Gist of The Hindu: FEBRUARY 2023

Gist of The Hindu: FEBRUARY 2023

50 centrally protected monuments ‘missing’

  • As many as 50 of India’s 3,693 centrally protected monuments are missing, according to a submission made in Parliament by the Ministry of Culture.

About:

  • Finding is part of a submission made byMinistry of Culture (MoC) to a Parliamentary
    Standing Committee for a report titled ‘Issues Relating to Untraceable Monuments and
    Protection of Monuments in India’.
  • As per Archaeological Survey of India (ASI),these monuments have become untraceable
    due to rapid urbanisation, submergence by reservoirs/dams, difficulties in tracing
    in remote locations, non-availability of their proper location etc.
  • ASI, an attached office of MoC, is in charge of protection and maintenance of CPMs which have been declared so under provisions ofAncient Monuments and Archaeological Sites And Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958.

Recommendations by Standing Committee:

  • Physical survey of all CPMs must mandatorily be carried out by ASI from time
    to time.
  • Thorough assessment of security requirements and budgetary allocation required for the same.
  • Involving Local Panchayats and police in safeguarding monuments.
  • Use satellite imagery to try and trace monuments which are untraceable at present.

2nd Annual General Meeting of Nehru Memorial Museum & Library Society

  • The Prime Minister has chaired the Annual General Meeting of Nehru Memorial Museum & Library Society (NMML) Society where he emphasised on encouraging research, scholarship among the youth and making history more appealing. The Prime Minister also discussed ways to make the PM-Sangrahalaya more popular among youngsters.

About Nehru Memorial Museum & Library Society (NMML):

  • The Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
  • It was established in 1964 in the memory of First Prime Minister (PM) of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 - 1964).
  • It is located in the Teen Murti House, Delhi (the official residence of the first PM).
  • Administration:Prime Minister of India is the President of the NMML.
  • It is responsible for all the key decisions regarding the functioning of the memorial.
  • Units:It has four major constituents namely –
  1. Memorial Museum,
  2. Library on modern India,
  3. Centre for Contemporary Studies and
  4. Nehru Planetarium.

Wassenaar Arrangement

  • India will assume the chairmanship of the plenary of the Wassenaar Arrangement from 1st January for one year. 

About:

  • The 42-member Wassenaar Arrangement is a is a voluntary Multilateral Export ControlRegime(MECR)that monitors transfers of conventional weapons and dual-use goods. 
  • India joined the Wassenaar Arrangement in December 2017 as its 42nd participating state.
  • MECR are voluntary and non-binding agreements. It prevents proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) which includes nuclear, radiological,chemical, biological or other weapon.

Other MECR includes:

  • NuclearSupplierGroup (NSG),1975: Prevents nuclear proliferation by implementing guidelines for nuclear and nuclear-related exports. India is not a member. 
  • AustraliaGroup, 1985: Ensures that exports do not contribute to development of chemical or biological weapons.India is a member.
  • MissileTechnologyControlRegime(MTCR), 1987: Prevent proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology capable of delivering WMD.India is a member.
  • Zangger Committee,1971: Formed following coming into force of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty(NPT). It maintains a Trigger List of nuclear-related strategic goods.India is not a member.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

  • The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has congratulated Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on assuming office as the President of Brazil. 

About:

  • Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and the largest in Latin America.
  • To the north, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana; to the south, Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay; 
  • To the east, the Atlantic Ocean; And to the west, Peru and Bolivia. 
  • The capital of Brazil is Brasilia. 
  • Brazil occupies almost half of the South American territory. 
  • Brazil has borders with all South American countries except Chile and Ecuador. The most important cities in Brazil are São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. 

Land forms of Brazil:

  • Brazil is divided into five primary geographic areas: The Southern Highlands, the Norther Guiana, Brazilian Highlands central and east, the massive Amazon River Basin, Pantanal wetland areas of the southwest. 
  • Guiana Highlands:The Guiana Highlands composed mainly of flat-topped mountains extending in a roughly east-to-west direction across the north of the country. 
  • Guiana has approximately a territorial extension of 214,970 square kilometers. They are home to Brazil ‘s highest point. The Guiana Highlands feature plunging waterfalls and deep waterfalls.

Blockchain to be used to push farm exports

  • India’s natural farming could soon get a technological push through blockchain, as the government plans to use the technology across all export-driven crops to increase the country’s food shipments and incentivise farmers to take up chemical-free processes.
  • The Niti Aayog has launched a pilot project in collaboration with the Himachal Pradesh government on apple farming, to ensure quality production while also monitoring the produce across the entire storage and supply chain.

About:

  • India ranks second in fruits and vegetable production in the world,after China, but its share in global fruits and vegetable market is just1%.
  • Lack of quality produce and traceability has hampered India’s foodexports apart from disincentivising growers.
  • Blockchain will help bridge this gap by removing redundant processes,ensuring quality control and monitoring produce across entire storageand supply chain.
  • IoT sensors will be used to generate crop data and its storage,distribution of grown crops to food processing companies, supply ofprocessed food to wholesalers and retailers and its storage.
  • Other opportunities of using blockchain technology in agricultureSelf-executing smart contracts: Especially in agricultural insurance,green bonds, and traceability, together with automated payments.

Lumpi-ProVacInd

  • Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed Lumpi-ProVacInd vaccine forLumpy Skin Disease (LSD).

About:

  • Vaccine has been jointly developed by ICAR’s National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE) at Hisar,Haryana and Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) at Izatnagar, UP.
  • It is a homologous, live attenuated vaccine to protect cattle against LSD virus.
  • LSD is a viral disease, caused by Capripoxvirus, that affects cattle. It does not affect humans.
  • It is genetically related to goatpox and sheeppox virus family.
  • It is transmitted by blood-feeding insects, such as certain species of flies and mosquitoes, orticks.

Not One Rhino Poached in Assam in 2022

  • Assam Chief Minister has informed that not a single one-horned rhino in Assam was poached in 2022. 
  • Assam recorded zero poaching of Rhinocerosfor the first time in nearly 45 years in 2022.

About Rhinoceros

  • There are 5 species of rhinos in the world:
  • White rhino, Black rhino, Sumatran rhino,Greater one horned rhino and Javan rhino.
    Sumatran, Javan and Black rhinos are listed as critically endangered.
  • White rhino is near threatened; andGreater one-horned rhino (Indian rhino)is vulnerable.
  • Javan and Indian rhinos have only one horn,whereas all other rhino species have two horns.
  • Rhino horn is made up of keratin – protein which forms the basis of our hair and nails.
    Habitat: Tropical and subtropical grasslands,savannas and shrublands, tropical moist
    forests, deserts and shrublands.
  • Threats: Horn poaching for medicinal value,habitat loss.

 

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Courtesy: The Hindu

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