Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards (CA|TS)

• CA|TS is an important tool in the achievement of the Convention on Biological Diversity – CBD’s Global Aichi Targets.
• CA|TS is a management tool which sets basic criteria such as the minimum standards for effective management of tiger conservation reserves.
• It also applies to other conservation reserves and protected areas which have tiger populations.
• It contributes to the implementation of the Programme of Work on Protected Areas.
• The CA|TS team has been working closely with the IUCN.

St Petersburg Declaration

• In November 2010, the first “Tiger Summit” in St Petersburg, Russia, endorsed a Global Tiger Recovery Programme.
• The programme aimed at reversing the rapid decline of tigers, and doubling their numbers by 2022.
• India was one of the 13 tiger range countries that participated in the gathering.
• The leaders committed to drawing up action plans to –

1. strengthen the tiger reserves
2. crack down on poachers
3. provide financial assistance to maintain a thriving tiger population

National Financial Reporting Authority

• Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA).
• NFRA will act as an independent regulator for the auditing profession which was one of the key changes brought in by the Companies Act 2013.
• The jurisdiction of NFRA for investigation of Chartered Accountants and their firms will be extended to the listed companies and large unlisted public companies.
• The NFRA will oversee the quality of service of professionals associated with ensuring compliance, monitoring and enforcing the compliance with accounting standards.
• It will also make recommendations to the central government on the formulation of accounting and auditing policies.
• According to the Companies Act, the NFRA will have the same powers as vested with a court under the Code of Civil Procedure.

Income Tax Appellate Tribunal

• ITAT is a quasi judicial institution set up in January, 1941 and specializes in dealing with appeals under the Direct Taxes Acts.
• It was set up by virtue of section 5A of the Income Tax Act, 1922.
• The orders passed by the ITAT are final, an appeal lies to the High Court only if a substantial question of law arises for determination.
• It functions under the Department of Legal Affairs in the Ministry of Law and Justice.

Rare disease

• A rare disease, also referred to as an orphan disease, is any disease that affects a small percentage of the population.
• Most rare diseases are genetic, and are present throughout a person’s entire life, even if symptoms do not immediately appear. In Europe a disease or disorder is defined as rare when it affects less than 1 in 2000 citizens.
• Rare diseases are characterised by a wide diversity of symptoms and signs that vary not only from disease to disease but also from patient to patient suffering from the same disease.
• Relatively common symptoms can hide underlying rare diseases, leading to misdiagnosis.

Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme 

• PMEGP is a major credit-linked subsidy programme being implemented by the Ministry of MSME since 2008-09.
• The Scheme is aimed at generating self-employment opportunities through establishment of micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector by helping traditional artisans and unemployed youth in rural as well as urban areas.
• The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is the nodal implementation agency for the PMEGP at the national level.
• At the state/district level, state offices of KVIC, Khadi and Village Industries Boards (KVIBs) and District Industry Centres (DIC) are the implementing agencies.

Mega Food Park Scheme:

• The first Mega Food Park in the state of Maharashtra at Village Degaon, District Satara was inaugurated by Minister of Food Processing Industries.
• Satara Mega Food Park is the 12^th operationalised food park in the country.
• To give a major boost to the food processing sector by adding value and reducing food wastage at each stage of the supply chain with particular focus on perishables, Ministry of Food Processing Industries is implementing Mega Food Park Scheme in the country.
• Mega Food Parks create modern infrastructure facilities for food processing along the value chain from farm to market with strong forward and backward linkages through a cluster based approach.
• Common facilities and enabling infrastructure is created at Central Processing Centre and facilities for primary processing and storage is created near the farm in the form of Primary Processing Centers (PPCs) and Collection Centers (CCs).
• The Mega Food Park project is implemented by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which is a Body Corporate registered under the Companies Act. However, State Government, State Government entities and Cooperatives are not required to form a separate SPV for implementation of Mega Food Park project.
• Under the Scheme, Government of India provides financial assistance upto Rs. 50.00 Crore per Mega Food Park project.

Chilika Lake

• Chilika Lake,a shallow lagoon and a lake of brackish water,is located in the eastern State of Odisha and spread across over 1,000 sq.km.
• A number of islands are present in the lagoon, prominent among which are Krushnaprasad, Nalaban, Kalijai, Somolo and Birds Islands.
• The Chilika Lake comprises the Chilika Bird Sanctuary and Nalbana(Forest of Reeds) bird sanctuary.
• Chilika attracts avian visitors from as far as the Himalayas, Caspian Sea, remote parts of Russia, Mongolia and certain regions of Asia.
• Chilika was designated as the 1st Ramsar Site of India.
• Also it was removed from the montreux record in 2002.
• River Daya flows through Khurda and Puri district befor merging the chilika lake