Nothing Special   »   [go: up one dir, main page]
Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 30 views

    Topics Covered:: Insta Link

    Uploaded by

    Sainath Sindhe
    The National Wildlife Board has approved the Mumbai-Nagpur highway project via video conferencing amid the lockdown. The 701 km highway will reduce travel time between the cities from 15 hours to 8 hours but will require cutting through protected areas like wildlife sanctuaries and the eco-sensitive zones around them. The National Board for Wildlife is a statutory body that advises the government on wildlife policies and conservation. It is chaired by the Prime Minister and has 47 members including government officials and environmental experts.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Topics Covered:: Insta Link

    Uploaded by

    Sainath Sindhe
    30 views7 pages
    The National Wildlife Board has approved the Mumbai-Nagpur highway project via video conferencing amid the lockdown. The 701 km highway will reduce travel time between the cities from 15 hours to 8 hours but will require cutting through protected areas like wildlife sanctuaries and the eco-sensitive zones around them. The National Board for Wildlife is a statutory body that advises the government on wildlife policies and conservation. It is chaired by the Prime Minister and has 47 members including government officials and environmental experts.

    Original Title

    scrd23

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The National Wildlife Board has approved the Mumbai-Nagpur highway project via video conferencing amid the lockdown. The 701 km highway will reduce travel time between the cities from 15 hours to 8 hours but will require cutting through protected areas like wildlife sanctuaries and the eco-sensitive zones around them. The National Board for Wildlife is a statutory body that advises the government on wildlife policies and conservation. It is chaired by the Prime Minister and has 47 members including government officials and environmental experts.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    30 views7 pages

    Topics Covered:: Insta Link

    Uploaded by

    Sainath Sindhe
    The National Wildlife Board has approved the Mumbai-Nagpur highway project via video conferencing amid the lockdown. The 701 km highway will reduce travel time between the cities from 15 hours to 8 hours but will require cutting through protected areas like wildlife sanctuaries and the eco-sensitive zones around them. The National Board for Wildlife is a statutory body that advises the government on wildlife policies and conservation. It is chaired by the Prime Minister and has 47 members including government officials and environmental experts.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    You are on page 1of 7

    Context: National Wildlife Board issues final nod for Mumbai-Nagpur

    highway amid lockdown. The approval was given via video-conferencing.


    Background:
    The 701-km Hindu Hruday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra
    Samruddhi Mahamarg connecting Mumbai and Nagpur covering 10 districts, 26
    talukas and 392 villages, will reduce the existing travel time of 15 hours to
    eight hours.
    The project will require felling of over one lakh trees and passes through the
    10-km eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of Katepurna and Karanja Sohal
    Blackbuck wildlife sanctuaries towards one end of the state while cutting
    through the ESZ of Tansa lake sanctuary closer to the Mumbai
    Metropolitan Region. 
    About National Board for Wildlife:
    It is a “Statutory Organization” constituted under the Wildlife Protection
    Act, 1972.
     Roles and functions:

    1. Its role is “advisory” in nature and advises the Central Government on


    framing policies and measures for conservation of wildlife in the country.
    2. Primary function of the Board is to promote the conservation and development
    of wildlife and forests.
    3. It has power to review all wildlife-related matters and approve projects in and
    around national parks and sanctuaries.
    4. No alternation of boundaries in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries can be
    done without approval of the NBWL.

     Composition:
    The NBWL is chaired by the Prime Minister. It has 47 members including the
    Prime Minister. Among these, 19 members are ex-officio members. Other
    members include three Members of Parliament (two from Lok Sabha and one
    from Rajya Sabha), five NGOs and 10 eminent ecologists, conservationists and
    environmentalists.
    Insta Link:
    Prelims Link:

    1. Chairpersons and other members of NBW.


    2. Various such bodies headed by PM.
    3. Difference between National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries,

    Sources: pib.
     
    Topics covered:  Important aspects of governance, transparency and
    accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes,
    limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability
    and institutional and other measures.
    Online training platform- iGOT
    What to study?
    For Prelims: Key features of iGOT.
    For Mains: Need for and significance of iGOT, concerns surrounding
    protection of frontline workers, ways to address them.
    Context: The Department of Personnel and Training launches online
    training platform- iGOT in the fight against COVID-19. The platform is
    called iGOT — Integrated Government Online Training.
    What is it for?
    It offers online training for doctors, nurses, paramedics, hygiene workers,
    technicians, Auxiliary Nursing Midwives (ANMS), central & state govt. officers,
    civil defence officials, various police organisations, National Cadet Corps
    (NCC), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), National Service Scheme
    (NSS), Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), Bharat Scouts & Guides (BSG) and
    other volunteers to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Key features of the platform:

    1. It is set to be hosted on the Human Resources Development


    Ministry’s DIKSHA platform.
    2. The iGOT platform delivers curated, role-specific content, to each learner at
    their place of work or home and to any device of their choice.

    The platform currently hosts nine courses on topics like:

    1. Basics of COVID.
    2. ICU Care and Ventilation Management.
    3. Clinical Management, Infection Prevention through PPE.
    4. Infection Control and Prevention.
    5. Quarantine and Isolation.
    6. Laboratory Sample Collection and Testing.
    7. Management of COVID 19 Cases.
    8. COVID 19 Training.

    Need for and significance of this platform:


    India’s first line of workers are already engaged in COVID-19 relief. But “a
    larger force will be needed to replace the first line” and to deal with
    “exponential or geometric increase” in COVID-19 positive cases in the
    subsequent stages of the pandemic.
    Hence, the platform can be useful to combat COVID-19 for all front-line
    workers and equip them with the training and updates in coping with the
    pandemic. It provides a one-stop source to learn about critical areas and
    update their knowledge and capacity.
    What is Diksha portal?
    1. DIKSHA Portal is an initiative of HRD ministry for providing a digital platform
    to teacher to make their lifestyle more digital.
    2. Diksha portal launched with a tagline “National Digital Infrastructures for Our
    Teacher Our Teacher”.
    3. The portal will consist the whole teacher’s life cycle – from the time they were
    enrolled as student teachers in Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs) to after
    they retire as teachers.
    4. Teacher can learn and train themselves for which assessment resources will
    be available.
    5. It will help teachers boost their teaching skills and create their own profile with
    their skills and knowledge.

    Insta Links:
    Prelims Link:

    1. When and who launched Diksha portal?


    2. Targeted groups of iGOT and Diksha.
    3. Who are frontline workers in COVID 19 context?

    Mains Link:
    Discuss the features and significance of an Online training platform- iGOT
    launched recently by the Government of India.
    Sources: pib.
     
    Topics Covered:   Important International institutions, agencies and fora,
    their structure, mandate.

    UN Peacekeeping
    What to study?
    For Prelims and Mains: About UN Peacekeeping- need, significance,
    challenges and operations in place.
    Context: UN chief Antonio Guterres has suspended the rotation and
    deployment of peacekeepers until June 30 to mitigate the risk of
    transmission of the novel coronavirus.
    What is peacekeeping? It’s significance?
    United Nations Peacekeeping is a joint effort between the Department of
    Peace Operations and the Department of Operational Support. Every
    peacekeeping mission is authorized by the Security Council. The financial
    resources of UN Peacekeeping operations are the collective responsibility
    of UN Member States. According to UN Charter every Member State is
    legally obligated to pay their respective share for peacekeeping.  
     Composition:
    UN peacekeepers (often referred to as Blue Berets or Blue Helmets because
    of their light blue berets or helmets) can include soldiers, police officers, and
    civilian personnel. Peacekeeping forces are contributed by member states on a
    voluntary basis.  Civilian staff of peace operations are international civil
    servants, recruited and deployed by the UN Secretariat.
    Features:

    1. United Nations Peacekeeping helps countries torn by conflict create conditions


    for lasting peace.
    2. Peacekeeping has unique strengths, including legitimacy, burden sharing, and
    an ability to deploy and sustain troops and police from around the globe,
    integrating them with civilian peacekeepers to advance multidimensional
    mandates.

    UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles:

    1. Consent of the parties.


    2. Impartiality
    3. Non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate.

    Global partnership:
    UN peacekeeping is a unique global partnership. It brings together the
    General Assembly, the Security Council, the Secretariat, troop and police
    contributors and the host governments in a combined effort to maintain
    international peace and security.
    Insta Links:
    Prelims Link:

    1. Who funds peacekeeping operations?


    2. Role of UNSC.
    3. Composition of Peacekeepers?
    4. Why peacekeepers are called as Blue Helmets?
    5. Guiding principles of UN peacekeeping.
    6. Ongoing peacekeeping missions.

    Mains Link:
    Write a note on UN Peacekeeping and its significance.
    Sources: the Hindu.
     

    GS Paper  : 3

     
    Topics Covered:  Biotechnology related issues.

    Bio fortified crops


    What to study?
    For Prelims and Mains: Madhuban Gajar- features and significance.
     Context: Biofortified carrot variety developed by farmer scientist benefits
    local farmers.
    Details:

    1. The bio fortified crop- Madhuban Gajar was developed by Shri Vallabhhai


    Vasrambhai Marvaniya, a farmer scientist from Junagadh district, Gujarat.
    2. It contains high β-carotene and iron content.
    3. It is being planted in an area of over 200 hectares in Junagadh, and the
    average yield, which is 40-50 t/ha, has become the main source of income to
    the local farmers.
    4. The variety is being cultivated in more than 1000 hectares of land in Gujarat,
    Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh during the last three
    years.
    5. Madhuban Gajar carrot variety possesses a significantly higher root yield (74.2
    t/ha) and plant biomass (275 gm per plant) as compared to check variety.

    What is biofortification?
    Biofortification is the process of increasing nutritional value of food crops by
    increasing the density of vitamins and minerals in a crop through either
    conventional plant breeding; agronomic practices or biotechnology. Examples
    of these vitamins and minerals that can be increased through biofortification
    include provitamin A Carotenoids, zinc and iron.
    How are crops fortified?
    Conventional crop breeding techniques are used to identify varieties with
    particularly high concentration of desired nutrients. These are cross-bred with
    varieties with other desirable traits from the target areas (such a virus
    resistance, drought tolerance, high yielding, taste) to develop biofortified
    varieties that have high levels of micronutrients (for example, vitamin A, iron
    or zinc), in addition to other traits desired by farmers and consumers.
    Agronomic biofortification entails application of minerals such as zinc or iron
    as foliar or soil applications, drawing on plant management, soil factors, and
    plant characteristics to get enhanced content of key micronutrients into the
    edible portion of the plant.
    Why biofortification?
    Biofortification is one solution among many interventions that are needed to
    solve the complex problem of micronutrient malnutrition. It is considered one of
    the most cost-effective interventions for countries to employ in combating
    micronutrient malnutrition.
    1. Biofortification reaches rural consumers who have limited access to industrially
    fortified foods, supplementation interventions, and diverse diets.
    2. Biofortification combines increased micronutrient content with preferred
    agronomic, quality, and market traits and therefore biofortified varieties will
    typically match or outperform the usual varieties that farmers grow and
    consume.

    How does Biofortification differ from food fortification? 


    Biofortification has the increased nutritional micronutrient content imbedded in
    the crop being grown. Food fortification increases the nutritional value of foods
    by adding trace amounts of micronutrients to foods during processing.
    Insta Link:
    Prelims Link:

    1. Bio fortification vs Genetic modifications.


    2. Micro vs Macronutrients.
    3. Approval for Biofortified and GM crops in India.
    4. GM crops allowed in India.

    Mains Link:
    What do you understand by fortification of foods? Discuss its advantages.
    Sources: pib.
     

    Facts for Prelims

    About Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR):


    ICCR was founded in 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Independent
    India’s first Education Minister.
    It is an autonomous organisation.
    ICCR has been assigned the responsibility of facilitating the celebration
    of the International Day of Yoga by Indian Missions/Posts abroad since
    2015.
    Objectives:

    1. To actively participate in the formulation and implementation of policies and


    programs pertaining to India’s external cultural relations.
    2. To foster and strengthen cultural relations and mutual understanding between
    India and other countries to promote cultural exchanges with other countries
    and people, and to develop relations with nations.

    Important awards by ICCR:

    1. Distinguished Indologist Award.

    You might also like