To showcase the mesmerizing natural beauty and eco-system of Madhya Pradesh, Ministry of Tourism presented a webinar on ‘Wild Wonders of Madhya Pradesh’ under Dekho Apna Desh webinar series. The webinar provided an immersive virtual safari experience to one of the most biodiversity rich hotspots in the world: The State of Madhya Pradesh, which is also known as the heart of Incredible India.
The 29th session of the Dekho Apna Desh webinar series on 06th June,2020 was moderated by Ms. Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General , Ministry of Tourism and was presented by Mr. Suyash Keshari, a young wildlife filmmaker who was born and brought up in Madhya Pradesh and worked extensively on its wildlife. Dekho Apna Desh Webinar Series is an effort to showcase India’s rich diversity under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat
Madhya Pradesh is an amalgamation of natural wildlife, history and mythology. Suyash began this enchanting journey with Bandhavgarh National Park which is also known as tiger’s heaven. This national park captures the scenic beauty of around 32 hills. Bandhav means brother and Garh means fort, which revolves around the mythological story of Lord Ram who gifted the fort (which is situated at the top of the national park) to his brother Laxman and that’s how this national park got its name as Bandhavgarh National Park.
Apart from the tigers, this national park is a home for many other wonderful species such as butterflies which are smaller than a thumbnail and Indian Bison which is one of the largest bovine species in the world. Influenced by the natural habitat of Bandhavgarh National Park, a group of elephants migrated from Odisha to this national park and are living here since October, 2018.
Mr. Suyash also acknowledged some interesting facts about the tigers such as determining a tiger’s age by his nose colour- the pinker the nose, the younger will be the tiger. Apart from Bandhavgarh National Park, there are other places in the heart of India that are showcasing the bio-diversity of our country such as Sanjay Dubri National Park, Panchmari Biosphere Reserve which is famous for its scenic views and waterfalls. Satpura National Park which is the only national park in India where walking safari is permitted.
Apart from the natural bio-diversity Madhya Pradesh is also home to many UNESCO World Heritage sites such as Bhimbetka Rock Shelters, Sanchi Stupa and Khajurao Group of temples which is next to Panna Tiger Reserve. One can also witness the endangered species such as Gharial at the unexplored Son river & National Chambal River Sanctuary.
Dry and chemical-free rapid disinfection through exposure to UVC light
UVC exposure is the best known among the methods to disinfect virus-prone objects Posted On: 08 JUN 2020 1:26PM by PIB Delhi
International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), an autonomous R&D Centre of Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India and MEKINS Industries have co-developed a UVC-based Cabinet for disinfecting non-critical hospital items, laboratory wear, and PPEs in the research laboratories to prevent surface contamination of COVID 19.
It can also be used to disinfect items exhibited to customers in commercial establishments and several domestic items.
India was successful in controlling the spread of COVID 19 caused by the SARS COV2 virus during the first few phases of lockdown due to strict implementation of COVID 19 guidelines. But, with relaxation of the lockdown, there is a chance of slow spread of disease due to the movement of people across the country, and this is predicted to continue for some time. Transmission through surface contamination is an unpredictable risk in which common utilities play a key role.
The best way to deal with this transmission is by a dry and chemical-free rapid disinfection through exposure to UVC light. UVC irradiation with 254 nm is strongly absorbed by RNA part of COVID-19, leading to molecular structural damage via a photodimerization process and thus inactivating it.
UVC exposure is the best known among the methods to disinfect virus-prone objects, including stethoscopes, blood pressure measuring equipment, patient care items, mobile phones, wallets, laptops, reusable laboratory gloves, lab coats, micropipettes, smaller measurement equipment, papers and so on.
As the extent of disinfection is proportional to the UVC dose received by a contaminated surface, designing a UVC system with proper engineering is very critical to get the best results.
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today inaugurated the 18th Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) for the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh through a Video Conference.
Speaking after the inauguration Dr. Singh said that the setting up of CAT Bench of Jammu to deal exclusively with service matters of government employees would go a long way in not only reducing the burden of various Courts and thereby giving them more time to deal with other cases expeditiously but would also provide to the persons covered by the Administrative Tribunals speedy relief in respect of their grievances and service matters.
