Line of Credit
India has extended its first-ever rupee-denominated LOC to Mauritius
- A ‘soft loan’ provided on concessional interest rates to developing countries.
- They are not grants, has to be repaid by borrowing government.
- Help to promote exports of Indian goods and services, as 75% of value of contract must be sourced from India.
Business Confidence Index
Business confidence dipped in Q2, shows survey
- An indicator of the business sentiments prevalent across the industry
- Published by – National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
- Used to anticipate turning points in economic activity and growth in output levels in the country.
- Recent highlights – Industry sentiment about growth prospects cooled significantly in the July to September quarter (Q2 2024-25)
Green and Blue Water
Global Commission on the Economics of Water released The economic of water report highlighting ‘Green water’ and ‘Blue water’.
- Green water – Moisture in soils and vegetation.
- Part of the hydrologic cycle – Absorbed by roots, used by plants, and released back to the atmosphere through the process of transpiration.
- Blue water – Encompasses surface and groundwater, found in lakes, rivers, and reservoirs.
- Recharged by precipitation.
Bushveld Igneous Complex
Researchers have discovered living microbes within a sealed fracture of a 2-billion-year-old rock from BIC in South Africa.
- Oldest example of living microbes found within ancient rock to date.
- Located in – South Africa
- A large layered igneous intrusion within Earth’s crust (Magma slowly cooled below Earth’s surface).
- Contains some of the richest ore deposits on Earth including about 70% of the world’s mined platinum
Hyperuniformity
Researchers have explored the mechanism behind the recently discovered exotic disordered state of matter, known as “hyperuniformity”.
- A property of certain heterogeneous media in which density fluctuations in the long-wavelength range decay to zero.
- Feature – Fluctuations are suppressed as the system grows, unlike liquids or solids, where random variations are common.
- Applications – Energy-efficient photonic devices (like photonic band-gap materials), Optical data transmission systems for communication, Possible uses in controlling physiological functions in cells.