March 2, 2021

• It is under North Eastern Council, Ministry Table of Contents of DoNER (Ministry of Development of Economy ...... 1 North Eastern Region). North East Cane and Bamboo Development Council Related Information: (NECBDC): ...... 1 • The restructured National Bamboo Polity and Governance ...... 1 Mission (NBM) was launched in 2018-19 ...... 1 for the holistic development of the International Relations...... 2 complete value chain of the bamboo Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB): ...... 2 sector. And develop it on lines of hub and spoke model. Places in News ...... 3 • The NBM is a sub-scheme of National Thailand ...... 3 Mission on Sustainable Agriculture News in Short ...... 3 (NMSA) under the umbrella scheme Hydroxy-chloroquine ...... 3 Krishonnati Yojana. o GoI introduced the green City Innovation Exchange (CiX): ...... 3 revolution Krishonnati Yojana in Raman Effect ...... 4 2005 to boost the agriculture and allied sector in a holistic & scientific manner to increase the ______income of farmer. o Krishonnati Yojana comprises of 11 Economy schemes and mission under a single umbrella scheme. North East Cane and Bamboo Development Council (NECBDC): Why in News? Polity and Governance The UT of J&K will set up three Bamboo Clusters Zonal Council through technical knowhow and collaboration Why in News? from NECBDC. Recently, meeting was UT of Jammu and Kashmir has huge bamboo postponed. reserves that can boost its economy in future. About Zonal Councils: About NECBC: • These are statutory bodies established • Formerly known as ‘Cane and Bamboo under the States Reorganisation Act Development Council’ (CBDC), NECBDC 1956. was incorporated with the objective to • They are only deliberative and advisory organize the hitherto untapped bamboo bodies aiming to promote interstate sector of North East India. cooperation and coordination. Five Zonal councils and States:

1. : Haryana, • Advisers– One person nominated by NITI Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Aayog for each of the Zonal Councils, Punjab, Rajasthan, NCT of and UT of Chief Secretaries and another officers . nominated by each of the States included 2. : Chattisgarh, in the Zone. , and Madhya • Union Ministers are also sometimes Pradesh. invited to the meetings of Zonal Councils 3. : , , depending upon necessity. Orissa, and . NOTE: The 8 North Eastern States i.e. Assam, 4. : Goa, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Maharashtra and UT of Daman & Diu and Meghalaya, Sikkim, Nagaland are not included in Dadra & Nagar Haveli. the Zonal Councils and their problems are looked 5. Southern Zonal Council: Andhra Pradesh, after by the North Eastern Council, set up under Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu the North Eastern Council Act, 1972 (also a and the UT of Puducherry. statutory body). International Relations

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB): Why in News? GoI has signed a pact with AIIB for power transmission network in Assam. About AIIB:

• AIIB is a multilateral development bank which aims to to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia and the world. • Headquarter: Beijing. • There were 57 founding members of AIIB and there are more than 100 members of AIIB now. Composition of Zonal Council: • Fourteen of the G-20 nations are AIIB • Chairman: The Union Home Minister is members including France, Germany, the Chairman of each of these Councils. Italy and the United Kingdom. • Vice Chairman – The CMs of the States • Shareholding: included in each zone act as Vice- o China is the largest shareholder Chairman of the Zonal Council for that with 26.61 % followed by zone by rotation, each holding office for a o India (7.6%), term of one year at a time. o Russia (6.01%) and • Members– CM and two other Ministers as o Germany (4.2 %). nominated by the Governor from each of • NOTE: Japan and USA are not members of the States and two members from Union AIIB. Territories included in the zone.

Places in News Countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand • Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Thailand Countries: India, Thailand, Myanmar, Why in News? Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. There were pro-democratic protests in Thailand, linking their cause with that of protesters in News in Short Myanmar. About Thailand: Hydroxy-chloroquine • Recently, a WHO Panel stated that HCQ • Thailand is a Kingdom in Southeast Asia. should not be used to prevent COVID-19 • Presently, it has a form of Constitutional and it has no meaningful effect on Monarchy. patients already infected. • Land Bordering Countries: • HCQ is an oral drug used in the treatment o Myanmar (Burma), of malaria and also for some autoimmune o Laos, diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. o Cambodia • It is considered less toxic than o Malaysia. chloroquine. • Maritime Neighbours: India, Indonesia and Vietnam Related Information:

• Malaria is a disease caused parasites of genus Plasmodium. It spreads by the bite of female Anopheles mosquito. • Autoimmune diseases are in which the body's immune system attacks healthy cells of the body. • Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder which affects many joints, including those in the hands and feet. City Innovation Exchange (CiX): • City Innovation Exchange (CiX) was launched by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. • It aims to connect cities to innovators across the nation to design innovative Related Information: solutions for their pressing challenges. • The platform will help cities in adopting • Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a solutions to enhance the quality of life for maritime border with Thailand along the residents. Andaman Sea. • Also, it will significantly improve the Ease • BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi- of Doing Business. Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation)

Raman Effect • National Science Day (NSD) was observed on Feb 28 in India. • It is celebrated to commemorate discovery of the Raman Effect, for which Nobel Prize was awarded to C.V. Raman. • Raman Effect is a change in the wavelength of light that occurs when a light beam is deflected by molecules. • The phenomena of Raman effect is used in any field where non-destructive, microscopic, chemical analysis and imaging is required such as o Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics e.g., Compound distribution in tablets etc o Geology and Mineralogy e.g., Gemstone and mineral identification o Carbon Materials e.g., Various aspects of carbon nanotubes o Life Sciences e.g., DNA/RNA analysis etc. ______