• The Union Cabinet has recently given its approval for the ratification of Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement between India and France.
• The Agreement was signed in March, 2018 during the State Visit of the French President to India.
• The Agreement represents a major milestone in enhancing people-to-people contacts, fostering mobility of students, academics, researchers and skilled professionals and strengthening cooperation on issues related to irregular migration and human trafficking between the two sides.
• The Agreement is a testimony to India's rapidly expanding multi-faceted relationship with France and symbolizes the increasing trust and confidence between the two sides.
• The Agreement is initially valid for a period of seven years, incorporates provision for automatic renewal and a monitoring mechanism through a Joint Working Group.

• The Union Cabinet has recently apprised of the Agreement on cooperation in polar science between Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), India and Ministry of Education and Research, Sweden.
• The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on 2nd December 2019 during the visit of Their Majesties of the Kingdom of Sweden to India.
• India and Sweden are both signatories to the Antarctic Treaty and to the Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty on Environmental Protection.

Antarctic Treaty

• The treaty was opened for signature on December 1, 1959, and officially entered into force on June 23, 1961.
• The original signatories were 12 countries: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States.
• India is also a party to the Antarctic Treaty.
• It aims for making Antarctic Continent as demilitarized zone to be preserved for scientific research only. 

• Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has recently notified the new Wetland Conservation Rules.
• It prohibits setting up or expansion of industries and disposal of construction and demolition waste within the wetlands.
• A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, and it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem.
• The Ministry has said that each state and Union Territory will have to set up an authority that will define strategies for conservation and wise use of wetlands within their jurisdiction.
• The Authority will prepare a list of all wetlands of the State or UT within three months from the date of publication of these rules.
• It will develop a comprehensive list of activities to be regulated and permitted within the notified wetlands and their zone of influence.
• It will also recommend mechanisms for maintenance of ecological character through promotional activities for land within the boundary of notified wetlands. 
• The Ministry has also created a web portal for sharing information regarding the implementation of Wetlands Rules where the central government, state governments are required to upload all relevant information and documents pertaining to wetlands in their jurisdiction. 

• Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has issued an Avalanche warning to Leh in Ladakh region. 
• SASE is working in avalanche forecasting, artificial triggering and structural control in snowbound mountainous areas.
• SASE also participated in the Indian Antarctic Programme with research activities on the areas of Antarctic snow cover/ ice sheet surface energy balance and melt estimation.

• The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI-Visakhapatnam) has recently registered success in cultivation of Indian pompano in a brackishwater pond, scientifically proving its commercial viability.

Indian pompano

• The Indian Pompano, which belongs to the fast-growing Carangid family, has a great demand in the state; especially this fish is rarely caught in fishermen's nets because its sea population is quite low.
• The species is able to acclimatize and grow well even at a lower salinity of about 15 ppt (parts per thousand) and, hence, is suitable for farming in saline ponds of coastal areas besides its huge potential for sea cage farming.

• The Uttar Pradesh government has recently announced it will build a 121-acre zoo named after ‘Ashfaqullah Khan’.
• He was the member of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association HSRA.
• HSRA published its manifesto titled “The Revolutionary” in 1925, which, among other things, said, “The immediate object of the revolutionary party in the domain of politics is to establish a federal Republic of United State of India by an organized and armed revolution.

• The 4th 'Buxa Bird Festival' has begun in Buxa National Park in West Bengal's Alipurduar district.
• Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) was created in 1983 as the 15th tiger reserve in India.
• In 1986, Buxa Wildlife Sanctuary was constituted over 314.52 km2 of the reserve forests.
• Government of West Bengal finally declared it as a National park.
• It serves as an international corridor for elephant migration between India and Bhutan.
• The Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary of Bhutan is contiguous to North of BTR, Manas Tiger Reserve lies on the east.
• The reserve encompasses as many as 8 forest types.
• The Avifauna is rich in both endemic as well as migratory species.
• The swift rivers of Rydak and Jayanti are visited by Trans Himalayan Migratory Goosanders, the beautiful Ibis Bill, resident Fork-tails, varieties of Red-stars, Wag-tails.

• Recently, NASA reported the discovery of an Earth-size planet, named “TOI 700 d”, orbiting its star in the “habitable zone”, also called the “Goldilocks zone”.
• The Goldilocks zone is the range of orbital distances from a star at which liquid water can exist on the surface of a planet, without water boils away or freezes.
• This range of distances changes depending on the size and temperature of the star.
• Bigger hotter stars have their Goldilocks Zones further out, while smaller cooler stars have habitable zones much closer in.

• BSNL have organised a function for commencement of cable-laying of Chennai - Andaman & Nicobar Islands Submarine Optical Fibre Cable System. 
• It will connect Port Blair to Chennai and will have further landings in 7 islands: Swaraj Dweep, Long Island, Rangat, Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta and Great Nicobar. 
• The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are divided into 2 island groups, the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands, which are separated by the 10°N parallel.

• The Mizoram State Government is organising “Zo Kutpui Festival” across 10 states in the country and also in other countries.
• It will also be organized in Maryland in the USA, Tahan in Myanmar, Churachandpur in Manipur and Bangladesh.
• The move is an attempt to unify and strengthen the brotherhood among various Mizo tribes living in different parts of the world.
• The Mizoram Government is trying to unify the Mizo population in the country and also across the world.
• In India, the Mizo population is found in Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram. There are 12 Mizo clans identified.