Andhra Pradesh government has started removing “dotted lands” in the state from the prohibited list.

Dotted Lands

• Dotted lands are disputed lands for which there are no clear ownership documents.
• The farmers could not procure loans from banks and financial institutions by putting up the land as collateral.
• Financial institutions do not recognize dotted land documents as clear ownership documents.

Andhra Pradesh’s Recent Amendment

• Andhra Pradesh government introduced a Bill to amend the Revenue Act to grant titles to farmers who have been cultivating dotted lands for more than 12 years.
• The dots, and entries in land registers, will be removed and these farmers will be given clear land ownership documents.
• The lands are now taken off from the prohibited list, so landowners/farmers will get full rights over the lands.
• More importantly, they can apply for financial assistance for crop support, purchase seeds and fertilisers, and procure farm equipment.
• The landowners/farmers can also sell the lands or gift to kin or relatives.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Chinese Foreign Minister at the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting

Comparison of G-7 with G-20

G-7

• G7 stands for an informal Group of Seven countries.
• G-7 Consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, U.K and U.S.
• It holds an annual summit with European Union and other invitees.
• G7 includes 40% of global GDP and 10% of the world’s population.
• G7 has no legal existence or official members.

G-20

• It is the premier forum for international economic cooperation.
• G20 stands for group of 20 members (19 countries and Europen Union).
• It holds annual summit under the leadership of a rotating Presidency.
• It represent around 85% of the global GDP, over 75% of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
• The Group does not have a permanent secretariat.
• India holds the Presidency of the G20 from 2022 to 2023

World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan) confirmed reports of gharials being present in Punjab

Gharials (Gavialis gangeticus)

• Status - Critically endangered.
• It is also listed in Appendix I of CITES.
• It is also known as gavial or fish-eating crocodile, is a type of Asian crocodilian set apart by its long and thin snout.
• Habitat - They live in clear freshwater river systems, congregating at river bends where the water is deeper.
• Once found from Pakistan to Myanmar, the reptile's range has now shrunk to 2 countries- India (Chambal, Girwa, and Son Rivers) and Nepal (Narayani River).
• In India, the National Chambal Sanctuary holds about 90% of the surviving gharials.

Conservation Efforts

• In collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department, WWF-India started a gharial reintroduction programme at Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Since January 2009, 250 captive reared gharial from Kukrail Rehabilitation Centre (Lucknow) have been released into River Ganga.
• India’s Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary contains a breeding population vital to the survival of the species.

A 2-member team of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) visited Mechukha in Arunachal Pradesh’s Shi-Yomi district

Neh Pema Shelpu Drupkhang

• It is located in Mechukha, Shi-Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh.
• According to Buddhists, it is a Pilgrimage place, known as the meditation place of 6th rebirth of Guru Padma Samba, one of the founding fathers of Tibetan Buddhism in 749 A.D.
• According to Sikhism, it is a historic place which is associated with Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.
• Recently, it was claimed to be converted into a Buddhist shrine by the local Buddhist Memba community.

Memba Community

• Memba tribal community is the third largest tribal community among the six Buddhist tribes of Arunachal Pradesh.
• Most of these tribal communities are scattered around the Eastern parts of Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh.
• Polygamy is prevalent where mainly women can have more than one husband.

The Spitzer Resurrection Mission will send a telerobotic space probe to bring the Spitzer space telescope back to life.

Spitzer Telescope

• Spitzer was designed to detect infrared radiation, which is primarily heat radiation.
• It allows to peer into regions of space that are hidden from optical telescopes.
• It was launched in 2003 by NASA, U.S.
• It was comprised of two major components:
• The Cryogenic Telescope Assembly - contained the 85 centimeter telescope and Spitzer's three scientific instruments.
• The Spacecraft - controlled the telescope, provided power to the instruments, handled the scientific data and communicated with Earth.
• It is the final mission in NASA's Great Observatories Program a family of 4 space-based observatories each observing the Universe in a different kind of light.
• The other missions in the program include the visible-light Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO), and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO).
• Spitzer continued to operate until 2020.

Spitzer Resurrection Mission

• The innovation arm – SpaceWERX of the United States Space Force selected a startup Rhea Space Activity, to develop the Spitzer Resurrector Mission.
• The mission aims to send a spacecraft to Spitzer to service and restore its operation.
• This will act as a demonstration for the In-space Service Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) techniques.
• After its resurrection, the telescope will be used to detect and characterise the potentially hazardous Near Earth Objects (NEOs) and for other astronomical observations.