DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS BITS
TOPIC – 1 – Calcium Carbide
Recently, the Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) of India (FSSAI) urged food commissioners of all states and Union Territories (UT) to take action against the unauthorised use of artificial fruit ripening agent calcium carbide.
About Calcium Carbide:
- It is a compound with the chemical formula CaC2.
- It is also known as ‘masala’ which is used as a fruit ripening agent.
- It is manufactured by heating a lime and carbon mixture to 2000 to 2100°C (3632 to 3812°F) in an electric arc furnace.
- It has been prohibited as per the provision in the sub-regulation of Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulation, 2011.
- It is used in mining and metal industries as well as in the production of acetylene gas.
- It is a highly reactive compound and releases acetylene gas which is used to artificially ripen fruits
What is Artificial ripening?
- Artificial ripening of fruits is done in a controlled manner to achieve the optimum level of ripening before time which would be then accepted by consumers
- It also allows a longer shelf life for these fruits
TOPIC – 2 – Tea Mosquito bug
Recently, the United Planters Association of Southern India (UPASI) said that the tea mosquito bug is affecting tea production in both low and high-elevation plantations.
About Tea Mosquito bug:
- It is also known by the name Helopeltis theivora.
- It is considered to be a serious pest of tea which damage more in most shaded areas.
- The nymphs and adults of the Tea Mosquito Bug(TMB) suck the sap from tender leaves, buds and young shoots, which results in heavy crop losses.
- After the formation of the PPC (Plant Protection Code) of the Tea Board of India in 2014 many pesticides were removed from the approved list of PPC to produce Indian tea safe and free from any harmful pesticides.
- Currently, in the recent PPC version of 14, only seven pesticides are approved for use in South India.
Key Facts about Tea Cultivation
- It is grown in tropical and sub-tropical climates
- Soil: It requires deep and fertile well-drained soil, rich in humus and organic matter.
- Tea bushes require a warm and moist frost-free climate all through the year.
- Temperature: It requires 20°-30°C for its growth.
- Rainfall: It needs 150-300 cm annual rainfall.
- Major tea-producing states: Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Tripura.
TOPIC – 3 – Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
Over 1,800 scientists, teachers, educators and science popularisers across the country recently written an open letter criticising the NCERT’s latest move to remove Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution from classes 9 and 10 textbooks.
About Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution:
- Darwin in his Theory of Evolution describes how organisms evolve over generations through the inheritance of physical or behavioral traits.
- The mechanism that Darwin proposed for evolution is natural selection.
- How Natural Selection Happens?
- Individuals with traits that enable them to adapt to their environments will help them survive and have more offspring, which will inherit those traits.
- Individuals with less adaptive traits will less frequently survive to pass them on.
- Over time, the traits that enable species to survive and reproduce will become more frequent in the population and the population will change, or evolve.
- Natural selection depends on the environment and requires existing heritable variation in a group.
- Through natural selection, Darwin suggested, genetically diverse species could arise from a common ancestor.
TOPIC – 4 – Integrated e-Gram Swaraj and GeM portal
The Prime Minister will inaugurate an integrated e-GramSwaraj and GeM portal on National Panchayati Raj Day, 24th April.
Why in News?
- On the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day and marking 30 years of Panchayati Raj in India, Prime Minister will inaugurate an integrated e-Gram Swaraj and GeM portal for public procurement at the Panchayat level in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh.
The Objective of Integration:
- The objective of e-Gram Swaraj–GeM Integration is to enable the Panchayats to procure their goods and services through GeM leveraging the e-Gram Swaraj platform.
- It will help the entire buyer-seller ecosystem to flourish thereby giving a major boost to rural economy and entrepreneurship along with strengthening the Digital India Program.
- Salient features:
- Existing User base of GeM of nearly 60,000 is envisioned to increase to more than 3 lakhs in a phased manner.
- Bringing transparency in procurement by Panchayats by making the process digital.
- Encouragement of local vendors (Proprietors, Self Help groups, Cooperatives etc.) to register on GeM as Panchayats procure largely from such vendors.
- Panchayats will have access to doorstep delivery of quality-assured goods at standardized and competitive rates.
- Major Capacity building being taken by The Ministry of Panchayati Raj and GeM has also trained and appointed business facilitators in all States for handholding of the Panchayat users.
E- Gram Swaraj platform:
- The e-Gram Swaraj platform was launched on National Panchayati Raj Day in 2020.
- It was designed to operate as a single window solution for all day-to-day functioning of the Panchayats from Planning to Online Payments.
TOPIC – 5 – CARICOM
India’s External Affairs Minister co-chaired the 4th India-CARICOM ministerial meeting with his Jamaican counterpart.
About CARICOM:
- CARICOM, which stands for Caribbean Community, is the oldest surviving integration movement in the developing world.
- It is an organization of Caribbean countries and dependencies originally established as the Caribbean Community and Commons Market in 1973 by the Treaty of Chaguaramas.
- Main Purposes:
- Promote economic integration and cooperation among its members;
- To ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared;
- To coordinate foreign policy;
- Members:
- It has 15 members; Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
- Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands have associate member status, and Aruba, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela maintain observer status.
- The Chairmanship of the Community is rotated every six months among the member countries’ Heads.
- Secretariat: The CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana, is the principal administrative organ of the Community and is headed by a Secretary General who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Community.
- In 2007, CARICOM officially inaugurated the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which serves as the final court of appeal for CARICOM members and also handles regional trade disputes.
