Current Affairs 5 October 2020 – IAS Current Affairs

Current Affairs 5 October 2020 2020 focuses on Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :

1. Madhuca Diplostemon And Species Conservation
2. Saplings Plant And Compensatory Afforestation
3. POCSO Act Section 29
4. China-Bangladesh And BRI
5. Prelims Facts 5 October 2020
   • Xoo Threat for Rice
   • Chardham Project
   • Science Technology and Society (STS) Forum
   • Two new plant species discovered in Western Ghats

Madhuca Diplostemon And Species Conservation

Why in News ?

Researchers at the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI) in Kerala have rediscovered an endangered tree species Madhuca diplostemon 184 years after its first collection.

Madhuca diplostemon

• A tree from the species has been identified in front of Koonayil Ayiravilli Siva temple at Paravur in Kollam district.
• Madhuca diplostemon a species of flowering plant from Sapotaceae family, has been listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.
• This tree is the only known individual from the species.
• The species was a highly local endemic with a few individuals in the past which were inadvertently removed for temple expansion in recent years.
• Since the species is represented by a single mature individual in a single locality, it is assessed here as critically endangered, as per IUCN criteria.
• This tree is about 4-metres tall, its bark fissured, and leaves spirally arranged and crowded towards the branch tips.

What are he major causes of Threat for Species in India ?

• Human intervention plays a major role in the destruction of the natural landscape leads to Habitat loss
  • Human activities like removal of trees that provide both food and shelter for innumerable number of species, mining and agriculture.
  • For the species mentioned in the news the threat for the species is expansion of various projects.
  • Habitat loss is due to deforestation for extended cultivation, construction of dams, mining operations and road laying.
• Pollution by heavy metals, persistent biocides, organic wastes, removal of sand from riverbeds and agricultural run off have spoilt the river ecosystem.
• Poaching of animals for their skin, fur, tusk, horns and meat for medicinal purposes are a major threat to birds, mammals, plants and reptiles.
• Introduction of exotic species are a significant threat affecting plant species.
  • For Instance the silver oak and eucalyptus, they tend to completely overrun the land, preventing the growth of natural species.
• Polices of the Government and ineffective implementation of laws have also affected the wildlife.

Conservation Efforts Taken by India for Threatened Species

• Wildlife (Protection) Act in 1972 : All the states, excluding Jammu and Kashmir (it has its own Act) adopted  which prohibits any type of trade for endangered and rare species.
  • According to the latest tiger census (2015), there is an overall increase of 30% in tiger population. In 2010, there were 1700 tigers left in India according to tiger census which has gone up to 2226 tigers in 2015.
• Financial assistance to the State Governments for the conservation and protection of the endangered species.
• Establishment of a numbers of National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Parks, Biodiversity Hotspots etc have been established by the government.
  • Central Zoo Authority (CZA) was initiated for the supervision of the management of zoological parks in the country.
  • Four of 34 globally identified biodiversity hotspots: The Himalayas, the Western Ghats, the North-East, and the Nicobar Islands, can be found in India.
• India is part of five main International Conventions
  • Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
  • Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking (CAWT)
  • International Whaling Commission (IWC)
  • United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – World Heritage Committee (UNESCO – WHC)
  • The Convention on Migratory Species (CHS).

Source :  Indian Express

Topic

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

Saplings Plant And Compensatory Afforestation

Why in News ?

Saplings Plant And Compensatory Afforestation done in lieu of forest diversion for development of projects in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district.

• A study that looks at compensatory afforestation found that only 10 per cent of saplings said to be planted were actually found on the site.

