Recommendations of Jalan Committee accepted
The RBI board accepted the recommendations of the Bimal Jalan committee and has decided to transfer Rs 1,76,051 crore to the government. This is broken as Rs 1,23,414 crore as surplus for year 2018-19 and another Rs 52,637 crore of excess provisions identified by the committee as per the revised Economic Capital Framework (ECF).
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21325-recommendations-of-jalan-committee-accepted
#ECF #RBI #ADF #CGRA #BimalJalan #budget #Recommendations

Humanoid robot docks with ISS
A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying a humanoid robot docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on 27 August 2019. The FEDOR (Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research) robot is on a planned mission to support the crew and test its skills. It will stay on the station until Sept. 7.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21324-humanoid-robot-docks-with-iss
#Humanoid #robot #ISS #spacecraft #FEDOR #Robonaut2 #NASA

Multiple craters on Moon
Isro released the lunar surface images captured by the Terrain Mapping Camera 2 (TMC-2) on August 23 from an altitude of 4,375km. One set of images show impact craters such as Jackson, Mitra, Mach and Korolev.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21323-multiple-craters-on-moon
#Moon #TMC2 #Isro #Korolev #Jackson #Chandrayaan2 #Mitra

India’s first woman DGP passed away
Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya, India’s first woman Director General of Police (DGP), passed away following an illness in Mumbai on 26 August 2019 night.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21322-india-s-first-woman-dgp-passed-away
#India #DGP #woman #KiranBedi #IPS #Bhattacharya #KanchanChaudhary

India in G-7 summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted India’s efforts towards eliminating single-use plastic, conserving water, harnessing solar energy and, protecting flora and fauna for a sustainable future during his address at the G-7 session on environment in Biarritz.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21321-india-in-g-7-summit
#India #G7 #NarendraModi #UNESCO #COP21 #Biodiversity

NGOs come under RTI Act
Non-Government 0rganisations (NGOs) that are “substantially financed, directly or indirectly”, by government funds will fall within the ambit of “public authority” under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, the Supreme Court ruled.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21505-ngos-come-under-rti-act.html
#NGOs #RTIAct #CIC #substantial #SCIC #DeepakGupta

A glimpse of its biodiversity
A team of researchers have reported the discovery of two new plant species belonging to the Asclepiadaceae or milkweed family from the shola forests of the Western Ghats, highlighting its rich biodiversity and the need for a conservation strategy for the fragile ecosystem.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21504-a-glimpse-of-its-biodiversity.html
#glimpse #biodiversity #Gujarat #MSSRF #MSSwaminathan

NASA’s Juno spacecraft
NASA’s Juno mission recently went around Jupiter and released a set of raw images of the giant gaseous planet and its moon Io which cast an eclipse on it. The images showed a small but perfect dark shadow over Jupiter.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21503-nasa-s-juno-spacecraft.html
#NASA #spacecraft #mission #planet #Jupiter

KSG Podcast - Climate and the Quad | best daily editorial analysis for upsc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0sdo0b59Vw&t=1s
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

KSG Podcast - Climate and the Quad | best daily editorial analysis for upsc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0sdo0b59Vw&list=PLCUwtp5IghZmJBi1h7xiAhsORKmmumVsR&index=59
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

KSG Podcast - Climate and the Quad | best daily editorial analysis for upsc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0sdo0b59Vw&list=PLCUwtp5IghZmJBi1h7xiAhsORKmmumVsR&index=59
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

Today's Headlines - 28 July 2023
The Biodiversity Act approved for amendment
GS Paper - 3 (Environment)

Lok Sabha gave its approval to a Bill to amend some provisions of the Biological Diversity Act of 2002. The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill seeks to address concerns of several central ministries, state governments, researchers, industry, and other stakeholders, regarding the implementation of the 20-year-old law that is meant to preserve the country’s biological diversity and to ensure its sustainable use.

What is the biodiversity law, and why does India need one?

Biological diversity refers to all kinds of life forms — animals, plants and microorganisms — their gene pools, and the ecosystems that they inhabit.
The 2002 Act was a response to the global need to protect and conserve biological resources, which are under threat due to human activities.
The extent of the damage was highlighted, much later, in a landmark 2019 report by the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), a scientific body similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
That report issued a stark warning: about 1 million animal and plant species, out of a total of about 8 million, were facing the threat of extinction.
About 75 per cent of the Earth’s land surface and 66 per cent of the oceans had been “significantly altered”, it said.
But efforts to protect biological diversity had begun much earlier. In 1994, countries including India had agreed to a Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), an international framework agreement similar to the more famous one on climate change.
There was a general agreement on three things: (i) that indiscriminate use of biological resources needed to be halted, (ii) that sustainable use of these resources, for their medicinal properties for example, needed to be regulated, and (iii) that people and communities helping in protecting and maintaining these resources needed to be rewarded for their efforts.
India’s Biological Diversity Act of 2002 was enacted by the government of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee with these objectives in mind.
It set up a National Biodiversity Authority as a regulatory body, and prescribed the conditions in, and purposes for, which biological resources could be utilised. The purposes are mainly related to scientific research and commercial use.
What amendments have been proposed in the biodiversity law?

The Bill passed makes several amendments to the 2002 Act, addressing most of the concerns raised by the practitioners of traditional systems of medicine, the seed sector, and the pharmaceutical industry.
Certain categories of users of biological resources, like practitioners of Indian systems of medicine, have been exempted from making payments towards the access and benefit-sharing mechanism.
Companies registered in India and controlled by Indians are now treated as Indian companies, even if they have foreign equity or partnership, thereby reducing the restrictions on them.
Provisions have been included to speed up the approval process in cases of use of biological resources in scientific research, or for filing of patent applications. The penalty provisions for wrongdoing by user agencies have been rationalised.

