Ghol fish

Ghol fish was declared as State fish of Gujarat owing to its economic value and its uniqueness.

• Scientific name – Protonibea diacanthus.
• It is also called as black-spotted croake.
• Habitat – Usually found in the Indo-Pacific region that stretches from the Persian Gulf to the Pacific Ocean.
• In India, this fish is found mostly in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
• Threat – Pollution and relentless fishing have pushed its population to deep sea which makes it hard to catch it.
• Usage – It has nutritional and medicinal properties.
  • It is used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry.
  • To make threads used for making dissolvable surgery stitches
  • Its air bladder is used in the production of wine and beer.
• Fisherman’s lottery – It is also known as ‘Sea Gold’ for its high market value.
  • Locally, it costs Rs. 5,000 to 15,000 per kg and in export market, dried air bladder can fetch as high as Rs. 25,000 per kg.

Gujarat has a coastal belt of over 1600 km and contributes the largest share in fish production in the country.

PT-POINTERS

New Education for New India Campaign

• President of India recently launched an education campaign ‘New Education for New India’ of Brahma kumaris of Sambalpur, Odisha recently.
• This campaign is envisaged to inculcate values and uplift the consciousness of the students for better society.

ASEAN-India Millet Festival 2023

• ASEAN-India Millet Festival 2023 was recently held at South Jakarta, Indonesia.
• Organized by - Indian Mission to ASEAN in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
• Aim - To raise awareness and create a market for millets and millets-based products among the ASEAN Member states in line with International year of Millets - 2023.
• ASEAN Member states - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

EXERCISE AUSTRAHIND-23

• The 2^nd edition of AUSTRAHIND-23 will be held at Perth, Australia.
• It is a Joint Military Exercise between Australia and India.

Digital Twins

• In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Survey of India (SoI), has signed an agreement with a Mumbai-based private company, Genesys International, to prepare ‘Digital Twins’.
• Digital Twins - It aims to prepare 3D maps of several cities and towns which can be used in a variety of planning applications.
• Survey of India (SoI) – It is a historical repository of maps and the arbiter of national and State boundaries.
• It is the National Mapping Agency (NMA) of the country that works under the Department of Science & Technology.

UN Panel of External Auditors

• Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Girish Chandra Murmu, has been elected as vice-chair of the UN Panel of External Auditors recently.
• The United Nations Panel of External Auditors was established in 1959 by the UN General Assembly Resolution.
• The panel's purpose is to coordinate audits and share information about audit methods and findings.
• The Panel of External Auditors, composed of heads of 12 Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) globally.
• It oversees the external audit of the UN Secretariat, funds and programmes, and specialised agencies.

Nugu Wildlife Sanctuary

• The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has recommended the Nugu Wildlife Sanctuary bordering the Bandipur Tiger Reserve be declared as a core critical tiger habitat.
• Nugu Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Mysore District of Karnataka.
• It's situated north of Bandipur National Park which includes the Lakshmanapura State Forest and adjacent revenue lands.
• The Nugu Reservoir occupies the northern part of the sanctuary. It is built across the Nugu River, a tributary of the Cauvery.

Same sex marriages in Thailand

• Thailand recently approves a marriage equality bill to grant same-sex couples equal rights.
• If it becomes law after Parliament’s approval, Thailand will be the 3^rd country in Asia to allow same-sex marriage.
• Other Asian countries that legalized same-sex marriages were Taiwan and Nepal.

Euclid Space Telescope

• The Euclid space telescope was launched in 2023.
• It was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Euclid Consortium (includes NASA).
• The telescope's mission is to study the composition and evolution of the dark universe.

Adi-vyakhyan

• The National Tribal Research Institute (NTRI) has recently organized Adi-Vyakhyan, a conference on Tribal Development at New Delhi as part of Jan Jatiya Gaurav Diwas.

Indira Gandhi Peace Prize

• The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace for the year 2022 was jointly awarded to the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Trained Nurses Association of India recently.
• The Indira Gandhi Peace Prize, also known as the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, is an annual award established in 1986.
• Aim - To honour women, men and institutions that have done exemplary work in the service of humanity and the planet.