Anthurium Flowers

Context: Anthurium flowers have been exported for the first time from Mizoram, India, to Singapore showcasing India’s potential in floriculture exports.

About Anthurium Flower

• Anthurium flowers, also known as Flamingo Flowers or Painter’s Palette.
• Scientific Name: Anthurium.
• Native Habitat: Found naturally in the Americas, from northern Mexico to northern Argentina, and parts of the Caribbean.
  • In India: Cultivated primarily in Mizoram and other North Eastern states.
• This species can grow: Terrestrially or as epiphytes on other plants.
• Importance of Anthurium Flower in Mizoram
  • Local Economic Impact:
    • Anthurium is a key flower cultivated in Mizoram, providing livelihood opportunities.
    • The cultivation benefits local farmers, including women, empowering communities.
      • India’s floriculture exports reached USD 86.62 million in FY 2023-24.
  • Air purifying: It is known for its air purifying qualities. 
  • Tourism Promotion: Mizoram hosts an annual “Anthurium Festival” to showcase the flower’s beauty and promote tourism.

Second Frigate (Tavasya)

Context: The second frigate of Project 1135.6 Additional Follow-on Ships, named ‘Tavasya’, built by Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), was launched recently in Goa.

About the Frigate ‘Tavasya’

• It is a warship. 
• The frigate is named ‘Tavasya’, inspired by the mace of the legendary warrior Bhima from the Mahabharata.
  • Launched as part of Project 1135.6 Additional Follow-on Ships.
• Builder: Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL).
• Key Features:
  • Designed for surface, sub-surface, and air combat operations.
  • Incorporates stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors, and platform management systems.
  • Built indigenously with critical localized components, boosting India’s defence manufacturing capabilities.
• The contract for building two Project 1135.6 Follow-on frigates was signed between the Ministry of Defence and Goa Shipyard Limited on 25 Jan 19. 
  • The first ship ‘Triput’, was launched on 23 Jul 24. 
    • These ships are designed for surface, sub-surface and air combat operations.

About Project 1135.6

• It is a naval initiative. 
• It is a stealth guided missile frigates.
• Object: construct stealth frigates to increase India’s maritime security and defense capabilities. 
• Built by: Russia for Indian navy
• Ships built under the project
  • INS Tushil: Commissioned in 2024, built in Russia. 
  • Tamal: Built in Russia, set for commissioning in June 2025. 
  • Triput: launched in 2024, built in India.

National E-Vidhan Application Platform

Context: Delhi becomes the 28th legislature to join the national e-vidhan application platform.

• The Delhi Legislative Assembly has signed a tripartite MoU with the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (MoPA) and Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) for the implementation of the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA).

About The National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA)

• NeVA is a device neutral and member centric application created to equip legislative members to handle diverse House Business smartly.
• Aim: The NeVA Platform aims for a paperless and more transparent legislative system, in alignment with the Prime Minister’s vision of “One Nation, One Application.”
• Nodal Ministry: The NeVA platform is developed under the guidance of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (MoPA)
• Hosted On: NeVA is a work-flow system deployed on India’s cloud infrastructure, NIC Cloud, MeghRaj 2.0.
• How NeVa works?
  • Depository: All legislative information like member contact details, rules of procedure, list of business, notices, bulletins, bills, starred/unstarred questions and answers, papers laid, committee reports etc. is available on the platform via personal devices/ tablets 
  • NeVA will completely eliminate the process of sending out a notice/request for collection of data.
  • The application hosts a secure page for each Member of the House for submitting questions & other notices.
• Advantages: 
  • A massive data depository will be created by bringing all the legislatures of the country together, in one platform
  • It enhance legislative procedures by promoting greater efficiency, accessibility, and sustainability and ensuring robust scalability, security, and data integrity.
  • Enables Coordination: It digitizes House business and provides real-time access to documents enabling seamless coordination among legislators and secretariat staff. 
  • Paperless Administration: The application will reduce paper consumption and streamline workflows to improve legislative performance.
  • Seamless Operation: Its has a device-agnostic nature allowing seamless access across smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops from any device, anytime, anywhere.
  • Multilingual Capabilities: The platform also offers multilingual capabilities, catering to the linguistic diversity across states and regions, making it accessible to a broader range of users.

‘Secret Sitting’ of Lok Sabha

Context: The provision of “secret sitting” of the Lok Sabha in the Constitution hasn’t been utilised so far since independence.

