Tree Transplantation Policy:

KANISHKBIOSCIENCE E -LEARNING PLATFORM - Help you think beyond the issue but relevant to the issue from UPSC prelims and Mains exam point of view. These linkages provided in this ‘hint’ format help you frame possible questions in your mind that might arise(or an examiner might imagine) from each current event. InstaLinks also connect every issue to their static or theoretical background. This helps you study a topic holistically and add new dimensions to every current event to help you think analytically.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiDqLyxXg_CtLFZoWTFOWjw  

Conservation related issues.

Context:

Delhi Cabinet has given its nod for ‘Tree Transplantation Policy’. With this, Delhi has become the first State in India to pass this policy.

Highlights of the policy:

1    Agencies concerned will have to transplant 80 per cent of the trees affected by their projects to a new location.
2    More importantly, 10 saplings will be planted in addition to the whole tree being dug up with the root intact and scientifically transplanted at another location instead of being felled.
3    A dedicated panel of government agencies with track record and experience of tree transplantation is being formed under the policy.
4    Payments for transplantation will be made after one year to ensure this, and if less than 80 per cent of the transplanted trees survive, payment will be deducted.
5    The government will also form local committees, which will include citizens, for checking, monitoring and certification of the tree transplantation exercise.
6    A dedicated Tree Transplantation Cell will also be formed by the Delhi government and local committees, which will include government officials, citizens to monitor the transplanted trees and to certify that the task has been done with due diligence.

Sources: the Hindu. 

Facts for Prelims

---

Rudram Anti-Radiation Missile:

Context:

Successfully test-fired recently from a Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft.

Key points:

• The missile has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• It has a strike range of around 100 to 150 km. (Even up to 200 km depending upon the launch conditions)
• It is the first indigenous air-to-ground missile developed by the DRDO, after the supersonic BrahMos, which has been developed jointly with Russia.
• The missile has been designed for suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD).
• The missile can be launched from a varying range of altitudes for destroying enemy surveillance radars, tracking and communication systems.

NRI quota not sacrosanct: Supreme Court:

The Supreme Court has held that:

• Private colleges and institutions that offer professional and technical courses have a complete discretion to do away with their Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota of seats after giving reasonable prior notice.
• The NRI quota is not sacrosanct and candidates under the quota cannot assert their right to be admitted.

Background: The judgment came in an appeal against the change in seat matrix introduced in private medical and dental colleges in Rajasthan for postgraduate courses.

What is risk weightage?

Risk weight refers to the capital banks keep aside as provisioning to cover any loan defaults.

Why in News?

RBI has decided to rationalise risk weightage on housing loans.

• Now, Such loans shall attract a risk weight of 35% where the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is less than or equal to 80%, and a risk weight of 50% where LTV is more than 80% but less than or equal to 90%.

Places in News- Kyrgyzstan:

Why in News?

Street protests erupted in Kyrgyzstan earlier this week following recent parliamentary election. The opposition has alleged that the vote was rigged.

Key points:

• Often referred to as ‘Central Asia’s only democracy.
• Capital- Bishkek.
• It is a landlocked Central Asian country.
• Shares a long border with China.
• China has built road and rail networks with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
• It is a member of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation and hosts a Russian air base. .        

• National butterfly:

  
  

  A citizen poll to identify the national butterfly has concluded with three species garnering the highest number of votes. They are:

  
  1    Krishna Peacock (Papilio krishna).
  2    Indian Jezebel (Delias eucharis).
  3    Orange Oakleaf (Kallima inachus).
  
  All these have unique features such as ability to camouflage as a dead leaf, exhibit iridescence to stave off predators, and aid farmers in getting rid of pests.
  
  Background:The nationwide poll was organised by the National Butterfly Campaign Consortium, a collective of 50 butterfly experts and enthusiasts.      

• What Next?

  The organisers will submit the names of the top three to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. The onus is on the Centre to choose one among them to join the ranks of the Bengal Tiger, Indian Peacock, Indian Lotus, banyan tree, and mango as yet another national symbol.

   

   

                                        

  2+2 talks:

  
  1    It is a format of dialogue where the defense and foreign ministers meet with their counterparts from another country. 2+2 Ministerial is the highest-level institutional mechanism between the two countries.
  2    India holds such talks with Australia, Japan and the US at the ministerial level.
  
  

  Maru Mani:

  
  

      It is a unique and innovative social media campaign.

      “Maru Mani” means Jewels of Desert.
      Launched by Lok Samvad Sansthan, a Jaipur-based media advocacy organisation, in collaboration with Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi.
      The campaign seeks to raise financial support for the famed musicians of desert districts of Rajasthan who are suffering severe hardships due to prolonged Corona crisis and accompanying lockdown (Particularly the Langa-Manganiyar folk artistes of western Rajasthan).
  
  Garba:
  
  Why in News?
  
  Gujarat govt. bans garba during Navaratri.
  
  About Garba:
  
  1    It is a famous folk dance of Gujarat. Garba refers to “Garba deep” which is an earthen pot with holes.
  2    It is a dance performed in a circular form by the village as well as urban women with rhythmic clapping.
  3    It is performed during the occasion of Navaratri, Sharad Purnima, Vasant Panchami, Holi, and other festival occasions.
   

   

   Animal and Plant Discoveries 2019:

  
  

  Both the ZSI and BSI have been releasing ‘Animal Discoveries’ and ‘Plant Discoveries’ since 2007.

  
      Animal Discoveries 2019 lists 368 faunal species as new to science and 116 species as being spotted for the first time in India.
      Plant Discoveries 2019 lists 180 new plant species and 73 species spotted for the first time in the country.
  
  Important species in the latest editions:
  
  1    Rock-dwelling gecko, Cnemaspis anandani- endemic to the Western Ghats.
  2    Sphaerotheca magadha, a burrowing frog discovered in the farm fields of Jharkhand.
  3    Enoplotrupes tawangensis, a dung beetle from Tawang.
  4    A wild ginger variety, Amomum nagamiense, discovered from the forest behind Kohina Zoo in Nagaland.
   5   A wild fern, Pteris subiriana, found not just in Kerala but also Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
  

  { With input from news agency language)

  If you like this story, share it with a friend!

  We are a non-profit organization. Help us financially to keep our journalism free from government and corporate pressure.