What is Merchant Discount Rate?

It is a fee charged from a merchant by a bank for accepting payments from customers through credit and debit cards in their establishments.
MDR compensates the card issuing bank, the lender which puts the PoS terminal and payment gateways such as Mastercard or Visa for their services.
MDR charges are usually shared in pre-agreed proportion between the bank and a merchant and is expressed in percentage of transaction amount.

Why in News? From January onwards, all companies with a turnover of Rs 50 crore or more👀 need to provide the facility of payment through RuPay Debit card and UPI QR code to their customers, under which no MDR fee will be charged from customers as well as merchants

Mani app

RBI👀 launches mobile app MANI for visually challenged to identify currency notes.

• The application also works offline once installed.
• The application can scan the currency notes using the camera of the mobile phone.
• It also gives audio output in Hindi and English.

Senna Spectabilis:

• It is a deciduous tree native to tropical areas of America👀.
• It grows up to 15 to 20 metres in a short period of time and distributes thousands of seeds after flowering.
• It is an invasive species👀.
• Concerns: The thick foliage of the tree arrests the growth of other indigenous tree and grass species. Thus, it causes food shortage for the wildlife population, especially herbivores. It also adversely affect the germination and growth of the native species.
• It is categorised as ‘Least Concern’👀 under IUCN Red List.

Why in News? The Kerala Government is planning to arrest the rampant growth of Senna spectabilis, in the forest areas of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR), including the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.

Sangita Kalanidhi award:

S.Sowmya👀 has been conferred with Sangita Kalanidhi Award.

About the award:

Sangita Kalanidhi Award was instituted by the Music Academy, Chennai👀.

It is the title awarded yearly to a Carnatic Musician👀.

Year of the Nurse and the Midwife 2020:

The World Health Assembly👀 has designated 2020👀 the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. 

Key facts:

• This marks the bicentenary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.
• It celebrates professionals who provide a broad range of essential services to people everywhere.
• Besides preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases, and providing expert care during childbirth, nurses and midwives also serve people caught in humanitarian emergencies and conflicts.

Existing gaps: Currently, there are 22 million nurses and two million midwives worldwide. The world will need an additional nine million nurses and midwives to achieve the commitment of providing all people with access to health care by 2030, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.

MiG-27:

On December 27, the Indian Air Force retired its fleet of MiG-27s👀.

Key facts:

• Commissioned into the Indian Air Force in 1985👀.
• It was due to the jet’s heroics during the Kargil war that the aircraft earned the nickname “bahadur”👀 from Air Force pilots.
• It is a single-engine, single-seater tactical strike fighter aircraft.
• Initially developed in the erstwhile Soviet Union and later indigenously manufactured by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in India.
• The MiG-27 is primarily a ‘ground attack’ aircraft, whose main role is to conduct precision air strikes in battle while tackling the adversary’s air defences.

What is Extraocular Vision?

• The ability to see without eyes👀 
• Previous researchers defined- the ability to resolve scenes without discrete eyes.

Why in News?

•  Red Brittle Star👀, which are relatives of starfish, can see even though it does not have eyes.
•  The red brittle star (Ophiocoma wendtii),  lives in the coral reefs👀 of the Caribbean Sea, becomes
•  Only the second creature, after a sea urchin👀 species, known to have this ability (barring freak cases in other species).

How it works?

In sea urchins and brittle stars, researchers suspect that extraocular vision is facilitated by the photoreceptor cells👀 found on their bodies.

 First-of-its kind turtle rehab centre comes up in Bihar:

• A first-of-its-kind rehabilitation centre for freshwater turtles will be inaugurated in Bihar’s Bhagalpur forest division👀 in January 2020.
• The rehab centre, spread over half a hectare, will be able to shelter 500 turtles at a time.
• The need to build such a centre was felt after several turtles were found severely wounded and sick when rescued from smuggles by rescue teams.

‘Cyber Safe Women’ initiative:

• The Maharashtra government👀  launched - ‘cyber safe women’ campaign across the state, on the 
• Birth anniversary of Indian social reformer, Savitribai Phule👀.
• Aims - to spread awareness regarding the atrocities committed against women and children as well as the laws regarding cybercrime.
• It will educate women about how the web is used by anti-social elements to commit various types of crimes.

