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Distribution: weekly

  • Custodial Violence

    Context

    Earlier this month, Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana expressed concern at the degree of human rights violations in police stations in the country. He said that “the threat to human rights and bodily integrity is the highest in police stations”

    Deaths in police custody

    • Improvement in the situation: A reality check shows that the picture is not so bleak and efforts are being made to improve the human rights protection regime in police stations.
    • National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data reveal that though the number of custodial deaths varies year to year, on average of about 100 custodial deaths have taken place every year between 2010 and 2019.
    • Of them, about 3.5 persons allegedly died due to injuries caused by policemen.
    • A judicial inquiry, which is mandatory for every suspicious custodial death, was conducted in 26.4 cases.
    • Though every death in custody needs to be prevented, suspicious deaths which bring disrepute to the police system must be rooted out completely.

    Measures to reduce the instances of custodial violence

    1) Reduce the number of arrests

    • As per the law, arrest for offences punishable up to seven years of imprisonment should be made only when such arrest is necessary to prevent the person from tampering with evidence, or committing any further offence, etc.
    • The Supreme Court held that each arrest must be necessary and justified; having the authority to arrest is alone not sufficient.
    • In Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014), it was held that despite the offence being non-bailable under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which relates to torture for dowry, arrest is not mandatory as per Section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
    • In Special Action Forum v. Union of India (2018), the Court further held that the police officer shall furnish to the magistrate the reasons and materials which necessitated the arrest for further detention of the accused.
    • The purpose of these checks is to ensure that the police does not abuse the power of arrest.
    • NCRB data show that the ratio of the number of arrests to the number of IPC offences has decreased from 1.33 in 2010 to 0.96 in 2019.

    2) Separate investigation from law and order

    • The National Police Commission (1977-81), the Law Commission in its 154th report (1996) and the Malimath Committee Report (2003), and the Supreme Court in Prakash Singh v. Union of India (2006), have recommended that the investigating police should be separated from the law-and-order police to ensure better expertise in investigation.
    • It is believed that a separate wing will do more professional investigation and will not use unwarranted methods to extract confession from the accused.
    • Though efforts have been made by some States in this direction, more resources are required in policing to implement the Court’s directions.

    3) Increase the number of investigating officers

    • Unless investigating officers are increased in proportion to the number of serious offences, the quality of investigation may suffer.
    • The Malimath Committee’s recommendation that an investigating officer should preferably investigate no more than 10 cases every year needs to be implemented.
    • Subject expert officers: With the increase of newer types of crime like white collar crime and cybercrime, subject experts are needed to assist the police in the investigation.

    4) Sensitise Police

    • The police officers must know that their mandate is to protect human rights and not violate them.
    • They need to be sensitised regularly and encouraged to employ scientific tools of interrogation and investigation like the lie detection test, narco test and brainfingerprinting test.

    5) Display board on human rights

    • The CJI’s suggestion to install display boards on human rights to disseminate information about the constitutional right to legal aid and availability of free legal aid services may deter police excesses.

    Steps taken to deal with the issue

    • Much has changed in the police consequent to the judgment in D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1996) in which the Supreme Court laid down guidelines to check custodial torture.
    • Guidelines incorporated in CrPC: Most of these guidelines such as providing information to a friend or relative about the arrest, medical examination, and permission to meet a lawyer have now been incorporated in the CrPC.
    • CCTV Cameras installed:  In Paramvir Singh v. Baljit Singh (2020), the Supreme Court has directed States to cover more area of each police station under CCTV cameras and have storage facility of audio-video recording for 18 months.
    • Actions against guilty:  NCRB data show that on average about 47.2 criminal cases were registered annually against policemen in last 10 years.
    • Departmental action against errant officers is a rule in the police force, rather than an exception.
    • Compensation by NHRC: The National Human Rights Commission also oversees deaths in custody due to human rights violations and recommends compensation in appropriate cases.
    • Incentives linked with police reforms: The Home Ministry has recently linked the ‘police modernisation scheme’ with police reforms.
    • Unless sufficient action is taken by the State governments and the police authorities, incentives in the form of additional funds will not be released.

