United Nations declared the year 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology

CDS 2024

✅Related Information-
👉World Restoration Flagship initiative by the UNEP as part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030).
👉7 initiatives under World Restoration Flagship
● Restoring Mediterranean Forests Initiative
● Living Indus Initiative
● Acción Andina Social Movement - S America
● Sri Lanka Mangrove Regeneration Initiative
● Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) Initiative
● Regreening Africa’s Agriculture
● Growing Forests in Africa's Drylands Initiative

✅International Court of Justice
(ICJ)
● principal judicial organ of the United Nations
● established in 1945 by the UN Charter
● HQ: The Hague, Netherlands
● composed of 15 judges elected to nine-year terms by the
UN General Assembly and the Security Council
● Jurisdiction: settles legal disputes between states
(contentious cases) that consent to its jurisdiction.
○ No jurisdiction over applications from individuals,
non-governmental organizations, corporations or
private entity.


✅International Criminal Court
(ICC)
● established by the Rome Statute, which was adopted in
1998, and entered into force in 2002.
● HQ: The Hague, Netherlands
● Jurisdiction: investigate and prosecute individuals (not
states) accused of: genocide, crimes against humanity,
war crimes, and aggression.
● India, US, China, Russia are not members of ICC

#70thBPSC

SOUTH ASIA SUBREGIONAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION (SASEC)

✅established in 2001 to promote regional prosperity
● Members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar,
Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
● Asian Development Bank (ADB) acts as the Secretariat for
👉SASEC and provides financial and technical assistance for
various projects.



✅COFFEE CLUB -
👉To oppose expansion of P5 under UNSC.

#70thBPSC

✅OPERATIONAL - from the date when Election Schedule is announced till the date Results are announced.

✅Not Enforcable by law.

✅First operationalised in 1960 in Kerala Assembly Election.


❗️Read the provisions wrt Exit Polls & Opinion Polls.

#70thBpsc

ARTIFICIAL SWEETNERS

✅Artificial Sweetners were in news recently due to the research highlighting their carcinogenic potential.

The above table from The NCERT becomes Important in this regard.

#70thBPSC

🕸Volcanoes in India🕸️

a)Barren island, Andaman : Active Volcano on the edge of Indo-Burmese Tectonic Plate, last eruption in 2017

b)Narcondam(Etymology :- tamil origin meaning “ pit of Hell”)-Small Volcano on Andaman sea, made of Andesite

c)Baratang :- Also known as Ranchiwalas Island, Mud Volcano, Andaman. It is said to have been impacted due to 2004 tsunami.

d)Dhosi Hill, Haryana : extinct volcano, part of Aravali Mountain Hill

e)Tosham Hill, Haryana : Extinct volcano.

#70thBPSC

🕸️When a superconductor is cooled below its critical temperature, it expels any existing magnetic fields from its interior, creating a magnetic shield around itself. This is known as the Meissner effect.

#70thBPPSC

#prelims2024 #Expect

🟡 Yellow Hydrogen: where electrolysis is achieved "solely" through solar power.

🟢Green Hydrogen: where electrolysis is achieved via a "combination" of renewable energy sources such as wind or solar etc.

🕸Learning: Green Hydrogen is a BROADER term, while Yellow is a sub-part of it.

#70thBPSC

The BBNJ(Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction) treaty commonly referred to as the Treaty of the High Seas was agreed upon in March 2023 for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Developed under the Framework of UNCLOS.

🕸India has not signed the treaty.

#70thBPSC

✅Cryomesh- technique for Coral Preservation.

✅The mesh technology will help store coral larvae at -196°C (-320.8°F).

✅Corals are marine invertebrates or animals which do not possess a spine.
👉 In scientific classification, corals fall under the phylum Cnidaria and the class Anthozoa.

✅There are two types of corals:
👉Hard, shallow-water corals—the kind that builds reefs.
👉Soft corals and deepwater corals that live in dark cold waters.

#70thBPSC

✅Internationally recognised eco-label system.
✅On the lines of Blue Flag certification, India has also launched its own eco-label BEAMS (Beach Environment & Aesthetics Management Services).

#70thBPSC