Patola Sarees:

Context: Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)👀 has inaugurated a first Silk Processing Plant at Surendranagar in Gujarat.

The plant would help to reduce the cost of production of silk yarn and increase the sale and availability of raw material for Gujarati Patola Sarees locally. 

Key facts:

• Patola, the trademark saree of Gujarat, is considered to be very costly and worn only by royals or aristocrats.
• It is a double ikat woven sari,usually made from silk, made in Patan, Gujarat, India.
• The reason high cost of Patola sarees is that the silk yarn used to make them is purchased from Karnataka or West Bengal👀, where silk processing units are situated. 
• This increases the cost of the fabric manifolds.
• It has received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2013👀.

Chinese paddlefish found in the Yangtze declared extinct:

• It is native to the Yangtze, Asia’s longest river.
• It is one of the world’s largest species of freshwater species.
• It has been declared extinct by Chinese scientists. The last confirmed sighting of the fish was in 2003.
• It is thought to have become functionally extinct — which means there are no breeding pairs left — in 1993.
• Two other notable Yangtze species — reeves shad, a type of fish and the baiji, or Yangtze River dolphin — were declared ‘functionally extinct’ in 2015 and 2006 respectively.

Bhitarkanika census on saltwater crocodiles:

Bhitarkanika census finds an increase of 15 saltwater crocodiles👀 from last year.

• There are now 1,757 crocodiles in the park, the census conducted on January 3, 2020, found. Last year, there were 1,742.

Back to Basics:

There are three species of crocodilians—saltwater, Mugger and Gharial.

1. Mugger:

• The mugger crocodile, also called the Indian crocodile, or marsh crocodile, is found throughout the Indian subcontinent.

  It is listed as vulnerable by IUCN.

  The mugger is mainly a freshwater species, and found in lakes, rivers and marshes.

    2. Gharial:

• The Gharial or fish eating crocodile is native to the Indian subcontinent.
• It is listed as a Critically Endangered by IUCN.

Small released populations are present and increasing in the rivers of the National Chambal Sanctuary, Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, Son River Sanctuary and the rainforest biome of Mahanadi in Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary, Orissa.

     3.Saltwater Crocodile:

• It is the largest of all living reptiles. It listed as least concern by IUCN. It is found throughout the east coast of India.

Smog tower:

Delhi gets its first smog tower.

In November, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre and the Delhi government to prepare a plan to install ‘smog towers’ across the capital to deal with air pollution.

What is a ‘smog tower’?

• Smog towers are structures designed to work as large-scale air purifiers👀. They are usually fitted with multiple layers of air filters, which clean the air of pollutants as it passes through them. After the cleaning, the tower releases clean air.
• The filters installed in the tower will use carbon nanofibres👀 as a major component and will be fitted along its peripheries. The tower will focus on reducing particulate matter load.

Bibi Ka Maqbara:

It is a tomb located in Aurangabad, Maharashtra👀.

• It was commissioned in 1660 by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the memory of his first and chief wife Dilras Banu Begum👀.
• It is considered to be a symbol of Aurangzeb’s ‘conjugal fidelity’.
• The structure, known as the ‘Taj of the Deccan’👀 because of its striking resemblance to the Taj Mahal.

‘Zo Kutpui’ festival

Mizoram govt to organise ‘Zo Kutpui’ globally to unify Mizo tribes👀.

• The first festival would be held at Vanghmun👀, a hub town of Mizos in neighbouring Tripura👀.
• The event will see the presence of many important dignitaries from various Mizoram tribes and also witness cultural programmes and traditional songs from various Mizo tribes from Mizoram and other northeastern states.

The event aims at re-unifying and strengthening brotherhood among different tribes of Mizo.

Great Indian Bustards (GIB)

IUCN status: critically endangered👀.

Found in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection)Act, 1972 and in the CMS Convention and in Appendix I of CITES.

Identified as one of the species for the recovery programme under the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Project Great Indian Bustard — state of Rajasthan👀— identifying and fencing off bustard breeding grounds in existing protected areas as well as provide secure breeding enclosures in areas outside protected areas.

