About Dung beetle:

• It scientifically known as the Scarabaeidae family within the Animal Kingdom’s order
• Appearance:
  • They are robust, compact insects known for their hard, protective exoskeletons and strong, clawed legs adapted for digging and rolling dung.
  • They vary in color, with some species displaying dull, black or brown hues, while others exhibit metallic shades of blue, green, or copper.
• Habitat: They live in habitats that range from desert to forest.
• Distribution: Dung beetles are found worldwide, on every continent except Antarctica.
• Diet: They feed on the feces of large herbivores during both their larval and adult stages. 
• Working: Dung beetles span three main lifestyles: rollers (ball-makers), tunnelers (bury beneath), and dwellers (live in the pat).
• Several dung beetles navigate using celestial cues; some use the Milky Way as an orientation reference during straight-line rolling.
• Many scarabs have fan-like (lamellate) antennae that open to sample odors-useful for locating fresh dung fast.
• Ecological Role: They play major ecological roles in nutrient cycling, soil aeration, seed dispersal, and parasite/flies suppression.

About Index of Industrial Production:

• It is a composite indicator designed to measure the changes in the volume of the production of item basket over a period of time with respect to its base year.
• It provides insight into the growth or contraction of industrial activity over a given period, making it a crucial economic performance indicator.
• It is compiled and released by the National Statistics Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
• It is released every month.
• Base Year: It is 2022-23.
• The first IIP was prepared with base year 1937 and thereafter the base year has been revised successively to 1946, 1951, 1956, 1960, 1970, 1980-81, 1993-94, 2004-05 and 2011-12.
• The base year is a chosen year taken as a reference point (index = 100) to compare production over time.

About CosmoCube Mission:

• It is a proposed satellite that will study the universe’s earliest stages by listening for faint radio signals from more than 13.5 billion years ago.
• It is being developed by a team of scientists led by the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
• Working:
  • It would operate near the Moon and use the lunar far side as a natural shield against radio interference from Earth. 
  • Observation Period: It will spend around 40 minutes on the far side during every two-hour orbit. 
  • Time Period: Over a proposed two-year mission, the satellite could collect roughly 1,000 hours of data at extremely low radio frequencies.
  • The satellite would use a lightweight radio antenna to detect the early-universe signal.
  • It would also repeatedly determine its own position using onboard information and observations of its surroundings.
• Significance:
  • This mission concept could help scientists study the poorly understood period between the Big Bang and the formation of the first stars.
  • The measurements could offer scientists a clearer picture of the cosmic dark age and the transition towards the formation of the first stars and galaxies.

About Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana:

• It was launched in 2016 to bring the maximum number of farmers under crop insurance coverage. 
• It covers risks from pre-sowing, including prevented or failed sowing, widespread mid-season adversity, localized calamities caused by hailstorms, inundation, landslide, etc.
• Nodal Ministry: Department of Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• Premiums
  • Farmers pay a maximum premium of 2% for Kharif and 1.5% for Rabi foodgrain and oilseed crops. For commercial and horticultural crops, the maximum premium is 5%.
  • The Central & State Governments subsidizes the remaining premium in 50:50 proportion. For the farmers in North-Eastern & Himalayan States/UTs, the contribution of Central & State Govt. subsidy is in a 90:10 proportion.
• Eligibility for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
  • All farmers, including sharecroppers and tenant farmers, growing the notified crops in the notified areas are eligible for coverage.
  • Compulsory Component: All farmers availing Seasonal Agricultural Operations (SAO) loans from Financial Institutions (i.e. loanee farmers) for the notified crops would be covered compulsorily.
  • Farmers must have an insurable interest in the insured crops.
  • Farmers must possess a valid and authenticated land ownership certificate or a valid land tenure agreement.
  • Farmers must not have received compensation for the same crop loss from any other medium or source.
  • PMFBY covers both loanee and non-loanee farmers across the agricultural range.
    • Non-loanee farmers are those without crop loans or with non-standard Kisan Credit Card (KCC)-linked loans.
    • Loanee farmersare those who take seasonal crop loans from banks or financial institutions, and their loans or KCCs are active and standard.

