Launch of Fourth Scorpene Class Submarine - VELA                                             

India and U.S. Hold Bilateral Trade Meeting                                                              

NGT seeks report on ‘illegal’ road in tiger reserve                                                   

Nests of grizzled giant squirrel spotted in Tamil Nadu                                            

Scientists carry out genetic study on people of Lakshadweep Islands                 

RBI raises cap on home loans by SFBs, RRBs                                                         

1 million species at risk of extinction: UN                                                               

Launch of Fourth Scorpene Class Submarine - VELA

GS PAPER - 03 SECURITY - Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate

Context :

• The Scorpene-class submarine Vela, the fourth of six underwater warships being built in India with French collaboration, was launched in Mumbai.

INS Vela :

• The submarine has been named 'Vela' after an earlier submarine, which was the lead submarine, of the erstwhile Vela class, the second batch of the Foxtrot class submarines acquired from USSR.

• Aim: To boost  Indian capability to defend and secure the strategic sea lanes.

• Vela is the fourth of the six Scorpene submarine that has completed the out fittings at MDL.

• Jointly developed by the French Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN) and the Spanish company Navantia, and now by Naval Group.

• These submarines can undertake multifarious tasks typically undertaken by any modern submarine which include anti-surface as well as anti-submarine warfare.

Background :

• A contract between French DCNS, and Mazgaon Dock Limited under Indian Navy's Project-75 was signed in 2005 for the supply of six submarines.

• The remaining two submarines in the country's Scorpene Submarine programme are Vagir and Vagsheer, both of which are currently in the advanced stages of manufacturing at MDL.

• The first Scorpene class submarine INS Kalvari was commissioned into the Indian Navy, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 14 December 2017.

• The second Scorpene class submarine Khanderi was launched in January 2017 while the third INS Karanj was launched on 31 January 2018.

• INS Khanderi and INS Karanj are in the advanced stages to join the Navy fleet.

• The contract for the construction and Transfer-of-Technology for six Scorpene submarines in series, has M/s Naval Group (formerly DCNS) of France as 'Collaborator' and are being built by MDL.

                                                                                                                                                              Source :- PIB  

India and U.S. Hold Bilateral Trade Meeting

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests

Context :

• India and the United States held the India-U.S. Bilateral Trade meeting in New Delhi.

India - U.S. Meeting :

• Both sides appreciated the strong, robust and growing bilateral ties between India and the U.S. across the entire spectrum of trade and commerce.

• During the year 2018, with bilateral trade in Goods and Services registered a growth of 12.6% from $ 126 billion in 2017 to $142 billion in 2018.

• Both co-chairs also complimented the new bilateral private sector led Small Business Interaction initiative, the US – India SME Forum

• This is the first event of its kind and would pave the way for collaboration and partnership between the U.S. and Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the areas of manufacturing and services.

• Both sides also discussed various outstanding trade issues. Both sides agreed to engage regularly at various levels to resolve outstanding trade issues by exploring suitable solutions, which are mutually beneficial.

• Both sides agreed to deepen economic cooperation and bilateral trade by ensuring greater cooperation amongst stakeholders, including Government, businesses and entrepreneurs.

                                                                                                                                                              Source :- PIB

NGT seeks report on ‘illegal’ road in tiger reserve

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context :

• NGT seeks report on road construction for commercial vehicles in Rajaji Tiger Reserve.

• The National Green Tribunal constituted a committee, drawing representatives from various departments including wildlife and PWD, to provide it a factual report on alleged illegal construction of a road for use by commercial vehicles in the ecologically sensitive Rajaji Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand.

Issue:

• A petition has been filed which alleges that a road is being built for the use by commercial vehicles in the tiger reserve without statutory clearances and requisite safeguards.

• According to the petitioner, construction of the road may potentially damage the biological diversity and resources of the reserve.

• The petitioner claimed that the Uttarakhand government on March 1, 2017, without considering the negative impact on the biodiversity-rich stretch, opened the Laldang-Chillarkhal road in the reserve for commercial vehicles.

• Further says that, State of Uttarakhand completely lost its vision with regard to their duty for the protection of ecology, biodiversity of the said area.

                                                                                                                                    Source :- The Hindu

Nests of grizzled giant squirrel spotted in Tamil Nadu

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context :

• For the first time, researchers have sighted nests of the grizzled giant squirrel,at Pakkamalai Reserve Forests near Gingee in the Eastern Ghats.

           Grizzled giant squirrel:

• The grizzled giant squirrel is usually known to nest in the Western Ghats in Southern India ranging from Chinnar Wildlife sanctuary in Kerala to Anamalai Tiger Reserve and Palani hills in Tamil Nadu.

• Earlier in 2014, it had been spotted in the Tiruvannamalai Forest Division in Tamil Nadu, which was the only recorded sighting from this region in the Eastern Ghats.

• The grizzled giant squirrel is endemic to the southern States of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in India and Sri Lanka. Due to habitat loss and poaching, the species has been categorised as near threatened by the IUCN Red List.

• It is listed under schedule II of CITES. Appendix II includes species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival.

                                                                                                                                                               Source :- The Hindu

Scientists carry out genetic study on people of Lakshadweep Islands

GS PAPER - 03 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

Context :

• Genetic studies done on the people of the Lakshadweep Island have revealed that a majority of human ancestry in Lakshadweep is largely derived from South Asia with minor influences from East and West Eurasia.