About the Study

• The study, conducted between 2012 and 2016, has been carried out by Himdhara Environment Research and Action
• Only 10 per cent of saplings said to be planted were actually found on the site.
• The study also found that the survival rate of saplings in some plots was as low as 3.6 per cent.
• The total area demarcated for compensatory afforestation was 1,930 ha in lieu of 984 ha of forest land diverted for non-forest activities, including roads, hydro-projects, transmission lines etc.
• Between 2002 and 2014, of the Rs 162.82 crore collected under Catchment Area Treatment (CAT) plan funds of Kinnaur’s projects, only 36 per cent had been spent till March 31, 2014, says the study.
  • CAT plan funds are budgeted as mitigation measures for hydroelectric power projects.
• According to Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) rules, for every hectare of forest land diverted, double the area of ‘degraded’ lands are used as sites for ‘compensatory afforestation’.
• Issues for Afforestation
  • The forest department is unable to fulfil the target is because there’s simply no land available for this compensatory afforestation.
  • A large part of Kinnaur is rocky and a cold desert where nothing grows.
  • Around 10 per cent of the district is already forests and the rest is either used for agriculture or are grasslands.
    • These grasslands are used by the villagers for grazing cattle, and the grass is also stored and used as fodder for the winter months.
  • Lack of land for afforestation means that once a forest has been felled, it is often lost permanently.

Source : Indian Express

Topic

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

POCSO Act Section 29

Why in News ?

Delhi High Court has ruled that the presumption of guilt engrafted in Section 29 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act gets triggered and applies only once trial begins, that is after charges are framed against the accused. POCSO Act Section 29 Implication.

What is Section 29 ?

• POCSO Act Section 29 : When a person is prosecuted for committing an offence of sexual assault against a minor, the special court trying the case shall presume the accused to be guilty.
  • This reverse burden on the accused to prove his innocence was incorporated in the POCSO Act keeping in view the low conviction rate of sexual offences against children.
  • Presumption of guilt on the part of the accused if he is prosecuted for committing, abetting or attempting offences under Sections 3, 5, 7 and 9 of the Act.
• Importance of the act is that
  • To take care of the child who has limited capabilities.
  • To achieve its object of protection of children.

Delhi High Court Ruling

• If a bail plea is being considered before charges have been framed, Section 29 has no application.
• Trial commences when charges are framed against an accused and not before that.
• Only at the stage when charges are framed does the court apply its judicial mind to whether there is enough evidence on record to frame a precise allegation, which the accused must answer.
• Therefore, it is only once charges are framed that the accused knows exactly what he is alleged to be guilty of; and therefore, what guilt he is required to rebut.
• Also set out fresh norms while deciding a bail plea at the post-charge stage.
  • In addition to the nature and quality of the evidence before it, the court would also factor in certain real-life considerations.
  • This include whether the offence alleged involved threat, intimidation, violence or brutality.

Source : The Hindu

Topic

GS II : Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections

China-Bangladesh And BRI

Why in News ?

Chinese President ready with Bangladesh leaders to better align the two countries’ strategies and jointly promote the construction of his multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to take the strategic partnership of the two countries to new heights.

• Both nations are in the events of 45th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic relationship.
• Bangladesh became a part of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2016

About the News

• China aims to better align development strategies with Bangladesh, step up cooperation under the framework of the BRI and push forward the China-Bangladesh strategic, cooperative partnership to a new level.
• With over $26 billion Chinese investments and $38 billion dollars funding commitments, Bangladesh is one of the largest recipients of China’s massive infrastructure project.
• China has also offered zero-tariff treatment to 97% of Bangladesh’s exports by adding 5,161 more items to the existing list of 3,095 duty-free products.
• The BRI seeks to build rail, maritime and road links from Asia to Europe and Africa in a revival of ancient Silk Road trading routes.
• One of the major projects under the BRI is the Bangladesh Power System Upgrade and Expansion Project, which aims to provide electricity connections to over 2.5 million rural people.

Impact over India

• India having concerns with BRI as one portion of the corridor passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
• China initiated over $60 billion as part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),
• China has stepped up its huge infrastructure investments in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives rising concerns of its growing influence in India’s immediate neighbourhood.
• India and US raise concerns over debt-diplomacy of China
  • As part of this policy recently Sri Lanka handed over its Hambantota Port to a state-run Chinese firm in 2017 for a 99 years’ lease in a debt swap amounting to $1.2 billion.
  • Malaysia has also deferred several projects under the BRI, citing cost revaluation.
  • Djibouti, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, the Maldives, Mongolia, Montenegro, Pakistan and Tajikistan – are among the poorest in their respective regions and will owe more than half of all their foreign debt to China.
• India was the only country in the eight-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation grouping which opposed the initiative.