TOPIC – 6 – Aptamers
A team of researchers recently developed an electronic biosensor based on DNA aptamers that can detect biomarkers in whole blood samples without the use of reagents.
About Aptamers:
- They are short, single-stranded DNA or RNA (ssDNA or ssRNA) molecules that can selectively bind to a specific target, including proteins, peptides, carbohydrates, small molecules, toxins, and even live cells.
- Aptamers assume a variety of shapes due to their tendency to form helices and single-stranded loops.
- They can be used as an antibody alternative in a variety of therapeutic, diagnostic, and target-binding applications.
- They can also be readily conjugated to gold nanoparticles or quantum dots as a basis for point-of-care diagnostics.
- Aptamers have been successfully used for the diagnosis and therapy of a broad spectrum of pathogens including bacteria, parasites, and viruses.
What is a Biomarker?
- It is a biological molecule found in blood, other body fluids, or tissues that is a sign of a normal or abnormal process, or of a condition or disease.
- A biomarker may be used to see how well the body responds to a treatment for a disease or condition.
TOPIC – 7 – Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister recently announced that Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary will be developed as a second home for cheetahs within six months.
About Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary:
- Location: It is situated in northwestern Madhya Pradesh, with one of its boundaries running along the border of Rajasthan.
- The sanctuary was notified in 1974 and is spread over an area of km.
- Landscape: A major part of the sanctuary consists of vast open landscapes with sparse vegetation and rocky terrain, with small patches of dense forests.
- River Chambal flows through the sanctuary, dividing it into two parts.
- Vegetation: Northern tropical dry deciduous forest, Northern tropical dry mixed deciduous forest and Dry deciduous scrub.
- Flora: The principal tree species found here are Khair, Salai, Kardhai, Dhawda, Tendu and Palash.
- Fauna:
- Herbivores like Chinkara, Nilgai and Spotted Deer, and carnivores like the Indian Leopard, Striped Hyena and Jackal are found in good numbers in the region.
- It also has a good population of crocodiles, fish, otters and turtles.
- The sanctuary has many places of historical, archeological and religious importance such as Chaurasigarh, Chaturbhujnath temple, Bhadkaji rock paintings, Narsinghjhar Hinglajgarh fort, Taxakeshwar temple
TOPIC – 8 – Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2023
India’s rank in the recently released World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index 2023 has improved by six places.
About Logistics Performance Index (LPI):
- It is released by World Bank.
- It is an interactive benchmarking tool created to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in their performance on trade logistics and what they can do to improve their performance.
- It measures the ease of establishing reliable supply chain connections and structural factors that make it possible, such as the quality of logistics services, trade and transport-related infrastructure, as well as border controls.
- Highlights of LPI 2023:
- The LPI 2023 allows for comparisons across 139 countries.
- The LPI 2023, for the first time, measures the speed of trade with indicators derived from big datasets tracking shipments.
- Singapore and Finland are the most efficient and highest-ranked LPI countries as per the 2023 LPI.
- India is ranked 38 out of 139 countries, climbing six places from the previous index.
- Two major factors for India’s jump in the index could be modernisation and digitalisation, which the report quotes as a reason for emerging economies like India to leapfrog advanced countries
TOPIC – 9 – International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD)
IFAD President recently said that IFAD will set up a new framework to facilitate cooperation between small agricultural producers in developing nations and businesses in Japan and elsewhere
Why in News?
- The Enhanced Linkages between Private Sector and Small-Scale Producers (ELPS) initiative will be set up with an aim of strengthening developing nations’ agriculture and food systems according to the IFAD President.
About International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD):
- It is an international financial institution and a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries.
- IFAD seeks to empower rural people to increase their food security, improve the nutrition of their families and increase their incomes through funding of grants and low-interest loans to several projects.
- Its projects and programmes are carried out in remote and environmentally fragile locations, including least-developed countries and small island developing States.
- IFAD is the only multilateral development institution that focuses exclusively on transforming rural economies and food systems.
- It is a member of the United Nations Development Group (UNDP).
- It was established as an international financial institution in 1977 through United Nations General Assembly Resolution.
- Headquarters: Rome, Italy.
- Membership: Currently, IFAD has 177 Member States, including India.
- The highest decision-making body is the Governing Council which meets every three years.
Enhanced Linkages between Private Sector and Small-Scale Producers (ELPS) Initiative:
- It is an initiative By IFAD in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan.
- It aims to connect small-scale food producers and marginalised farmer groups in developing countries with larger agrifood companies to facilitate investment, capacity building and trade.
- Small-scale producers can greatly benefit from the expertise, knowledge, and technologies of the private sector.
Other Initiatives of IFAD:
-
- Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP).
- Agri-Business Capital (ABC) Fund.
- Pacific Islands Rural and Agriculture Stimulus Facility.
- Platform for Agricultural Risk Management.
TOPIC – 10 – Pindari Glacier
A group of 14 trekkers, including 13 US nationals, were recently stranded at Pindari glacier after an avalanche hit Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar district.
About Pindari Glacier:
- Location:
- It is located in the Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand in the Kumaon Himalayas.
- It lies on the edge of Nanda Devi (7816 meters), which is the highest peak in India.
- Zero Point of Pindari Glacier is situated at an altitude of 3660 meters above sea level.
- It is the source of the Pindari River, which meets the Alakananda River at Karnaprayag in the Garhwal district.