    Consider the question “Human right violations in police stations is a cause for concerns. What are the reasons for such violations? Suggest the measures to curb it.”

    Conclusion

    Our commitment to the protection of human rights is unconditional and total. Many steps have been taken so far to check custodial violence and no stone shall be left unturned to eliminate such violence in toto.

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  • Free and Open Source Software

    Context

    Recognising its potential, in 2015, the Indian government announced a policy to encourage open source instead of proprietary technology for government applications. However, the true potential of this policy is yet to be realized.

    Advantages of FOSS

    • Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) today presents an alternative model to build digital technologies for population scale.
    • Freedom to modify: Unlike proprietary software, everyone has the freedom to edit, modify and reuse open-source code.
    • Reduced cost and innovation: This results in many benefits — reduced costs, no vendor lock-in, the ability to customise for local context, and greater innovation through wider collaboration.
    • Use in public service delivery: We have seen some great examples of public services being delivered through systems that use FOSS building blocks, including Aadhaar, GSTN, and the DigiLocker.
    • FOSS communities can examine the open-source code for adherence to data privacy principles, help find bugs, and ensure transparency and accountability.

    Challenges in adoption by government in GovTech

    • In 2015, the Indian government announced a policy to encourage open source instead of proprietary technology for government applications.
    • Several misconceptions remain in the understanding of FOSS, especially for GovTech.
    • Trust issue: “Free” in FOSS is perceived to be “free of cost” and FOSS is often mistaken to be less trustworthy and more vulnerable, whereas FOSS can actually create more trust between the government and citizens.
    • However, Many solutions launched by the government including Digilocker, Diksha, Aarogya Setu, Cowin — built on top of open-source digital platforms — have benefited from valuable inputs provided by volunteer open-source developers.
    • Such inputs have immensely helped in improving solutions and making them more robust.
    • Accountability issue: In the case of FOSS, there appears to be an absence of one clear “owner”, which makes it harder to identify who is accountable.
    • While this concern is legitimate, there are ways to mitigate it.
    • For example, by having the government’s in-house technical staff understand available documentation and getting key personnel to join relevant developer communities.

    Way forward for greater adoption of FOSS in GovTech

    • Here is a four-step path to make this vision a reality.
    • 1) Incentivise FOSS in government: The government’s policy requires all tech suppliers to submit bids with open source options.
    • Suppliers also need to justify in case they do not offer an open-source option
    • Sourcing departments are asked to weigh the lifetime costs and benefits of both alternatives before making a decision.
    • While this serves as a good nudge, the policy can perhaps go a step further by formally giving greater weightage to FOSS-specific metrics in the evaluation criteria in RFPs, and offering recognition to departments that deploy FOSS initiatives, such as, a special category under the Digital India Awards.
    • 2) Create a repository of GovtTech ready solutions: a repository of “GovTech ready” building blocks that are certified for use in government and audited for security compliances is needed.
    • Creating a repository of ready-to-use “GovTech-ised” building blocks can help departments quickly identify and deploy FOSS solutions in their applications.
    • 3) Encourage FOSS innovation: FOSS innovations can be encouraged through “GovTech hackathons and challenges”, bringing together the open-source community to design solutions for specific problem statements identified by government departments.
    • One such challenge — a #FOSS4Gov Innovation Challenge — was recently launched.
    • 4) Create an institutional mechanism: A credible institutional anchor is needed to be a home for FOSS-led innovation in India.
    • Such an institution can bring together FOSS champions and communities that are scattered across India around a shared agenda for collective impact.
    • Kerala’s International Centre for Free & Open Source Software (ICFOSS) is a great example of such an institution.

    Conclusion

    With an IT workforce of more than four million employees, what we need is a concerted push to harness the biggest promise that FOSS holds.

