{"id":12262,"date":"2021-07-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/29-07-2021\/facts-in-news-30\/"},"modified":"2025-07-12T16:43:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T11:13:46","slug":"facts-in-news-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/29-07-2021\/facts-in-news-30","title":{"rendered":"Facts in News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Facts in News<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

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    \n
  • Recently, the <\/span><\/span><\/span>Department of Defence Production<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>, Ministry of Defence has approved a <\/span><\/span><\/span>central sector scheme <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>named<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0 Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX)<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  • Budgetary support:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> Rs. 498.80 crore for the next 5 years from 2021-22 to 2025-26.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  • It is <\/span><\/span><\/span>funded and managed<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> by a <\/span><\/span><\/span>Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>), formed as a not for profit company as per Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  • Aims and objectives<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
      \n
    • To<\/span><\/span><\/span> promote innovation<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> and <\/span><\/span><\/span>indigenisation <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>in the aerospace and defence sector at the start-up level.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • To provide<\/span><\/span><\/span> financial support <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>to start-ups,<\/span><\/span><\/span> Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>), individual innovators and partner incubators.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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India Cycles 4Change Challenge<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

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Gold Ore Reserves<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n

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  • According to <\/span><\/span><\/span>National Mineral Inventory data, <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>India has 501.83 million tonnes of gold ore reserves as on April 1, 2015.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Key Points<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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    • \u00a0Gold has been the one material that is <\/span><\/span><\/span>universally accepted in exchange for goods and services.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
        \n
      • India\u2019s <\/span><\/span><\/span>Forex Reserve<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> also includes Gold along with Foreign Currency Assets (such as the dollars) and Special Drawing Rights.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          \n
        • The United States has th<\/span><\/span><\/span>e largest gold reserve<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> with more than 8,000 metric tons of gold and stands at the first spot.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
        • According to the <\/span><\/span><\/span>World Gold Council<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>, India has gold reserves of more than 600 tonnes, the 10th largest in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
            \n
          • The <\/span><\/span><\/span>World Gold Council<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> is the market development organisation for the gold industry.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
              \n
            • In India, the<\/span><\/span><\/span> largest reserves of gold ores<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> are located in <\/span><\/span><\/span>Bihar<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> (44 per cent), followed by <\/span><\/span><\/span>Rajasthan <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>(25 percent), <\/span><\/span><\/span>Karnataka <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>(21 per cent), <\/span><\/span><\/span>West Bengal <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>(3 percent), <\/span><\/span><\/span>Andhra Pradesh<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> (3 percent),<\/span><\/span><\/span> Jharkhand<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> (2 percent).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
            • The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is actively engaged in<\/span><\/span><\/span> geological mapping,<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> followed by mineral exploration and surveys, of various mineral commodities with an aim to <\/span><\/span><\/span>identify potential mineral-rich zones and establish resources.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              World Gold Council<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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              • It is the market development organisation for the gold industry.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
              • Purpose:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> To stimulate and sustain demand for gold, provide industry leadership, and be the global authority on the gold market.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
                  \n
                • It helps to support its members to mine in a responsible way and developed the Conflict Free Gold Standard.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
                • Headquartered in the UK<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>, they have offices in India, China, Singapore, Japan and the United States.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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National Farmers Database<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

Recently, the Agriculture Minister has clarified that the Government plans to set up a federated <\/span><\/span><\/span>National Farmers Database<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> using <\/span><\/span><\/span>digitised land records<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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  • It is being built by <\/span><\/span><\/span>taking the publicly available data <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>(with the Ministry and in other data silos) <\/span><\/span><\/span>linking <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>them with the <\/span><\/span><\/span>digitised land records<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  • Aims<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
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    • To<\/span><\/span><\/span> increase farmers’ income<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> by leveraging the available data and developing solutions based on the data.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • To <\/span><\/span><\/span>offer proactive<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> and <\/span><\/span><\/span>personalised<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> services to farmers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • To ensure input costs are reduced, ease of farming is ensured, quality is improved and farmers get better prices for their farm produce.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
    • Through this<\/span><\/span><\/span> personalised services<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> would be provided to farmers such as direct benefit transfer, soil and plant health advisories, weather advisories, fertilisers, nearby logistic facilities, market access information, etc..<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • As of now, it will <\/span><\/span><\/span>include the farmers<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>, who are <\/span><\/span><\/span>legal owners<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> of the agricultural land as per the government database, <\/span><\/span><\/span>leaving out landless<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> farmers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • Leading Technology\/Agri-tech\/startup companies<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> were invited to collaborate to develop <\/span><\/span><\/span>Proof of Concepts <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>(PoCs) based on data for certain identified areas.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • The government would <\/span><\/span><\/span>ensure the data privacy<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> of the farmers’ personal details and targeted delivery.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • It would serve as the <\/span><\/span><\/span>core of the envisaged <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>Agristack<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
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      • The Ministry is creating <\/span><\/span><\/span>Agristack<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>, which is a <\/span><\/span><\/span>digital ecosystem of agriculture<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      • No private sector companies are involved<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> as far as the building of the Agristack is concerned.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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IFSCA (Capital Market Intermediaries) Regulations, 2021<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

