Prelims Factoids
NALCO NAMASYA Mobile App

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about NAMASYA)
What's the NEWS

• National Auminium Company Ltd (NALCO), a Navratna CPSE under the Ministry of Mines, has been playing a key role in empowering the Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) through providing a modern & innovative platform ‘NALCO Micro And Small enterprise Yogayog Application' (NAMASYA), a bi-lingual App developed exclusively for the benefit of the Company's MSE Vendors.

Know! about NAMASYA App

• The NAMASYA App provides a platform to highlight the Company's efforts towards development of MSEs.
• The App empowers MSEs with required information about vendor registration process, items which can be supplied by them with technical specification, vendor development and training programmes of NALCO.

Prelims Factoids
EXERCISE - AUSINDEX

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about AUSINDEX)
What's the NEWS

• Indian Navy Task Group comprising IN Ships Shivalik and Kadmatt, is participating in the 4th edition of AUSINDEX from 06 to 10 Sep 21.
• Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Anzac Class Frigate, HMAS Warramunga which participated in Exercise MALABAR along with the IN units is also part of the exercise.

4^th edition of AUSINDEX

• This edition of AUSINDEX includes complex surface, sub-surface and air operations between ships, submarines, helicopters and Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft of the participating Navies.
• The participating Indian Naval Ships Shivalik and Kadmatt are the latest indigenously designed and built Guided Missile Stealth Frigate and Anti-Submarine Corvette respectively.
• They form part of the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam under the Eastern Naval Command.
• Commenced in 2015 as a bilateral IN-RAN maritime exercise, AUSINDEX has grown in complexity over the years and the 3^rd edition of the exercise, held in 2019 in the Bay of Bengal, included anti-submarine drills for the first time.

Defence
PRESIDENT'S COLOUR PRESENTED TO NAVAL AVIATION

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about President's Colour + about Indian Naval Aviation)
What's the NEWS

• The Hon'ble President of India and the Supreme Commander of Indian Armed Forces, presented the President's Colour to Indian Naval Aviation at INS Hansa, Goa
• The President's Colour is bestowed on a military unit, in recognition of exceptional service rendered to the Nation, both in peace and in war.
• Naval Aviation has distinguished itself with notable and gallant service to our Nation over the past seven decades.
• The Indian Navy was the first Indian Armed Force, to receive the President's Colour, from Dr Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India on 27 May 1951.
• Award of the President's Colour to Indian Naval Aviation, is in recognition of the yeoman service rendered both during peace and combat.

Indian Naval Aviation

• Naval Aviation boasts of nine Air Stations and three Naval Air Enclaves, along the Indian coastline and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• Naval Aviation assets are capable of undertaking missions along the entire gamut of military operations.
• Naval Aviation is a vital component of the main roles of Indian Navy - Military, Diplomatic, Constabulary and Benign.

Prelims Factoids
5-Star Eat Right Station

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about - star 'Eat Right Station' certification + 'Eat Right India' movement)
What's the NEWS

• Indian Railways' Chandigarh Railway Station has been awarded a 5- star 'Eat Right Station' certification for providing high-quality, nutritious food to passengers
• This certification is granted by FSSAI to railway stations adhering to standard food storage and hygiene practices.

Know! about The 'Eat Right Station' certification

• The 'Eat Right Station' certification is awarded by FSSAI to railway stations that set benchmarks in providing safe and wholesome food to passengers.
• The station is awarded a certificate upon a conclusion of an FSSAI-empanelled third-party audit agency with ratings from 1 to 5.
• The 5-star rating indicates exemplary efforts by stations to ensure safe and hygienic food is available to passengers.
• The certification is part of the 'Eat Right India' movement- a large-scale effort by FSSAI to transform the country's food system to ensure safe, healthy and sustainable food for all Indians.
• Eat Right India adopts a judicious mix of regulatory, capacity building, collaborative, and empowerment approaches to ensure that our food is suitable both for the people and the planet.
• Chandigarh Railway Station becomes the fifth station in India to get this recognition.
• The other railway stations with this certification include Anand Vihar Terminal Railway Station; (Delhi), Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus; (Mumbai), Mumbai Central Railway Station; (Mumbai) and Vadodara Railway Station.

Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd. (IRSDC)

• IRSDC has been entrusted with the mandate to undertake Facility Management at five railway stations, namely, KSR Bengaluru, Pune, Anand Vihar, Chandigarh and Secunderabad, to enhance customer experience and make travel a safe and hassle-free experience.

Prelims Factoids
Pollen Calendar
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Pollens and Pollen calendar)
What's the NEWS

• Chandigarh now has its first pollen calendar, which can identify potential allergy triggers and provide a clear understanding for clinicians as well as allergy sufferers about their causes to help limit their exposure during high pollen loads.

