About National Biodiversity Authority:

• It is a statutory body established under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
• It was formally set up in 2003.
• Headquarters: It is located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• Functions:
  • The NBA performs facilitative, regulatory, and advisory functions for the Government of India, particularly on matters related to the conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of biological resources, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from them.
• National Biodiversity Authority Composition
  • Chairperson: An eminent person with proven knowledge and experience in biodiversity conservation, sustainable use of biological resources, and equitable sharing of benefits.
  • 10 Ex-officio Members: Senior representatives from the Government of India, nominated to provide policy insights and ensure inter-ministerial coordination.
  • 5 Non-Official Members: Experts and professionals from diverse fields related to biodiversity management, nominated to contribute independent perspectives and specialized expertise.
• Administrative Structure:
  • State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs): Functioning at the state level to regulate access to biological resources within their jurisdiction.
  • Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs): Established at the local village or panchayat level to promote grassroots-level biodiversity conservation and documentation.

About Beaver:

• The beaver, from the genus Castor, includes two amphibious rodent species.
• They are semi-aquatic species.
• Habitat: They live in streams, marshes, rivers, and ponds and along the shorelines of large lakes
• Distribution: They are native to North America, Europe and Asia.
• Characteristics of Beaver:
  • Beavers have long, orange, visible front teeth, called incisors. These teeth grow continuously throughout its life and are worn down through daily use. 
  • Communication: One important communication signal among beavers is a tail slap on the surface of the water, indicating danger. Typically performed by an adult
  • They are known as "ecosystem engineers" because they construct dams of branches, stones, and mud in streams, rivers, marshes, and ponds.
  • These beaver ponds which the animals use as sources of food, as well as protection from predators.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Least Concern

About Assam Rifles:

• It is one of the six Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) that come under the MHA’s administrative control.
• Function: It conducts counterinsurgency operations in north-eastern India and other areas where deemed necessary.
• Headquarter: The headquarters of the Director-General of Assam Rifles (DGAR) is in Shillong.
• Assam Rifles History:
  • Assam Rifles has its origins in 1835 as a militia called the ‘Cachar Levy’ to protect British tea estates and their settlements against tribal raids. 
  • It later became the ‘Frontier Force’ conducting punitive expeditions across the borders of Assam. 
  • In 1870, the existing elements were merged into three Assam Military Police Battalions, sending men as part of the British Army to Europe and West Asia. 
  • In 1917, the name was changed to Assam Rifles.
• Major Roles:
  • The force has evolved post-Independence, from combat roles during the Sino-India War 1962 to being a part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka in 1987, besides performing peacekeeping roles in north-eastern India.

About Helium:

• It is an inert gas and does not react with other substances or combust.
• It was discovered in 1868 by Jules Janssen and Norman Lockyer via a yellow spectral line during a solar eclipse. 
• Named after the Greek word ‘Helios’, meaning Sun.
• Properties of Helium:
  • Its atomic number is 2, making it the second lightest element after hydrogen.
  • Helium also has a very low boiling point (-268.9° C), allowing it to remain a gas even in super-cold environments.
  • The gas is non-toxic, but cannot be breathed on its own, because it displaces the oxygen humans need for respiration.
  • It is the only element that cannot be solidified by sufficient cooling at normal atmospheric pressure.
• Largest global reserves: United States, Algeria, and Russia.
• India’s Rajmahal Volcanic Basin (Jharkhand) is a significant helium reservoir trapped for billions of years.
• Applications of Helium:
  • Pressurizing Fuel Tank: It is used to pressurize fuel tanks, ensuring fuel flows to the rocket's engines without interruption.
  • Cooling systems: It is used in cooling systems of rockets.

About Great Salt Lake:

• Location: It is a saline lake located in northern Utah, United States.
• It is the largest inland body of salt water in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most saline inland bodies of water in the world.
• Water Source: The lake is fed by the Bear, Weber, and Jordan rivers and has no outlet.
• The lake has fluctuated greatly in size, depending on the rates of evaporation and the flow of the rivers that feed it. 
  • Like the Dead Sea, the Great Salt Lake exists within an arid environment and has chemical characteristics similar to that of the oceans. 
• Formation and Salinity: It has a much greater salinity than the oceans, however, since natural evaporation exceeds the supply of water from the rivers feeding the lake.
• It is surrounded by great stretches of sand, salt land and marsh, the Great Salt Lake remains eerily isolated from the nearby cities, towns and other human habitations.
• Fauna: Some notable avian species that are found here include American avocet, Wilson’s phalarope, California gull, black-necked stilt, American white pelican, peregrine falcon, marbled godwit, etc.

About Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) Scheme:

• It was introduced through an amendment to the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20, and it became effective for exports starting 2021.
• The primary aim of this scheme is to offset the taxes and duties incurred on exported goods that wouldn’t otherwise be credited, reimbursed, or refunded in any way, and are integrated into the exported goods.
• Objective: It was enforced to repeal and reduce taxes on exported products, thereby encouraging exports and increasing the number of exports in the country.
• It is compliant with World Trade Organization (WTO) norms and is implemented via a comprehensive end-to-end digital platform to ensure transparency and efficiency.
• The scheme is administered by the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
• It replaced the Merchandise Export Incentive Scheme (MEIS).
• RoDTEP Scheme Eligibility Criteria:
  • All sectors are covered under the scheme. 
  • Labor-intensive sectors will be accorded priority.
  • Both manufacturer exporters and merchant exporters (traders) are eligible for the scheme.
  • The exported products should have India as their country of origin to be eligible for benefits under the scheme.
  • Special Economic Zone Units and Export Oriented Units are also eligible.
  • The scheme also applies to goods that have been exported via courier through e-commerce platforms.
  • Re-exported products are not eligible under this scheme.

About Sperm Whale:

• It is the largest of the toothed whales, easily recognized by its enormous square head and narrow lower jaw.
• It has the largest head and the largest brain of any animal on the planet.
• They are named after the waxy substance—spermaceti—found in their heads.
• The spermaceti is an oil sac that helps the whales focus sound. Spermaceti was used in oil lamps, lubricants, and candles.
• Appearance:
  • The sperm whale is dark blue-gray or brownish, with white patches on the belly.
  • It has small paddle-like flippers and a series of rounded humps on its back.
• Distribution:
  • They have one of the widest global distributions of any marine mammal species.
  • They are found in all deep oceans, from the equator to the edge of the pack ice in the Arctic and Antarctic.
• Features of Sperm Whale
  • Lifespan: Up to 60 years
  • They are highly social mammals that communicate with one another using a series of clicks called codas, and that each coda has a distinct purpose.
  • Ambergris, a material sometimes found floating in the sea, is formed in the sperm whale’s intestines around a core of undigested solid matter such as squid breaks.
• Conservation Status
  • IUCN: Vulnerable
  • CITES: Appendix I

About GlobE Network:

• The GlobE Network is a global platform of specialised anti-corruption law enforcement authorities.
• It was established under the Riyadh Initiative during Saudi Arabia's G20 Presidency.
• It is operating under the framework of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC)
• Members: The Network comprises 135 member countries and 250 member authorities, along with 18 observers including EUROPOL, the World Bank, and the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities.
• Governance: The steering committee, consisting of one chair, one vice-chair, and 13 members, provides leadership and direction for the organisation.
  • The Ministry of Home Affairs is the central authority for GloBE Network, while the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate are its member authorities from India.
• Functions:
  • The GlobE Network complements formal legal assistance mechanisms by enabling faster, more flexible, and direct agency-to-agency engagement.
  • It enables direct, practitioner-level cooperation among member agencies for the investigation, prosecution, and recovery of proceeds of corruption.
• The Network is governed by its members and is supported by the United Nations Office against Drugs and Crime (UNODC) which provides the Network’s secretariat.

About Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) Initiative:

• It was launched in 2019 to foster balanced regional development across all districts of the country.
• The objective of DEH is to identify, brand and promote products from each district, encouraging their sale in both domestic and international markets.
• It is an initiative of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Department of Commerce.
• Under this initiative, the export promotion activities are being decentralised to make the districts active stakeholders in boosting export growth of the identified products and services from the districts.
• Institutional mechanism
  • An institutional mechanism has been set up in all States/UTs by forming the State Export Promotion Committee (SEPC) and District Export Promotion Committee (DEPC) at the district level.
  • The initiative has identified export potential in specific districts across the country, spanning critical sectors like agriculture, toys, and GI products.
    • District Export Action Plans (DEAP) detailing the existing bottlenecks in the supply chain and identifying possible interventions to mitigate the existing gaps for export of the above identified products.
  • It is supporting local exporters/manufacturers to scale and find potential buyers outside India.
  • Coverage: The DEH initiative has identified products and services with export potential in all districts across the country, including GI products, agricultural clusters, and toy clusters.

About Tonga:

• Location: It is a sovereign country in Polynesia, composed of an archipelago of islands located in the South Pacific Ocean.
• Neighbouring countries include Fiji to the west, Cook Islands to the east and Samoa north.
• These islands are divided into three main groups: Tongatapu in the south, Ha‘apai in the center, and Vava‘u in the north.
  • The western islands (making up the Tongan Volcanic Arch) are all of volcanic origin; the eastern islands are nonvolcanic and are composed of coral limestone and sand
• Capital City: The capital city of Tonga is Nukuʻalofa, situated on the northern shore of Tongatapu Island.
• Geographical Features of Tonga
  • Terrain: It features flat terrain with limestone and coral formations.
    • Mostly flat islands with limestone bedrock formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic rock.
  • Highest Point: The highest point in this region Kao Island in the Haʻapai group.
  • Tonga is a member of the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance and Marine Protected Areas Action Groups.