GM Crop:

• A GM or transgenic crop is a plant that has a novel combination of genetic material obtained through the use of modern biotechnology.
• For example, a GM crop can contain a gene(s) that has been artificially inserted instead of the plant acquiring it through pollination.

Roll-Out Solar Array, or ROSA:

• ROSA is an advanced, flexible solar array that rolls out like a tape.
• The ROSA is very much flexible so that it can be adapted to different sizes including very large arrays.
• ROSA is expected to provide power for a variety of future spacecraft and satellites.
• ROSA is smaller and lighter than the traditional panels and has a centre wing build of a flexible material containing photovoltaic cells to convert light into electricity.
• ROSA with significantly less mass and volume can offer substantial cost savings and increase the power for satellites.

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH):

• CAH is an inherited disorder that affects the adrenal glands where the glands cannot produce cortisol and aldosterone, and instead produce an unwanted excess amount of androgens.
• A child with CAH lacks enzymes the adrenal glands use to produce hormones that help regulate metabolism, the immune system, blood pressure, and other essential functions.
• Parents with children suffering from it often have great difficulty in the upbringing of the child, including treatment, getting school admission and other support issues.

Aeroboat:

• Build jointly by India-Russian Joint Venture
• It is capable of travelling on land, water, snow and sand.
• It has been designed to access difficult terrain, such as flooded or marshy areas in which the regular boats cannot ply because of shallow water, patches of dry land or by marine vegetation.
• In India, these aeroboats will be helpful for disaster management authorities.
• It would be helpful especially to save hundreds of lives during the monsoon season.

National Green Corps Program:

• National Green Corps is a major initiative of MoEF for creating environmental awareness.
• It was launched in 2001-02 and aims at building cadres of young children working towards environmental conservation and sustainable development.
• It is operated through Eco-clubs which are set up in schools and registered as members of NGC.
• This programme exposes school children to in-depth field experiences, and provides opportunities to convert their ideas into creative action.
• The programme has a cascading effect as it seeks to redirect the consciousness of students towards environment friendly attitudes and actions and goes beyond schools, promoting school-society interactions to sensitize the society

Goldilocks Zone:

• It refers to a habitable zone in the planetary system where the temperature is neither too high nor too low.
• Such conditions could allow for the presence on the planet’s surface of liquid water – a key ingredient for life.
• If a planet is too close to the star it orbits, any water on the surface quickly boils off, forming a steam atmosphere.
• If the planet is too far from the star, any water on the surface freezes.
• 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.
• 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.

White Tiger:

• White tigers in India are nothing but a pigmentation variant of the Bengal tiger
• In India, white tigers are predominantly found in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh.
• In 2016, world’s first White Tiger Safari was inaugurated at Mukundpur in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh.
• The first white tiger in Madhya Pradesh’s was spotted in Vindhya region in 1915. However, the rare breed of the big cat spotted for the first time died in 1920.
• In 1951, a white tiger cub named Mohan was captured by Rewa Maharaja Martand Singh.
• Later the tiger cub became the progenitor of all known white tigers in the world after the Maharaja arranged for its breeding.
• They have been reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of Assam, West Bengal, Bihar.
• These tigers have white fur because of the lack of the pigment pheomelanin, which is found in Bengal tigers with orange colour fur.

International Grains Council:

• India is a member of the IGC which was previously known as International Wheat Council.
• IGC is an intergovernmental forum of exporting and importing countries, for co-operation in wheat and coarse grain matters.
• It administers the Grains Trade Convention 1995.
• The IGC Secretariat, based in London, also services the Food Aid Committee, established under the Food Aid Convention.
• International Grains Agreement comprises of Grains Trade Convention (GTC) and Food Aid Convention (FAC).
• India is a signatory to the International Grains Agreement (IGA), 1995 and its Grain Trade Convention (GTC), 1995 which is effective from July 1, 1995.
• India has been included in the category of exporting members in July, 2003 and represented in the meetings/session of the council held from time to time.