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  • Poultry Farm Establishment Rules

    Small and marginal poultry farmers in India will now have to take measures similar to their bigger counterparts to prevent environmental pollution, according to new guidelines issued recently by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

    What are the new guidelines?

    (A) Establishment

    • Consent to Operate: The new guidelines state that for establishing and operating a medium-sized poultry farm of 25,000-100,000 birds, a farmer will have to obtain a certificate of Consent. Permission will be valid for 15 years.
    • Designated Authority: This will have to be taken from the State Pollution Control Board or Committee under the Water Act, 1974, and the Air Act, 1981. The Animal Husbandry Department will be responsible for implementing the guidelines at the state and district level.
    • Location: A farm should be set up 500 metres away from a residential area, 100 metres from rivers, lakes, canals, and drinking water sources, 100 metres from national highways, and 10-15 metres from village footpaths and rural roads.

    (B) Operational directives

    • Ventilated farms: The guidelines state that the poultry farm should have a ventilated room to reduce the gaseous pollution from the birds.
    • Wastewater management: Also, care should be taken so that poultry feces do not mix with running water or any other pesticide.
    • Manure generation: Farmers of small- and medium-sized poultry farms will have to arrange for manure. After use, the water from a poultry farm must be collected in a tank. The guidelines suggest using it in horticulture.
    • Disposal of deads: Emphasis has also been given to the daily removal of birds that die, through burial, without harming the environment. Burial should be done three metres above the groundwater level.

    (C) Large/ Small Farmer

    The new guidelines have defined who is a ‘large’ or ‘small’ poultry farmer in India.

    • Those who have 5,000-25,000 birds are small farmers.
    • Those who have more than 25,000 and less than 100,000 birds are medium farmers.
    • Those who have more than 100,000 birds are large farmers.

    Why need such regulation?

    • Poultry, hatchery and piggery were considered ‘green’ by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in its guidelines of 2015.
    • This meant they were exempt from the air, water, and environmental protection laws.
    • Gaseous emissions and waste are major problems in poultry farming.
    • The feces of poultry birds emit gaseous ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and methane, all of which produce odors.

    Poultry sector of India

    • According to the 20th Livestock Census 2020, there are 851.8 million poultry birds in India.
    • About 30 percent (250 million) of this is ‘backyard poultry’ or small and marginal farmers.
    • According to the 19th Livestock Census, the number of such farmers is about 30 million.
    • Chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, etc, are reared in poultry farms for meat and eggs. Chickens that are reared for eggs are called ‘laying hens’ or ‘layers’. Those reared for meat are called ‘broilers’.

    According to the 20th Livestock Census, Tamil Nadu (120 million), Andhra Pradesh (107 million), Telangana (79 million), West Bengal (77 million), Maharashtra (74 million), Karnataka (59 million crores), Assam (46 million) and Kerala (29 million) have the highest poultry populations.

    Try answering this PYQ:

    Consider the following statements:

    1. Agricultural soils release nitrogen oxides into environment.
    2. Cattle release ammonia into environment.
    3. Poultry industry releases reactive nitrogen compounds into environment.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 and 3 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 2 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

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  • PM inaugurates Jallianwala Bagh Memorial

    Prime Minister has virtually inaugurated the renovated Jallianwala Bagh complex in Amritsar.

    What led to Jallianwala Bagh Massacre?

    Protesting the contentious Rowlatt Act

    • The act officially known as the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919 was passed in 1919 by the Imperial Legislative Council.
    • It had authorized the British government to arrest anybody suspected of terrorist activities.
    • It also authorized the government to detain such people arrested for up to 2 years without trial.
    • It empowered the police to search a place without a warrant. It also placed severe restrictions on the freedom of the press.
    • The primary intention of colonial govt. was to repress the growing nationalist movement in the country.
    • The British were also afraid of a Ghadarite revolution in Punjab and the rest of the country.