- On the right side of the Pindari Glacier lies the Kafani Glacier.
Other major glaciers in Uttarakhand:
- Gangotri Glacier
- Milam Glacier
- Satopanth Glacier
- Namik Glacier
What is an Avalanche?
- Avalanches are masses of snow, ice, and rocks that fall rapidly down a mountainside.
- There are various kinds of avalanches, including rock avalanches (which consist of large segments of shattered rock), ice avalanches (which typically occur in the vicinity of a glacier), and debris avalanches (which contain a variety of unconsolidated materials, such as loose stones and soil).
TOPIC – 11 – Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Project
Recently, Prime Minister praised the completion of Bihar portion of Barauni- Guwahati pipeline under Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Project.
About Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Project:
- The project is also known as Jagdishpur – Haldia & Bokaro – Dhamra Pipeline Project (JHBDPL) project.
- It was launched in 2016 and will cater to the energy requirements of five states namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.
- This pipeline will connect six districts in Bihar to the National Gas Grid. The project will provide access to clean natural gas for industries, CNG for vehicles and PNG for homes, promoting a sustainable lifestyle.
- Total length of pipeline under Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Project is 3,384 km, out of which 766 km of pipeline is in Odisha state and the balance 2,618 km is in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal & Assam.
- The seven main station cities include Varanasi, Patna, Bokaro, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack as the major beneficiaries of the project.
- The project is being implemented by GAIL.
TOPIC – 12 – Ballistic missile interceptor
Recently, The DRDO and Indian Navy successfully conducted a maiden flight trial of sea-based endo-atmospheric interceptor missile off the coast of Odisha.
Why in news?
- India entered an elite club of nations with the capability to fire a Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) interceptor from a naval platform.
- Prior to this, DRDO has successfully demonstrated land-based ballistic missile defence system with capability to neutralize ballistic missile threats, emerging from adversaries.
India’s Ballistic Missile Defence Programme:
- India launched the BMD program after Kargil war in 1999 to counter the enemy nation’s widening spectrum of ballistic missiles that usually delivered both conventional and nuclear warheads.
Two-tires of BMD system
- Prithvi Air Defence missile
- It was originally tested in 2006 and is capable of intercepting and destroying missiles at exo-atmospheric altitudes ranging from 50 to 180 kilometres.
- The Pradyumna interceptor has already replaced the Prithvi Air Defence BMD.
- Exo-atmospheric missiles are capable of completing missions in the Earth’s upper atmosphere.
- Advanced Air Defence Missile
- The second layer is Advanced Air Defence (AAD) Missile for lower altitude interception.
- It was first tested in 2007 and designed to knock down hostile missiles in the endo-atmosphere at altitudes of 15-40 KM.
- The endo-atmospheric missiles are the ones that operate within the earth’s atmosphere that covers an altitude below 100 KM.
TOPIC – 13 – Metro under the River
Trial runs are underway on India’s first underwater transport tunnel.
About the Project: East-West corridor
- The 16.55-km East-West corridor is the second line of the Kolkata Metro network.
- The East-West Corridor of the metro was approved in 2009.
- The line, called the Green Line, will link Howrah station to Sealdah station, which is the hub of Kolkata’s suburban railway network.
- When completed it will connect the IT hub of Salt Lake Sector V on Kolkata’s eastern flank to the western suburb of Howrah.
- Of the total 16.55 km-long East-West stretch, 520 meters is under the Hooghly riverbed.
- The western portion of the East-West Corridor is underground. There are 12 stations on the entire route, including the country’s deepest Howrah station at the depth of 33 metres.
- The train will run 100 meters beneath the river waters and it will take 45 seconds to cross the tunnel.
Technology involved in the Project and challenges:
- The tunnels under the Hooghly river have an internal diameter of 5.55 metres and an external diameter of 6.1 metres.
- The centre-to-centre distance between the east- and west-bound tunnels is 16.1 metres.
- The inner walls are of high-quality M50-grade reinforced concrete segments with a thickness of 275 mm each.
- Six of these segments will complete a circular lining of the tunnel’s diameter. The segments are being pre-cast in specialised moulds imported from Korea.
- There is a layer of sandy silt under the organic clay of the riverbed.
- Apart from the underwater tunneling, tunneling in areas with historic buildings like Dalhousie posed a challenge for the project.
Conclusion:
- It was Kolkata where India’s first Metro railway i.e., North-South line was opened in 1984. And the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) is gearing up to make India’s first underwater metro train operational in the city by the year-end.
- The East West Metro will pass through the highly congested parts of Kolkata that have narrow streets and historic buildings. The tunnel, and the corridor will significantly improve commuting on one of the city’s most congested stretches.
TOPIC – 14 – First-Ever Trilateral Talks between India, Armenia, Iran
Recently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India, Armenia and Iran held the first trilateral political consultations in Yerevan.
Key Details
- The three countries had a wide range of discussions on:
- Economic issues
- Regional communication
- Trilateral cooperation in various fields
- Armenia and India
- In 2022, both the countries celebrated 30 years of bilateral diplomatic relations.
- Armenia and India maintain active political ties.
- Effective cooperation exists between the two nations within international bodies.
- After Armenia’s independence in 1991, Armenian-Indian relations were re-established.
- In 1992, Diplomatic relations were established between the Republic of Armenia and India.
- In 1999, the Indian Embassy in Yerevan began operations.