Key Findings :

• The inhabitants of the Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea share a genetic link with South Asians, especially mainland Indians.

• Through our earlier studies we know that early human migration from Africa to Andaman and Australia happened through western coast of India.

• The Lakshadweep islands might have played a major role in early human migration and expected the presence of genetic signatures of ancient people, such as Andamanese and Australian aboriginals.

• The study has been conducted by a team from CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). Major islands of Agatti, Andorth, Bitra, Chetlat, Kadmat, Kalpeni, Kiltan and Minicoy of Lakshadweep were studied. The results of the study have been published in Scientific Reports.

Why Lakshadweep?

• Lakshadweep is an archipelago of 36 islands, scattered over approximately 78,000 square km of the Arabian Sea. It is located 200-440 kms off the south-western coast of India. It has a population of approximately 65,000.

• The islands were known to sailors since ancient times. Historical documents say that the spread of Buddhism to the islands happened during 3rd century BC, Islam in 661 AD by Arabians, Cholas in 11th century, Portuguese in 16th century, Ali Rajahs in 17th, Tipu Sultan in 18th and finally it was under British Raj in 19th century.

                                                                                                                                                            Source :- The Hindu

RBI raises cap on home loans by SFBs, RRBs

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Context:

• The Reserve Bank of India has decided to increase the housing loan limits for Regional Rural Banks(RRBs) and Small Finance Banks(SFBs). Further,all such loans will be classified by these banks as priority sector loans.

More about the news:

• It is done to bring SFBs and RRBs at a level playing field with other Scheduled Commercial Banks.

• The loan limit under PSL is revised: The family income of ₹3 lakh per annum for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and ₹6 lakh per annum for Low-Income Groups (LIG) is set, in alignment with the income criteria specified under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

                                                                                                                                   Source :- The Hindu

1 million species at risk of extinction: UN

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context :

• The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has released the UN report on species extinction. It is estimated that up to 1 million of the estimated 8 million plant and animal species on Earth are at risk of extinction within decades.

More about the Report :

• The IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services is the most comprehensive ever completed.

• It is the first intergovernmental Report of its kind and builds on the landmark Millennium Ecosystem Assessment of 2005, introducing innovative ways of evaluating evidence.

• Compiled by 145 expert authors from 50 countries over the past three years

•  IPBES Global Assessment, from a wide range of different fields of knowledge, presents an ominous picture

  • The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever. We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.

Key Highlights:

• According to the report, more than 40% of amphibians, 33% of coral reefs and over a third of all marine mammals are at risk of extinction.

• The report further highlights that 75% of land environment and some 66% of the marine environment “have been significantly altered by human actions.

• The picture is less clear for insect species, but available evidence supports a tentative estimate of 10% being threatened.

• At least 680 vertebrate species had been driven to extinction since the 16th century and more than 9% of all domesticated breeds of mammals used for food and agriculture had become extinct by 2016, with at least 1,000 more breeds still threatened.

• Ecosystems, species, wild populations, local varieties and breeds of domesticated plants and animals are shrinking, deteriorating or vanishing. The essential, interconnected web of life on Earth is getting smaller and increasingly frayed.

Other notable Findings :

• More than a third of the world’s land surface and nearly 75% of freshwater resources are now devoted to crop or livestock production.

• The value of agricultural crop production has increased by about 300% since 1970, raw timber harvest has risen by 45% and approximately 60 billion tons of renewable and nonrenewable resources are now extracted globally every year – having nearly doubled since 1980.

• Land degradation has reduced the productivity of 23% of the global land surface, up to US$577 billion in annual global crops are at risk from pollinator loss and 100-300 million people are at increased risk of floods and hurricanes because of loss of coastal habitats and protection.

• Urban areas have more than doubled since 1992.

• Plastic pollution has increased tenfold since 1980

• Negative trends in nature will continue to 2050 and beyond

Causes :

1. 5 Key drivers of change in nature:

•  Changes in land and sea use;

• Direct exploitation of organisms;

• Climate change;

• Pollution and

• Invasive alien species.

2. 5 Key indirect drivers:

• Increased population and per capita consumption;

• Technological innovation, which in some cases has lowered and in other cases increased the damage to nature; and,

• Issues of governance and accountability

• A pattern that emerges is one of global interconnectivity and ‘telecoupling’ – with resource extraction and production often occurring in one part of the world to satisfy the needs of distant consumers in other regions.

Delay in Global goals:

• The Report also finds that global goals for conserving and sustainably using nature and achieving sustainability cannot be met by current trajectories, and goals for 2030 and beyond may only be achieved through transformative changes across economic, social, political and technological factors.

• Current negative trends in biodiversity and ecosystems will undermine progress towards 80% (35 out of 44) of the assessed targets of the Sustainable Development Goals, related to poverty, hunger, health, water, cities, climate, oceans and land (SDGs 1, 2, 3, 6, 11, 13, 14 and 15).

• Loss of biodiversity is therefore shown to be not only an environmental issue, but also a developmental, economic, security, social and moral issue as well.

Conclusion :

• It  is not too late to make a difference, but only if we start now at every level from local to global.

•  Through ‘transformative change’, nature can still be conserved, restored and used sustainably – this is also key to meeting most other global goals. By transformative change, we mean a fundamental, system-wide reorganization across technological, economic and social factors, including paradigms, goals and values.

                                                                                                                           Source :- The Hindu

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