About Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC):

• CBIC, formerly known as the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), is one of the Boards constituted under the statute the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963.
• It is the apex body under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, responsible for administering indirect taxes in India.
• It deals with the tasks of
  • Formulation of policy concerning levy and collection of Customs, Central Excise duties, Central Goods & Services Tax and IGST.
  • Prevention of smuggling and administration of matters relating to Customs, Central Excise, Central Goods & Services Tax, IGST, and Narcotics to the extent under CBIC's purview.
• The Board is the administrative authority for its subordinate organizations, including Custom Houses, Central Excise and Central GST Commissionerates, and the Central Revenues Control Laboratory.
• The CBIC is headed by a Chairman and has 6 members in addition to the Chairman.

About National Productivity Council (NPC):

• NPC, established in 1958, is an autonomous organization under the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• It is a non-profit organization with equal representation from employers’ & workers’ organizations and the Government, apart from technical & professional institutions and other interests.
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Objectives:
  • To increase awareness of productivity in general, especially of the concepts and techniques aimed at strengthening the microeconomic foundations of economic development, rooted in operating practices and strategies of the organizations.
  • To function as a think tank of the Government on measures needed to enhance focus on productivity
  • To be among the premier productivity consultancy and training organizations of the country in the first phase and of the South & Southeast Asian region in the long run.
  • To raise financial resources to sustain its operations on its own on a self-generating and continuing basis.
• Functions:
  • Consultancy to organizations on productivity improvement.
  • Training of personnel at different levels.
  • Dissemination of productivity information through seminars, workshops, conferences, etc.
  • Productivity Research and Database.
  • Productivity Publications.
  • Productivity Awards.
• It is a constituent of the Tokyo-based Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an Inter-Governmental Body of which the Government of India is a founding member.

About Rustic Bunting:

• It is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae.
• Scientific Name: Emberiza rustica
• Distribution:
  • Its breeding range extends from the Nordic regions to eastern Siberia.
  • It migrates to southeast Asia and parts of East Asia, including Japan, Korea, and eastern China, during the winter months.
  • There are only a handful of records of it being seen across India – predominantly in the northeast and across the Himalayan belt.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Near Threatened

About Syntactic Foam:

• A syntactic foam is a composite material that is produced by filling a metal, polymer, or ceramic with pre-formed inorganic hollow spheres known as micro balloons.
• Properties:
  • Lightweight with high strength: The use of hollow microspheres allows foam to maintain a low weight while offering excellent compressive strength.
  • Superior buoyancy: Its inherent low density makes it ideal for subsea applications where buoyancy is critical.
  • Thermal and acoustic insulation: It reduces thermal conductivity and dampens noise, improving performance in marine and aerospace environments.
  • Corrosion and water resistance: The closed-cell structure prevents water absorption, enhancing its longevity in saltwater and chemically aggressive environments.

• Applications:
  • Subsea and offshore: Ideal for Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), and pipeline insulation.
  • Aerospace: Used in satellite components and structural parts where weight reduction is essential without sacrificing strength.
  • Defense and Military: Employed in sonar domes, buoyancy modules, and lightweight armor due to its impact resistance.
  • Automotive and Sports: Increasingly adopted for lightweight, high-impact applications such as crash protection and performance gear.

What is the Samudrayaan Project?

• It is India’s first manned mission to explore the deep ocean.
• It is aimed to develop a self-propelled manned submersible to carry three human beings to a water depth of 6,000 meters in the ocean with a suite of scientific sensors and tools for deep ocean exploration.
• It is designed to study the deep ocean resources and conduct biodiversity assessments as well.
• The project is part of the larger Deep Ocean Mission, which supports the Central Government’s Blue Economy policy.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).

What is MATSYA 6000?

• It is a manned submersible vehicle developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai.
• It was developed under the Samudrayaan mission to facilitate humans in the deep ocean in exploring mineral resources.

About Lake Biwa:

• It is the largest freshwater lake in Japan.
• Its name refers to the biwa, a Japanese musical instrument that the lake resembles in shape.
• It is believed to be one of the world's oldest lakes, formed at least four million years ago.
• It is a breeding ground for freshwater fish, including trout, and supports a pearl culture industry.
• It was designated as a Ramsar site in 1993.

About Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission:

• It is an autonomous institution of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
• It is created to set standards of drugs in the country.
• Functions of Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission
  • Its basic function is to update regularly the standards of drugs commonly required for treatment of diseases prevailing in this region.
  • It publishes official documents for improving Quality of Medicines by way of adding new and updating existing monographs in the form of Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP).
  • It further promotes rational use of generic medicines by publishing National Formulary of India.
  • It prescribes standards for identity, purity and strength of drugs essentially required from the health care perspective of human beings and animals.
  • It also provides IP Reference Substances (IPRS) which act as a fingerprint for identification of an article under test and its purity as prescribed in IP.

What is Pharmacopoeia?

• The Pharmacopoeias are official compendia of quality standards of the drugs being imported, manufactured for sale, stocked or exhibited for sale or distributed in India.

About India Internet Governance Forum:

• It is the Indian chapter of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (UN IGF) which was established in 2021.
• It is a global multi-stakeholder platform that fosters dialogue on public policy issues related to the Internet.
• It aims to maximize the opportunities of the Internet while addressing associated challenges and risks.
• IIGF promotes collaborative discussions among representatives from government, civil society, industries, technical communities, think tanks, and industry associations.
• It is guided by a 14-member multi-stakeholder committee, IIGF Known for its inclusive and collaborative approach.
• Role of IIGF: It plays a vital role in shaping policies for an open, secure, and accessible Internet, addressing issues such as cybersecurity, digital inclusion, data privacy, and emerging technologies.
• Theme of the fifth edition of IIGF: “Advancing Internet Governance for an Inclusive and Sustainable Viksit Bharat.” 

What is Internet Governance?

• It is the process of developing norms and principles that impact the way the Internet is used and functions.
• It includes solving technical issues, setting regulatory frameworks, and policymaking to respond to social, economic and security matters, as well as questions of trust, standard-setting, accountability and jurisdiction. 

About Golden Jackal:

• It is also known as the common jackal or reed wolf is a medium-sized wolf-like canid.
• It is strictly nocturnal in areas inhabited by humans, but may be partly diurnal elsewhere.
• It digs caverns for shelter, or use crevices in rocks, or caverns that were dug by other animals.
• Habitat: These animals are abundant in valleys and along rivers and their tributaries, canals, lakes, and seashores, but are rare in foothills and low mountains.
• Distribution: North and East Africa, Southeastern Europe and South Asia to Burma.
  • They are quite widespread across India. Right from the Himalayan foothills, down to the Western Ghats, the Golden Jackal has a wide distribution.
• Diet: They are These opportunistic foragers have a rather diverse diet.
• Conservation Status 
  • IUCN: Least Concern
  • CITES: Appendix III
  • Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I