Protected areas: Desert National Park Sanctuary — Rajasthan, Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary – Andhra Pradesh and Karera Wildlife Sanctuary– Madhya Pradesh.

National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)

NAAC is established by University Grants Commission (UGC)👀 to assess and accredit institution of higher learning in the country.

The NAAC was originally formed in 1992 as a result of recommendations from ‘National Policy on Education – 1986’👀 which emphasizes on deteriorating quality of higher education in the country.
Functions: The NAAC certifies institutions of higher learning (Colleges, Universities, Institutes, etc) in the country; however, it does not include the institutes providing technical education.

It is an autonomous organisation that assesses and accredits institutions of higher education in India.

CISF:

The Supreme Court has asked the Union government to explore possibility of creating a special wing of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) for providing security to courts across the country, including the high courts and the SC👀.

About CISF:

• CISF is an armed force of the Union established under an Act of Parliament, “Central Industrial Security Force Act, 1968 (50 of 1968)”.
• According to the mandate, CISF provides security to the premises staff along with the security of property and establishments.
• CISF is also providing protection to some private sector units and important government buildings in Delhi.
• Presently, CISF is also providing security to the protected persons classified as Z Plus, Z, X, Y.
• CISF is the only force with a customized and dedicated fire wing.
• CISF is a compensatory cost force.

What is the habitable zone?

• The habitable zone (or “Goldilocks zone”👀) is the range of orbital distances from a star at which liquid water can exist on the surface of a planet.
• It is the area around a star where it is not too hot and not too cold👀 for liquid water to exist on the surface of surrounding planets.
• This range of distances changes depending on the size and temperature of the star.
• Earth is in the habitable zone of the sun – one of the reasons our planet has liquid water like oceans and lakes.

NASA reported the discovery of an Earth-size planet, named TOI 700 d👀, orbiting its star in the “habitable zone”.

What is Epiphany festival?

On 6^th January, the Epiphany festival was celebrated in parts of India, such as Goa and Kerala👀.

In Goa- Portuguese name ‘Festa dos Reis’👀, and

 In parts of Kerala- Syriac name ‘Denha’👀.

What is it?

Epiphany is a feast day, or a day of commemoration, which in Christianity marks the visit of the Magi👀 (meaning the Three Wise Men or Three Kings) to the Infant Jesus (Christ from his nativity until age 12).

According to Christian belief, the Magi — Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar (or Casper), the kings of Arabia, Persia, and India, respectively — followed a miraculous guiding star to Bethlehem, where they paid homage to the Infant Jesus.

• The three are said to have brought gifts for Jesus:gold by Melchior, myrrh by Balthasar, and incense by Gaspar. The visit is believed to signify Jesus’ physical manifestation to the Gentiles (non-Jewish people).
• The day also commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River👀.

Sea Guardians 2020:

• It is a joint naval drill between Pakistan and China👀.
• The latest edition is being held in Karachi👀.
• It is the sixth in the bilateral series.
• It will focus on “augmenting interoperability and strategic cooperation.”

Operation Sankalp:

• It is a maritime security operation launched by India to promptly respond to the emergency situations for Indian sea vessels in the Middle East region.
• It has been launched in order to ensure safe passage of Indian Flag Vessels through the Strait of Hormuz👀.

MILAN 2020:

It will be held in Visakhapatnam👀 in March 2020.

Indian Navy postpones👀 multilateral exercise Milan 2020 due to coronavirus

About MILAN 2020:

• MILAN stands for Multilateral Naval Exercise.
• It is a multilateral naval exercise aimed to enhance professional interaction between friendly foreign navies and learn from each other’s strengths and best practices in the maritime domain.
• Of the 41 navies invited, confirmations from over 30 navies have been received towards their participation in MILAN 2020.

Kolkata port renamed:

Centre has renamed the Kolkata Port Trust after Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee port trust👀.

