• Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA), representing 81 member institutions from 21 countries, is a regional association that promotes cooperation and facilitates mutual exchange of information and expertise in the field of rural finance.
• Over the years it has developed a repository of knowledge in managing and serving rural financial institutions, financial inclusion and to help avert financial risks and improve efficiency.
• 6th World Congress on Rural and Agriculture Finance was jointly organised by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Asia - Pacific Rural Agricultural and Credit Association (APRACA) recently.
• The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the world’s premier research organization dedicated to reducing poverty and hunger through rice science; improving the health and welfare of rice farmers and consumers; and protecting the rice-growing environment for future generations.

• Supreme Court has recently ruled that the office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) is a public authority under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
• While the office of the CJI is now under the RTI’s ambit, the CBI is exempt.
• As Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act became operational on October 31, 2019 the central RTI Act became applicable in J&K and Ladakh.

• A negative interest means the instead of the bank paying you money to keep in the savings account, you pay the bank to do so.
• It also means that anyone can borrow money from the bank and pay back less than what he borrowed.
• Negative interest rates are expected to make consumers save less and spend more; they are also expected to make banks lend more.
• In essence, negative interest rates are expected to boost economic activity when all other efforts fail.

• The Supreme Court has recently upheld the disqualification of 17 dissident Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) legislators by then Karnataka Assembly Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) but held that their ouster was no bar to contesting re-polls.
• Neither under the Indian Constitution nor under the statutory scheme it is contemplated that disqualification under the Tenth Schedule would operate as a bar for contesting re-elections.
• In the light of the existing constitutional mandate, the Speaker is not empowered to disqualify any member till the end of the term. 

• When you drop a pen on Earth, it falls to the ground. This is because of the gravitational pull of the planet.
• This gravity is everywhere, even in space.
• It is gravity that holds moon in orbit around Earth and Earth around the sun.
• It also keeps the sun in the Milky way.
• Gravity causes every object to pull every other object towards it. However, the effect of gravity decreases as distance increases.
• At extreme distances, the gravitational pull of an object exerted on another could be almost zero, but never totally absent. This is called microgravity.

Then, why do objects float in orbit?

• Because they are in free fall. There is no air in space. It is almost a perfect vacuum.
• In a vacuum, gravity causes all objects to fall at the same rate, irrespective of their mass.
• Earth's gravity is still pulling down on astronauts or spacecraft or space station in orbit.
• A spacecraft counters Earth's downward pull by maintaining enough horizontal speed to continually slide sideways as it simultaneously falls towards the planet.
• The continuous free fall around the planet gives astronauts the impression of being weightless and floating.

• The 6th World Congress is being jointly hosted by Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.
• This 6th version of the congress was attended by 300 delegates across the globe who engaged in interactive discussions to unleash the potential role of rural and agricultural finance.

• Savannas are Tropical Grasslands.