Know! about Pollens calendar

• Pollens are considered major outdoor airborne allergens responsible for allergic rhinitis, asthma, and atopic dermatitis in humans.
• Pollen calendars represent the time dynamics of airborne pollen taxa in graphical form in a particular geographical area.
• They yield readily accessible visual details about various airborne pollen taxa present throughout the year, with their seasonality in a single picture.
• Pollen calendars are location-specific, with concentrations closely related to locally distributed flora.

Know! about Pollen

• Pollen is one of the most common causes of allergies
• Pollen is a very fine powder produced by trees, flowers, grasses, and weeds to fertilize other plants of the same species.
• Many people have an adverse immune response when they breathe in pollen.

Environment
Over 900 species of animals have become extinct according to latest IUCN Red List
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about World Conservation Congress (Highlights)
What's the NEWS

• Some 902 species are officially extinct according to the latest Red List brought out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) at the World Conservation Congress in Marseille, France
• Every Four years IUCN convenes the IUCN World Conservation Congress to set the global conservation agenda

World Conservation Congress (Highlights)
Tuna species of Fish

• Four of the seven most commercially fished tuna species have shown signs of recovery
• The Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) moved from endangered to least concern while the Southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) moved from critically endangered to endangered.
• The albacore (Thunnus alalunga) and yellowfin tunas (Thunnus albacares) both moved from near threatened to least concern.
• The Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) moved from vulnerable to near threatened due to the availability of newer stock assessment data and models.
• Other tuna species like the bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) remain vulnerable while the skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) remains least concern.
• The update Red List also showed that 37 per cent of the world's shark and ray species were threatened with extinction.
• All of the threatened shark and ray species were overfished

Komodo dragon

• The world's largest living lizard, the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), has been moved from vulnerable to endangered.
• The species is endemic to Indonesia and occurs only in the World Heritage-listed Komodo National Park and neighbouring Flores.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

• It is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
• It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education.
• IUCN has widened its focus beyond conservation ecology and now incorporates issues related to sustainable development in its projects.
• IUCN does not itself aim to mobilize the public in support of nature conservation.
• It tries to influence the actions of governments, business and other stakeholders by providing information and advice, and through building partnerships.
• The organization is best known to the wider public for compiling and publishing the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which assesses the conservation status of species worldwide.
• IUCN has a membership of over 1,400 governmental and non-governmental organizations.
• Its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland.
• IUCN has observer and consultative status at the United Nations and plays a role in the implementation of several international conventions on nature conservation and biodiversity.
•  It was involved in establishing the World Wide Fund for Nature and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species

• Established in 1964, the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world's most comprehensive information source on the global extinction risk status of animal, fungus and plant species.

IUCN Green List

• The IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas is the first global standard of best practice for area-based conservation.
• It is a programme of certification for protected and conserved areas - national parks, natural World Heritage sites, community conserved areas, nature reserves and so on - that are effectively managed and fairly governed.

IUCN Green Status of Species

• It aims to complement the IUCN Red List by providing a tool for assessing the recovery of species' populations and measuring their conservation success.
• Green Status of Species outputs incorporated into the Red List

Polity
Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the post of lok sabha deputy speaker) + Mains ( GS II Polity)
What's the NEWS

• Trinamool Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien flagged the issue of the post of Deputy Speaker in Lok Sabha lying vacant for over two years now.
• Delhi High Court has directed the Central Government to clarify its stand on the issue of non-conduct of elections to the post of Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha.
• Keeping the post of Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha vacant is a violation of Article 93 of the Indian Constitution

Post of Deputy Leader of Lok Sabha

• The post of Deputy Leader of Lok Sabha, which as per the convention goes to a member of the Opposition, has been lying vacant.
• This is not a ceremonious post but a constitutionally mandated one.
• Also, like the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker is a presiding officer who enjoys all the legislative powers of a Speaker.
• Though the Lok Sabha has a panel of chairpersons, appointed by the Speaker, which comprises nine MPs from various parties, who preside over the House when the Speaker is not in the Chair, they do not enjoy the same constitutional or administrative powers as the Speaker.

Know! about the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker (Provisions)

• Article 93 of the Constitution provides for the election of both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
• In the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after the general elections, the Deputy Speaker is elected from among the members of the Lok Sabha.
• Generally, a member of the main opposition party in the House is elected for the post of Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha. However, it does not require him to resign from his parent political party.
• The post of Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha is a symbolic post of parliamentary democracy.
• The Speaker of the Lok Sabha, on leave or death due to illness or absence for any reason, discharges the functions of the Deputy Speaker as the presiding Speaker.
• The Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha also holds the office during the life of the House.

The Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha can resign his office by three conditions:

• On cease to be a member of own house
• By resignation under his hand addressed to the Chairman
• On removal from office by a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members of the Lok Sabha. But, before passing this resolution, it is mandatory to give notice to him 14 days in advance.

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