IndiGau

• It is purely indigenous and the largest cattle chip of the world.
• It is a great example of self-reliant India.
• This chip will have practical utility in the Governments schemes to achieve the goal of conservation of our own breeds with better characters and help towards doubling of farmers’ income by 2022.

Kankrej

• It is otherwise called as Wadad or Waged, Wadhiar.
• Originated from Southeast Rann of Kutch of Gujarat and adjoining Rajasthan (Barmer and Jodhpur district).
• Kankrej is valued for fast, powerful, draught cattle.
• Useful in ploughing and carting.
• The cows are good milkers, yielding about 1360 kgs.

Sahiwal

• This breed otherwise known as Lola (loose skin), Lambi Bar, Montgomery, Multani, Teli.
• Originated in Montgomery district in present Pakistan and Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, & Rajasthan.
• The average milk yield of this breed is between 2,725 and 3,175 kgs in lactation period of 300 days.

Ongole

• Otherwise known as Nellore.
• Home tract is Ongole taluk in Gantur district of Andhra Pradesh.
• Average milk yield is 1000 kgs. Age at first calving is 38-45 months with an intercalving period of 470 days.

Kangayam

• Originated in Kangayam, Dharapuram, Perundurai, Erode, Bhavani and part of Gobichettipalayam taluk of Erode and Coimbatore district.
• The Kangayam breed was developed by the efforts of the late Pattogar of Palayakottai, Sri N. Nallathambi Sarkari Manradiar.

Training for Augmenting Productivity and Services (TAPAS)

• It is an initiative of National Institute of Social Defence (NISD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• It aims to provide access to lectures by subject experts, study material and more, but in a manner that it supplements the physical classroom without compromising on the quality of teaching.
• The main objective of introducing the course modules is to impart training and enhance the knowledge and skills for the capacity building of the participants.
• It can be taken up by anyone who wishes to enhance his or her knowledge on the topics and there is no fee for joining.
• The five basic courses are on Drug (Substance) Abuse Prevention, Geriatric/Elderly Care, Care and Management of Dementia, Transgender Issues and on comprehensive course on Social Defence Issues.

Jaipur Blue Pottery

• The technique travelled from Iran and Turkey to India in the 14th century.
• It was used primarily for souvenirs or decorative tableware such as coasters, vases, trays, plates and doorknobs, its applications have remained limited since the 1850s when it was patronised by the ruling house of Jaipur.
• A century later, the dying craft and was revived by the royal family and patrons of art and culture.
• In 2005, the Central Glass and Ceramic Institute of India (CGCII) introduced a new glaze finish.
• It was conferred Geographical Index Status (GIS) in 2008.

Procedure

• It is one of the few pottery techniques in the world that does not use clay.
• Locally-sourced quartz powder, recycled glass, plant-based gum (katera), and Multani Mitti are ground together and kneaded to make a dough.
• This is then moulded like a flatbread, sun dried, and finished with intricate motifs done with oxide pigments, as an underglaze.
• The glaze is applied as the last step before firing at around 800 degrees.

The Jajmani System

• In areas where the use of money had not been introduced, service relationships and exchanges in kind may have existed.
• It is likely that the jajmani system evolved from these service relations.
• In many parts of India the jajmani system defined most of the transactions in the craft sector.
• Jajmani System is a reciprocal arrangement between craft-producing castes and the wider village community, for the supply of goods and services.
• The caste system did not permit the upper castes to practise certain occupations.
• As a result the patrons or Jajman were dependent on purjans (cultivators, craftsmen, barbers, washermen, cobblers, sweepers, etc.) to provide essential goods and services for the village/urban economy.
• In return a fixed payment in kind was assured.
• This could be rent-free land, residence sites, credit facilities, food or even dung!
• Since most upper-caste people owned land, the jajmani system provided them with a stable supply of labour.
• Today this system still holds sway over several parts of the country, though colonialism, competition, better communications and improved civil laws have all transformed it in their own ways.

Bioremediation

• It is a process used to treat contaminated media, including water, soil and subsurface material, by altering environmental conditions to stimulate growth of microorganisms and degrade the target pollutants.
• Most bioremediation processes involve oxidation-reduction reactions where either an electron acceptor (commonly oxygen) is added to stimulate oxidation of a reduced pollutant (e.g. hydrocarbons) or an electron donor (commonly an organic substrate) is added to reduce oxidized pollutants (nitrate, perchlorate, oxidized metals, chlorinated solvents, explosives and propellants)
• Specific bacteria can be used to bio remediate specific contaminants, such as hydrocarbons, which are present in oil and gasoline.
• Bacteria such as Paraperlucidibaca, Cycloclasticus, Oleispira, Thalassolituus Zhongshania and some others can help remove several classes of contaminants.

Socio Economic Caste Census

• SECC was conducted in 2011 for the first time since 1931.
• SECC 2011 has three census components which were conducted by three separate authorities but under the overall coordination of Department of Rural Development in the Government of India.

1. Census in Rural Area has been conducted by the Department of Rural Development (DoRD).
2. Census in Urban areas is under the administrative jurisdiction of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUPA).
3. Caste Census is under the administrative control of Ministry of Home Affairs: Registrar General of India (RGI) and Census Commissioner of India.

• The Decennial Census provides a portrait of the Indian population, while the SECC is a tool to identify beneficiaries of state support.
• Since the Decennial Census falls under the Census Act of 1948, all data are considered confidential, whereas all the personal information given in the SECC is open for use by Government departments to grant and/or restrict benefits to households.

Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021

• Recently, the Ministry Of Environment Forest And Climate Change has notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021.
• These rules prohibit specific single-use plastic items which have “low utility and high littering potential” by 2022.
• The ban will not apply to commodities made of compostable plastic.
• The Central Pollution Control Board, along with state pollution bodies, will monitor the ban, identify violations, and impose penalties already prescribed under the Environmental Protection Act, 1986.

Compostable Plastics

1. Compostable Plastics are derived from renewable materials like corn, potato, and tapioca starches, cellulose, soy protein, and lactic acid.
2. These are non-toxic and decompose back into carbon dioxide, water, and biomass when composted.

Greater Adjutant Stroke

• The greater adjutant is a member of the stork family, Ciconiidae, there are about 20 species in the family.
• Once found across South and Southeast Asia, the Greater Adjutant is one of the most threatened stork species in the world.
• There are only three known breeding grounds, one in Cambodia and two in India i.e. Assam and Bihar.
• They are protected under IUCN Red List: Endangered and Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972: Schedule IV.
• Recently, Bihar has decided to tag greater adjutant storks locally known as ‘Garuda’ with GPS trackers to monitor their movement as part of efforts to conserve them.

Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant

• Article 275 provides for the payment of such sums as Parliament may by law provide as grants-in aid to such States as Parliament may determine to be in need of assistance.
• The grants are paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India in each year, and different sums may be fixed for different States.
• Grants are primarily intended to correct Inter-State disparities in financial resources and to coordinate the maintenance and expansion of the welfare schemes of the State Governments on a uniform national level.
• The grants are released as per the recommendations of the Finance Commission in monthly instalments to meet the gap in Revenue Accounts of the States post-devolution (of the divisible tax pool of the Centre).
• The eligibility of States to receive this grant and the quantum of grant was decided by the Commission based on the gap between assessment of revenue and expenditure of the State.