Jiyo Parsi scheme:

• Jiyo Parsi is a Government of India supported scheme to arrest the decline in population of the Parsi Zoroastrian Community in India. The Jiyo Parsi Scheme comprises of three components: Advocacy Component, Health of the Community Component and Medical Component.
• The main objective of the “Jiyo Parsi” scheme is to reverse the declining trend of Parsi population by adopting a scientific protocol and structured interventions, stabilize their population and increase the population of Parsis in India.

2018 ‘national year of millets’:

• Nutrient-rich millets have got a boost with the Union government deciding to declare 2018 as the ‘national year of millets’. This decision has been taken following a request by Karnataka, which is the country’s leader in the millet sector.
• Millet is a common term to categorize small-seeded grasses that are often termed nutri-cereals or dryland-cereals, and includes sorghum, pearl millet, ragi, small millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, barnyard millet, kodo millet and other millets.
• An important staple cereal crop for millions of small holder dryland farmers across sub-saharan Africa and Asia, millets offer nutrition, resilience, income and livelihood for farmers even in difficult times. They have multiple untapped uses such as food, feed, fodder, biofuels and brewing. Therefore, millets are Smart Food as they are Good for You, Good for the Farmer and Good for the Planet.
• Nutritionally superior to wheat & rice owing to their higher levels of protein with more balanced amino acid profile, crude fiber & minerals such as Iron, Zinc, and Phosphorous, millets can provide nutritional security and act as a shield against nutritional deficiency, especially among children and women.

Prevention of Atrocities acts:

• Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 is an act of parliament.
• It falls within the provisions of Article 17 of the constitution, enacted for preventing atrocities against members of SC/ST
• It also provide special courts for the trial of such offences as well as relief and rehabilitation of the victims of atrocities. 
• The PoA Act extends to the whole of India except Jammu & Kashmir, and responsibility for its implementation rests with State Governments.

Automated moorings:

• It is the new ocean data acquisition system which will do away with the present practice of collecting water samples from sea and studying their pollution levels thereafter.
• The system will do away with the present practice of collecting water samples from sea and studying their pollution levels thereafter. It will also provide data that will help scientists to understand how the marine system is changing.

Vijaya:

• The second offshore patrol vessel (OPV), named Vijaya, built by the Larsen and Toubro Shipyard has been launched.
• The indigenously built vessel ‘Vijaya’, equipped with state-of art radar, navigational and communication system, will be utilised for day and night patrol and surveillance, anti-terrorist, anti-smuggling operations and coastal security.

Nuna:

• A recent study suggests new information regarding Australia’s history, indicating that a small area of the country was once part of Canada – forming a supercontinent named Nuna.
• Research shows that about 1.7 billion years ago, Georgetown rocks were deposited into a shallow sea when the region was part of North America.
• Georgetown then broke away from North America and collided with the Mount Isa region of northern Australia around 100 million years later.
• This was a critical part of global continental reorganisation when almost all continents on Earth assembled to form the supercontinent called Nuna.Nuna, also known as Columbia, was estimated to be around 12900 km from North to South at the widest part, reports Space Daily.
• Nuna was made up of more than just Canada and parts of Australia, however, with the eastern coast of India attached to western North America as well.
• At this point in our planet’s history, South America was rotated in such a way that the western edge of Brazil ended up lined up with eastern North America. 

National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation:

• The National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC) has been set up by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India on 24th January 1997.
• The company is registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 as a Company not for profit.
• It is wholly owned by Government of India and has an authorised share capital of Rs. 400 crores. The company is managed by Board of Directors nominated by Government of India.
• NHFDC functions as an Apex institution for channelizing the funds to persons with disabilities through the State Channelizing Agencies (SCAs) nominated by the State Government.