About National Health Claims Exchange:

• It is developed under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
• It is developed by the National Health Authority (NHA) in consultation with Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
• It aims to streamline and standardize health insurance claim processing, enhancing efficiency in the insurance industry and improving the patient experience.
• Purpose: To streamline and standardize the processing of health insurance claims across the country, leveraging the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standards to ensure interoperability across diverse systems.
• Features of NHCX:
  • Checking Coverage Eligibility: Providers can verify if a treatment is covered by insurance to avoid unexpected costs.
  • Pre-Auth Request Submission: Hospitals can request approval from insurers before starting treatment.
  • Predetermination Request Submission: Providers can ask for an estimate of benefits for a treatment before it begins.
  • Claim Submission: Hospitals submit claims in a standard format for easier processing by insurers.
  • Payment Status: Hospitals can check the payment status of submitted claims, ensuring everyone stays informed.
  • Communication Request: Providers can send questions or requests for more information through NHCX.
  • Reprocess Request: If a claim has issues, providers can request a review for a solution.

About Oriental Darter:

• It is also known as the snakebird or Indian darter.
• Appearance: It is a tropical water bird with a long, slender neck and a sharp, spear-like beak that it uses to impale fish.
• It has a very long, slender, snakelike neck and a long, pointed bill.
• Its neck has strongly developed muscles about a kink in the neck at the 8th and 9th vertebrae that allows it to be flexed and darted forward with rapid force to stab fish underwater.
• Distribution: It is a water bird of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia.
• Habitat: It is found mainly in freshwater lakes and streams.
• They usually forage singly, with the entire body submerged. It darts its neck to impale fish and then brings them out of water.
• Diet: It is an omnivorous species.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Near Threatened

About PM e-Bus Sewa scheme:

• It aims to strengthen the urban transport system by deployment of air-conditioned electric buses to urban cities.
• Eligible Cities: Cities have a population ranging 3-40 lakh and state capitals including North Eastern and Hilly Regions below three lakh population as per 2011 census are eligible for the scheme. 
• It is being implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
• Features:
  • It focuses on cities with limited public transport capacity and largely covers smaller cities including those where organised city bus services have either been absent or inadequate.
  • Under this scheme, city bus operations will be done on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
  • This scheme will support bus operations for 10 years.
  • States/Cities shall be responsible for running the bus services and making payments to the bus operators.
  • The Central Government will support these bus operations by providing subsidies to the extent specified in the proposed scheme.
  • It overs development of depots, charging infrastructure, green mobility initiatives including accessible bus stops, last mile connectivity Intelligent Transit Management System (ITMS) and National Common Mobility Card (NCMC)-based ticketing.

About Barrier Lake:

• A barrier lake is more commonly known as a landslide dam or lake.
• Formation:
  • It is created in a river valley when landslide debris completely blocks a stream or river.
  • The displaced material effectively becomes a natural dam, trapping water upstream and creating a temporary reservoir.
  • It is commonly formed in places with high, steep mountains and narrow river valleys that witness activity such as rock, soil and mud avalanches, slides, or flows. 
  • This instantly plugs the river Water rapidly accumulates behind this natural blockage.
  • As water pressure mounts, the loose debris dam can erode or suddenly collapse.
  • This triggers the lake burst, sending a catastrophic wall of water downstream.
  • The timescale of a breach can vary from days to even decades after the formation of a dam.
• Impact of Barrier Lake Failure:
  • A failure of the dam can potentially release millions of cubic metres of water in a short period, causing catastrophic flooding downstream.
  • This flooding can carry debris and also create secondary landslides downstream, compounding its effect.

About Argentina:

• It is a large country occupying the southern part of South America.
• Bordering Countries: It shares its borders with 5 countries: Chile (south and west), Bolivia and Paraguay (north), and Brazil, Uruguay (east)
• Maritime boundaries: It is also bounded by the South Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Drake Passage to the south.
• Capital City: Buenos Aires
• Geographical Features of Argentina:
  • Terrain: Argentina’s landmass can be divided into four general topographical regions: the Andean region, the Pampas, the Patagonian plateau, and the Gran Chaco.
  • Climate: Mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
  • Major rivers: Parana, Paraguay, Uruguay, etc.
  • Highest Point: Cerro Aconcagua
  • Lakes: Lake Mar Chiquita and Lake Argentino
  • Water Falls: Northeast Argentina features rain forests and Iguazù Falls.
  • Natural Resources: It mainly consists of lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, Uranium and Lithium.