46th Session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) concluded successfully in New Delhi. 

• WHC is responsible for implementing the World Heritage Convention of UNESCO. 
• Also, it defines the use of the World Heritage Fund.
• It has the final say on whether a property is inscribed on the World Heritage List.

Major Outcomes/Developments of 46th WHC

• Addition of Moidams (from Assam) raises India’s total number of World Heritage sites to 43.
• India pledged $1 million to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 
• India and US signed the first ever 'Cultural Property Agreement' to prevent and curb the illicit trafficking of antiquities from India to the USA. 

• Terracotta pipelines unearthed at Keeladi in Sivaganga district (Tamil Nadu). 
• It proves the knowledge that prevailed in the water management system and could be said that alignment was a key feature in the water management system.

About Keeladi

• It is a Sangam age (500 BCE to 300CE) site located on the river Vaigai near temple city Madurai.
• The excavations prove that an urban civilisation existed in the Sangam age. 

Ministry for Education launched the National Apprenticeship and Training Scheme (NATS) 2.0 Portal. 

• Portal will facilitate registration and application for apprenticeships.

About NATS

• One of the flagship programmes of Government of India launched under the provisions of Apprentices Act, 1961 for Skilling Indian Youth.
• Key Features
  • Offers Graduate, Diploma students and Vocational certificate holders; a practical, etc. for duration ranging from 6 months to 1 year.
  • During period of apprenticeship, apprentices are paid a stipend amount, 50% of which is reimbursable to the employer from Government.
  • At the end of the training, apprentices will receive Certificate of Proficiency.

World-Wide Fund for Nature report found four species of sturgeon, among the most endangered fish species globally. 

• These include Stellate sturgeon, Russian sturgeon & beluga (Critically Endangered on IUCN list), and sterlet (Endangered on IUCN list)

About Sturgeon

• Sturgeons are large, freshwater, or anadromous fishes of north temperate regions.
• These fishes evolved 250 million years ago in Jurassic period and are considered genetically “living fossils”. 
• Sturgeons are heavily exploited globally for their roe/eggs (caviar) and meat.
• Since 1998, international trade in all species of sturgeons has been regulated under CITES. 

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked UCBs to stop the practice of setting up a DEF. 

About DEF

• DEF are set up by UCBs through appropriation of profits to pay dividends in future years, when profits are insufficient or where the bank has posted a net loss. 
  • However, current rules distinctly prohibit making such payments from previously accumulated profits or reserves.
  • As a one-time measure, RBI also permitted UCBs to transfer the money in the DEF to general reserves/free reserves to provide better treatment of these balances for regulatory capital purposes.

RBI excluded all new government securities with 14-year and 30-year tenures from the FAR. 

• Previously, FAR allowed foreign investors unrestricted access to these bonds, but the new measure is expected to redirect inflows towards shorter-term bonds instead.

About FAR

• RBI introduced FAR to enable non-residents to invest in specified Government of India dated securities. 
• Eligible investors are any “person resident outside India” as defined in section 2(w) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).

Flights at the Airport in Ladakh were cancelled due to high temperature. 

Impact of Temperature on Flight Take off 

• Aircraft wings are curved on top, hence air over the top of the wings moves faster than the air beneath the wing. 
  • Faster-moving air then creates a lower pressure above the wing (as per Bernoulli’s principle) as compared to the pressure under it. 
  • This difference in the pressure generates lift force underneath the wings that helps the aircraft take off.
• Higher temperatures expand the air, making it less dense. 
  • Thus, fewer molecules are available underneath the aircraft’s wings to create enough lift to push the plane into the sky.

Men's triathlon in Paris Olympics 2024 postponed due to high levels of pollution in Seine river in Paris. 

About Seine River

• Second longest river of France, after the Loire.
• Rises from Burgundy wine region of northeastern France.
• Flows north-westerly to the Normandy coast, where it empties into the English Channel. 
• Drainage network of this river carries most of the French inland waterway traffic.