Key facts:

• In the early 16th century, the Portuguese first used the present location of the port to anchor their ships, since they found the upper reaches of the Hooghly river, beyond Kolkata, unsafe for navigation.
• After the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1833, this port was used to ship lakhs of Indians as ‘indentured labourers’ to far-flung territories throughout the Empire.
• The Kolkata port is the only riverine port in the country, situated 203 km from the sea. The river Hooghly, on which it is located, has many sharp bends, and is considered a difficult navigational channel.
• The Farakka Barrage, built in 1975, reduced some of the port’s woes as Ganga waters were diverted into the Bhagirathi-Hooghly system.

Mission Purvodaya:

• Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan today launched PURVODAYA: Accelerated development of eastern India through integrated steel hub in Kolkata, West Bengal👀. 
• The Centre unveils Mission Purvodaya to develop eastern region into an integrated steel hub.
• The eastern belt has the potential to add over 75 percent of the country’s incremental steel capacity envisioned by the National Steel Policy. 
• Through this programme, the government aims to transform logistics and utilities infrastructure which would change the socio-economic landscape in the eastern India.
• The steps, under mission, also include growth of steel industry along with employment opportunities across the entire value chain.

Island Development Agency (IDA):

What is it? The IDA was set up on June 1, 2017 for the development of islands. The meetings of the agency are chaired by the Union Home Minister.

Composition: Members of the IDA include cabinet secretary, home secretary, secretary (environment, forests and climate change), secretary (tourism) and secretary (tribal welfare).

Z Morh tunnel:

Govt awards over Rs 2000 cr for completing Z Morh tunnel.

Key facts:

• The 6.5-kilometre long Z-Morh tunnel is located in Jammu and Kashmir.
•  road tunnel project and is the first step toward ensuring all-weather connectivity between Srinagar and Kargil in Ladakh region of India👀 
• The tunnel gets its name from its Z formation between Sonamarg and Gagangir 👀
• The tunnel is capable of allowing 1,000 vehicles an hour at a speed of 80 km per hour.
• Border Road Organization (BRO) was the previous implementation agency of the project. The project was however transferred to IL&FS in 2016. APCO👀will now complete the balance work.

Winged Raider:

It is Indian Army’s biggest airborne exercise conducted recently in the north-eastern theatre.

‘Sahyog-Kaijin’:

• It is a joint coast guard exercise between India and Japan.
• The aim is to strengthen the bond between the two countries.
• The latest edition is being held in India.

Yada Yada virus:

Detected recently in Australian mosquitoes.

What is it?

• It belonged to a group that includes other alphaviruses👀 such as chikungunya virus and the astern equine encephalitis.
• Even so, the novel virus poses no threat to human beings, because it is a part of a group of viruses that only infect mosquitoes. Other viruses in the same group include the Tai forest alphavirus and the Agua Salud alphavirus.

About CICT

• The Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT) is an autonomous Institute of higher research functioning under  Ministry of Human Resources Development👀, 
• This is an Institute constituted specifically for carrying out higher research Classical Tamil at international levels not to be found elsewhere globally.
• The CICT is engaged in several research activities aimed at establishing the ancientness and uniqueness of Tamil and of Classical Tamil in particular and in propagating its findings globally. 
• The Institute is responsible for the Kural Peedam Award👀.

About Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL):

• The DFCCIL is a corporation run by the Ministry of Railways (India) to undertake planning & development, mobilisation of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the Dedicated Freight Corridors.
• DFCC has been registered as a company under the Companies Act 1956 on 30 October 2006.

ELECRAMA 2020

• It is the flagship showcase of the Indian electrical industry and a platform to connect the world with the Indian industry in respect of technology, new trends and innovation for the future energy transition.
• It is a platform for knowledge-sharing with a strong focus on electric vehicles, Internet of Things (IoT), storage solutions and renewable energy.
• It is supported by the Ministry of Power, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Government of India.

Steppe eagle

Sighted recently near Vijayawada.

Key facts:

• IUCN status: moved from ‘Least Concern’ to ‘Endangered👀 
• Scientific name:Aquila nipalensis.
• Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae.
• Habitat: It breeds from Romania east through the south Russian and Central Asian steppes to Mongolia. The European and Central Asian birds winter in Africa, and the eastern birds in India.
• Throughout its range it favours open dry habitats, such as desert, semi-desert, steppes, or savannah.
• The Steppe Eagle appears on the flag of Kazakhstan👀. It is also the National bird (animal) of Egypt👀 and appears on its flag.

