• Union Minister for Communication & IT and Law & Justice Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad has recently launched the Online Grievance Management Portal of National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) on the occasion of 130th birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Baba Saheb Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.

National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC)

• It was set up under the Article 338 of the Constitution of India with the objective to investigate and monitor all issues pertaining to the safeguards provided for the Scheduled Castes under any law for the time being in force or under any order of the Government of India.
• The Commission also enquires into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and safeguards provided for the Scheduled Castes.
• The NCSC renews its commitment to serve the cause of the SC community as mandated in the Constitution and policies of the government.

• Scientists have developed an electronic nose with biodegradable polymer and monomer that can detect hydrogen sulphide (H2S) gas.
• Scientists from the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bangalore, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, in collaboration with their counterparts from Saudi Arabia, have developed an exceptionally sensitive and selective H2S Gas sensor developed by impersonating the neuron responsible for identification of airborne molecules or olfactory receptor neuron (ORN).

Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S)

• It is a poisonous, corrosive, and flammable gas produced from swamps and sewers.
• H2S is the primary gas produced from the microbial breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen.

• NIXI has recently inaugurated three path breaking initiatives for National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI).
• The details of the three new initiatives are as below:

IPv6 Expert Panel (IP Guru)

• It is a group to extend support to all the Indian entities who are finding it technically challenging to migrate and adopt IPv6.

NIXI Academy

• NIXI Academy is created to educate technical/non-technical people in India to learn and relearn technologies like IPv6 which are normally not taught in Educational Institutes.

NIXI-IP-INDEX

• NIXI has developed an IPv6 index portal for the Internet community.
• NIXI-IP-INDEX portal will showcase the IPv6 adoption rate in India and across the world.

National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI)

• It is a not-for-profit organization (section 8 of the Companies Act 2013) working since 2003 for spreading the internet infrastructure to the citizens of India.
• It was set up for peering of ISPs among themselves for the purpose of routing the domestic traffic within the country, instead of taking it all the way to US/Abroad, thereby resulting in better quality of service (reduced latency) and reduced bandwidth charges for ISPs by saving on International Bandwidth.
• It spreads the internet infrastructure to the citizens of India through the following activities:

1. Internet Exchanges through which the internet data is exchanged amongst ISP’s, Data Centers and CDNs.
2. .IN Registry, managing and operation of .IN country code domain and IDN domain for India.
3. IRINN, managing and operating Internet protocol (IPv4/IPv6)

• United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) flagship State of World Population Report, 2021 titled ‘My Body is My Own’ was recently launched.
• According to the report, nearly half the women from 57 developing countries do not have the right to make decisions regarding their bodies, including using contraception, seeking healthcare or even on their sexuality.
• This is the first time a United Nations report has focused on bodily autonomy, defined as the power and agency to make choices about your body without the fear of violence or having someone else decide for you.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently set up the Regulations Review Authority 2.0.

Regulations Review Authority 2.0

• It will review regulatory prescriptions internally as well as by seeking suggestions from RBI-regulated entities for simplification and ease of implementation.
• Deputy Governor M. Rajeshwar Rao has been appointed as the Regulations Review Authority.
• The authority would have validity for a period of one year from May 1.
• The RBI had set up a similar authority in 1999 for reviewing regulations, circulars, and reporting systems.
• The recommendations enabled streamlining and increasing the effectiveness of several procedures, paving the way for issuance of master circular and reducing reporting burden on regulated entities.

New years in India

• Bohag Bihu festival - It marks the beginning of the Assamese New Year.
• The word “Bihu” is derived from the Sanskrit word Bishu, meaning “to ask blessings and prosperity from the Gods” before the onset of the harvest season.
• Vishu - It is an important festival celebrated in the state of Kerala, and by Keralites around the country and the world.
• It marks the first day of the Malayalam calendar and, therefore, is celebrated with a lot of festive excitement by Malayalis.
• Puthandu - Puthandu or Puthuvarusham is celebrated with much fervour by people in Tamil Nadu.
• Puthandu is celebrated when the sun is exactly over the equator.
• Naba Barsha - Shubho Nabo Barsho or Pohela Boisakh marks the first day of the Bengali lunisolar calendar.
• It marks the beginning of the financial year for the Bengali business class and shopkeepers.
• Vaisakhadi - Mesadi - Vaisakhadi is a festival for the harvest season celebrared among Khalsa community.
• Maha Bishuba Pana Sankranti – It marks the Odia New Year.
• People mark the advent of the New Year by drinking pana, a sweet-sour drink made with bael (wood apple), fruits and sugar.

MANAS Platform

• The MANAS platform stands for Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System.
• It was endorsed as a national program by the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).
• It was initiated by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.
• It was jointly executed by,

1. National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru,
2. Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune and
3. Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Bengaluru.

• It is based on life skills and core psychological process, with universal accessibility, delivering age-appropriate methods and promoting positive attitude focusing on wellness.
• The current version has identified two age groups i.e. ages 15 to 20, termed as Mann-Marg, and ages 20 to 35, termed as YoungISTAN.

Indian Rhino Vision (IRV) 2020

• Under the IRV 2020 program, at least 22 rhinos have been translocated within Assam since 2008.
• It is a joint programme of the Assam Forest Department, Worldwide Fund for Nature India (WWF-India), Bodoland Territorial Council, and the International Rhino Foundation.
• IRV was designed by Rhino Task Force 2005 with a target to achieve rhino population to 3,000 by establishing populations in seven protected areas in Assam by 2020.
• Seven protected areas are

1. Pabitora Wildlife Reserve,
2. Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park,
3. Kaziranga National Park,
4. Manas National Park,
5. Laokhowa wildlife sanctuary,
6. Burachapori wildlife sanctuary,
7. Dibru Saikhowa wildlife sanctuary.

• It aims to reduce the risk to the rhino population, mainly from poachers by spreading the population in multiple parks with enough habitats to encourage population growth.

Black Sea

• Black Sea is an inland sea located between far-southeastern Europe and the far-western edges of the continent of Asia and the country of Turkey.
• It connects to the Mediterranean Sea first through the Bosporus Strait, then through the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles Strait, then south through the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Crete.
• The Black Sea is also connected to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch.
• Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, and Turkey are bordering nations of Black Sea.

Danube Sturgeon

• Sturgeons have existed since the time of dinosaurs, for about 200 million years. Some of the species can grow up to eight metre in length and live more than a century.
• Living Fossil is an organism that has remained unchanged from earlier geologic times and whose close relatives are usually extinct.
• Other than Sturgeons, Horseshoe crab and ginkgo trees are examples of living fossils.
• There are 27 species of sturgeons and paddlefishes distributed across the Northern hemisphere.
• While some species inhabit only freshwater, most species are anadromous, spawning in freshwater but spending much of their life history in marine or brackish environments.
• Danube sturgeons live mostly in the Black Sea, migrating up the Danube and other major rivers to spawn.
• There are 6 species of sturgeon in the Danube River, Five of them are now listed as under IUCN red list.