Current Affair 1:

FSSAI sets standards for basmati rice

 

News:

In a bid to promote the business around basmati rice, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) notified standards for basmati rice January 12, 2023. They will be enforced from August 1, 2023.

FSSAI hopes that the standards would protect consumer interest and ensure the basmati rice sold in the market has the characteristic fragrance identified with this variety and is free from artificial fragrances and colouring.

The authority has also set standards on parameters such as average size of grains and their elongation ratio after cooking. It has set the maximum limits for moisture, amylose content, uric acid, damaged grains and presence of non-basmati rice.

The standards are applicable to brown basmati rice, milled basmati rice, parboiled brown basmati rice and milled parboiled basmati rice.

Just go through parameters once. No need to see digits.

Current Affair 2:

Sammed Shikharji Parvat Kshetra

 

Read the draft

 

Current Affair 3:

Neelakurinji under Schedule III of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

 

News:

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) has listed Neelakurinji ( Strobilanthes kunthiana) under Schedule III of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, including it on the list of protected plants.

Species that are not endangered are included under Schedule III and IV. This includes protected species with hunting prohibited but the penalty for any violation is less compared to the first two schedules.

Those who uproot or destroy the plant will invite a fine of ₹25,000 and three years’ imprisonment. The cultivation of Neelakurinji and its possession is not allowed, according to the order.

Forest officials said Neelakurinji has been included on the list when the Centre expanded the earlier protected list of six plant species to 19.

Destroying and uprooting of Neelakurinji plants is a major threat to the flowering areas.

Neelakurinji expert said the plant was endemic to a small stretch in the Western Ghats from the Mangaladevi hills to the Nilgiris hills.

In the Western Ghats region, nearly 70 varieties of Neelakurinji plants have been identified. The most popular Neelakurinji is Strobilanthes kunthiana which blooms once in 12 years. However, some other rare varieties of Neelakurnji are also found in the Western Ghats region.

The Eravikulam National Park, near Munnar, is known for widespread blooming of the kurinji, with the next flowering season expected in 2030.

Current Affair 4:

Cherchera Festival of Chhattisgarh

 

Cher Chera is a harvest festival observed in Chhattisgarh in Paush month (December – January). It is observed on the full moon day in Paush month. Cher Chera Festival 2023 date is January 6. The highlight of the festival is cher chera melodious folks songs.

The harvest festival is dedicated to the reaping of paddy. Rice forms an important part of the rural food in Chhattisgarh.

Current Affair 5:

What is the “Pineapple Express” Phenomenon?

 

Over the past two weeks, California and other parts of the West Coast have been hit with a series of what meteorologists call atmospheric rivers — long, narrow regions in the atmosphere that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics.

Atmospheric rivers are narrow regions in the atmosphere that transport much of the moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes. Atmospheric rivers are part of the Earth's ocean water cycle, and are tied closely to both water supply and flood risks.

A well-known example of a strong atmospheric river is called the "Pineapple Express" because moisture builds up in the tropical Pacific around Hawaii and can wallop the U.S. and Canada's West Coasts with heavy rainfall and snow.

Prevailing winds cross over warm bands of tropical water vapor to form this "river," which travels across the Pacific as part of the global conveyor belt. When it reaches the west coast, the Pineapple Express can dump as much as five inches of rain on California in one day.

What is global conveyor belt?

The ocean is not a still body of water. There is constant motion in the ocean in the form of a global ocean conveyor belt. This motion is caused by a combination of thermohaline currents (thermo = temperature; haline = salinity) in the deep ocean and wind-driven currents on the surface. Cold, salty water is dense and sinks to the bottom of the ocean while warm water is less dense and remains on the surface.

Atmospheric rivers come in all shapes and sizes, but those that contain the largest amounts of water vapor and the strongest winds are responsible for extreme rainfall and subsequent flooding. These events can affect the entire west coast of North America, often disrupting travel and damaging property in the process.

 

 

<< Previous Next >>