Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository (GDPIR)

Recently Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi announced that the Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository, a virtual repository of DPIs will be put to use soon.

• The Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository is an initiative of the Indian G20 Presidency.
• The GDPIR is designed to be a resource for key lessons and knowledge available from G20 members and guest countries, enabling easy discoverability.
• It is aimed at addressing the existing knowledge gap around the right practices to design, build, and deploy population scale DPI (Digital public infrastructure).
• The repository will include a stack of applications, which countries can use, customise or modify, according to their jurisdictions.
• The Global DPIS in India include:
  • Aadhar
  • United payment interface (UPI)
  • Digilocker
  • UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance)
  • eSanjeevani
  • API Setu
  • Co-WIN platform
  • Government e Marketplace (GeM)
  • DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure For Knowledge Sharing)
  • e-Hospital platform
  • Poshan Tracker
  • Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission
• Digital Public Infrastructure – Is a set of shared digital systems that should be secure and interoperable, and can be built on open standards and specifications.
• It aims to deliver and provide equitable access to public or private services at societal scale.
• It is a critical enabler of digital transformation and is helping to improve public service delivery at scale.

Nidirana Noadihing

Nidirana Noadihing is a newly discovered frog species in Arunachal Pradesh.

• Nidirana Noadihing is a new species of 'music frog' discovered in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The speciality of this new species of frog is that both the male and female are vocal.
• It has a unique call pattern consisting of two-three notes.
• It grows up to 6cm and is characterised by a pale cream-coloured line on the mid-body with "robust" body.
• The frogs have a 'rounded' snout and 'smooth' skin with bony protrusions on their backs.
• Nidirana are known to inhabit swamps, ponds and paddy fields, and they often construct nests to lay their eggs.
• The amphibians have 'irregular shaped and sized spots' on their eyelids and they have dark stripes around their moderately large eyes.
• They are distinguished from other species by their size, their oval toe tips, the tubercles on their backs and their unique call.

Green Leaf Volatiles (GLVs)

Scientists are considering harnessing the potential of Green Leaf Volatiles (GLVs) to use it as pest due to its characteristics that can fight agricultural pests.

• Green Leaf Volatiles (GLVs) are group of compounds present in plants that causes pleasant smell when released into air.
• The plants have 2 major defence mechanisms, involving a chain of molecular reactions.
• The reactions are triggered when a plant is damaged and GLVs are released as by-products.
• GLVs could help mitigate pest damage to crops but that more work was required to understand how specific compounds induced defences against specific pests.
• The Guard cells and mesophylls, had the most calcium in response to GLVs.
• GLVs activate internal plant-defence responses and some of these volatiles repel the insects and some attract predators of the pests.
• GLVs could help mitigate pest damage to crops.

Investor Risk Reduction Access Platform (IRRA Platform)

Recently SEBI launched the IRRA Platform to reduce risks faced by investors due to certain technical glitches in the stock market.

• Investor Risk Reduction Access Platform (IRRA Platform) aims to reduce risks faced by investors due to certain technical glitches in the stock market.
• The platform will act as a ‘safety net’ for investors in case of technical glitches faced by a trading member or a stock broker registered with SEBI.
• Its purpose is to provide investors with an opportunity to square off/close their open positions and cancel pending orders using the IRRA platform in case of technical glitches.
• In trading, "square off" means closing an open position. It can be done manually or automatically, depending on your broker and account settings.
• IRRA has been jointly developed by all the stock exchanges that includes:
  • BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange),
  • NSE(National Stock Exchange),
  • NCDEX(National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited),
  • MCX(Multi Commodity Exchange Of India Ltd) and
  • Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India (MSE).
• IRRA is not meant for taking fresh positions or orders, but only to cancel the pending orders.
• This service shall be enabled by the exchanges, suo moto, only in case of disruption of trading services of trading member across all the exchanges, where the trading member is a member.
• IRRA is not available for algo trading and Institutional clients.
• Algorithmic trading or algo-trading uses a computer program that follows a defined set of instructions (an algorithm) to place a trade.
• Access to the IRRA platform will be available to the investors over a new Internet-based Based Trading (IBT) web URL and mobile application.
• The IRRA platform is different from the web URL / mobile application used by the investor, as provided by the affected trading member.

Onattukara Sesame

Recently the Onattukara Vikasana Agency, registered owner of the GI-tagged sesame seeds have panned to increase the area of cultivation to 2,000 hectares from current 600 hectares.

• From the 18th century, traditional ayurvedic doctors from the erstwhile Travancore kingdom utilised Onattukara sesame oil for the treatment of diseases related to rheumatism and to protect the skin.
• It also contains oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitoleic acid and so on which help maintain good health.
• Onattukara sesame is currently grown on less than 600 hectares spread across 43 local bodies in 3 districts of Alappuzha, Kollam and Pathanamthitta of Kerala.
• Besides the traditional Ayali variety, farmers in the region are cultivating Kayamkulam-1, Thilak, Thilathara and Thilarani varieties of Onattukara sesame.
• All the varieties are being developed by the Onattukara Regional Agricultural Research Station (ORARS), Kayamkulam of Kerala.
• Onattukara sesame is a geographical indication (GI) tag product.