Submarine-launched ballistic missile, K-4:

Test- fires recently.

Key facts:

• Range: 3,500 km.
• The Circular Error Probability (CEP)of the K-4 is much more sophisticated than most countries which possess similar missiles. The CEP determines the accuracy of a missile👀. The lower the CEP, the more accurate the missile would be in targeting.

Vyom Mitra:

It is ISRO’s first woman astronaut.

• It will be used for an unmanned flight of ISRO’s GSLV III rocket in December 2020, which, along with a second unmanned flight in July 2021.
• Vyommitra, equipped with a head, two arms and a torso, is built to mimic crew activity inside the crew module of Gaganyaan.
• Functions: Attaining launch and orbital postures, responding to the environment, generating warnings, replacing carbon dioxide canisters, operating switches, monitoring of the crew module, receiving voice commands, responding via speech (bilingual).

Reciting preamble is compulsory in Maharashtra:

Maharashtra government has made it compulsory to recite the Preamble to the Constitution in all schools starting January 26. 

• The objective is to instil values such as justice, freedom and equality enshrined in the Constitution.
• The government has also asked the schools to put up a plaque or board with the Preamble and asked schools to hold quizzes, essay, drawing, slogan, poster competitions based on the Constitution.

India’s first underwater metro:

 India’s first underwater metro nears completion after costs double.

Location: The first underwater metro project is being constructed in Kolkata👀, a part of which will pass under the iconic Hoogly river on which the famous Howrah bridge is constructed.

About Padma Awards:

Padma Awards – one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. They were instituted in the year 1954. The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.

Categories:

1. Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service;( it is a second degree honour).
2. Padma Bhushan is awarded for distinguished service of high order. (it is a third degree honour).
3. Padma Shri is awarded for distinguished service in any field. (it is a fourth degree honour).

The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year👀. The award is normally not conferred posthumously. However, in highly deserving cases, the Government could consider giving an award posthumously if the demise of the person proposed to be honoured has been recent, say within a period of one year preceding the Republic Day on which it is proposed to announce the award.

Archaea:

• They are a primitive group of microorganisms that thrive in extreme habitats such as hot springs, cold deserts and hypersaline lakes.
• These slow-growing organisms are also present in the human gut, and have a potential relationship with human health.
• They are known for producing antimicrobial molecules, and for anti-oxidant activity with applications in eco-friendly waste-water treatment.

Why in News?

Scientists have reported a new archaeon (a kind of microorganism)👀, which they discovered in Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan. 

It has been named Natrialba swarupiae👀, after Dr Renu Swarup, secretary, Department of Biotechnology.

Hemorrhagic septicemia:

• It is a severe bacterial disease caused by certain strains.
• The disease is also spread through contact with infected animals, contaminated clothing, equipment, and through ingestion or inhalation of the bacteria.
• Primary symptoms include swishing tails, reduced cudding, undigested food in faeces and reduced milk yield.

Why in News? Around 40 buffaloes have died within four days due to suspected Sahana disease (hemorrhagic septicemia) in a number of villages located in the Garadapur block of Odisha’s Kendrapara.

 Sagarmatha Sambaad:

• It is the first-ever multi-stakeholder dialogue event in Nepal’s recent history👀, to be held in April.
• It will be attended by many global figures apart from the leaders of the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
• It is expected to be the biggest diplomatic initiative.

Nagoba Jatara:

A month-long Nagoba Jatra festival has come to an end in Telangana👀.

What is it?

• It is a tribal festival held in Telangana.
• Also known as Keslapur jatara.
• It is a huge religious and cultural event of the Boigutta branch of Mesram clan of the aboriginal Raj Gond and Pardhan tribes👀.
• During the festival, the maha puja of serpent god Nagoba👀 is held.
• The Gusadi Dance performance👀 by dancers from the Gond tribe is a major special attraction of the event.

SAMPRITI-IX:

It is a bilateral defence cooperation endeavour between India and Bangladesh👀.

• The latest edition will be the ninth edition and will be conducted in Umroi, Meghalaya.

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