- India-Iran
- The relations of India and Iran span millennia marked by meaningful interactions.
- Since the diplomatic relationship has been established in 1950 with the friendship treaty, the visits on the ministerial level have increased.
- Both have in place several bilateral consultative mechanisms at various levels which meet regularly.
- Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) chaired at the Ministerial level
- Foreign Office Consultations chaired at the Foreign Secretary level
- Joint Consular Committee Meeting at the level of Joint Secretary/DG
- Commercial ties: India-Iran commercial ties were traditionally dominated by the Indian import of Iranian crude oil.
- Recently, Irani Ambassador to India described India as “most important to Iran”.
- Iran considers, the Chabahar port as the “Golden Gateway”, with which India is highly involved.
TOPIC – 15 – Abhilekh Patal
Recently, The Prime Minister of India praised “Abhilekh Patal” a portal with over 1 Crore Pages of Historical Records of the National Archives.
About Abhilekh Patal:
- What it is? It is a full-featured web portal to access the National Archives of India’s reference media and its digitized collections through the Internet.
- Abhilekh is a Sanskrit term used in India for records since ancient times and Patal is a Sanskrit word meaning a board, platform, or surface.
- A combination of both these words has been adopted as an acronym for Portal for Access to Archives and Learning.
Key facts about the National Archives of India
- It was established on 11 March 1891 at Calcutta (Kolkata) as the Imperial Record Department, it is the biggest archival repository in South Asia.
- It is the repository of the non-current records of the Government of India and is holding them in trust for the use of record creators and general users.
- It has a vast corpus of records viz., public records, private papers, oriental records, cartographic records and microfilms, which constitute an invaluable source of information for scholars-administrators and users of archives.
- It is Located at the heart of New Delhi
- It has one Regional Office in Bhopal and three Records Centres at Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Puducherry.
- Nodal Ministry: It is an Attached Office of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
TOPIC – 16 – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) ‘Nagastra’
Solar Industries Nagpur recently bagged an order to supply the UAV ‘Nagastra’ to the Indian Army, beating competitors from Israel and Poland.
About Nagastra:
- It is India’s first indigenous loitering munition which can strike enemy targets with precision.
- It has been designed and developed by Economics Explosives Ltd (EEL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of Solar Industries Nagpur, in association with Z-Motion, Bangalore.
- It has an indigenous content of more than 75 per cent.
- Features:
- It can neutralize any hostile threat with GPS-enabled precision strikes with an accuracy of 2 m.
- It has an endurance of 60 min with a man-in-loop range of 15 km and an autonomous mode range of 30 km.
- In addition to day-night surveillance cameras, it is equipped with fragmenting warhead to defeat soft-skin targets.
- In case a target is not detected or if the mission is aborted, the loiter munition can be called back and made a soft landing with a parachute recovery mechanism, enabling it to be reused multiple times.
- Why is it called a loitering munition?
- The Nagastra can loiter around in the air and strike when the target reaches the spot.
- It hits in a kamikaze mode (suicidal attack), destroying the target and itself.
TOPIC – 17 – World Earth Day
World Earth Day is celebrated across the world on April 22 every year.
About World Earth Day:
- It is an annual event celebrated on April 22 to raise awareness about environmental issues and promote global efforts to protect the Earth’s natural resources.
- History:
- The first World Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970, in the United States.
- It was organized by a group of environmental activists led by US Senator Gaylord Nelson, who was concerned about the negative impact of industrialization and pollution on the environment.
- Since then, it has become a global movement that encourages individuals and communities to take action towards protecting our planet.
- The Earth Day 2023 theme: ” Invest In Our Planet“, is a continuation of the 2022 theme.
What is Earth Hour?
- It is a global grassroots movement uniting people to take action on environmental issues and protect the planet.
- It is organized by World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
- It was started by WWF and partners as a symbolic lights-out event in Sydney in 2007.
- It takes place on the last Saturday of March every year.
- “Earth Hour” encourages people to switch off all lights for an hour, from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm local time to promote awareness of climate change challenges and energy conservation.
- This symbolic act, known as the ‘lights off’ moment, unites people worldwide in a show of support for the planet and serves as a reminder of the environmental issues facing us.
DAILY EDITORIAL BITS
EDITORIAL – 1 – Olive Ridley Turtles Arrive at Odisha’s Rushikulya Beach for Mass Nesting
Why in News?
- Millions of Baby olive ridley sea turtles crawled towards the Bay of Bengal after emerging from eggshells along Odisha’s Rushikulya beach in Ganjam district.
- About 6.37 lakh Olive Ridley sea turtles had arrived for mass nesting at Rushikulya coast this year, setting a new record for the beach in Odisha’s Ganjam district.
What’s in today’s article?
- About Olive Ridley Turtles (Description, Habitat, Threats, Conservation measures, etc.)
- News Summary
About Olive Ridley Turtles:
- The olive ridley gets its name from the olive green colour of its heart-shaped shell.
- The species is among the smallest of the world’s sea turtles and is found primarily in the tropical regions of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans.
- They are carnivores, and feed mainly on jellyfish, shrimp, snails, crabs, molluscs and a variety of fish and their eggs.
- These turtles spend their entire lives in the ocean, and migrate thousands of kilometres between feeding and mating grounds in the course of a year.
Population in the Indian Ocean:
- In the Indian Ocean, three arribada beaches occur in Odisha, India (Gahirmatha, Devi River mouth, and Rushikulya) with an estimated +100,000 nests per year.