He said that Modi Government is committed to Transparency and “Justice for All” and the people friendly reforms taken in the last six years have benefitted the entire country including people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. He said that more than 800 Central laws, which were not applicable to J&K have been made applicable since the abolition of Article 370 and 35A on 5th August 2019 for the benefit of people of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh and now they enjoy same rights as people from the rest of India. Dr. Jitendra Singh expressed hope that pendency of about 30,000 cases would be resolved in a time bound and judicious manner.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that all three important agencies of DoPT- CAT, CIC and CVC are now operational in UTs of J&k and Ladakh.
Karnataka presented their Annual Action Plan for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in the State to the Ministry of Jal Shakti. The meeting conducted through a VC chaired by Secretary, Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation approved the action plan of the State for 2020-21. The Ministry of Jal Shakti has been working with the States in preparing a roadmap to implement the Prime Minister’s flagship programme Jal Jeevan Mission, which aims to provide 55 litres of potable water per person per day to every rural household of the country by 2024.
Karnataka is planning 100% household coverage by 2022-23. Out of 89 lakh rural households in the State, 24.50 lakh have been provided with tap connections (FHTCs). In 2019-20, only 22,127 tap connections were provided. There is an immense scope to provide tap connections to remaining rural households. In 2020-21, the State is planning to enable 23.57 lakh households with tap water connections.
Further, State is planning for 100% coverage of 1 district, 5 blocks and 8,157 villages during 2020-21. Focusing on the priorities of making provision of household tap connections in certain areas, Ministry officials stressed on the principle of ‘equity and inclusiveness’, while State plans to provide FHTCs to SCs/ STs, marginalized and weaker sections of the society. State plans to provide 23.57 lakh tap connections by way of retrofitting and augmentation of 3,139 existing piped water supply systems during this year, for which works are to commence in a ‘campaign mode’.
Karnataka State has 2 aspirational districts, so the State has been advised to give priority to these areas while planning. Similarly focus should be on universal coverage of quality-affected habitations, water scarce areas, SC/ ST dominated villages and villages under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.
Central Government has approved fund of Rs 1,189.40 Crore for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Karnataka in 2020-21, which is a considerable increase from Rs. 546.06 Crore in 2019-20. State was asked for expeditious implementation of the programme in terms of physical outputs i.e. no of tap connections provided and commensurate financial progress, so that the State can avail additional funds based on the performance. With opening balance of Rs. 55.67 Crore available with the State and along with this year’s allocation of Rs. 1,189.40 Crore, and considering the State matching share, a total of Rs. 2,709.25 Crore will be available under Jal Jeevan Mission to provide tap connections to families in rural areas in Karnataka.
Also, the State would receive Rs 3,217 Crore as 15th Finance Commission Grants to PRIs, 50% of which will mandatorily be spent on water and sanitation. There is need for convergence planning to be done by the State under various programmes like MGNREGS, SBM (G), 15th Finance Commission Grants to PRIs, District Mineral Development Fund, CAMPA, CSR Fund, Local Area Development Fund, etc. at village level and Village Action Plan (VAP) of every village is to be prepared by dovetailing all such funds for carrying out water conservation activities leading to strengthening water source and ensure drinking water security.
State plans to involve local village community/ Gram Panchayats or user groups in planning, implementation, management, operation and maintenance of water supply systems in villages to ensure long-term sustainability. In all villages, IEC campaign along with community mobilization is taken up to make JJM truly a people’s movement. State plans to engage women self-help groups and voluntary organisations to mobilize the rural community for creation of in-village water supply infrastructure as well as for their operation and maintenance.
Under JJM, provision has been made to test every source once for chemical parameters and twice for bacteriological contamination (pre and post monsoon) in a year as a part of water quality monitoring. State has been asked for mandatory testing of all water sources accordingly. It has also been advised for opening water quality laboratory facilities to general public. In each village, five women are being trained to test the quality of water supplied at village level. A lot of emphasis is given on accreditation of existing State and district level laboratories. Karnataka plans for standardization of 30 water testing labs in 2020-21.
The Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has written a letter to Chief Minister of Nagaland expressing his concerns over the tardy progress of Jal Jeevan Mission in the State. Last year, the Mission was launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, which aims to improve the lives of rural people by providing safe drinking water to every rural household through household tap connections (FHTCs) by 2024. The decentralized, demand-driven, community-managed water supply schemes at village/ habitation level is perceived as a transformational programme in drinking water sector.
In his letter, Shri Shekhawat mentioned about the commitment of Union Government towards development of North East India. For Jal Jeevan Mission, funds are provided by Government of India based on the output in terms of household tap connections provided and the utilization of available funds. Against the target of providing tap connections to 75,000 households in the year 2019-20, only 2,000 tap connections were covered.
Further, Nagaland was allocated Rs 56.49 Crore in 2019-20, out of which the State could only spend Rs 23.54 Crore. Informing the CM that the allocation for Nagaland has been increased from Rs. 56.49 Crore to Rs. 114.09 Crore in 2020-21 and with an opening balance of Rs. 32.95 Crore, Nagaland has an assured availability of Rs. 147.04 Crore of Central funds for JJM. With matching State share, the State will have Rs 163 Crore during 2020-21 for implementation of JJM. The Jal Shakti Minister stressed that providing potable water to every rural household is a national priority and the State should make efforts to accomplish the goal in time-bound manner.
While stressing on the need for proper planning to be done to achieve the goal of JJM within the timeframe with focus on retrofitting/ augmentation of existing water supply systems to provide FHTCs to remaining households, the Minister urged the CM to pay heed to take up works immediately in 1,334 villages in the State reported to have existing piped water supply schemes, so that the poor and marginalized section of the society will get tap connections at earliest. Priority is to be given to saturation of villages in aspirational districts, SC/ ST dominant villages/ habitations and villages covered under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.
Shri Shekhawat asked for strengthening of existing drinking water sources for long-term sustainability of drinking water supply systems. The planning should be done at village level and Village Action Plan (VAP) of every village is to be prepared by dovetailing all available resources by convergence of different programmes viz. MGNREGS, SBM, 15th Finance Commission Grants to PRIs, CAMPA funds, Local Area Development Funds, etc.
He further stressed that local village community/ Gram Panchayats and or user groups need to be involved in planning, implementation, management, operation and maintenance of water supply systems in villages to ensure long-term sustainability to achieve drinking water security. In all villages, IEC campaign along with community mobilization needs to be taken up to make Jal Jeevan Mission truly a people’s movement.
In 2020-21, Nagaland has been allocated ₹ 125 Crore as 15th Finance Commission Grants to PRIs and 50% of this amount is mandatorily to be utilized for water supply & sanitation. Funds provided under Swachh Bharat Mission (G) are to be utilized for grey water treatment and reuse works.
In the wake of Covid–19 pandemic, it is important that people don’t crowd public stand-posts/public water sources. Nagaland CM has been requested to take up water supply works in all villages to provide household tap connections, which will help in practicing social distancing, and will additionally help locals/ migrants in getting employment and boost rural economy.
Indian Navy had launched Operation Samudra Setu to repatriate Indian citizens commencing 08 May 2020. Indian Naval ships Jalashwa and Magar have already evacuated 2874 personnel from Maldives and Sri Lanka to ports of Kochi and Tuticorin.
Many countries have started gradually lifting restrictions even as the number of cases of the infection continues to rise.
One of the ways of effective social distancing strategies to keep the Covid-19 curve flat suggested by experts include the idea of social bubbles.
What are social bubbles? The idea is based on New Zealand’s model of household “bubbles”, an exclusive social group that is allowed to meet with each other amid the pandemic.
A bubble is referred to as an individual’s household or the people that one lives with. People may be allowed to extend their bubbles slightly to include caregivers or children who might be in shared care.
These people don’t need to live in the same household but must be local. New Zealand followed this approach during the lockdown and allowed the expansion of the bubbles as transmission slowed and restrictions eased.
Benefits of these bubbles: In case a member of the bubble develops symptoms, the entire bubble quarantines itself, preventing further spread of the infection.
Bubbles allow those who are isolated to come into more social contact and to reduce the most harmful effects of the current social restrictions, while continuing to limit the risk of chains of transmission.
Have they been effective? Studies have shown that the concept of social bubbles proved effective for New Zealand since it allowed people who were isolated, vulnerable or struggling to receive the care and support they needed.
Such a policy can be an effective policy for other countries to encourage compliance with social distancing regulations while meeting care and support needs.
