📝 India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)[1][2]
🚀 A planned economic corridor from India to Europe through the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Greece ⇒ Comprises the east corridor connecting India to the Gulf and the northern corridor connecting the Gulf to Europe.
👉🏽 India, EU, France, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, UAE and the US signed an MoU for developing IMEC during the 2023 G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi.
👉🏽 An Intergovernmental Framework Agreement (IGFA) was signed in 2024 between India and the UAE regarding IMEC.
💡The route of the IMEC closely follows what is now known as the ancient Golden Road.
📝 Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Project[3]
🚀 A 2000-MW project of NHPC to build a gravity dam on the Subansiri River in Arunachal Pradesh.
💡Subansiri River: A trans-Himalayan river and the largest tributary of the Brahmaputra River ⇒ Flows through Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India.
📝 K2-18b[4]
🚀 An exoplanet in the constellation Leo, orbiting the star K2-18 ⇒ Discovered by the Kepler telescope in 2015.
👉🏽 Recent observations by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) indicate that it may be habitable.
👉🏽 It may be a Hycean planet, which means it has an ocean and a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.
📝 Enzymes and Coenzymes[5]
🚀 Enzymes: Tiny proteins in our body that help speed up important reactions, like turning food into energy.
🚀Coenzymes: Special natural molecules that support enzyme functions ⇒ Help enzymes to work better.
💡Coenzyme Q or CoQ (Ubiquinone): Helps make energy in every cell and also acts like a shield (antioxidant) to protect cells from damage ⇒ Among different types, CoQ9 and CoQ10 are very important.
👉🏽 CoQ9 is found in plant-based foods like rice, wheat, oats, corn, bamboo, cinnamon, avocado, and pepper.
👉🏽 CoQ10 is mainly found in animal foods like meat, fish, and organ meats ⇒ Scientists have used gene editing (like CRISPR) to change rice plants so they can make more CoQ10.
📝 India-Saudi Arabia Relations[6]
🚀 Saudi Arabia is India’s 5th largest trade partner ⇒ India is Saudi Arabia’s 2nd largest trade partner.
🚀 Bilateral trade in FY24: India’s imports from Saudi Arabia were valued at US $31.42 billion, and exports to Saudi Arabia were valued at US $11.56 billion. Trade Deficit 😢
🚀 Saudi Arabia is also a key partner in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.
📝 Miscellaneous[7][8][9]
🚀 Kalaignar Kaivinai Thittam: An artisan development scheme of Tamil Nadu govt ⇒ covers 25 trades ⇒ Anyone aged 35 or above can avail loans ranging from ₹50,000 to ₹3 lakh with subsidy.
🚀 India recently exported its first consignment of pomegranates to the U.S. using a sea route.
🚀 Two cheetahs (named ‘Prabash’ and ‘Paavak’) have been relocated from Kuno National Park to Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh.