About Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA):

• It is a Mini Ratna (Category–I) non-banking financial institution under the administrative control of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
• It is a Public Limited Government Company established as a Non-Banking Financial Institution (NBFC) in 1987.
• IREDA has been notified as a “Public Financial Institution” under Section 4 ‘A’ of the Companies Act, 1956, and registered as  NBFC with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• IREDA is primarily engaged in promoting, developing and extending financial assistance for setting up projects relating to new and renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency/conservation.
• IREDA is the single largest “Green Financier” in the country. It caters to all technologies in the renewable energy sector and predominantly provides financing for the sector.
• Motto: ENERGY FOR EVER
• Objectives:
  • To give financial support to specific projects and schemes for generating electricity and/ or energy through new and renewable sources and conserving energy through energy efficiency.
  • To maintain its position as a leading organization to provide efficient and effective financing in renewable energy and energy efficiency/ conservation projects.
  • To increase IREDA`s share in the renewable energy sector by way of innovative financing.
  • Improvement in the efficiency of services provided to customers through continual improvement of systems, processes, and resources.
  • To strive to be a competitive institution through customer satisfaction.
• Funding: IREDA generates its revenue through the interest and principal repayments from the projects it finances, as well as by raising funds from the market and through borrowings.

About Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary:

• It is located in the state of Assam.
• It comprises three Reserve forests-Khanapara, Amchang, and South Amchang.
• It stretches from the Brahmaputra River in the northto the hilly forests of Meghalaya in the south, forming a continuous forest belt through Meghalaya’s Maradakdola Reserve Forests.
• Flora:Khasi Hill Sal Forests, East Himalayan Mixed Deciduous Forest, Eastern Alluvial Secondary Semi-evergreen Forests and East Himalayan Sal Forests.
• Fauna:Flying fox, Slow loris, Assamese macaque, Rhesus macaque, Hoolock gibbon, Porcupine. White-backed Vulture, Slender-billed Vulture.
• Tree yellow butterflies (gancana harina) are found at the Amchang wildlife sanctuary which is indigenous to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and northeast India

About World Environment Day:

• It is observed on the 5th of June every year since 1973 as part of the United Nations Environment Programme to build awareness to save life on planet Earth.
• The event has been led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) since its inception in 1973.
• The theme of this year’s World Environment Day will focus on solutions to plastic pollution under the campaign #BeatPlasticPollution.
• This year’s event is hosted by Côte d’Ivoire in partnership with the Netherlands.

Key facts about United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):

• It is the leading global authority on the environment.
• Mission:To inspire, inform, and enable nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
• It is driving transformational change by drilling down on the root causes of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss and pollution.
• Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya.
• Reports published by UNEP: Emission Gap Report, Global Environment Outlook, Frontiers, Invest into Healthy Planet.
• It provides secretariat functions for numerous multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and other entities as follows:
  • Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
  • Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora(CITES)
  • Minamata Convention on Mercury
  • Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions
  • Vienna Convention for the Protection of Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol
  • Convention on Migratory Species

About Seaweeds:

• “Seaweed” is the common name for countless species of marine plants and algae that grow in the ocean as well as in rivers, lakes, and other water bodies.
• They range in colours from red, green, brown and black and also vary in size, from microscopic to large underwater forests.
• Seaweeds are generally anchored to the sea bottom or other solid structures by rootlike “holdfasts,” which perform the sole function of attachment and do not extract nutrients as do the roots of higher plants. 
• Seaweeds often form dense growths on rocky shores or accumulations in shallow water.
• Many show a well-established zonation along the margins of the seas, where the depth of the water is 50 metres (about 165 feet) or less. 
• Uses:
  • A number of seaweed species are edible, and many are also of commercial importance to humans. 
  • Some are used as fertilizers or as sources of polysaccharides.
  • The high amount of antioxidants present in seaweed protects the body from damages caused by free radicals and protect cells from their impact.
  • Animal studies have found that substances found in seaweed help increase the production of a protein that metabolises fat effectively.
  • Research suggests that consuming seaweed can help in managing diabetes by balancing the sugar levels in the blood.
  • Many seaweeds contain anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial agents. 
  • They are effective binding agents (emulsifiers) in such commercial goods as toothpaste and fruit jelly, and popular softeners (emollients) in organic cosmetics and skin-care products.

Key points about Sal seeds:

• Odisha has no major solvent extraction plant that produces oil from sal seeds, due to which the intermediaries procure the seeds from the state at a lower rate and sell them at a higher rate to the oil companies of other states
• The state of Odisha has a rich depository of sal seeds accounting for 25 per cent of the country’s production, which played a significant role in the economics of the tribal people in the state.
• Other major Sal seeds producing states include Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.

About Sal Tree:

• It is a large sub-deciduous tree which is seldom completely leafless.
• It is indigenous to India and occurs in two main regions separated by Gangetic plain namely the northern and central Indian regions.
• It requires well-drained, moist and sandy loam soil.
• Climatic conditions required: It survives upto a maximum temperature of 36°C to 44°C and minimum temperature of 11°C to 17°C and it needs an average rainfall of 1000 mm to 3500 mm per annum.
• The resin of this tree is used in the indigenous system of medicine.