According to data released by TBI, tea production across the tea estates of Assam and West Bengal may drop by 50%.

About TBI

• It is a statutory body set up in 1954 under the Tea Act, 1953.
• Ministry: Ministry of Commerce.
• Headquarter: Kolkata. 
  • Overseas offices are in London, Dubai, and Moscow.
• Member: 31 members (including Chairman)
• It is reconstituted every three years.

Major Tea Growing Regions

• Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, etc.

Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone Management Authority has recommended the Injambakkam-Akkarai stretch development project with the condition to explore blue flag certification. 

About Blue Flag Certification

• It is a voluntary globally recognized eco-label/tag given to environment-friendly & clean beaches marinas and boat. 
• It is accorded by the Denmark-based non-profit Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).  
  • FEE has identified 33 criteria, to qualify for blue flag.
• There are 12 blue flag-certified beaches in India. E.g., Minicoy Thundi and Kadmat in Lakshadweep, Ghoghla-Diu, Golden-Odisha, etc. 

Recently, India VIX surged above the critical threshold of 21, indicating heightened volatility
in India’s stock market.

About India VIX

• It is a measure of the amount by which an underlying Index is expected to fluctuate,
  in the near term (30 calendar days).
  • The higher the India VIX values, the higher the expected volatility and vice-versa.
• It is based on index option prices of NIFTY.
• Uses computation methodology of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE).
  • CBOE was the first to introduce a volatility index for US markets in 1993.

A Red panda was recently sighted in Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary (Arunachal Pradesh).

About Red Panda

• Small arboreal mammal found in high-altitude forests of Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, and China.
• Habitat: Temperate forest of the Himalayas (Sikkim, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh).
  • It thrives best at 2,200-4,800m in mixed deciduous and conifer forests with dense understories of bamboo.
• Protection status: 
  • IUCN status:  Endangered
  • Wildlife Protection Act: Schedule I
  • CITES: Appendix I
• Conservation Issues: Habitat fragmentation and degradation, Predation by feral dogs, Occasional hunting and poaching.

US State Department warned India of sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) after India-Iran deal on Chabahar port.

About CAATSA

• It is a US federal law, enacted in 2017, which aims to punish countries having deep engagements with Russia, North Korea, and Iran using economic sanction.
• It entails economic & financial penalties for any nation that have significant transactions with Russian intelligence and military agents.
• In 2018, US House of Representatives passed an amendment to exempt India from economic sanctions under CAATSA for purchasing S-400 missile defence system from Russia.

WPI inflation recently hit 13-month high of 1.26% in April 2024.

About WPI

• It measures the average change in the prices of commodities for bulk sale at the early stage of transactions.
  • Base year: 2011-2012.
• Released by: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
• WPI Index basket covers: Primary Articles (22.62%), Fuel and Power (13.15%) and Manufactured products (64.23%, highest).
  • WPI basket does not cover services.
• The weightage of food in WPI is approx. 24% which is lesser than CPI.

The seventh edition of the Indo-U.S. joint counter-terrorism exercise ‘Tarkash’ was recently held in Kolkata.

• It was held between the India’s National Security Guard (NSG) and U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF).

Archaeologists have found evidence of a lost landscape known as Sahul in the ancient times.

About Sahul

• Sahul was a supercontinent exposed on the Earth's surface during the last ice age due to glaciation, which lowered global sea levels. 
• Sahul was above sea levels around 70,000 years ago and connected Australia, New Guinea, and neighboring islands like the Aru Islands. 
• It helped humans travel across continents, from Asia to Australia almost 7,000 decades ago.