Indo-Pacific Strategy:-
- First time the term ‘Indo Pacific’ was used by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Indian soil in 2007. Then, he said that there is connect between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
- After about ten years, the President of the United States used this term during his visit to East Asia. He repeatedly used this term instead of ‘Asia Pacific’. The motive is to ensure that all the countries in the region are working in a direction to make it an open, free, inclusive, prosperous and rule based Indo Pacific system.
- It is a very rich region in terms of natural resources (fisheries, oil, gas) as well as mineral resources.
- About 3.5 trillion dollars international trade flows through the South China Sea.
- Trade of some of the major economies like China, Japan, Korea or the west coast of the United States goes through the South China Sea.
- About 50% of India’s trade is conducted through the South China Sea.
Convalescent Plasma Therapy:-
- Convalescent plasma (CP) therapy is not a new therapy and based on the age-old concept of passive immunity.
- The convalescent plasma therapy seeks to make use of the antibodies developed in the recovered patient against the virus.
- The whole blood or plasma from such people is taken, and the plasma is then injected in critically ill patients so that the antibodies are transferred and boost their fight against the virus.
Marathas:-
- It is a politically dominant community in Maharashtra comprising mainly peasants and landowners and forms nearly one-third of the population of the state.
- Majority of the Chief Ministers of the state have been from this community since the formation of the state in 1960.
- Marathas are mostly Marathi-speaking but not all Marathi-speaking people belong to the Maratha community.
- Historically, they have been identified as a ‘warrior’ caste with large land-holdings.
- While the division of land and agrarian problems over the years has led to a decline of prosperity among the middle class and lower-middle-class Marathas, the community still plays an important role in the rural economy.
BT-COTTON:-
- Bt cotton is an insect-resistant transgenic crop designed to combat the bollworm.
- Bt cotton was created by genetically altering the cotton genome to express a microbial protein from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis.
- In short, the transgene inserted into the plant’s genome produces toxin crystals that the plant would not normally produce which, when ingested by a certain population of organisms, dissolves the gut lining, leading to the organism’s death.
EASE Banking Reforms Index:-
- EASE stands for ‘Enhanced Access and Service Excellence’. The index is prepared by the Indian Banking Association (IBA) and Boston Consulting Group.
- It is commissioned by the Finance Ministry.
- It is a framework that was adopted last year to strengthen public sector banks and rank them on metrics such as responsible banking, financial inclusion, credit offtake and digitization.
ARISE ANIC Initiative:-
- Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, has launched Aatmanirbhar Bharat ARISE-Atal New India Challenges, to spur applied research and innovation in Indian MSMEs and startups.
- The program is a national initiative to promote research & innovation and increase the competitiveness of Indian startups and MSMEs.
- Its objective is to proactively collaborate with esteemed Ministries and the associated industries to catalyze research, innovation and facilitate innovative solutions to sectoral problems.
- It also aims to provide a steady stream of innovative products & solutions where the Central Government Ministries / Departments will become the potential first buyers.
- It is in line with the PM’s mandate of “Make in India”, “Startup India”, and “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” to fast track the growth of the Indian MSME sector.
- The programme will be driven by ISRO, four ministries—Ministry of Defence; Ministry of Food Processing Industries; Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
- It will support deserving applied research-based innovations by providing funding support of up to Rs 50 lakh for speedy development of the proposed technology solution and/or product.
Legal entity:-
- A legal entity means an entity which acts like a natural person but only through a designated person, whose acts are processed within the ambit of law. This means the animal kingdom could be represented by a custodian.
- In common law jurisprudence, there are two types of persons:
-Natural persons or human beings and
-Artificial persons which are also known as juristic persons, juridical entity or legal person other than natural person. - Legal or juristic persons are created by law and recognised as legal entity.
- It is having distinct identity, legal personality and besides duties and rights.
- They include private business firm or entity, non-governmental or government organisations, trusts and societies, besides others.
- Previous living entities:-Uttarakhand high court in March 2017 accorded the status of “living entity” to the Ganga and Yamuna rivers, a decision subsequently stayed by the Supreme Court.