Prelims in Focus, an IAS Abhiyan Initiative to quickly navigate through the important facts, current affairs, static portion to enrich aspirant’s knowledge base along with conceptual clarity. Our Prelims in Focus initiative will surely be an added advantage for UPSC Prelims Examinations. This initiative will help the aspirants to focus to the main points of a topic quickly at the same time. In this initiative, we will cover 10-15 important facts on a daily basis. Click here to Join our Telegram Channel to read these articles. We will continue our Monthly Pre-Bits Flash Liner along with this initiative.
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Prelims in Focus-Part-20
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Bonn Challenge
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➖A global effort to bring 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded land into restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030.➖India has pledged to bring into restoration 13 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by the year 2020, and additional 8 million hectares by 2030
- Knife-tooth Sawfish
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➖Status changed from Critically Endangered (CR) to Endangered (EN)➖Are elasmobranchs, meaning their skeleton is made of cartilage.
➖Closely related to sharks and have shark-shaped bodies and, hence, are also called flat sharks.
- 📌 Recent changes of IUCN status
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➖Pygmy Hog: Status changed from Critically Endangered (CR) to Endangered (EN)➖Kondana Rat: Status changed from Critically Endangered (CR) to Endangered (EN)
➖Forest Owlet: Status changed from Critically Endangered (CR) to Endangered (EN)
➖Sispara Day Gecko: Status changed from Critically Endangered (CR) to Near Threatened (NT)
➖Leatherback Turtle: Status changed from Critically Endangered (CR) to Vulnerable (VU)
➖Knife-tooth Sawfish: Status changed from Critically Endangered (CR) to Endangered (EN)
- ‘Time Use’ Survey
➖Conducted by the government in 20 years shows the strong role of gender in determining how people spend their time
➖Women spend 84% of their working hours on unpaid activities, while men spend 80% of their working hours on paid work.
➖Just 6% of men participate in cooking in any manner, and just 8% do any house cleaning.
➖Upper caste men and women have the most time for self-care and maintenance activities, including sleep, while Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe men and women have the least time among social groups
➖Upper caste women spend the least time on paid work among all social groups, but upper caste men spend the most time on paid work among groups.
➖In Telangana and Tamil Nadu, women spend over 30% of their working hours on paid work, while in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh fewer than 10% of women’s working hours result in any pay.
- 📌 Disaster (s) covered under (State Disaster Response Fund) SDRF: Cyclone, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche, cloudburst, pest attack, frost and cold waves.
- 📌 Heat Waves has not been notified as a Disaster as defined under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 by the Government yet.
➖Heat wave is not even notified in the list of 12 disasters eligible for relief under National/ State Disaster Response Fund norms
- National Policy on Bio-Fuel
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➖Allows production of ethanol from damaged food grains like wheat, broken rice etc➖Also allows conversion of surplus quantities of food grains to ethanol, based on the approval of National Biofuel Coordination Committee.
➖It envisages an indicative target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of bio-diesel in diesel by 2030
- PACE Setter Fund Programme
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➖Ministry of New and Renewable Energy awards grants to four projects in second round of PACEsetter Fund programme.➖PACEsetter fund was constituted by India and the USA in 2015
➖Joint fund to provide early-stage grant funding to accelerate the commercialization of innovative off-grid clean energy products, systems, and business models.
- Drought Toolbox & Bamboonomics
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➖Both Initiatives were launched at COP14 to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) - International Vaccine Institute (IVI)
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➖An international non-profit organization devoted to developing and introducing new and improved vaccines to protect the people, especially children, against deadly infectious diseases.➖Established in 1997 on the initiatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
➖Work is exclusively on vaccine development and introduction specifically for people in developing countries, with a focus on neglected diseases affecting these regions.
➖Currently, it has 40 countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) as signatories to its Establishment Agreement.
➖India has become a full-time member in 2017.
- 🔹In Kerala, the Eraviperoor Biodiversity Management Committee rejuvenated a tributary of the River Pampa, successfully recovering 13.5 acres of riverbank. It has also done exemplary work in plastic waste management.
🔹The BMC in Raipassa village in Tripura has signed an agreement with companies for harvesting broom grass and making sure that the funds are transferred back to the community.
- ➖The Western Ghats has three distinctive freshwater swamp types cradled within its fertile lap – Myristica swamps, Elaeocarpus swamps, and hadlus.
➖These ancient swamp forests hold immense ecological and cultural value.
➖Twenty three of the recorded tree species are endemic to the Western Ghats, and common species include Syzgium travancoricum, Gymnacranthera canarica, Myristica fatua var. magnifica and Semecarpus kathalekanensis.
- ➖Article 167 of the Constitution does allow a Governor to call for any information “relating to the administration of the affairs of the State”
- The United Nations Statistical Commission
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➖Established in 1947, is the highest body of the global statistical system bringing together the Chief Statisticians from member states from around the world.➖Highest decision making body for international statistical activities, responsible for setting of statistical standards and the development of concepts and methods, including their implementation at the national and international level.
➖It oversees the work of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), and is a Functional Commission of the UN Economic and Social Council.
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The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)
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➖The principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.➖A functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), it was established by ECOSOC.