UPSC QUIZ 05.06.2024

Explanation:

• Tamil Nadu government has begun the process of denotifying some eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) parts of the Pulicat Bird Sanctuary.
• Environmentalists fear the move will lead to industrial expansion, harming the fragile wetland ecosystem on which the livelihood of thousands of fishermen depend.

Pulicat Lake

• Pulicat Lake is the second largest brackish water lagoon lake in India after Chilika Lake.
• Pulicat Lake is located about 60 km north of Chennai.
• This lagoon lake is separated from the Bay of Bengal by Sriharikota Island (site of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre).
• The lake covers an area of about 720 square kilometres, of which more than 80% lies in Andhra Pradesh and less than 20% in Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu.
• Most of the lake lies in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.

Explanation:

• According to the Cotton Federation of India, cotton sowing area expected to be 25% lower in northern states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan in 2024.

Indian Cotton

• Cotton is the most important fibre crop among the cash crops of India and plays a major role in the industrial and agricultural economy of the country.
• Cotton is a Kharif crop in most parts of the country, the cotton sowing season is April-May in northern India and monsoon based in the southern region.
• India is the only country that grows all four species of cotton.
• Gossypium arboreum and Gossypium herbaceum (Asian cotton), Gossypium barbadense (Egyptian cotton) and Gossypium hirsutum (American upland cotton).
• 90% of the hybrid cotton produced in India is Gossypium hirsutum.

Explanation:

• A recent report titled “Women in Leadership in Corporate India” by networking platform has shown a persistent underrepresentation of women in leadership positions across Indian corporates.
• The percentage has remained stagnant below 30% for a considerable period.

LinkedIn

• LinkedIn is a business-oriented social media platform, launched in 2003, that focuses on professional networking.
• Unlike general social media sites like Facebook or Twitter, LinkedIn focuses on career-related aspects.
• The data is based on LinkedIn members in India, where the firm has over 100 million people registered

Explanation:

• Institute of Advanced Virology (IAV), Thonnakkal, scientists have developed a way of generating non-infectious Nipah virus-like particles (VLPs) in the laboratory.
• This new method offers an alternate, safe and effective platform for developing neutralising antibodies against Nipah virus (NiV) in a biosafety level-2 (BSL) laboratory.
• IAV scientists generated “HiBiT-tagged” Nipah virus-like particles (NiV-VLPs) using plasmid-based expression systems with the NiV structural proteins G, F, and M.
• With this new technique, conducting tests crucial for developing vaccines in biosafety level-2 labs will be possible.
• Now, such tests are done only in biosafety level-4 labs, because of the extreme precautions required.
• Virus neutralisation assays are important for the development and evaluation of vaccines and immunotherapeutics.
• The zoonotic virus Nipah is a highly pathogenic paramyxovirus. It has a fatality rate of up to 80% in affected humans.

Explanation:

• FSSAI and APEDA developed the Unified India Organic logo.
• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) have jointly developed “Unified India Organic”.
• It will replace the India Organic and Jaivik Bharat logos.
• The new logo's main aim is uniformity in organic product regulations.
• India Organic denotes NPOP compliance, while Jaivik Bharat was for FSSAI-certified organics.
• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
• The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is an Indian export trade government body.