Daily Current Affairs 15 March 2024 – IAS Current Affairs
Current Affairs 15 March 2024 focuses on the Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :
Illegal Trade of Shark Body
Source: The Hindu
GS II: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate
Overview
- News in Brief
- About Report Netted in Illegal Wildlife Trade: Sharks of India
- About Shark Species
Why in the News?
16,000 kg of shark fins were seized between January 2010 to December 2022, according to a report by the World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF-India) and TRAFFIC.
News in Brief
- Recent TRAFFIC report Netted in illegal wildlife trade: Sharks of India aims to sound the alarm about India’s illegal shark trade and highlight ongoing threats and conservation concerns.
- A significant amount of shark cartilage and teeth were also seized.
- They constituted the most common shark-derived product seized, reported in over 80 per cent of the seizures.
- Significant volumes of shark cartilage and teeth were also seized.
About Report Netted in Illegal Wildlife Trade: Sharks of India
- Tamil Nadu accounted for nearly 65 per cent of the shark seizure incidents, followed by other states such as Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, and Maharashtra.
- The confiscated products were destined for Singapore, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Sri Lanka, and mainland China.
- The demand for shark fins and meat is a major driver of the global shark fishery.
- Shark fins are the most sought-after shark product used to make ‘shark-fin soup,’ a delicacy.
Issues related to Illegal Shark Trade
- Illegal shark trade is a serious conservation threat to sharks not just in India but globally.
- Misdeclaring relevant species on permits is one of the main ways sharks are traded illegally worldwide.
- The lack of capacity to identify the shark fins against numerous potential shark species in trade is a significant gap in curbing their illicit trade.
- Insufficient monitoring mechanisms further make it challenging to differentiate between the legal and illegal trade of sharks
About Shark Species
- Sharks are crucial to our ecosystem.
- Being top predators in the oceanic food web, sharks prey on various species, including plankton, fish, crustaceans and marine mammals.
- Overfishing, coupled with low biological productivity, puts them at a higher risk of extinction when compared to most other vertebrates.
Shark Species in India
- 160 shark species were reported in India.
- Only 26 sharks and rays have been given the highest protection status under the amended Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 by listing them in Schedules I and II.
- Species in Appendix I and II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) have been listed in Schedule IV of the Act.
Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024
Source: Business Standard
GS II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
Overview
- News in Brief
- About Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024
Why in the News?
Govt announces Rs 500 crore e-mobility scheme to promote electric vehicles.
News in Brief
- The Central Government has recently launched the Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024 (EMPS 2024) as the successor to the FAME-II scheme, which will soon expire.
- The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has boosted the FAME II budget by Rs 1,500 crore, to be used until funds deplete or by March.
About Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024
- The new scheme is for 2-wheelers and 3-wheelers.
- The scheme will be for four months till July 2024
- Under the scheme, a support of Rs 10,000 per 2-wheeler will be provided.
- The aim is to provide support for about 3.3 lakh 2-wheelers.
- A support of Rs 25,000 will be given for the purchase of small three-wheelers (e-rickshaws and e-carts). More than 31,000 such vehicles will be covered.
- The financial support will be Rs 50,000 for the purchase of a large three-wheeler.
- Subsidies under the second phase of the FAME scheme will be eligible for e-vehicles sold till March 31, 2024, or till the time funds are available.
- Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) within EMPS 2024 aims to boost domestic manufacturing and strengthen the EV supply chain.
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