- ‘Arribada’ is a term used for olive ridley turtles and kemps ridley turtles wherein thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs.
- Interestingly, females return to the very same beach from where they first hatched, to lay their eggs.
- After about 45-65 days, the eggs begin to hatch, and these beaches are swamped with crawling Olive-ridley turtle babies, making their first trek towards the vast ocean.
- It is estimated that approximately 1 hatchling survives to reach adulthood for every 1000 hatchlings that enter the sea waters.
- The coast of Odisha is the largest mass nesting site for the olive-ridley, followed by the coasts of Mexico and Costa Rica.
Threats to Existence:
- According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there has been between a 30 to 50 percent reduction in global population size.
- Although some nesting populations have increased in the past few years or are currently stable, the overall reduction in some populations is greater than the overall increase in others.
- The number of Olive ridleys are greatly reduced from historical estimates (for example, 10 million olive ridleys in the Pacific Ocean), due to overexploitation for turtle meat and eggs.
- Though international trade in these turtles and their products is banned under CITES Appendix I, they are still extensively poached for their meat, shell and leather, and their eggs.
- Olive-ridleys face serious threats across their migratory route, habitat and nesting beaches, due to human activities such as –
- Turtle unfriendly fishing practices,
- Development and exploitation of nesting beaches for ports, and
- Tourist centres.
- The most severe threat they face is the accidental killing of adult turtles through entanglement in trawl nets and gill nets due to uncontrolled fishing during their mating season around nesting beaches.
Conservation Measures:
- To reduce accidental killing in India, the Odisha government has made it mandatory for trawls to use Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs), a net specially designed with an exit cover which allows the turtles to escape while retaining the catch.
- Operation Olivia –
- Every year, the Indian Coast Guard’s “Operation Olivia”, initiated in the early 1980s, helps protect Olive Ridley turtles as they congregate along the Odisha coast for breeding and nesting from November to December.
- Metal Tags –
- Since 2021, the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) in collaboration with Wildlife Wing of Odisha’s Forest department started tagging olive ridley turtles with the help of metal tags.
- These are non-corrosive metal tags which enable scientists to chart the movements of olive ridleys and also know the areas they visit in order to protect the species and their habitats.
Legal Protection:
- Olive ridley turtles enjoy following legal protection –
- IUCN Status – Vulnerable
- Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 – Schedule I
- CITES – Appendix I
News Summary:
- About 6.37 lakh Olive Ridley sea turtles had arrived for mass nesting at Rushikulya coast this year (between February and March), setting a new record for the beach in Odisha’s Ganjam district.
- Last year, 5.5 lakh Olive Ridley turtles had come to Rushikulya for mass nesting.
- This is attributed to emergence of new beaches for laying of eggs near the Podampetta area on the coast of Odisha.
- Also, the beaches remained unaffected as there were no extreme weather events such as cyclone and heavy rain and turtles ascended perfectly sloped beaches at Rushikulya river mouth.
EDITORIAL – 2 – Cheetah Reintroduction Plan: Cheetah project overestimated carrying capacity of Kuno, say Namibia experts
Why in News?
- According to Namibian researchers, Project Cheetah overestimated the carrying capacity of Kuno National Park and did not factor in the unique spatial requirement of the species before flying in 20 spotted cats from Africa.
- Spatial ecology addresses the fundamental effects of space on the movement of individual species and on the stability of multispecies communities.
What’s in Today’s Article?
- What is the Cheetah Reintroduction Plan/Project Cheetah?
- What is the Significance of Bringing Back Cheetahs?
- Why are Cheetahs Coming from Southern Africa and Challenges?
- News Summary Regarding the Findings of Namibian Researchers
What is the Cheetah Reintroduction Plan/Project Cheetah?
- Discussions to bring the Cheetah back to India were initiated in 2009 by the Wildlife Trust of India.
- Under the ‘Action Plan for Reintroduction of Cheetah in India’, 50 cheetahs will be brought from African countries to various national parks over 5 years.
- Most suitable site – Kuno Palpur National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh:
- Amongst the surveyed sites of the central Indian states, KNP has been rated the highest, because of its suitable habitat and adequate prey base.
- It is assessed to be capable of supporting 21 Cheetahs and is likely the only wildlife site in the country where villages have been completely relocated from within the park.
- Kuno also provides the possibility of harbouring four of India’s big cats – tiger, lion, leopard and Cheetah, enabling them to coexist as they have in the past.
- The other sites recommended are – Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh; Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary – Bhainsrorgarh Wildlife Sanctuary complex, Madhya Pradesh; Shahgarh bulge in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan; Mukundara Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan.
- As part of this project, 20 Cheetahs (8 from Namibia and 12 from South Africa) were Introduced in the KNP (since last year) to establish a free-ranging population for the first time since their extinction in India 70 years ago.
What is the Significance of Bringing Back Cheetahs?
- Besides conserving the big cat, the initiative in itself is a boon to the ecosystem.
- In saving Cheetahs, it is necessary to save not just its prey base (including certain threatened species), but also other endangered species of grasslands.
- They are not a threat to humans and do not attack large livestock either.
Why are Cheetahs Coming from Southern Africa and Challenges?
- Reasons behind re-introducing cheetah from southern Africa:
- The locally extinct Cheetah-subspecies of India is found in Iran and is categorised as critically endangered.
