Current Affairs 27th July-1st August 2019
Important Current Affairs
Current Affairs 27th July-1st August 2019
Kargil Vijay Diwas
President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to the martyrs of Kargil War on the 20th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas.
The country salutes the grit and valor who defended India.
Kargil Vijay Diwas
On the 20th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu respects to the brave soldiers of Indian Army who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty to protect the nation.
He made saluted all the heroes of the Kargil war and Operation Vijay who secured a valiant victory on 26th of July, 1999.
On Kargil Vijay Diwas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to the brave soldiers of Indian Army who laid down their lives protecting their motherland.
The Prime Minister also shared on twitter some photographs of his Kargil visit in 1999.
He described his interaction with soldiers as unforgettable.
He had the opportunity to go to Kargil and show solidarity with brave soldiers.
Scaly foot snail, first species to be declared endangered as a result of deep-sea mining
Researchers of Queen’s University Belfast found that the scaly-foot snail is the first species to be declared endangered as a result of deep-sea mining. The study also covers assessments of animals living in deep-sea hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has also added the scaly-foot snail to its global Red List, the international inventory of at-risk species. Also, 14 more species were found in a hydrothermal vent ecosystem that are to be included in the next edition of IUCN’s Red List to be out in 2019.
About Scaly Foot Snail:
Scaly foot snail was first discovered in 2003. It lives at depths of up to 9,500 feet in the sea.
Its's shell consists of three layers:
♦ the outer layer which is fortified with iron sulfides
♦ an organic middle layer
♦ a calcified inner layer
The type of snails has an enormous heart. Only an enormous heart can circulate enough blood to oxygenate the snail and its many microbial passengers.
International Tiger Day: 29 July
Why in news: Global Tiger Day, often called International Tiger Day, is an annual celebration to raise awareness for tiger conservation, held annually on 29 July.
It was created in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit.
The goal of the day is to promote a global system for protecting the natural habitats of tigers and to raise public awareness and support for tiger conservation issues.
4th cycle of all India Tiger Estimation:
On the eve Global Tiger Day, a census report of tigers in India-‘The Tiger Estimation Report 2018’- has been released.
Key findings:
- 2967 tigers are present in India.
The highest number of tigers have found in Madhya Pradesh (526) after that Karnataka has 524 and Uttarakhand is accommodating 442 tigers. - In five years, the number of protected areas increased from 692 to over 860, community reserves from 43 to over 100.
- While the 2014 census pegged the total number of striped big cats in the country at 2,226, the 2010 census put the figure at 1,706 and the 2006 version at 1,411, indicating that tiger numbers have been on the up.
- While Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of tigers, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu registered the “maximum improvement” since 2014.
- Chhattisgarh and Mizoram saw a decline in their tiger numbers while tiger numbers in Odisha remained constant. All other states witnessed a positive trend.
Tiger protection in India- Concerns and challenges:
- India has one of the lowest per capita forest areas in the world. Depletion of forests is responsible for the reduction of tiger habitats.
- Reduced food base: As forestlands fall to development projects, habitable land for animals that make for the tiger’s food base are also reduced.
- Poaching: Another issue that has hindered tiger conservation in India and globally is poaching, which will persist as long as there is an illegal market for tiger body parts.
- Climate change: Rising sea level as a result of climate change is on the verge of wiping out Sundarbans, one of the last remaining habitats of the Bengal tigers.
Conservation efforts:
- The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has launched the M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers – Intensive Protection and Ecological Status), a mobile monitoring system for forest guards.
- At the Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010, leaders of 13 tiger range countries resolved to do more for the tiger and embarked on efforts to double its number in the wild, with a popular slogan ‘T X 2’.
- The Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) program of the World Bank, using its presence and convening ability, brought global partners together to strengthen the tiger agenda.
- Over the years, the initiative has institutionalized itself as a separate entity in the form of the Global Tiger Initiative Council (GTIC), with its two arms –the Global Tiger Forum and the Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Program.
- The Project Tiger, launched way back in 1973, has grown to more than 50 reserves amounting to almost 2.2% of the country’s geographical area.
Pro Ahaetulla antique, 26 million years old species of Vine snake found in the southern Western Ghats
Researchers from Indian Institute of Science(IISc), Bengaluru discovered new vine snake species named Pro Ahaetulla antique (a member of the Ahaetuliinae family) evolved around 26 million years ago in the southern Western Ghats.