Way Forward

• Among the issues which have seen such a delay is the water-sharing deal on the Teesta river that has ti be negotiated.
  • Proposal from China on the management and restoration of the Teesta river under process.
• India needs to work both on maintaining good ties with Bangladesh and also countering the influence of the initiative through strategic alliances.

Source : The Hindu

Topic

GS II : India and its neighbourhood- relations

Prelims Facts 5 October 2020

Xoo Threat for Rice

Why in News ?

A scientist has uncovered the mechanism by which a bacterium called Xoo (Xanthomonas oryzaepv. oryzae) that causes a serious bacterial leaf blight disease in rice interacts with rice plant and cause disease.

Xoo (Xanthomonas oryzaepv. oryzae)

• Xanthomonas oryzaepv. oryzae, or commonly known as Xoo infection, cause huge yield losses to rice cultivation throughout the world.
• Treatment of rice with cellulase, a cell wall degrading enzyme secreted by Xoo induces rice immune responses and protects rice from subsequent infections by Xoo.
• Biochemical and functional studies on plant cell wall degrading enzymes secreted by Xoo, which has provided key insights into the mechanisms by which the Xoo pathogen interacts with rice plant and cause disease.
• improving the resistance of rice plants by introducing Resistance “R” genes has been the best way to control this disease
  • It involves breeding or gene manipulation techniques that are laborious and time-consuming.
  • Also, the introduced of R genes provide only race-specific resistance that will prevent infections by only specific strains of Xoo.

Source : PIB

Chardham Project

Why in News ?

The chairman of a Supreme Court-appointed expert committee has alleged violations of the court orders in the execution of the Chardham road project a 900-km, ₹12,000-crore enterprise to connect pilgrimage spots in Uttarakhand.

About Chardham Project

• The project will connect Badrinath Dham, Kedarnath Dham, Gangotri, Yamunotri, and part of the route leading to Kailash Mansarovar yatra through development of 889 km length of national highways.
  • It is a proposed two-lane expresses National Highway with a minimum width of 10 metres in the state of Uttarakhand.
• The whole project is estimated to cost Rs 12,000 crores.
  • Once completed it will help in facilitating speedy movement of traffic.
• Latest Austrian Technology has been used in the construction of the Chamba Tunnel.

Source : The Hindu

Science Technology and Society (STS) Forum

Why in News ?

Science & Technology Ministerial Roundtable, organized in the 17th annual Science Technology and Society (STS) Forum.

About the Forum

• The STS forum aims to provide a new mechanism for open discussions on an informal basis.
  • Also to build a human network that would, in time, resolve the new types of problems stemming from the application of science and technology.
• Science and Technology Ministers’ Roundtable is held along with the STS forum every year.
• Scientific data sharing is being considered for inclusion in the New S T I P 2020 (Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, 2020)  being framed.
• The online Science & Technology Ministerial Roundtable hosted by Japan.
• It saw the participation of S&T heads from about 50 countries around the world and explored the opportunities arising from international collaborations in science and technology to address the challenges posed by COVID 19.

Source : PIB

Two new plant species discovered in Western Ghats

Why in News ?

Scientists from the Agharkar Research Institute in Pune have recently discovered two new species of pipeworts in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra and Karnataka, the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

About the Species

• The species reported from
  • Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra has been named Eriocaulon parvicephalum (due to its minute inflorescence size).
  • The other reported from Kumta, Karnataka is called Eriocaulon karaavalense (named after Karaavali, Coastal Karnataka region).
• Pipeworts
  • Pipeworts (Eriocaulon) is a plant group which completes its life cycle within a small period during monsoon.
  • It exhibits great diversity in the Western Ghats.
  • Around 111 species of pipeworts are found in India.
  • Most of these are reported from the Western Ghats and the eastern Himalayas, and around 70% of them are endemic to the country.

Prelims Facts 5 October 2020 includes the factual data helps in clear understanding and eliminate within the options.

Current Affairs 5 October 2020 : Our major Sources for the Current Affairs are The Hindu, Indian Express, PIB, Down To Earth etc. For more queries and mentor-ship please contact us.