- Since it is not possible to source the critically endangered Asiatic Cheetah from Iran without affecting this subspecies, India will source Cheetahs from Southern Africa.
- Southern African Cheetahs have the highest observed genetic variety among extant Cheetah lineages, which is critical for a founding population stock.
- Furthermore, Southern African Cheetahs have been determined to be the ancestors of all other Cheetah lineages, making them suitable for India’s reintroduction programme.
- Challenges of bringing back Cheetahs:
- Based on the evidence available, it is impossible to conclude that the choice to bring the African Cheetah into India is scientifically sound.
- As a result, the Supreme Court of India (in 2020) permitted an experimental release of Cheetahs in a suitable habitat.
News Summary Regarding the Findings of Namibian Researchers:
- In southern Africa, cheetahs live in a stable socio-spatial system with widely spread territories and densities of less than one individual per 100 km².
- Therefore, the carrying capacity is usually between 0.2 and 1 adult per 100 km² for cheetahs under natural conditions.
- The plan for cheetahs in KNP assumes that the high prey density will sustain high cheetah densities, even though there is no evidence for that.
- It also ignores important aspects of the cheetah socio-spatial system.
- As KNP is small (~750 km², density 3 individuals per 100 km²), it is likely that the released animals will move far beyond the park’s boundaries and cause conflicts with neighbouring villages.
EDITORIAL – 3 – Issue of stray dogs in India: Centre asks States to enforce new rules to check stray dog numbers
Why in News?
- The Centre has decided to reach out to the States, local self-governments (LSGs) and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) on implementing the new set of Animal Birth Control Rules prepared by the Ministry of Animal Husbandry.
- The Rules, which came amid increasing instances of stray dog attacks, put the onus of maintaining and controlling the population of stray dogs on LSGs and RWAs.
What’s in Today’s Article?
- Population of Stray Dogs in India and Policies to Control them
- India’s Stray Dog Menace
- The ABC Rules 2023
- Problems with the ABC programme
- What Needs to be Done?
Population of Stray Dogs in India and Policies to Control them:
- At present, there are over 10 million pet dogs in the country and the stray dog population is about 35 million.
- Dogs are highly fertile animals, and reproduce at a high rate if enough resources are available.
- Nearly 90% of the dog population needs to be sterilised over a short period of time to achieve a sustained population reduction over a 10-15-year period.
- The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act 1960 mandates that every owner of an animal is responsible for its well-being, and it is illegal to abandon pets or allow them to become strays.
- The Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules 2001, based on the PCA Act 1960, were first notified by the Union Ministry of Culture.
- The Rules aimed to control the population of stray dogs through sterilization and vaccination.
- The program is implemented by local municipalities and NGOs, with the government providing financial assistance.
- However, the government has failed to implement effective measures to control the stray dog population and ensure their well-being.
India’s Stray Dog Menace:
- The increasing population of stray dogs deprives people of their right to life, free movement, and a safe environment.
- According to the NCRB, there were 4,146 reported cases of dog bites leading to human deaths in India in 2019.
- According to a study, dogs were the second leading cause of road accidents in urban areas.
- Creates huge conflict between feeders and ordinary residents who have to deal with packs of dogs roaming around their neighbourhoods.
- Dogs are also leading causes of harm to wildlife, and cause immense loss of biodiversity.
The ABC Rules 2023:
- The new Rules prescribe that ABC programmes for sterilisation and immunisation of stray dogs are to be carried out by LSGs for birth control as well as maintenance of stray animals.
- The Rules also suggest euthanasia for “incurably ill and mortally wounded dogs” as diagnosed by a team appointed by the Local Animal Birth Control Monitoring Committee.
- The Rules want the RWAs to designate feed spots for dogs which shall be far from children play areas, entry and exit points, staircase or in an area which is likely to be least frequented by children and senior citizens.
- It also suggests establishment of an Animal Help Centre where complaints about dog or cat bites can be registered.
- The local authorities will be held responsible for any violation and animal-human conflicts.
- Therefore, the effective implementation of these Rules will help in reducing stray dog population while addressing animal welfare issues.
Problems with the ABC programme:
- It does not seem to have any benchmarks or targets. Municipalities set targets for sterilisation based on budgets and available facilities.
- For example, before the start of the programme, a municipal corporation would be required to estimate the base population of dogs to be sterilised.
- It would then need to set targets for population reduction within a reasonable time period and then calculate how many would need to be sterilised to achieve this objective.
- The other major problem is that the new ABC Rules require people to feed dogs.
- The concept of feeding animals in India is associated either with religious beliefs, a false sense of compassion, or a misinterpretation of Article 51G of the fundamental duty to be compassionate to all living beings.
- A study conducted in Bengaluru found that roadside eateries and a few households that fed dogs were the main factors responsible for high dog densities.
- It is cruel to dogs, since homeless life on the streets is not easy, with accidents, disease, wanton cruelty and constant fear being their normal state.
What Needs to be Done?
- Solving this problem requires a multi-pronged approach and some difficult decisions.
- The government needs to implement effective animal control measures and waste management to eliminate open litter from the roads.
- Strict pet ownership laws, a ban on irresponsible feeding in public places, and encouraging adoption and long-term sheltering of homeless dogs will result in win-win solutions.
- Individuals also have a role to play in solving this problem.
- Cities such as Ooty, Chennai and parts of Uttarakhand, Goa and Delhi can be showcased as better models in managing stray dogs.
