LiDAR Based Survey of Forest Areas Context: Recently, the Union Environment Minister in a virtual event released the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) based survey of forest areas in ten states. The 10 mapped states are Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,...
Agristack: The New Digital Push in Agriculture Context: Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft to run a pilot programme for 100 villages in 6 states. The MoU requires Microsoft to create a ‘Unified Farmer Service Interface’ through its cloud computing services. This comprises a major part of the ministry’s plan of creating ‘AgriStack’ (a collection...
Pygmy Hog Context: Recently, eight captive-bred pygmy hogs, the world’s rarest and smallest wild pigs, were released in the Manas national Park of Assam. This is the second batch to have been reintroduced into the wild under the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme (PHCP) in a year. About: Pygmy Hog: Scientific Name: Porcula Salvania ...
Antarctic Treaty Context: Recently, the 60th anniversary of the Antarctic treaty was celebrated. The Antarctic treaty remains the only example of a single treaty that governs a whole continent. It is also the foundation of a rules-based international order for a continent without a permanent population. About: The Antarctic Treaty was signed between 12 countries...
Special Purpose Vehicle for Mission Karmayogi Context: Recently, a three-member task force has been formed to help the government in bringing major bureaucratic reforms through its ambitious “Mission Karmayogi”. About: Special Purpose Vehicle for Mission Karmayogi The Centre has recently approved the 'National Programme for civil Services Capacity Building- Mission Karmayogi' to...
Electoral Trust Scheme, 2013 Context: For the first time, an electoral trust (under Electoral Trust Scheme, 2013) has declared donation through electoral bonds and hasn’t revealed the names of the political parties that received the money, citing anonymity guaranteed under the electoral bond scheme. According to...
Direct Tax Collections Context: India’s direct tax collections in the first two and a half months (April - June) of 2021-22 stand at nearly Rs. 1.86 lakh crore, which is double the collections over the same period of last year that was affected by the national lockdown. The collections last year over the...
Recusal of Judges Context: Recently, two Supreme court judges have recused themselves from hearing cases relating to West Bengal. About: Recusal: It is the act of abstaining from participation in an official action such as a legal proceeding due to a conflict of interest of the presiding court official or administrative officer. Reason...
Great Barrier Reef Context: Recently, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee has recommended that the Australia’s Great Barrier Reef should be added to a list of “in danger” World heritage sites. Placement on the ‘‘in-danger list’’ is not considered a sanction. Some nations have their sites added to gain international attention and help to save them. About: Reason behind this...
Black Softshell Turtle Context: Recently, the Assam forest department has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and adopted a Vision Document to raise at least 1,000 black softshell turtles by 2030. About: Black Softshell Turtle: (Scientific Name: Nilssonia nigricans) Features: They look almost the same as the Indian peacock softshell turtle (Nilssonia...
