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- India's Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) recently saw an increase for the first time in three quarters.
- The PMI is a key indicator of business performance, covering both the manufacturing and services sectors. It is based on a survey that gathers feedback from businesses regarding changes in essential variables compared to the previous month.
- The PMI is calculated separately for both manufacturing and services sectors, which are then combined to form a composite index. This index provides insights into whether the market conditions, as perceived by purchasing managers, are expanding, contracting, or remaining steady.
- There are two primary types of PMI — Manufacturing PMI and Services PMI.
- How is the Manufacturing PMI calculated?
- The Manufacturing PMI is derived by posing fact-based questions to a large number of businesses within the manufacturing sector. These questions focus on five key variables: new orders, output, employment, delivery times from suppliers, and the stock of items purchased.
- These surveys are conducted every month.
- A PMI above 50 indicates expansion in business activity, while a figure below 50 points to contraction. The degree of expansion or contraction is also assessed by comparing the current data to the midpoint (50) and to the previous month's results.
- India's PMI data is published by S&P Global, a leading player in financial information and analytics.
- Recently, Tamil Nadu's Public Health and Preventive Medicines Department discovered that the water from the Bhavani River in Palaiyur village, located in the Jadayampalayam Panchayat, was unsafe for drinking.
- The Bhavani River originates from the upper reaches of the Nilgiris in the Western Ghats and flows through three Tamil Nadu districts: Nilgiris, Coimbatore, and Erode. It is a major tributary of the Cauvery River and the second-largest river in Tamil Nadu.
- After traveling 185 kilometers, the Bhavani River merges with the Cauvery River at the town of Bhavani. Approximately 90% of the river’s water is used for agricultural purposes.
- The drainage basin of this perennial river spans an area of 6,200 square kilometers, with 87% of it located in Tamil Nadu, 9% in Kerala, and 4% in Karnataka.
- Tributaries of the Bhavani River: The largest tributaries of the Bhavani are the West and East Varagar rivers, which originate in the Nilgiris.
- The Bhavani Sangameshwarar Temple, located at the confluence of the Bhavani and Cauvery Rivers, is a significant pilgrimage destination.
- The Bhavanisagar Dam, constructed on the Bhavani River, is one of the largest earthen dams in the world.
- A recent study reveals that human activities outside protected areas are contributing to biodiversity loss, with extinction filtering particularly impacting sensitive species.
- Extinction filtering is the process in which species that are sensitive to human disturbances disappear, leaving behind those capable of surviving in degraded environments. The study suggests that species which have evolved in high-disturbance settings are more likely to endure new challenges, including habitat loss and fragmentation.
- In tropical forests, anthropogenic extinction filtering has led to the local extinction of the most vulnerable species due to human overpopulation. Meanwhile, the remaining species, often more adaptable, can persist or even thrive in densely populated areas, primarily relying on available habitat cover.
- Impact on biodiversity:
- This phenomenon results in a less diverse and more homogeneous species composition in tropical forests. Over time, it weakens the overall ecosystem and diminishes its resilience to environmental changes.
- Researchers at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS) in Bengaluru have recently developed an innovative technique to reduce anion migration in CsPbX₃ perovskite nanocrystals.
- Perovskite is a material that shares the same crystal structure as the mineral calcium titanium oxide (CaTiO3). Typically, perovskite compounds have the general formula ABX₃, where ‘A’ and ‘B’ represent cations, and X is an anion that bonds to both.
- A wide range of elements can combine to form perovskite structures. Thanks to their compositional flexibility, scientists can design perovskite crystals to exhibit various physical, optical, and electrical properties, including insulating, semiconducting, metallic, and superconducting characteristics.
- Applications of Perovskite Nanocrystals:
- Perovskite nanocrystals find applications in several optoelectronic fields, such as photovoltaic solar cells, photodetectors, and light-emitting devices. Perovskite LEDs, which integrate the benefits of OLEDs and QLEDs, are considered a promising technology for next-generation lighting.