AssamExam

• Researchers have recorded the first instance of captive breeding of the Himalayan vulture (Gyps himalayensis) in India at the Assam State Zoo, Guwahati.
• Categorised as ‘Near Threatened’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species, the Himalayan vulture is a winter migrant to the Indian plains, and a resident of the high Himalayas.

According to Elephant Census-2023, Karnataka leads the country in the total number of elephants. Elephant counts in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have experienced a minor rise, while numbers in Kerala have nearly reduced by half, based on the recent Elephant Population Estimates shared by the southern Indian states.

• The tropical storm Greg has reached near Hawaii state of the United States which is already reeling under the devastating impact of wildfire.
• Hurricane Dora created high gusty winds over Maui recently and complicated the wildfire problem. It also became a typhoon, and was the second tropical system on record to remain at hurricane strength across the eastern, central and western Pacific basins.

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched a Centralised Web Portal UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access inforMation).
• The launch of the web portal will aid users to identify their unclaimed deposits/ accounts and enable them to either claim the deposit amount or make their deposit accounts operative at their respective banks.

• IIT Bombay has partnered with HSBC to pursue technological advancements towards making green hydrogen production more efficient, cost-effective, and scalable.
• The focus will be on innovative projects that will help position green hydrogen as a strategic alternate fuel; help in building a robust, green hydrogen economy and achieve the government’s vision of an energy-independent nation.

Two products from Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri and Anantnag districts—the Rajouri Chikri woodcraft and the Mushqbudji rice variety—have earned the coveted Geographical Indication (GI) tags. With its honey-toned appearance and smooth, refined texture, Chikri wood is found in the mountainous regions of the Jammu province.

• In Financial Year 2022-23, Government e-marketplace (GeM) registered its highest ever Gross Merchandise Value of ₹ 2,01,113 crore.
• The Economic Survey 2021-22 observed that prices on GeM were observed to be 9.5% lower in comparison with other online platforms for 10 out of 22 commodities.

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated India’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) school called as Santhigiri Vidyabhavan in Kerala’s capital city, Thiruvananthapuram. The AI school is a result of a collaboration between iLearning Engines (ILE) USA and Vedhik eSchool.

A new World Health Organization (WHO) report revealed that over the past 15 years, 71% of the global population, approximately 5.6 billion people, are now protected by at least one of the measures, five times more than in 2007.

The WHO’s MPOWER measures aim to monitor tobacco use and prevention policies, protect people from tobacco smoke, provide assistance to quit tobacco, warn about the dangers of tobacco, enforce bans on tobacco advertising, and raise taxes on tobacco products.

India won the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 after a sensational final against Malaysia with the final score of 4-3.