#upsc #news #todayheadline #biodiversity #amendment #enviroment #bill #microorganisms #ecosystem #intergovernmental #IPBES #IPCC #extinction #CBD #national #authority #traditional #medicine #rationalised

Today's Headlines - 23 August 2023
The vegetated canopies for creating green spaces
GS Paper - 3 (Environment)

As Europe battles scorching temperatures this summer and wildfires blaze across the continent from the Mediterranean to Spain, the role of climate change in making heatwaves hotter and more frequent has come into focus. At a broader level, greenhouse gas emissions from human activities have heated the planet by about 1.2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times. These grim predictions have brought attention to a range of mitigation measures. One such initiative to bring greenery back to urban spaces in Spain involves installing vegetated awnings or canopies.

What are vegetated canopies?

Introduced in Santa Maria Street in Valladolid, Spain, the awnings are tensioned sail-like structures that have been anchored to the facades of surrounding buildings. They mimic natural canopies found in forests and various plant species.
The lightness and ease of installation of the ‘Greenshades’ allow for shade and the presence of greenery in commercial streets and public spaces, where trees or other vegetation are often absent.
Here is how they work:

The sails with anchors and supports are prepared by laying down the specific geotextile substrate or material. An irrigation system is installed at the highest side, from where the water falls by gravity, soaking the entire substrate.
In addition to water, fertilizer keeps the vegetation in perfect condition. The excess water is collected at the lowest point and into a connected drainage system.
The seed mixture is then projected onto the geotextile. After four months, the shade is expected to be completely covered with vegetation.
The awnings can be placed in streets, where planting trees may not be feasible owing to the lack of space. The plants grow hydroponically, with a water supply point and water outlet for draining purposes.
What are their advantages?

The plants chosen for these awnings belong to species that are optimised for the absorption of gases such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide.
The substrate also absorbs sound waves, reducing noise pollution. A square metre of a vegetated canopy generates the oxygen required by a person for the whole year, apart from filtering harmful gases, according to the company.
The hanging planter also allows for the centralisation of water and light installations.
This is meant to induce savings as the lights are equipped with movement sensors that illuminate the street according to its need.
The adoption of such canopies could eventually contribute to urban biodiversity, creating a healthier ecosystem that supports a variety of wildlife.

#upsc #news #headline #vegetated #canopies #greenspace #enviroment #europe #battle #temperature #wildfires #blaze #mediterranean #emissions #spain #climatechange #heatwaves #hotter #preindustrial #structures #forests #greenery #commercial #greenshades #mimic #natural #work #gravaity #planting #lackofspace #hydroponically #gases #species #carbonmonoxide #hangingplanter #wildlife #biodiversity #ecosystem #illuminate

Today's Headlines - 07 September 2023
IPBES report on Biodiversity loss
GS Paper - 3 (Environment)

In the most extensive study on invasive species carried out till date, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in its new publication – the “Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control’’ – has found that there are 37,000 alien species, including plants and animals, that have been introduced by many human activities to regions and biomes around the world, including more than 3,500 invasive alien species and that invasive alien species have played a key role in 60% of global plant and animal extinctions recorded.

Highlight of the report

The report, which was released on 4 September 2023, said that invasive alien species are one of the five major direct drivers of biodiversity loss globally, alongside land and sea use change, direct exploitation of organisms, climate change, and pollution.
The report has noted that the number of alien species (species introduced to new regions through human activities) has been rising continuously for centuries in all regions, but are now increasing at unprecedented rates, with increased human travel, trade and the expansion of the global economy.
Not all alien species establish and spread with negative impacts on biodiversity, local ecosystems and species, but a significant proportion do – then becoming known as invasive alien species.
About 6% of alien plants; 22% of alien invertebrates; 14% of alien vertebrates; and 11% of alien microbes are known to be invasive, posing major risks to nature and to people, the IPBES has said.
The report further noted that many invasive alien species have been intentionally introduced for their perceived benefits, “without consideration or knowledge of their negative impacts’’ – in forestry, agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture, or as pets.
Nearly 80% of the documented impacts of invasive species on nature’s contribution to people are negative.
The water hyacinth is the world’s most widespread invasive alien species on land. Lantana, a flowering shrub, and the black rat are the second and third most widespread globally. The brown rat and the house mouse are also widespread invasive alien species.
The report said that the annual costs of invasive alien species have at least quadrupled every decade since 1970, as global trade and human travel increased. In 2019, the global economic cost of invasive alien species exceeded $423 billion annually.
These trends are projected to accelerate as the global economy expands, land and seas are used more intensively, and demographic change takes place, the report said.
Invasive alien specieslike Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegyptii spread diseases such as malaria, Zika and West Nile Fever, while others also have an impact on livelihood such as the water hyacinth in Lake Victoria in East Africa led to the depletion of tilapia, impacting local fisheries.
The IPBES report has further warned thatwarming temperatures and climate change could favour the “expansion of invasive species’’.
Flashback

The IPBES released its report following a week- long plenary from 28th August, with representatives of the 143 member States which have approved the report.
IPBES is an independent intergovernmental body established to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services, working in a similar way to the IPCC, which is the UN’s climate science body.
The study, which has taken place over a period of four years, has been by 86 leading experts from 49 countries, drawing on more than 13,000 references.

#upsc #news #headline #IPBES #biodiversity #loss #enviroment #alien #species #ecosystem #biomes #animals #climate #pollution #chnage #lantana #housemouse #hyacinth #travel

Watch Now On YouTube : Understanding Ecosystem Services, Dr A R Khan, KSG IAS https://youtu.be/q3eUBHgoU2c