2.Purandar figs

Why in the news?

• The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) facilitated the export of India's first ready-to-drink fig juice, made from GI-tagged Purandar figs, to Poland. 
• Earlier in 2022, the export was made to Germany, too.
• Purandar figs are known for their unique tastes and textures. It has high pulp content and a rich source of vitamins & minerals. Moreover, it has an excellent sweet taste, an attractive violet color.

About Purandar figs:

• These are considered to be one of India’s finest figs.
• These are a GI commodity.
• These possess a sweet taste. 
• These are cultivated in many villages of Purandar taluka in Pune district, Maharashtra.
• The agro-climatic factors such as dry weather, hilly slopes,well drained medium land are essential for Purandar Fig cultivation.
• Purandar has red and black soil that has high Calcium and Potassium content, which is responsible for the violet colour and size of the fig.
• Features:
  • These are bell-shaped.
  • These are larger in size than other varieties.
  • These have a distinctive violet skin colour that differentiates it from other varieties.
  • These have more than 80 percent pulp or edible part.
  • The pulp colour is pinkish red and is highly nutritious.
  • These are a rich source of vitamins and minerals.

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA):

• It was established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act of 1985.
• It works under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Its objective is to develop and promote the export of scheduled products.
• The products specified under the APEDA ACT are called scheduled products, and exporters of such scheduled products are required to register under APEDA.
• It provides financial assistance, information, and guidelines for the development of scheduled products.
• Its headquarters are in New Delhi
• Functions:
  • Setting the standards and specifications for the scheduled products.
  • Registration of exporters of the scheduled products on payment of required fees.
  • Improving packaging and marketing of the Scheduled products.
  • Carrying out an inspection of products to ensure the quality of such products.
  • Training in various aspects of the industries connected with the scheduled products.
  • Development of industries relating to the scheduled products and undertaking surveys, feasibility studies, etc.
  • Collection of statistics from the owners of factories or establishments and publication of such statistics.
  • Examples of scheduled products: Fruits, Vegetable, Meat,Poultry, Dairy Products, Confectionery, Biscuits, Bakery Products, Honey, Jaggery, etc.

3.Guam Island

Why in the news?

• INS Shivalik reached Guam, an island territory of the United States of America, for an Operational Turnaround on successful completion of the recently concluded world’s largest Multinational Maritime Exercise RIMPAC 2024.
• The visit is part of the operational deployment of the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet to the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

About Guam Island:

• It is the largest, most populous, and southernmost of the Mariana Islands in the Northern Pacific Ocean.
• It is an island territory of the United States of America.
• It was a Spanish colony till 1898, then became a US territory after the Spanish-American War.
• It has a pleasant tropical climate tempered by the northeast trade winds and the north equatorial ocean current that flows west across the Pacific.
• Its capital is Hagatna.

INS Shivalik:

• It is the first stealth multi-role frigate built for the Indian Navy.
• It is built at the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL), located in Mumbai.
• It was commissioned into the Indian Navy in 2010.
• It features improved stealth and land-attacking features over the preceding Talwar-class frigates. 
• It is also the first Indian Navy ship to use the CODOG propulsion system.
• It is equipped with a mix of Russian, Indian, and Western weapon systems.

4.Orangutans

Why in the news?

• Malaysia is inviting countries that buy its palm oil to adopt orangutans but leave them in their natural habitat, tweaking a plan that originally sought to send some abroad. 
• In a scheme modelled on China’s ‘panda diplomacy’, Malaysia announced earlier that it would send the great apes as gifts to palm oil-purchasing countries, sparking an outcry among conservationists.
• Orangutans are critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and have lost habitat to logging and agricultural expansion, particularly palm oil plantations. 
• Buyers of Malaysian palm oil from around the world can sponsor one or more orangutans, and the funds collected will be used to implement conservation programmes for the animals. The programmes include collaborating with a team of rangers, comprising experts, to monitor the presence, safety and condition of these wild animals. 

About Orangutans:

• They are the largest arboreal mammals.
• They possess distinctive red fur.
• They spend more than 90 percent of their waking hours in the trees.
• They live on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and on both the Malaysian and Indonesian portions of the island of Borneo.
• Their habitat ranges from peat swamp forests near sea level to mountainous forests almost 1.6 km. above sea level. 
• There are three species of Orangutans i.e. Bornean, Sumatran, and Tapanuli.
• They are one of humankind’s closest relatives. These great apes share 96.4% of our genes and are highly intelligent creatures.
• The adult male is typically twice the size of the female and may attain a height of 1.3 m. and a weight of 130 kg in the wild.
• They have long, sparse orange or reddish hair unequally distributed over their bodies. 
• They are very well adapted to life in the trees, with arms much longer than their legs.
• They have grasping hands and feet with long curved fingers and toes. 
• Older males develop wide cheek pads, a unique feature among primates. 
• Their lifespan extends for up to 50 years in the wild.
• They are daytime eaters. Their diet consists mostly of fruit and leaves, but they also eat nuts, bark, insects, and, once in a while, bird eggs, too.
• They live semi-solitary lives in the wild. While they are the most solitary of the great apes, they exhibit social tolerance during times of high fruit abundance when they come together in aggregations known as parties.
• Their IUCN Red List status is critically endangered.

5.Elephanta Caves