- We shouldn’t be turning our best friends into our deadliest foes if the “greatness of our nation and its moral progress” is to be assessed by how we treat animals.
EDITORIAL – 4 – Indian Space Policy 2023
Why in news?
- The Centre’s updated Space Policy, cleared by the Union Cabinet on April 6 but made public recently, has drawn measured optimism from the India’s budding private sector start-up space.
What’s in today’s article?
- Space sector of India
- Indian Space Policy 2023
Space Sector of India
- ISRO has an exceptional success rate and is the 6th largest space agency globally.
- India has over 400 private space companies and ranks fifth globally in terms of the number of space companies.
- The satellite manufacturing capabilities are expected to reach USD 3.2 billion by 2025.
- ISRO also launched a student outreach program called SAMVAD to encourage space research among young minds.
Indian Space Policy 2023
- About
- The Indian Space Policy 2023 is a comprehensive set of guidelines that outlines the roles and responsibilities of different entities in the Indian space sector.
- The policy is expected to pave the way for much-needed clarity in space reforms and encourage private industry participation in the space economy.
- It aims to encourage and institutionalize private sector participation in India’s space sector, with the ISRO primarily focusing on research and development of advanced space technologies.
- Objectives
- To augment space capabilities;
- Enable, encourage and develop a flourishing commercial presence in space;
- Use space as a driver of technology development and derive benefits in allied areas;
- Pursue international relations, and create an ecosystem for effective implementation of space applications among all stakeholders
What are the key features of the Indian Space Policy 2023?
- Creates four distinct, but related entities
- The policy creates four distinct, but related entities, that will facilitate greater private sector participation in activities that have usually been the traditional domain of ISRO.
- These four entities are:
- Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
- IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre)
- New Space India Limited (NSIL)
- Department of Space
- Private companies allowed to undertake end-to-end space activity
- Private companies, referred to as non-governmental entities in the policy, will be allowed to undertake end-to-end space activity.
- These activities include –
- Launching and operating satellites, developing rockets, creating ground stations, building spaceports and mobile launch platforms; and
- Providing services like communication, remote sensing and navigation, nationally and internationally.
- Other roles envisaged for private entities
- Private entities have also been encouraged to develop space situational awareness capabilities.
- Space situational awareness capabilities is a mechanism to track objects in space and avoid collision of satellites and space stations with each other or space debris.
- The policy also says that private players can engage in commercial recovery of asteroids or space resources.
- Private participation will be limited to Indian companies.
- The question of whether foreign direct investment via the automatic route will be permitted in space is as yet unresolved and pending government approval.
- Private entities have also been encouraged to develop space situational awareness capabilities.
- Role of the IN-SPACe
- As per the policy, IN-SPACe will be the single-window agency for authorisation of all space activities.
- It will also develop space industry standards, promote identified space activities and work with academia to widen the space ecosystem and enable industry-academia linkages.
- Role of ISRO
- ISRO, meanwhile, has been asked to move away from routine activities and focus on research and innovation.
- This will mean developing new space technologies and applications in order to maintain India’s edge in the areas of space infrastructure, space transportation, space applications, capacity building and human spaceflight.
- Role of New Space India Ltd
- The government’s commercial arm, New Space India Ltd, has been asked to commercialise technologies and platforms created by government entities.
- It has also been tasked to manufacture, lease, or buy space technologies or assets, and provide space-based services to government as well as private entities.
- Role of the Department of Space
- The Department of Space has been asked to implement the policy, interpret and clarify any ambiguities and establish a framework for safe and sustainable space operations.
- It will be the nodal department for implementing space technologies.
- It will also look after international cooperation and coordination in the area of global space governance and programmes in consultation with Ministry of External Affairs.
- It has also been tasked to create an appropriate mechanism to resolve disputes arising out of space activity.
- Enables open satellite data access
- Satellite images with a ground sample distance (GSD) greater than five metres (a satellite image where two adjacent pixels represent points five metres apart on the ground) would be freely available.
- However, those with a GSD less than 30 cm will require INSPACe authorisation due to national security considerations.
EDITORIAL – 5 – Kochi Water Metro
Why in News?
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation the Kochi water metro, a first-of-its-kind public boat service integrated with a metro rail network, on April 25th.
What’s in today’s article?
- About Kochi Water Metro (Need, Components, Benefits, Cost, etc.)
- Key Facts for Prelims (Backwaters)
About Kochi Water Metro:
- Kochi, often referred as the commercial capital of Kerala, is one of the most densely populated districts in the state.
- Inland water transport was once the primary means of freight and passenger transport on the Vembanadu lake. Water transport is inherently more efficient than either rail or road transport.
- Kochi is abundantly blessed with waterways with over 1,100 kms of waterways available.
- However, only 40 kms out of these are considered navigable for motor boats.
- The system has been declining over the last few decades and has seen minimal investment and technology upgrade.
- The Kochi Water Metro project envisages the development of 15 identified routes, connecting 10 islands along a network of routes that span 78 km.
- This will be achieved through a fleet of 78 fast hybrid ferries plying to 38 jetties.
- Boats planned for the project are electrically propelled. However, they have the backup of diesel-powered generators.
- The Kochi Water Metro project is expected to reduce pollution and traffic congestions in the city and also ease access to business areas on the mainland for urban household situated along the Kochi lakeshore.
- It is also expected to give a big boost to the tourism sector in the Kochi backwaters, apart from giving a modern transport facility for people living on islands on the outskirts of Kochi.