About the ‘Secret Sitting’ of Lok Sabha Provision

• Constitutional Provision: 
  • Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha: Chapter 25 of the rule provides for holding secret sittings at the request of the Leader of the House.
  • Rule 248, subclause (1): The Leader of the House needs to put forward a request to the Speaker, who will then fix a day or a part of it for “secret sitting” of the House.
• ‘Secret Sitting’ Meaning: 
  • Presence of Outside People: It means that no stranger will be permitted to be present in the “chamber, lobby or the galleries,” as per subclause 2 during the proceeding of the house. 
  • The proceedings of Lok Sabha will also not be live streamed on Sansad TV and a record will also not be maintained on the government’s Digital Sansad website.
  • Recording and Reporting: No person present shall keep a note or record of any proceedings or decisions of a secret sitting or issue any report to describe such proceedings.
    • A report on the proceedings is issued in a way deemed fit by the Speaker.
  • Violation: To disclose the proceedings or decisions taken during a secret proceeding or sitting will be treated as a gross breach of privilege of the House.
• Revoking of Secrecy: The Leader of the House or any authorised member needs to move a motion against the secret sitting with Speaker’s consent.
  • Once the motion is passed, the secretary general will put together a report of the proceedings during the “secret sitting”, and publish it at the earliest.
• Past Instance: The motion to conduct a secret sitting of Lok Sabha to discuss the  1962 Chinese aggression on the border was put forward by the opposition bench.
  • The then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru disagreed with the proposal remarking that the government is accountable to the people and deserved to know about issues plaguing India.

Dare2eraD TB

Context: The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), under the Ministry of Science & Technology, has completed the sequencing of 10,000 TB genome samples out of the target 32,500 under the Dare2eraD TB programme.

About Dare2eraD TB Programme

• The initiative aims to detect drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and identify unique genomic traits of the bacterium to support India’s TB elimination goal by 2025.
• Launched by: DBT, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, in 2022.
• Objective: Support India’s commitment to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) by 2025, ahead of the WHO Global TB Elimination Target of 2030.
• Aim: Identify drug-resistant TB strains and study genomic traits of the bacterium for improved diagnosis and treatment.

Kay features of Dare2eaD

• Genome Sequencing: The programme involves sequencing 32,500 samples of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to understand drug resistance patterns and genetic mutations.
  • 10,000 samples have been sequenced, with 7% showing resistance to a single drug.
• Data-Driven Approach: Focuses on building a national-level genomic database to aid research, diagnostics, and treatment strategies.
• Accelerated Diagnosis: Utilizes AI and genomic insights to reduce TB drug-resistance confirmation time from weeks to just hours or days.
• Surveillance and Monitoring: Establishes a genomic surveillance network across India to track TB strains, mutations, and outbreaks for better disease control.
  • This initiative is a crucial step in India’s fight against TB, ensuring faster detection, better treatment strategies, and enhanced disease surveillance.

Sepak Takraw 2025 World Cup

Context: Bihar will host the ISTAF “Sepak Takraw 2025” World Cup in Patna from March 20 to March 25, 2025.

About Sepak Takraw 2025” World Cup

• The 2025 ISTAF World Cup was the fifth edition of the ISTAF World Cup
  • The first championships started in 2011 in Malaysian Kuala Lumpur.
• Conducted By: The world cup is conducted by the International Sepaktakraw Federation (ISTAF) 
• Participants: Twenty countries across 4 continents including India are taking part in the event.

About SepakTakraw

• SepakTakraw Is a Traditional Malaysian team sport, similar to volleyball, where players use their feet, knees, chests, and heads to keep a rattan ball in the air and over a net
  • The game is also called buka ball, kick volleyball or foot volleyball
• Popular In: The sport is popular in South East Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei and Indonesia. 
• Origin: It originated in Southeast Asia, and its modern version was standardized in 1960 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Ball: The game is played with a rattan ball (or sometimes a synthetic plastic ball) and a net.
• Teams: Two teams of four players each try to score by hitting the ball over the net and landing it within the opponent’s court. 
• Court Area: The game is played on a court that resembles a badminton court, with a net in the center.
• In India: Sepaktakraw was introduced in India in the 1980s as a  demonstration sport at the Delhi Asian Games in 1982. 
  • Headquarters: The Sepak Takraw Federation of India is  headquartered in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

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