Relevance of social bubbles at workplaces: Social bubbles can also be applied by employers to create departmental or work unit bubbles of employees. For instance, for hospitals and essential workers, the risk of transmission can be minimised by introducing shifts with a similar composition of employees. This could mean clubbing together employees based on their residential proximity.
What is Persian Gulf region and why is it so significant? The lands around the Persian Gulf are shared by eight countries- Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
These countries are major producers of crude oil and natural gas, and thereby contribute critically to the global economy and to their own prosperity.
The area has approximately two-thirds of the world’s estimated proven oil reserves and one-third of the world’s estimated proven natural gas reserves. This factor has added to their geopolitical significance. A considerable amount of sea trade passes through the gulf, leading to heavy traffic in the region.
Given its significance, the framework for stability and security in the region should have the following: conditions of peace and stability in individual littoral states; freedom to all states of the Gulf littoral to exploit their hydrocarbon and other natural resources and export them; freedom of commercial shipping in international waters of the Persian Gulf; freedom of access to, and outlet from, Gulf waters through the Strait of Hormuz;
prevention of conflict that may impinge on the freedom of trade and shipping prevention of emergence of conditions that may impinge on any of these considerations.
Why this is important for India too? The Gulf is an integral part of India’s ‘extended neighbourhood’, both by way of geographical proximity and as an area of expanded interests and growing Indian influence.
India is dependent on the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states for 42 per cent of its overall oil imports; three of the top five oil suppliers to India are Gulf states.
Indians make up the Gulf states’ largest expatriate community, with an estimated 7.6 million Indian nationals living and working in the region; especially in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The GCC is India’s largest regional-bloc trading partner, which accounted for $104 billion of trade in 2017–18, nearly a 7 per cent increase from $97 billion the previous year. This is higher than both India–ASEAN trade ($81 billion) and India–EU trade ($102 billion) in 2017-18.
The paper explains: China’s prevention, control and treatment efforts in the battle against the virus, as well as the efforts made at a global level in international cooperation.
Highlights: From early outbreak to an all-out nationwide effort to save as many lives as possible, the Chinese Government has taken the most comprehensive, the strictest and the most thorough prevention and control measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak.
China has made full use of the weapon to win the battle against COVID-19. It has vowed to continue advocating globalization and multilateralism amid the coronavirus pandemic and in its aftermath. It has released information on COVID-19 in an open and transparent manner as required by law.
What’s the issue? US president Donald Trump and leaders of several countries have accused China of not being transparent in reporting the deadly disease, leading to huge human casualties and economic crisis across the world.
Recently, the World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making body of Geneva-based World Health Organisation (WHO), passed a unanimous resolution to probe the origin of the virus. China also backed the resolution.
Impact: The coronavirus has infected over 68,00,000 people and killed nearly 4,00,000 across the world.
The US is the worst affected country with over 1.9 million cases and more than 1,09,000 deaths, while the total number of cases in China stand at 84,177.
The global economy, which was in a sluggish recovery even before the coronavirus outbreak, is now bound to suffer a “severe recession” in 2020.
The ordinance suspends sections 7, 9 and 10 on grounds that: the pandemic has created uncertainty and stress for business for reasons beyond their control
the nationwide lockdown has added to disruption of normal business operations in such circumstances it would be difficult to find adequate number of resolution applicants for a distressed/defaulting business
The suspension will also curb operational creditors, such as vendors and suppliers, from filing insolvency proceedings against corporate debtors. It will also block corporate debtors from self-filing in order to restructure debt.
Background: Section 7, 9 and 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 allow for insolvency filings by financial creditors, operational creditors and the corporate debtor itself.
Implications: While the ordinance is intended to provide respite to the corporate debtor, taking away recourse under IBC will only mean ballooning of the liabilities without resolution. Certain provisions in the amendment can spring unwarranted consequences and open up the possibility of gross misuse of the leeway by wilful defaulters and fraudulent promoters. Suspending Section 10 of the Code will also hurt businesses stuck in the vicious cycle of debt and wanting to exit.
What is insolvency and bankruptcy? Insolvency is a situation where individuals or companies are unable to repay their outstanding debt.
Bankruptcy, on the other hand, is a situation whereby a court of competent jurisdiction has declared a person or other entity insolvent, having passed appropriate orders to resolve it and protect the rights of the creditors. It is a legal declaration of one’s inability to pay off debts.
