Current Affairs - National

In India, children up to 14 years of age are considered child labour according to regulations aimed at protecting their rights and ensuring their welfare. The declaration of Jharkhand's mica mines as 'child labour-free' by NCPCR underscores efforts to eliminate underage labour from hazardous industries like mining, where children were historically involved in collecting mica.

Santhals rank as the third largest scheduled tribe in India, after Gonds and Bhils. They are predominantly found in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Odisha. The Santhali language, written in the Ol-Chiki script, is recognized as a scheduled language in the Indian Constitution.

India has initiated the Rupee-Kyat trade mechanism with Myanmar to enhance bilateral trade. This arrangement, facilitated by Punjab National Bank's Yangon office, marks a significant step in using local currencies for trade transactions between the two nations, focusing on goods like pulses.

The 41,000-year-old ostrich nest was discovered in Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh. This finding provides significant evidence of ostriches' historical presence in southern India and contributes to the understanding of megafauna extinction theories related to human arrival in the region around 30,000 years ago.

Kerala recently reported the fourth case of amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare brain infection caused by a free-living amoeba found in contaminated waters. This infection has a high fatality rate, emphasizing the need for public health measures to prevent such cases in the future.