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Current Affairs 14 April 2021 – IAS Current Affairs

IAS Current Affairs

Current Affairs 14 April 2021 – IAS Current Affairs

Current Affairs 14 April 2021  focuses on Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :

  1. Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV 2020) came to a close
  2. Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
  3. WHO urges halt on sale of live wild mammals in markets
  4. India Energy Dashboards (Version 2.0)

Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV 2020) came to a close

Why in News ? 

Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV 2020) came to a close with the release of two rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) an adult male and a female.

Key Facts

  • An adult male and a female in Assam’s Manas National Park transported from Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary about 185 km east.
  • Designed in 2005, the IRV2020 is believed to have achieved its target of attaining a population of 3,000 rhinos in Assam.
    • The targeted outside areas do not achieved.
  • For further identification and monitoring the ears of the translocated rhinos have been notched according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission and Asian Rhino Specialist Group’s guidelines.
    • Also deployed a special team to monitor the activity of the species.
  • Assam had at least five rhino-bearing areas till the 1980s.
  • Better conservation efforts helped maintain the population of the one-horned Rhino in Kaziranga, Orang and Pobitora.
    • Encroachment and poaching wiped the animal out of Manas and Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary.
  • The translocated rhinos helped Manas National Park get back its World Heritage Site status in 2011.
    • This translocation programme will set up a healthy, breeding population for the future of the species.

Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV2020)

Need for the program : Assam holds nearly 3 quarters of the world’s greater one horned rhinos that are lost habitat in the region.

  • IRV2020 was established in 2005.
  • Its goal of IRV2020 was to increase the rhino population in Assam to 3,000 by establishing populations in new areas.
  • Rhinos are now found in four Protected Areas in Assam: Pabitora Wildlife Reserve, Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park, Kaziranga National Park, and Manas National Park.
  • An initial population of 18 was established in Manas under the mission IRV 2020.
  • IRV2020 partners perform regular monitoring and security assessments and make improvements based on recommendations by both local and worldwide experts.
  • Poaching was the major threat, by 2018 and 2019 saw significant decreases in poaching leads to the betterment of Rhinos in the vicinity.
Indian Rhinoceros
  • It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
  • They are native to Indian sub-continent.
  • Approximately 85% of the global Indian rhinoceros population is concentrated in Assam.
  • Excessive hunting and agricultural development reduced its range are considered to be major threat.

Source : The Hindu

GS III : Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

Why in News ?

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre was took place on 1919 April 13. Various part of the country pays tribute during the 102 years of the incident. 

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

  • Acting Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered troops of the British Indian Army to fire their rifles into a crowd of unarmed Indian civilians in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab.
    • They were protesting that Kichlu was forced out of Punjab.
    • General Dyer deemed the organization of this meeting to be a violation of government orders.
  • It killed more than 350 peoples according to the official record. But actual death was more that based on various records.
  • Nation wide protest against Dyer’s act.
  • After the incident railway lines were cut, telegraph posts destroyed, government buildings burnt, and three Europeans murdered. 
  • Gandhi soon began organizing his first large-scale and sustained nonviolent protest (satyagraha) campaign, the Non Cooperation Movement (1920–22)

Source : PIB

GS I : Indian Freedom movement

WHO urges halt on sale of live wild mammals in markets

Why in News ?

World Health Organization called on Tuesday for a halt to the sale of live wild mammals in food markets to prevent the emergence of new diseases such as COVID-19.

Key Facts

  • Traditional markets play a central role in providing food and livelihoods for large populations.
    • Banning the sale of live wild mammals could protect the health of market workers, customers and all other stakeholders alike.
  • These animals are considered to be the source of more than 70% of all emerging infectious diseases in humans.
  • The earlier cases of COVID was found from the animal.
  • World Health Organization, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) jintly took the decision.
World Organisation for Animal Health
  • The OIE is the intergovernmental organisation responsible for improving animal health worldwide.
  • It is recognised as a reference organisation by the World Trade Organization (WTO)
    • Since 2018 has a total of 182 Member Countries.
  • The main objective of the OIE is to control epizootic diseases and thus to prevent their wide spread.
  • OIE’s financial resources are backed by the voluntary contributions from Member Countries.

Source : The Hindu

GS III : Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate.

India Energy Dashboards (Version 2.0)

Why in India ?

India Energy Dashboards Version 2.0 was launched by NITI Aayog. Aims to provide single-window access to the energy data for the country.

Key Facts

  • The IED provides time series data from FY 2005-06 until FY 2019-20.
  • It enables easy downloading of data into convenient spreadsheet formats in a cleaner, more intuitive way.
  • IED provides data at sub-yearly frequencies as well.
    • This includes monthly data and API linked data from some portals maintained by the government agencies.
    • The monthly data is sourced from the monthly reports that are regularly published for the electricity, petroleum and natural gas sectors.
    • API linked data from Saubhagya, UJALA, PRAAPTI, and Vidyut PRAVAH has been incorporated in the portal.
  • A Feedback and Suggestions forum for the engagement of energy data user community has been incorporated.
  • A semi-automated workflow/ issue-tracking system for managing periodic updates to the IED.
    • The workflow system performs basic checks and data validation, helping to avoid incorrect data entry.
  • Addition of technical and financial data of electricity utilities available from the regulatory documents in the state of Maharashtra.
    • Regulatory data specifically for the area served by the state-owned distribution utility MSEDCL has been added. The Dashboards will include other states data in future.
Schemes Mentioned
  • Saubhagya : Saubhagya’ was launched in September, 2017 with a target to electrify all households by December 2018.
  • UJALA Scheme : UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All) is a zero-subsidy scheme launched by the Government in 2015.
  • PRAAPTI : PRAAPTI’ stands for Payment Ratification and Analysis in Power Procurement for bringing transparency in invoicing of generators. It is a web portal launched in 2018 by the Ministry of Power.
  • Vidyut PRAVAH : The Mobile/Web App provides real-time information of current demand met, shortages if any, surplus power available.

Source : PIB

GS II : Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc

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