National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID)

Recently Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the meeting to review the performance of the NaBFID.

• Established - 2021
• Statutory body - Established by National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Act, 2021.
• Aim
  • To bridge the finance gap in the infrastructure sector.
  • To support the development of long-term non-recourse infrastructure financing in India.
• It enables credit flow through instruments such as longer tenor loans, blended finance, partial credit enhancement, takeout financing, and facilitate crowding-in of infrastructure finance.
• It was set up in 2021 as India’s 5th All India Financial Institution in the country
• Capital – The authorised share capital of the Institution is 1 lakh crore rupees
• Regulation – Regulated and supervised by the Reserve Bank of India as an All India Financial Institution (AIFI) under the RBI Act, 1934.
• Governance – It is governed by a Board of Directors.
• The members of the Board include:
  1. The Chairperson appointed by the central government in consultation with RBI
  2. A Managing Director
  3. Maximum of 3 Deputy Managing Directors
  4. 2 directors nominated by the central government
  5. Maximum of 3 directors elected by shareholders
  6. A few independent directors (as specified) 

Agalega Island

Recently Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the inauguration ceremony of several India-assisted development projects at the Agalega Island in Mauritius, via a video conference.

• Agalega Islands is a two-island dependency of Mauritius, in the western Indian Ocean.
• It consists of North Island and South Island.
• It is located Latitudinally between Maldives and Mauritius.
• It is located in the southern hemisphere to the north of Mauritius and east to the Madagascar.
• It is located south to Seychelles Latitudinally.
• India – India signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the “improvement in sea and air transportation facilities” at Agalega Island in 2015.
• Recently Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the India-built airstrip in the island.
• The airstrip contributes to the India’s strategic significance in the Indian Ocean.

BHISHM Cube Initiative

The Indigenous Mobile Hospital (BHISHM) or Arogya Maitri Cube was recently deployed at the Pran Pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya to mitigate any unexpected disaster events.

• BHISHM Cube is an Arogya Maitri Disaster Management Cube.
• It is the world’s first portable disaster hospital.
• This cube is a part of the broader initiative named “Project BHISHM” – Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog, Hita and Maitri.
• Arogya Maitri Cube is equipped with cutting-edge technology which is tailored to treat up to 200 casualties, emphasizing rapid response and comprehensive care.
• Features – Arogya Maitri Cube is a completely made-in-India and each cube cage has three frames.
• It consists of mini cubes and master cubes.
• These cubes are robust, waterproof, and light, designed for various configurations, making them ideal for diverse emergency scenarios. 
• The cube can be rapidly deployed anywhere, ensuring immediate response to several activities ranging from airdrops to ground transportation.
• AI and data analytics – It integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data analytics to facilitate effective coordination, real-time monitoring, and efficient management of medical services in the field.
• Even though India has not received any commercial orders for the portable hospital kit, the country is already supplying the BHISHM Cube to neighbouring nations like Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Critical Minerals and its Major Applications

• Critical minerals are elements that are the building blocks of essential modern-day technologies.
• To know more about the critical minerals click here .
• The major applications for few of the Critical minerals are given below:
• Bismuth – Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals and Casting of Iron.
• Cadmium – Batteries, Pigments and Coatings.
• Cobalt – Electric Vehicle, Batteries, corrosion resistant alloys, aerospace applications and Pigments and Dyes.
• Copper – Electrical and electronics products, Electrical Wiring, Solar Panel and Automotive industry.
• Gallium – Semiconductors, Integrated Circuits and LEDs.
• Germanium – Optical fibres, satellites, solar cells.
• Graphite – Batteries, Lubricants, fuel cells for EVs, Electric Vehicle.
• Hafnium – Super alloy, Catalyst precursor, Semiconductors, Oxide for Optical and Nuclear reactors.
• Indium – Electronics (Laptops, LED Monitors/TVs, Smartphones), and semi-conductors.
• Lithium – Electric Vehicle, Batteries, glassware, ceramics, fuel manufacturing and Lubricant.
• Molybdenum – Steel alloys, Pigment and Dyes, Catalyst, Electrical and Electronic
• Niobium – Construction, transportation
• Nickel – Stainless steel, solar panels, batteries, aerospace, defence applications and Electric Vehicle.
• Rhenium – Super-alloys, aerospace and machinery uses, Catalysts in petroleum industry
• Tellurium – Solar power, thermoelectric devices and Rubber vulcanising.

Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)

Recently Researchers have, for the first time observed and captured images of humpback whales having sexual intercourse. And as it turns out, both the individuals involved in the act were male.

• Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is one of the four baleen whale known for its elaborate courtship songs and displays.
• It can be found in every ocean in the world.
• They are powerful swimmers, and they use their massive tail fins, called flukes, to propel themselves through the water and sometimes completely out of it.
• These baleen whales are found near coastlines, feeding on tiny shrimp-like krill, plankton, and small fish.
• Humpback whales live along the coasts of all oceans, occasionally swimming close to shore, even into harbours and rivers.
• The Arabian Sea humpback whales are the only sedentary whales in the world, feeding and breeding in the same area.
• Whale songs – They are known for their magical songs, which travel for great distances through the world's oceans.
•  These sequences of moans, howls, cries, and other noises are quite complex and often continue for hours on end.
• Migration – They migrate annually from summer feeding grounds near the poles to warmer winter breeding waters closer to the Equator. 
• Conservation – It is categorised as Least Concern in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.
• The numbers were severely reduced before the 1985 ban on commercial whaling, but the numbers in many population groups have since improved.
• The population trend is increasing for the species.
• Threats – Today, the biggest threats to humpback whales are collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear.