UPSC Current Affairs Daily

2021-08-26 05:25:24 Solve all Previous Year Questions at once place.


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2021-08-25 17:04:20 #ENVIRONMENT

■ Plea against construction in Corbett Tiger Reserve

The Delhi High Court asked the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to consider a petition to stop the alleged illegal construction of bridges and walls within tiger breeding habitat of the Corbett Tiger Reserve.

Corbett tiger reserve is located in Ramnager in Nainital district.

It covers 1288.31 sq. kms spreading over three districts of Uttarakhand viz., Pauri, Nainital and Almora.

● Tiger Reserves in India:

Tiger became the national animal of India in 1973 as the lion was a national animal before.

Jim Corbett National Park was created in 1936 for tiger conservation

Classified as Endangered as per IUCN Red Databook Schedule 1 animal as per Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

● Tiger can be killed under two conditions-

Diseased or disabled beyond recovery

The threat to human life.

● In no case, the tiger can be declared vermin.

There are 52 tiger reserves in India that are governed by Project Tiger which is administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

India is home to 80 percent of tigers in the world. In 2006, there were 1,411 tigers which increased to 1,706 in 2010, 2,226 in 2014 and 2967 in 2018.

The Indian increase played a big role in driving up global populations as well; the number of wild tigers globally rose from 3,159 in 2010 to 3,890 in 2016 according to World Wildlife Fund and Global Tiger Forum.

Largest Tiger Reserve in India– Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana)
Smallest Tiger Reserve in India– Bor Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra)

A tiger reserve is demarcated on the basis of ‘core-buffer strategy’ which includes:
1.Core zone
2.Buffer zone

The world celebrated Global Tiger Day on July 29.

● National Tiger Conservation Authority:

National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

It was established in 2005 following the recommendations of the Tiger Task Force.

It was constituted under enabling provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006, for strengthening tiger conservation, as per powers and functions assigned to it.

● Project Tiger:

Project Tiger is an ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change providing central assistance to the tiger States for tiger conservation in designated tiger reserves.

India now has as many as 2,967 tigers in the wild, with more than half of them in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, according to the latest tiger estimation report for 2018.

The population of tigers have increased by 33% since the last census in 2014 when the total estimate was 2,226.

● Tiger conservation initiatives in India:

A vigorous Tiger population shows the strength of the ecosystem and self-sustenance which are the key objectives of Project Tiger under the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

By launching the Project Tiger, the Government of India has taken a revolutionary initiative for conserving its national animal.

It was launched in 1973. It is a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

The Project Tiger is administered by The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

It is a statutory body of the Ministry with an overall supervisory and coordination part, performing capacities as gave in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

SOURCE - THE HINDU Open / Comment

2021-08-25 17:04:11 Open / Comment

2021-08-25 17:03:40 Cataract

Inside human eyes, there is a natural lens. The lens bends (refracts) light rays that come into the eye to help us see.
A person with cataract, this lens becomes cloudy, and vision gets blurry, hazy or less colourful.
A cataract may be characterised by:
Blurry vision
Seeing double (when you see two images instead of one)
Being extra sensitive to light
Having trouble seeing well at night, or needing more light when you read
Seeing bright colours as faded or yellow instead
CAUSES
Ageing is the most common cause. At the age of 40 years, the normal proteins in the lens start to break down. This is what causes the lens to get cloudy.
Having certain medical problems, such as diabetes
An eye injury, eye surgery, or radiation treatments.
Having spent a lot of time in the sun, especially exposure to damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays
Using certain medications such as corticosteroids, which may cause early formation of cataracts.
SYMPTOMS
Blurry vision
Seeing double (when you see two images instead of one)
Being extra sensitive to light
Having trouble seeing well at night, or needing more light when you read
Seeing bright colours as faded or yellow instead
TREATMENT
Surgery is the only option if vision is totally blocked due to cataract. If not, then symptoms can be treated by remedies like stronger eyeglasses, magnifying lenses, or sunglasses with an anti-glare coating.
Government initiative
National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCB&VI) was launched in the year 1976 as a 100% centrally sponsored scheme with the goal of reducing the prevalence of blindness to 0.3% by 2020.
NPCB&VI seeks to provide Eye Health for All and prevention of visual impairment
It envisages comprehensive universal eye-care services and quality service delivery, though its implementation still remains a major issue Open / Comment

2021-08-25 17:03:40 Background of BRICS

July 2006: The leaders of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries met for the first time in St. Petersburg, Russia, on the margins of the G8 Outreach Summit. 
September 2006: Shortly afterwards, the group was formalised as BRIC during the 1st BRIC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which met on the sidelines of the UN Assembly in New York City.
June 2009: After a series of high-level meetings, the 1st BRIC summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
September 2010: The BRIC group was renamed as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) after South Africa was accepted as a full member at the BRIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New York. 
Composition
BRICS consists of the major emerging economies from the world, comprising 41% of the world population.
It contributes 24% of the world GDP.
It has a 16% share in world trade.
The total combined area of 29.3% of the total land surface of the world. Open / Comment

2021-08-25 17:03:40 Cabinet approves implementation of National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm

National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) is a new centrally sponsored scheme that was announced on August 15, 2021
The scheme basically aims at self-reliance in edible oil and has been allocated an outlay of Rs. 11, 040 crore over a five-year period.
Out of this, the centre will provide Rs 8,844 crore and the states’ share is Rs 2,196 crore.
The aim of the scheme is to raise the domestic production of palm oil by three times to 11.20 lakh tonnes by 2025-26 and to 28 lakh tonnes by 2029-30.
The scheme has a special focus on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Northeastern region of India.
The scheme has been announced at a time when the prices of edible oils have been rising over the past few months.
There was a 52% hike in the prices in July 2021 compared to the same time last year.
It is proposed to have an additional 6.5 lakh hectares for palm oil by 2025-26. The ultimate target is to reach 10 lakh hectares.

SOURCE: PIB Open / Comment

2021-08-25 17:03:39 Cabinet approves Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bangladesh on cooperation in the field of Disaster Management, Resilience and Mitigation.

The MoU seeks to put in place a system, whereby both India and Bangladesh will be benefited from the Disaster Management mechanisms of each other
It will help in strengthening the areas of preparedness, response and capacity building in the field of Disaster Management.

Salient features of the MoU :
Extend mutual support on the request of either Parties at the time of large scale disaster (Natural or human induced) occurring within their respective territories, in the field of relief, response, reconstruction and recovery.
Exchange relevant information, remote sensing data and other scientific data and share experience/best practices of disaster response, recovery, mitigation, capacity building for ensuring resilience, etc.
Extend cooperation in the field of advanced information technology, early warning systems, remote sensing & navigation services and expertise for disaster preparedness, response and mitigation and more towards real time data sharing.
Support training of officials in the field of Disaster management.
Conduct Joint Disaster Management Exercises bilaterally between both the countries.   
Share standards, latest technologies and tools for creating Disaster Resilient Communities.
Exchange publications and materials as textbooks, guidelines in the field of Disaster Management and may conduct joint research activities in the field of Disaster management, Risk Reduction and Recovery.

SOURCE: PIB Open / Comment

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