UPSC QUIZ 03.07.2024

Explanation:

• India has started planning to start large-scale production of bio-bitumen or bio-tar from biomass or agricultural waste.

Bio-bitumen or bio-tar

• Bio-bitumen is a bio-based binder derived from renewable sources such as vegetable oils, crop stubble, algae, lignin (a component of wood) or animal manure.
• Bio-bitumen production has been developed as a local alternative to petroleum bitumen, reducing the impact on the environment.
• It is used in the construction of roads and roofs. It is used as a direct replacement, modifier, and rejuvenator.
• Straw will be used in the construction of roads with bio-bitumen technology, which can reduce pollution.

Explanation:

• Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) just released its most recent Global Liveability Index, which once again names Vienna, Austria, as the best place to live in the world.
• The 2024 index, which came out, rates towns around the world based on things like education, healthcare, culture the environment, stability, and infrastructure.

2024 Top Rankings Overview

• After Vienna, Copenhagen, Denmark, stays in second place, and Zurich, Switzerland, moves up to third. Melbourne, Australia, fell from third to fourth place, which is an important change.
• Calgary, Canada tied with Geneva, Switzerland for fifth place. Cities like Osaka, Japan, and Auckland, New Zealand, are also praised on the list, which puts them in the top ten.

Explanation:

• International Seabed Authority, an agency under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, celebrated its 30th anniversary. It was established to oversee the exploration and use of non-living marine resources in international waters.

Key facts about ISA

• It is an autonomous international organization established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 1994 Agreement on the Implementation of Part XI of UNCLOS.
• Headquarters: Kingston, Jamaica.
• Members: 168 Member States (including India) and the European Union.
• Its jurisdiction covers approximately 54% of the total area of the world's oceans.
• ISA ensures effective protection of the marine environment from the harmful effects of deep-sea activities.

Explanation:

• Government has decided to manufacture glucagon-like peptide receptor agonist drugs in India from the year 2026 under the Production Based Incentive scheme.
• GLP-1RA belongs to the class of anti-diabetic drugs which are also used for weight loss.
• Apart from GLP-1RA, investors are also planning to make other drugs like Ozempic (for diabetes) and Wegovy (for obesity) and in this sequence, manufacturing in India will get incentives under the PLI scheme.
• The PLI scheme is an ambitious scheme to increase domestic manufacturing capacity, which will encourage employment generation along with reducing imports.
• Launched in March 2020, this scheme currently covers 14 sectors.
• Under this scheme, domestic and foreign companies are provided financial incentives for manufacturing in India, which is determined on the basis of percentage of their revenue for up to five years.

Explanation:

• Assam Forest Department and conservationists have documented the first photographic evidence of Mainland Serow (Capricornis sumatrensis thar) in Raimona National Park in western Assam.
• Mainland Serow is a mammal that looks like a cross between a goat and an antelope.
• According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Mainland Serows are found in areas with an altitude of 200-3000 metres.
• The animal is also found in Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary across the Indo-Bhutan border and Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan.
• The three other species of this animal are the Japanese Serow, Red Serow (found in eastern India, Bangladesh and Myanmar) and Taiwanese or Formosan Serow.