Various Components of the Project:
- The various components involved in the Kochi Water Metro project are –
- Boat terminals and Access infrastructure
- Boats
- Boatyards
- Dredging along the identified routes and terminals
- Systems – navigation, CCTV, etc.
- All passenger facilities available in metro rail coaches will be offered on the boats. Besides, boat jetties have been designed similar to metro stations.
Total Cost of the Project:
- The Kochi Water Metro project has a total value of Rs 819 crores.
- Major part of this amount is financed under Indo-German Financial Cooperation with a long-term loan agreement.
Key Facts for Prelims:
- Backwaters –
-
- Backwater is water turned back in its course by an obstruction on opposing current or the flow of tide in a river channel.
- The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.
- The Kerala backwaters are a network of brackish lagoons and canals lying parallel to the Arabian Sea of the Malabar coast of Kerala.
- The backwaters have a unique ecosystem: freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea.
EDITORIAL – 6 – Intensified Crackdown with aim to make India drug-free by 2047
Why in news?
- Aiming to make India drug-free by 2047, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) plans to link recovery and usage of narcotics and banned substances in a particular area to the annual appraisal report of a District Superintendent of Police.
What’s in today’s article?
- Drug menace in India – reasons, steps taken by the govt.
- News Summary
Drug menace in India
Reasons for Widespread Drug Abuse in India
- To escape from hard realities of life
- The disintegration of the old joint family system, decline of old religious and moral values etc. lead to a rise in the number of drug addicts who take drugs to escape hard realities of life.
- Loosening of the traditional methods of social control
- The loosening of the traditional methods of social control left an individual vulnerable to the stresses and strains of modern life.
- Peer pressure
- Many youths start using drug under the pressure from their friends, seniors at educational institutions, or by members of their informal groupings.
- Easy Availability
- India is situated in the sense that on its west is the ‘Golden Crescent’ and on east is the ‘Golden Triangle’.
- Golden Crescent – Iran-Afghanistan-Pakistan
- Golden Triangle – Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar
- The usage of drugs in India is increasing, particularly in the border areas due to their porous nature.
- India is situated in the sense that on its west is the ‘Golden Crescent’ and on east is the ‘Golden Triangle’.
- Economic prosperity
- The agricultural reforms and other industrial activity have led to increase in income in regions like Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra etc.
- Increase in disposable money and easy availability of drugs has led to increase in its use.
Steps taken
- Article 47 of the Indian Constitution directs the State to endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption of intoxicating drugs injurious to health.
- India is a signatory to
- Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961, as amended by the 1972 Protocol,
- Conventions on Psychotropic Substances, 1971 and
- United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988.
- Legislative steps:
- Enacted Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940,
- Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 and
- The Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988.
- Institutions involved
- The Narcotics Control Bureau was created in 1986 as a nodal agency to fight against this menace.
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE) are involved with alcohol and drug demand reduction policies and drug de-addiction programme.
News Summary: Intensified Crackdown with aim to make India drug-free by 2047
Intensified crackdown against drugs
- Opium and cannabis cultivation targeted
- Opium and cannabis cultivation in area the size of over 89,000 football fields has been destroyed in the past three years.
- According to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), in the past three years, 35,592 acres of poppy cultivation and 82,691 acres of cannabis cultivation has been destroyed across the country.
- The States where the crops were destroyed are:
- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tripura, and Telangana.
- Fixing accountability
- MHA is planning to link recovery and usage of narcotics and banned substances in a particular area to the annual appraisal report of a District Superintendent of Police.
- This will bring accountability and fix responsibility.
- Use of technology
- The MHA has constituted a study group to analyse the use of drones in the destruction of illegal crops in remote areas.
- The NCB also shares satellite images with the affected States.
- On the National Narcotics Coordination portal (NCORD), the source and destination of drugs are highlighted too, and information up to the district levels is maintained.
- Another database, called NIDAAN, has the photographs, fingerprints, court orders, information and details of all suspects and convicts arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act so far.
- This can be accessed by State and Central law enforcement agencies.
- Liberal application of the PITNDPS Act
- The Ministry is encouraging the liberal application of the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (PITNDPS), 1988.
- Earlier, this act was not being used much.
- This includes a provision to detain an individual for up to two years without a court’s intervention.
- The Ministry is encouraging the liberal application of the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (PITNDPS), 1988.
- Tackling the issue of dark net and crypto currency
- The use of the ‘dark net’ and crypto currency in illegal drugs is increasing, and in 2020, 2021 and 2022, NCB investigated 59 such cases.
- A sub-group on the counter-terrorism portal, the Multi Agency Centre (MAC), has been created to share inputs on the use of the dark net and crypto currency for trade in narcotics.
- Anti-Narcotics Task Forces (ANTF)
- All States have created dedicated Anti-Narcotics Task Forces (ANTF). The first ever conference of State ANTFs was held on April 19-20.
- Destruction of seized drugs through proper process
- Unless seized drugs were destroyed through proper process, there will be chances of rotation of drugs due to corruption.
- Recently, the Minister of Home Affairs said that the destruction should be held in public.
- So far, 6.7 lakh kilogrammes of drugs have been burnt by government agencies.
- Alternate livelihood scheme
- State governments have also launched alternate livelihood scheme for farmers growing poppy illegally.
- They also provide cash incentives to destroy the illegal crops.