New Delhi, the Status Report of Snow Leopards in India was released.
• The Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) Program is the first-ever such exercise. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) was the National Coordinator for this exercise.
• The report shows that 718 Snow leopards are present in India. A total of 241 unique Snow leopards have been photographed.
• 477 Snow leopards have been found in Ladakh while 124 Snow leopards have been found in Uttarakhand.
• The estimated population in different states are as follows: Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36), Sikkim (21), and Jammu and Kashmir (9).
• This assessment covered approximately 120,000 km2 of crucial Snow leopard habitat across the trans-Himalayan region.
• Camera traps were deployed at 1,971 locations for 180,000 trap nights.