The common name suggested for these individuals is ‘keeled vine snake’.
Vine snakes get their names due to their slender bodies and vine-like appearances.
There are 4 species of commonly distributed vine snakes, and another one was discovered in Odisha recently in India
This research report has been published in the journal PLOS ONE in collaboration with researchers from Chennai Snake Park, Chennai, and Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai.
The study was funded by the Department of Biotechnology(DBT), Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), DBT-IISc Partnership Programme and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund.
Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs)
Context: Army’s first Integrated Battle Groups to be structured by the end of next month.
What are IBGs?
- IBGs are brigade-sized, agile, self-sufficient combat formations, which can swiftly launch strikes against an adversary in case of hostilities.
- Each IBG would be tailor-made based on Threat, Terrain and Task and resources will be allotted based on the three Ts.
- They need to be light so they will be low on logistics and they will be able to mobilise within 12-48 hrs based on the location.
- An IBG operating in a desert needs to be constituted differently from an IBG operating in the mountains.
- The IBGs will also be defensive and offensive. While the offensive IBGs would quickly mobilise and make a thrust into enemy territory for strikes, defensive IBGs would hold ground at vulnerable points or where enemy action is expected. The composition of the IBGs would also depend on this.
Securitypedia:
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has launched Securitypedia, an online encyclopedia as a one-stop repository of information on security-related practices across the globe.
It contains extensive information on technical learning, CISF manuals, case studies, technical compendium, etc.
Deep Ocean Mission
Centre has approved the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences' Deep Ocean Mission (DOM). The project plans to explore the deepest recesses of the ocean. It is a five-year project. The cost estimated for the project is Rs.8,000 crore.
DOM will commence from October 31, 2019. A blueprint of the programme was unveiled by the Ministry last July. One of the proposals is an offshore desalination plant that will work with tidal energy. The projects also proposes to develop a submersible vehicle that can go to a depth of at least 6,000 metres with three people on board.
Aim:
The main objective of the mission is to explore the deep ocean. The mission aims to look for metals and minerals. For this project, India has been allotted a site of 75,000 sq. km. in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) by the UN International Sea Bed Authority for the exploitation of polymetallic nodules (PMN). Various estimations say that 380 million metric tonnes of polymetallic nodules are available at the bottom of the seas in the Central Indian Ocean. India’s Exclusive Economic Zone spreads over 2.2 million sq. km. and in the deep sea, lies unexplored and unutilised.
Odisha gets GI tag for its version of Rasgulla after West Bengal
The Geographical indicator (GI) granted to Odisha for the ‘Odisha rasgulla’, more than two years after West Bengal won its own GI tag for the delectable eastern sweet.
The Chennai-based GI Registry issued a formal certification for the ‘Odisha rasgulla’ on its website.
GI Tag
A GI is a distinctive sign/name used on a product generally collectively owned it is differentiate goods on the basis of its unique characteristics and geographical origin.
A GI tag helps in the branding and marketing of a local product and can attract penalties outside that geographical region.
West Bengal received its GI tag for its variety of rasgulla in November 2017.
The GI Registry recognized that the sweet originated in West Bengal.
The GI tag for the same product to both the neighboring states now recognizes two distinct varieties in taste and texture.
India Tiger Estimation Report 2018
PM Narendra Modi released the All India Tiger Estimation Report 2018. The massive tiger census is conducted every four years. India now has 2,967 tigers. The growth in the 4th cycle of the Tiger Census has been 33%. PM Narendra Modi, who released the figures of the tiger estimation and also he says that India has achieved the target of doubling tiger population before the deadline, that is 2022.
India achieved its target:
According to the survey taken in 2006, the recorded figure of the tiger was 1,411. In the St.Petersburg Summit held at Russia in 2010, India vowed to double the growth rate of tigers. In 2014, the population of tigers in India was 2,226. According to the latest Tiger census report, it rose to 2,967, that is 33%, in 2018. India has doubled the tiger population and has achieved its target for 2022.
Also, in 2014, the number of protected areas was 692, the number increased to more than 860 in 2019. The number of community reserves was 43 in 2014 and it has been to more than 100 in 2019. The recent census indicates that tiger numbers have been increasing continuously.