Recently, the <\/span><\/span><\/span>International Financial Services Centres Authority <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>(IFSCA) has been established.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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  • It will act as a unified <\/span><\/span><\/span>regulator to develop and regulate financial products, financial services and financial institutions<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> in the <\/span><\/span><\/span>International Financial Services Centres<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> (IFSCs) in India.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  • IFSCA proposes to enact a <\/span><\/span><\/span>regulatory framework<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> for the <\/span><\/span><\/span>intermediaries in the capital markets<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> operating in IFSC.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
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    • It will focus on ease of doing business and is consistent with the fundamental principles laid down by the <\/span><\/span><\/span>International Organization of Securities Commissions<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
    • The proposed <\/span><\/span><\/span>IFSCA (Capital Market Intermediaries) Regulations, 2021<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> provide for <\/span><\/span><\/span>regulatory requirements<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> in respect of registration, obligations, responsibilities, inspection, enforcement of various types of capital market intermediaries.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • It also <\/span><\/span><\/span>envisages registered capital market intermediaries<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> to undertake <\/span><\/span><\/span>cross-border business <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>in capital markets in India and foreign jurisdictions, subject to certain conditions.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • Significance<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
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      • The intermediaries play an important role by <\/span><\/span><\/span>providing the intermediation facilities<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> between their clients and the various regulated financial products and financial services in the IFSC.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      • The intermediaries are also <\/span><\/span><\/span>essential for building the ecosystem of capital markets<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> in the IFSC.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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Project BOLD<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

Recently, <\/span><\/span><\/span>Khadi and Village Industries Commission<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> (KVIC) on Tuesday planted <\/span><\/span><\/span>1000 bamboo saplings<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> at Tanot village in Jaisalmer, in collaboration with the <\/span><\/span><\/span>Border Security Force<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> (BSF), under <\/span><\/span><\/span>Project BOLD<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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  • The Project <\/span><\/span><\/span>Bamboo Oasis on Lands in Drought <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>(BOLD) was initiated by KVIC.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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    • It was launched as part of KVIC\u2019s <\/span><\/span><\/span>Khadi Bamboo Festival<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> to celebrate 75 years of independence, \u201c<\/span><\/span><\/span>Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201d.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • It <\/span><\/span><\/span>aims<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> at serving the combined national <\/span><\/span><\/span>goals of reducing desertification<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> and <\/span><\/span><\/span>providing livelihood<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> and <\/span><\/span><\/span>multi-disciplinary rural industry support<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> to the local population.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • Significance<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
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      • The project seeks to <\/span><\/span><\/span>create bamboo-based green patches<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> in <\/span><\/span><\/span>arid and semi-arid land zones<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
          \n
        • Bamboos <\/span><\/span><\/span>grow very fast<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> and could be <\/span><\/span><\/span>harvested<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> in about <\/span><\/span><\/span>three years\u2019 time<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
        • Bamboos are also known for <\/span><\/span><\/span>conserving water <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>and <\/span><\/span><\/span>reducing evaporation <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>of water from the land surface, which becomes significant for arid and drought-prone regions.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
        • Bamboo can be<\/span><\/span><\/span> used for <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>making agarbatti sticks, furniture, handicraft, musical instruments and paper pulp while the <\/span><\/span><\/span>bamboo waste<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> is widely used in making charcoal and fuel briquette.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
        • It will <\/span><\/span><\/span>boost self-employment <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>and benefit a large number of <\/span><\/span><\/span>women and unemployed youths<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> in the region by connecting them to skill development programmes.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
        • These green patches will be <\/span><\/span><\/span>havens of sustainable development<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> and f<\/span><\/span><\/span>ood security<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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Kanjeevaram Silk Sari<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n

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  • Award-winning artisan weaver, B Krishnamoorthy, is creating a repository with samples of all the designs, patterns and motifs traditional to<\/span><\/span><\/span> Kanjeevaram silk sari <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>weaving, preserving fine pieces for posterity.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Key Points<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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    • Kanchipuram silk sarees are<\/span><\/span><\/span> woven from pure mulberry silk<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>. While the silk belongs to South India, the pure gold and silver zari comes from Gujarat.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
        \n
      • These are considered to be special and are worn on occasions and festivities.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
      • Its name came from the <\/span><\/span><\/span>Kanchipuram region in Tamil Nadu.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      • On this, the rich woven mundhi showing <\/span><\/span><\/span>paintings of Raja Ravi Varma<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> and <\/span><\/span><\/span>epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      • Tracing its long and rich history from the <\/span><\/span><\/span>Chola Dynasty<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>, Kanchipuram sarees today are considered as one of the oldest and rich legacies of the Indian textile industry.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      • It has been recognized as a<\/span><\/span><\/span> Geographical indication <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>product in 2005\u20132006.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Image Courtesy:<\/span><\/span><\/span> Craftsvilla<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        Silk Production in India<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        • India is the <\/span><\/span><\/span>second-largest producer<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> of silk in the world.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
        • India has the unique distinction of being the <\/span><\/span><\/span>only country<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> producing all the five kinds of silk<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> namely, Mulberry, Eri, Muga, Tropical Tasar and Temperate Tasar.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
            \n
          • Among them, <\/span><\/span><\/span>mulberry silk is the most popular variety<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>, which contributes around 79% of the country\u2019s silk production and the rest are Vanya (Non-mulberry) silk.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
          • In India, <\/span><\/span><\/span>Mulberry silk <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>is produced <\/span><\/span><\/span>mainly in Karnataka<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
              \n
            • North East has the unique distinction of being the <\/span><\/span><\/span>only region producing four varieties of silk.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
            • Overall the NE region contributes 18% of India’s total silk production.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Initiatives:<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                \n
              • Central Silk Board: <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>It is a statutory body under the administrative control of the Ministry of Textiles for the development of the silk sector in India.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
              • Silk Samagra Scheme:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> Launched in 2017 for the development of sericulture in the country.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                Facts in News Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) Recently, the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence has approved a central sector scheme named\u00a0 Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX). Budgetary support: Rs. 498.80 crore for the next 5 years from 2021-22 to 2025-26.\u00a0 It is funded and managed by a Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO), formed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[76],"class_list":["post-12262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-gs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/7370599current-affairs.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12262"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26370,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12262\/revisions\/26370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}