About the IBC: The IBC was enacted in 2016, replacing a host of laws, with the aim to streamline and speed up the resolution process of failed businesses. The Code also consolidates provisions of the current legislative framework to form a common forum for debtors and creditors of all classes to resolve insolvency.
The code stipulates that the resolution process of a stressed company will have to be completed in a maximum of 270 days. When does the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) apply? In March this year, the government raised the threshold for invoking insolvency under the IBC to Rs 1 crore from Rs 1 lakh with a view to prevent triggering of such proceedings against small and medium enterprises that are facing currently the heat of coronavirus pandemic.
The Code creates various institutions to facilitate resolution of insolvency. These are as follows: Insolvency Professionals: A specialised cadre of licensed professionals is proposed to be created. These professionals will administer the resolution process, manage the assets of the debtor, and provide information for creditors to assist them in decision making.
Insolvency Professional Agencies: The insolvency professionals will be registered with insolvency professional agencies. The agencies conduct examinations to certify the insolvency professionals and enforce a code of conduct for their performance.
Information Utilities: Creditors will report financial information of the debt owed to them by the debtor. Such information will include records of debt, liabilities and defaults.
Adjudicating authorities: The proceedings of the resolution process will be adjudicated by the National Companies Law Tribunal (NCLT), for companies; and the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT), for individuals. The duties of the authorities will include approval to initiate the resolution process, appoint the insolvency professional, and approve the final decision of creditors.
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board: The Board will regulate insolvency professionals, insolvency professional agencies and information utilities set up under the Code. The Board will consist of representatives of Reserve Bank of India, and the Ministries of Finance, Corporate Affairs and Law.
About the index: The index ranks 180 countries on 32 performance indicators across 11 categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality.
The index is a method of quantifying and numerically marking the environmental performance of a state’s policies. This index was developed from the Pilot Environmental Performance Index, first published in 2002, and designed to supplement the environmental targets set forth in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
The EPI was preceded by the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), published between 1999 and 2005. Both indices were developed by Yale University (Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy) and Columbia University (Center for International Earth Science Information Network) in collaboration with the World Economic Forum and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.
Performance of India and neighbours: India secured 168th rank. The country scored 27.6 out of 100 in the 2020 index. India’s rank was 177 (with a score of 27.6 out of 100) in 2018. India scored below the regional average score on all five key parameters on environmental health, including air quality, sanitation and drinking water, heavy metals and waste management.
It has also scored below the regional average on parameters related to biodiversity and ecosystem services too. Among South Asian countries, India was at second position (rank 106) after Pakistan on ‘climate change’.
The 11 countries lagging behind India were — Burundi, Haiti, Chad, Soloman Islands, Madagascar, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoir, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Liberia. All South Asian countries, except Afghanistan, were ahead of India in the ranking.
Suggestions for India: India needs to re-double national sustainability efforts on all fronts. The country needs to focus on a wide spectrum of sustainability issues, with a high-priority to critical issues such as air and water quality, biodiversity and climate change.
Global performance: Denmark came in first place, followed by Luxembourg and Switzerland. The United Kingdom ranked fourth. The US is far behind other industrialized nations on environmental performance and now ranks 24th in the world.
What is the mass extinction of species? Mass extinction refers to a substantial increase in the degree of extinction or when the Earth loses more than three-quarters of its species in a geologically short period of time.
So far, during the entire history of the Earth, there have been five mass extinctions.
Reasons and impacts: The five mass extinctions that took place in the last 450 million years have led to the destruction of 70-95 per cent of the species of plants, animals and microorganisms that existed earlier.
These extinctions were caused by “catastrophic alterations” to the environment, such as massive volcanic eruptions, depletion of oceanic oxygen or collision with an asteroid. After each of these extinctions, it took millions of years to regain species comparable to those that existed before the event.
What is the sixth mass extinction? The sixth, which is ongoing, is referred to as the Anthropocene extinction. Researchers have described it as the “most serious environmental problem” since the loss of species will be permanent.
Why it is attributable to humans? One of the reasons that humanity is an “unprecedented threat” to many living organisms is because of their growing numbers. The loss of species has been occurring since human ancestors developed agriculture over 11,000 years ago. Since then, the human population has increased from about 1 million to 7.7 billion.
