• ISRO will launch Cartosat-3, and 13 other foreign satellites, aboard a PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) C-47.
• The main purpose of the mission is to place the 1,625-kg Cartosat-3 satellite, the third generation of Earth-observation remote sensing satellites that ISRO has been launching and using 1988.
• These satellites provide high-resolution imagery of the Earth that are used for applications like 3-D mapping, disaster management, agriculture and water management, recording of changes in land use, and urban and rural infrastructure planning, and even border surveillance.
• The PSLV-C47 rocket is also carrying 13 commercial nano-satellites from the United States (U.S).

• The Jing Kieng Jri or Living Root Bridges — aerial bridges built by weaving and manipulating the roots of the Indian rubber tree — have been serving as connectors for generations in Meghalaya.
• Spanning between 15 and 250 feet and built over centuries, the bridges, primarily a means to cross streams and rivers, have also become world-famous tourist attractions.
• Now, new research investigates these structures and proposes to integrate them in modern architecture around the world, and potentially help make cities more environment-friendly.

• It is the sole legally binding multilateral treaty that coordinates cybercrime investigations between nation-states and criminalises certain cybercrime conduct.
• The convention is led by Council of Europe, which is distinct from European Union.
• Both members and non-members of Council of Europe are parties to the convention.
• Totally 64 nations are party to this convention and 3 countries have signed but yet to ratify the convention.
• India, Russia and Chinaare not members to this convention.
• The 2nd additional protocol to the convention is under preparation and the member countries recently met at Strasbourg.
• Russia recently passed a resolution in United Nation General Assembly (UNGA), to create a new treaty that can coordinate and share data to prevent cybercrime.
• India voted in favour of Russia’s resolution.

Avian Botulism

• Over 17,000 birds were found dead in the past few days in the Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan.
• It is not the first time that where deaths due to botulism have been recorded. It is reported in Lake Michigan in 2007 and 2008 and in Hawaii in 2008.
• The Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, states that climatic conditions were ultimately responsible for having triggered the mass die-off.
• It is occurred due to avian botulism, a disease caused by bacteria that affects nerves.
• Botulinum is a natural toxin produced by bacteria known as Clostridium botulin.
• It produces the toxin when it starts reproducing and attack the neurons which leads to muscle paralysis.
• It is commonly found in the soil, river, and sea water.
• There are around eight types — A, B, C1, C2, D, E, F, and G — of botulinum toxin and they are distinguishable when diagnosed.
• Botulinum affects both humans and animals, but the type of the toxin varies — botulinum C in birds and A, B and E in humans.

• Jan JagruktaAbhiyaan(Peoples Movement)is a special campaign in Delhi to sensitize and mobilise the community on measures for prevention and control of Vector Borne Diseases (VBDs) like Malaria, Dengue and Chikungunya.
• It is an initiative of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

• The One Stop Centre (OSC) Scheme provides a range of services including police facilitation, medical aid, psycho-social counselling, legal counselling and temporary shelter to women affected by violence in an integrated manner under one roof.
• It supports all women including girls below 18 years of age affected by violence, irrespective of caste, class, religion, region, sexual orientation or marital status, both in private and public spaces.
• The Centres will be integrated with a Women Helpline to facilitate access.
• The Scheme will be funded through NirbhayaFund .
• The Central Government will provide 100% financial assistance to the State Government /UT Administrations under the Scheme.

• A joint study by Russian and Indian scientists shows that Migratory birds from Siberia and northern Eurasia could be falling prey to power lines and turbines in India.
• The Central Asian Flyway (CAF) covers a large continental area of Eurasia between the Arctic and Indian Oceans and the associated island chains.
• It traditionally migrated 5,500 km south across the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, before arriving at the wintering grounds in Keoladeo Ghana National Park in Rajasthan.
• Even Indian government has launched a national action plan conservation of migratory birds along the Central Asian Flyway.
• India provides a critical stopover as well as a wintering habitat to more than 370 species of migratory birds.
• CMS or Bonn Convention(Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals) provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats.
• CMS brings together the States through which migratory animals pass, the Range States, and lays the legal foundation for internationally coordinated conservation measures throughout a migratory range.

• The island at the confluence of the Ganga and the Bay of Bengal is losing the battle to sea level rise, coastal erosion, tidal surges and violent cyclones.
• Studies over the decades have recorded that the sea level in the area rose from 2.26 mm a year in 2002 to 12 mm in 2014 and by another 2.9 mm in 2019.
• Ganga Sagar and Mousuni Islands are in the Ganges delta, lying on thecontinental shelf of Bay of Bengalto the south of Kolkata, West Bengal.
• Ganga Sagaris the largest island in the Sundarbans archipelago.
• It is one of the most famous Hindu pilgrimage centres in India.
• Every year on MakarSankranti pilgrims from all over India, gather at Gangasagar for a holy dip at the confluence of the river Ganga and the Bay of Bengal.
• Gangasagar Fair is the second biggest congregation of Hindu pilgrims after the KumbhaMela.
• Mousuni, which lies a few km south of Ganga Sagar, is similarly exposed to the sea.

Credit Guarantee Fund

• National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd is a common trustee company to manage and operate various credit guarantee trust funds.
• It has been set up by the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.
• It operates Fund of Funds for Start-ups (FFS) under Start up India Programme.
• Under Startup India initiative, all applications can be submitted to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
• Collateral-free loans have been made available to MSMEs under the Credit Guarantee Scheme in Aspirational Districts.

• It made legislators liable to be penalised for their conduct both inside and outside the legislature.
• It made the Presiding Officer of the legislature the sole arbiter of defection proceedings.