Assumption Island:

• Assumption Island is one of the 115 islands constituting Seychelles archipelago.
• India signed a pact to develop Assumption Island, during PM Modi’s visit to Seychelles in 2015.
• Ironing out the earlier differences, India has now signed a revised agreement with Seychelles.
• Assumption Island is leased to India for the operation of a naval base and air strip by the Indian navy.
• The agreement will enable India to help Seychelles build military infrastructure for the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces.
• Seychelles has said it would “suspend” the use of military facilities on Assumption Island in case if India is at war.
• This is because it is not a military base.
• Also, other “international partners” can also use the facilities being developed by India on the island.
• It is being financed entirely by India; but Seychelles retains full ownership of the facilities and sovereign rights over the island.

Human Papilloma Virus:

• The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) has recommended the introduction of HPV vaccine in the UIP.
• NTAGI is an advisory body that recommends vaccines for India’s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP).
• Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is a group of more than 150 viruses.
• It is usually harmless and goes away by itself.
• However, some types cause papilloma or warts in parts of the body.
• HPV spreads by skin-to-skin contact and is the most common sexually transmitted infection.
• HPV is commonly associated with cervical cancer.
• India has one of the world’s highest burdens of HPV-related cancer and around 67,000 women die from this disease each year.
• HPV vaccines offered by private firms face clinical trial issues in India on concerns of side-effects; Supreme Court is yet to decide.

Universal Immunization Programme:

• Universal Immunization Programme was launched in 1985.
• The program now consists of vaccination for 12 diseases:

1. tuberculosis
2. diphtheria
3. pertussis (whooping cough)
4. tetanus
5. poliomyelitis
6. measles
7. Hepatitis B
8. diarrhoea
9. Japanese Encephalitis
10. Rubella
11. Pneumonia( Heamophilus Influenza Type B)
12. Pneumococcal diseases (Pneumococcal Pneumonia and Meningitis)

• The Indradhanush mission, launched in 2014, is to fast track the universal immunization programme.
• The mission aims at increasing the immunisation coverage to 90% by 2018.

Parker Solar Probe:

• Nasa has begun testing its new probe- Parker solar probe- that will ‘touch the sun’, when it launches into space this summer.
• ‘Parker Solar Probe will travel through the sun’s atmosphere, closer to the surface than any spacecraft before it, facing brutal heat and radiation conditions and ultimately providing humanity with the closest-ever observations of a star.’
• It will study the outer atmosphere of the sun, known as the corona. To measure the corona, the probe will reach an orbit within four million miles (6.5 million km) of the sun.
• The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) is also aimed at collecting vital information about the life of stars and their weather events. This will help scientists improve how we predict dangerous solar flares, which can disrupt satellites and power supplies here on Earth.
• The mission can help scientists to better understand solar flares – brief eruptions of intense high-energy radiation from the sun’s surface that can knock out communications on Earth.
• According to Nasa, observations from this new vantage point will also help to uncover the physics of how stars work, and could improve our ability to predict space weather.
• These events have impacts on Earth as well as the satellites and astronauts in space.

DHARMA:

• A software programme – Dam Health and Rehabilitation Monitoring Application (DHARMA)-  will also be launched during the conference. DHARMA is a web tool to digitize all dam related data effectively.
• It will help to document authentic asset and health information pertaining to the large dams in the country, enabling appropriate actions to ensure need based rehabilitation. It is a new stride in asset management aspect by India.
• The Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR), Government of India, with assistance from the World Bank, is implementing the DAM REHABILITATION AND IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (DRIP), which would be a six-year project.

Global Talent Competitiveness Index:

• The fifth edition of the Global Talent Competitiveness Index has been released by INSEAD in partnership with The Adecco Group and Tata communications.
• India has moved up to the 81st position, but remains a laggard among the BRICS nations. India was at the 92nd position last year and at the 89th place in 2016.
• Among the five BRICS countries China is at 43rd, Russia 53rd, South Africa 63rd and Brazil 73^rd.
• Switzerland has topped the list. It is followed by Singapore and the US. European countries dominate the top ranks, with 15 out of the top 25 places.