Changes occurred and occurring: More than 400 vertebrate species went extinct in the last century, extinctions that would have taken over 10,000 years in the normal course of evolution. In a sample of 177 species of large mammals, most lost more than 80 per cent of their geographic range in the last 100 years, and 32 per cent of over 27,000 vertebrate species have declining populations.
Many of the species currently endangered or on the brink of extinction are being decimated by legal and illegal wildlife trade. Several species of mammals that were relatively safe one or two decades ago are now endangered, including cheetahs, lions and giraffes. There are as few as 20,000 lions left in the wild, less than 7,000 cheetahs, 500 to 1,000 giant pandas, and about 250 Sumatran rhinoceros.
Vulnerable regions: Tropical regions have seen the highest number of declining species. In South and Southeast Asia, large-bodied species of mammals have lost more than four-fifths of their historical ranges. While fewer species are disappearing in temperate zones, the percentage is just as high or higher. As many as half of the number of animals that once shared our planet are no longer here, a loss described as “a massive erosion of the greatest biological diversity in the history of Earth”.
What happens when species go extinct? Impact can be tangible such as in the form of a loss in crop pollination and water purification. If a species has a specific function in an ecosystem, the loss can lead to consequences for other species by impacting the food chain.
Effects of extinction will worsen in the coming decades as the resulting genetic and cultural variability will change entire ecosystems. When the number of individuals in a population or species drops too low, its contributions to ecosystem functions and services become unimportant, its genetic variability and resilience is reduced, and its contribution to human welfare may be lost.
What happened? Since the morning of May 27, natural gas has been continuously flowing out of a gas well in Assam following a blowout — or a sudden, uncontrolled release of gas/oil.
This happened after the blowout at the Oil India Limited’s (OIL) Baghjan gas well in Assam’s Tinsukia district. People from surrounding villages have been evacuated, while a variety of fish and an endangered Gangetic dolphin have died.
Leakage: The current discharge is at 90,000 SCMD at a pressure of 4,200 PSI, far higher than the normal producing pressure of around 2,700 PSI.
Why do blowouts happen? The pressure balance in a well may be disturbed leading to ‘kicks’ or changes in pressure. If these are not controlled in time, the ‘kicks’ can turn into a sudden blowout.
There are many possible reasons behind blowouts, “from simple lack of attention, poor workmanship, bad maintenance, old age, sabotage to morpho-tectonic factors”.
Why is it so difficult to control? The control of a blowout depends on two things: the size of the reservoir and the pressure at which the gas/oil is flowing out. This reservoir was particularly difficult to control since it was a gas well and ran the risk of catching fire at any point.
What is being done? While many blowouts automatically collapse on their own, it can take up to months. To control a blowout, the first step is to pump in water, so that the gas does not catch fire.
How serious is the impact to the neighbourhood? As many as 1,610 families with 2,500-3,000 people have been evacuated to relief camps. There are reports of deaths of a river dolphin, and a variety of fish. While the administration has kept an ambulance with paramedical staff on standby, locals have complained of symptoms such as burning of eyes, headache etc.
Also close is the Maguri-Motapung wetland —an Important Bird Area notified by the Bombay Natural History Society. Impact on the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park:
It is at an aerial distance of 900 metres from the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park. The national park houses some of the rare and endangered species of flora and fauna – around 36 species of mammals and nearly 400 species of birds.
About Natural Gas: Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuels among the available fossil fuels. It is used as a feedstock in the manufacture of fertilizers, plastics and other commercially important organic chemicals as well as used as a fuel for electricity generation, heating purpose in industrial and commercial units.
Natural gas is also used for cooking in domestic households and a transportation fuel for vehicles.
It also said, not testing in large numbers is almost like inviting the Trojan horse.
What it means? Used as a metaphor, the term “Trojan horse” refers to any person or thing that deceives or misleads a target in order to attack it from the inside.
It is derived from the ancient Greek story of the Trojan War — an epic that has for centuries influenced western poetry, art and literature.
About Trojan War: Fought after the ancient Greek state of Sparta invaded Troy, a kingdom located on the western shores of modern-day Turkey, after the Spartan queen Helen eloped with the Trojan prince Paris. According to some versions, Helen was abducted by the Trojans.
Distraught, Helen’s husband, the Spartan king Menelaus marched with his brother Agamemnon, the King of Mycenae (another Greek state), to rescue Helen. The Greek side was supported by other powerful allies, and included the fabled warriors Achilles, Odysseus, Nestor, and Ajax. The Greeks crossed the Aegean Sea and laid siege to Troy demanding Helen’s return.
A bloody battle raged for more than 10 years, after which the Greeks made a show of retreating from their positions, while leaving a large wooden horse inside which some of their soldiers hid at the gates of Troy.
The unsuspecting Trojan people decided to haul the wooden horse that they ostensibly took to be a gift, into their city. At nighttime, the Greek soldiers led by Odysseus emerged from the horse and opened the city gates from inside, through which a larger force entered, leaving Troy to ruin.
As per Homerian classic Odyssey, Helen returned to Sparta with Menelaus. What HC’s reference to Trojan horse means? The High Court was comparing asymptomatic coronavirus carriers to the Trojan horse.
Similar to the story of Troy, we could be interacting with asymptomatic carriers, talking to them, inviting them over, while suspecting nothing, and before we know it, the virus would have transmitted to us.
Since a person has no symptoms, it is not possible to know if they are coronavirus carriers unless they are tested.
Facts for Prelims: In 1998, UNESCO designated the Trojan remains at Hisarlik in Turkey as a World Heritage Site.
It runs between Mumbai and Pune. Its birthday was celebrated on June 1st. It began operations on 1st June 1930.
This train holds many a record, including that of being India’s first superfast train, first long-distance electric-hauled train, first vestibuled train, the first train to have a ‘women-only’ car, and the first train to feature a dining car.
It was started by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR), the forerunner of the Central Railway. This was the first deluxe train introduced to serve the two important cities of the region, and was named after Pune – also known as the “Queen of Deccan’’ (“Dakkhan ki Rani’’ in Hindi).
Celebrated on June 8, 2020. Theme: “Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean.”
The concept was originally proposed in 1992 by Canada’s International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) and the Ocean Institute of Canada (OIC) at the Earth Summit – UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
World Oceans Day was officially recognised by the United Nations in 2008.
Constituted by Women and Child Development Ministry.
To examine issues related to age of motherhood, lowering Maternal Mortality Rate and improvement of nutritional levels.
Headed by Jaya Jaitly and it will submit its report by 31st July of next month.
The mandate of the task force involves examining the correlation of age of marriage and motherhood with health, medical well-being and nutritional status of mother and neonate/infant/child, during pregnancy, birth and thereafter.
Second World Food Safety Day (WFSD) was celebrated on 7 June 2020. Theme: “Food safety, everyone’s business”.
WFSD was first celebrated in 2019, to strengthen commitment to scale up food safety made by the Addis Ababa Conference and the Geneva Forum in 2019 under the umbrella of “The Future of Food Safety”.
Through the World Food Safety Day, WHO in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) pursues its efforts to mainstream food safety in the public agenda and reduce the burden of foodborne diseases globally.
Engineer from Thane has made a first-of-its kind ‘Internet-controlled’ robot specifically to address the needs of hospitals treating COVID-19 patients.
The gizmo, aptly called ‘Coro-bot’ independently dispenses food, water, beverages, medicines – and even some good advice – to Corona patients without the needs for nurses, ward staff or other care-givers.
It eliminates the need of physical presence or contact of nurses or ward boys with the patient.
Designed and created by Pratik Tirodkar, founder of a start-up PNT Solutions, Dombivali.
Chhattisgarh government has launched the Spandan Campaign to contain incidents of suicide and fratricide involving police personnel.
Under the campaign, the superintendents of police associated with the Chhattisgarh Government will start a parade in their districts every Friday. After the event, the grievances of the personnel are to be addressed. Also, the campaign has made medical treatment and counselling of depressed officers mandatory.
The campaign will also make arrangements for yoga classes for the police personnel at all the district head quarters. Cooperation of local yoga teachers have been sought to conduct these classes.
Also, the police officers have been instructed to the redress grievances of police personnel in regular intervals. The superintendents have been instructed to visit police stations regularly and make arrangements for recreational activities.
They are certain materials in which application and removal of a magnetic field causes the materials to become warmer or cooler.
Why in News? Scientists at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), an autonomous R&D Centre of Department of Science and Technology (DST) has developed a rare-earth-based magnetocaloric material that can be effectively used for cancer treatment.