Rajasthani Folk Dances

• Rajasthani folk dances are originated from different tribes and mainly used at past time to entertain Kings.
• Folk songs of rajasthan are commonly ballads which relate heroic deeds and love stories and religious or devotional songs known as bhajans and banis.
• The Ghoomar dance from Udaipur and Kalbeliya dance of Jaisalmer have gained international recognition.
• Ghoomar – Ghoomar is basically a community dance for women and performed on auspicious occasions.
• Kalbelia – The dance is performed by a tribe of the same name, Kalbelia dance and songs are now in UNESCO’s representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity from the year 2010.

• Terah Taali – This folk dance is performed by the Kamada tribes who are traditional snake charmers.
• Besides this it is also performed by the tribes of Mirasi, Bhand, Dholi, Bhat and Nat.
• Gair Dance – This traditional folk dance is one of the many dance- form of the Bhil community of Rajasthan.
• Dandia dance which is performed with wooden sticks is a type of Gair dance.
• Chari Dance – Chari dance describes the art of collecting water in a chari or pot by the Rajasthani womens in their day to day life.
• It is also known as traditional fire dance of Rajasthan.
• Chari dance belongs to Gujjar community and only womens perform in this dance.

Coliform Bacteria

• Coliforms are bacteria that are always present in the digestive tracts of animals, including humans, and are found in their wastes.
• Coliforms are indicator organisms, i.e the presence of coliforms in water proves the presence of other disease causing pathogens.
• Thus the most basic test for bacterial contamination of a water supply is the test for total coliform bacteria.
• Total coliform counts give a general indication of the sanitary condition of a water supply.
• Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the major species in the fecal coliform group.

BS-IV and BS-VI

• The main difference in standards between the existing BS-IV and the new BS-VI auto fuel norms is the presence of sulphur.
• The BS-VI fuel is estimated to bring around an 80 per cent reduction of sulphur, from 50 parts per million to 10 ppm.
• BS VI can bring PM in diesel cars down by 80 per cent.
• The emission of NOx (nitrogen oxides) from diesel cars is also expected to come down by nearly 70 per cent and 25 per cent from cars with petrol engines.
• BS VI also make on-board diagnostics (OBD) mandatory for all vehicles.
• OBD device informs the vehicle owner or the repair technician how efficient the systems in the vehicle are.

Trans Regional Maritime Network (T-RMN)

• India has signed the ascension agreement to the Trans Regional Maritime Network (T-RMN).
• It facilitates information exchange on the movement of commercial traffic on the high seas.
• The multilateral construct comprises of 30 countries and is steered by Italy.
• The pact will give India the access to information on ships which pass through the Indian Ocean region.

Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS)

• The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is a permanent organ of the SCO which serves to promote cooperation of member states against terrorism, separatism and extremism.
• The Head of RATS is elected to a three-year term.
• It is headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Ajiviks Philosophy

• Around the 6th century BC, at the time of the Buddha, there was an explosion all across India of different schools of thought and philosophy.
• One of the most popular was the Ajivika sect, Makkhali Goshala was its most important leader.
• The Ajivikas’ central belief was that absolutely everything is predetermined by fate or niyati, and hence human action has no consequence one way or the other.
• Like Jains, Ajiviks wore no clothes and lived as ascetic monks in organised groups.
• They were known to practice extremely severe austerities, such as lying on nails, going through the fire, exposing themselves to extreme weather, and even spending time in large earthen pots for penance.
• There was no caste discrimination and people from all walks of life joined them.
• The Barabar Caves (ancient rock-cut caves) in Bihar dating from the Mauryan Empire, were made for Ajiviks and Jains to retreat and meditate.
• Buddhist and Jain texts are very critical of the Ajiviks, Ajiviks are considered fairly important rivals of both.
• The sect reached its peak during the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka’s father’s Bindusara’s was a follower of Ajivika.
• Ashoka himself, best known for his spreading of Buddhism all over India and Southeast Asia, was an Ajivik for most of his life.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl (PFA)

• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl (PFAs) are a group of man-made chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and many other chemicals.
• PFAs are chemical on non-stick cookware among many other things, which has made its way into the human food chain.
• Apart from cookware, they are found in resistant fabrics used for cleaning, paints and food packaging.
• Recently it has been found that the chemicals can be fatal for human beings, travelling through bloodstreams and collecting in the kidney and liver.
• Continuous deposition can lead to dysfunction of organs or cancer after a period.

Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES)

• AES and Japanese Encephalitis (JE) is a group of clinically similar neurologic manifestation caused by several different viruses, bacteria, fungus, parasites, spirochetes, chemical/ toxins etc.
• The outbreak of JE usually coincides with the monsoon and post monsoon period when the density of mosquito increases while encephalitis due to other viruses especially entero-viruses occurs throughout the year as it is a water borne disease.

• It predominantly affects population below 15 years, there is seasonal and geographical variation in the causative organism of the disease.
• JEV has its endemic zones running along the Gangetic plane including states of UP (east), Bihar, West Bengal and Assam, and parts of Tamil Nadu.
• Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) is characterized by an acute onset of fever and clinical neurological manifestation that includes mental confusion, disorientation, delirium, or coma.

Abujh Marias Tribes

• Abujh Marias are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) community living in Abujhmarh forest, Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.
• Abujh Marias have their own governance structure.
• Since AbujhMarias is a PVTG community, they are entitled to the habitat rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA).
• Recently Chhattisgarh government has initiated the processing of habitat rights for Abujh Marias, a (PVTG).

Black Softshell Turtle

• The black softshell turtle or Bostami turtle is a species of freshwater turtle found in India and Bangladesh.
• It is the close relative of Indian peacock softshell turtle, but it is a distinct species.
• As of 2002, the IUCN classified the species as Extinct in the Wild.
• The turtle is originally native to the lower Brahmaputra River.

Yoga Locator App

• AYUSH Ministry has launched Yoga Locator app as a part of International Yoga day celebrations.
• The app will help to locate yoga events around the city, also provides a list of Yoga training centres and instructors near the user’s location.
• The app enables yoga instructors to register themselves and reach out to people who want to pursue a yoga course.
• The app will be available permanently and it will give information to people about yoga activities happening in the user’s vicinity throughout the year.

Libra

• It is the name of newly launched Facebook’s cryotocurrency.
• It is a digital asset built by Facebook and powered by a new Facebook-created version of blockchain, the encrypted technology used by bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Achondroplasia

• Achondroplasia is a bone growth disorder that causes disproportionate dwarfism.
• A drug named, vosoritide helps regulate bone development in children with achondroplasia.