    The day

    • The massacre took place on 13 April 1919 when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Col. Reginald Dyer fired rifles into a crowd of Indians.
    • The civilians had assembled for a peaceful protest to condemn the arrest and deportation of two national leaders, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew.
    • Dyer without warning ordered his troops to fire at the unarmed crowd which included children as well.
    • The indiscriminate firing went on for about 10 minutes which resulted in the deaths of at least 1000 people and injured more than 1500 people.

    Aftermath

    • In protest against the massacre, Rabindranath Tagore gave up his knighthood.
    • Gandhiji relinquished his title ‘Kaiser-e-hind’ bestowed on him by the British for his services during the Boer War in South Africa.
    • Michael O’Dwyer, the then Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab, who had approved the actions of Dyer, was assassinated by Udham Singh in London in 1940 as revenge against the massacre.
    • The heroic treatment of Dyer’s heinous act again set a benchmark of colonial arrogance.

    Hunter Commission for inquiry

    • In October 1919 the Secretary of State for India, Edwin Montagu, ordered the formation of a committee of inquiry into the events in Punjab.
    • Referred to as the Disorders Inquiry Committee, it was later more widely known as the Hunter Commission (Not to be confused with Hunter Education Commission).
    • Still, there are long-standing demands in India that Britain should apologize for the massacre.

  • BCG vaccine: 100 years and counting

    The first use of BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin), the vaccine against tuberculosis (TB) in humans have been completed for 100 years.

    What is TB?

    • TB is a very ancient disease and has been documented to have existed in Egypt as early as 3000 BC.
    • It is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, belonging to the Mycobacteriaceae family consisting of about 200 members.
    • Some of these cause diseases like TB and leprosy in humans and others infect a wide range of animals. Mycobacteria are also widely dispersed in the environment.
    • In humans, TB most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB), but it can also affect other organs (extra-pulmonary TB).

    Yet not eliminated

    • Other historically dreaded diseases like smallpox, leprosy, plague, and cholera have been either eradicated or controlled to a large extent due to advances in science and technology.
    • However, TB continues to be a major public health problem in the world.
    • According to the WHO’s Global TB Report, 10 million people developed TB in 2019 with 1.4 million deaths. India accounts for 27% of these cases.

    BCG Vaccine for TB

    • BCG was developed by two Frenchmen, Albert Calmette and Camille Guerin, by modifying a strain of Mycobacterium Bovis (that causes TB in cattle) till it lost its capacity to cause disease while retaining its property to stimulate the immune system.
    • It was first used in humans in 1921.
    • Currently, BCG is the only licensed vaccine available for the prevention of TB.
    • It is the world’s most widely used vaccine with about 120 million doses every year and has an excellent safety record.

    BCG in India

    • In India, BCG was first introduced on a limited scale in 1948 and became a part of the National TB Control Programme in 1962.
    • India is committed to eliminating TB as a public health problem by 2025.

    Effectiveness of BCG

    • One intriguing fact about BCG is that it works well in some geographic locations and not so well in others.
    • Generally, the farther a country is from the equator, the higher is the efficacy.
    • In children, BCG provides strong protection against severe forms of TB.
    • This protective effect appears to wane with age and is far more variable in adolescents and adults, ranging from 0–80%.
    • In addition to its primary use as a vaccine against TB, BCG also protects against respiratory and bacterial infections of newborns and other mycobacterial diseases like leprosy and Buruli’s ulcer.
    • It is also used as an immunotherapy agent in cancer of the urinary bladder and malignant melanoma.

    Try answering this PYQ:

    What is the importance of using pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in India? (CSP 2020)

    1. These vaccines are effective against pneumonia as well as meningitis and sepsis.
    2. Dependence on antibiotics that are not effective against drug-resistant bacteria can be reduced.
    3. These vaccines have no side effects and cause no allergic reactions

    Select the correct answer using the given code below:

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 1 and 2 only

    (c) 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

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  • Asset monetisation — execution is the key

    Context

    The government has announced an ambitious programme of asset monetisation. It hopes to earn ₹6 trillion in revenues over a four-year period.

    About Asset monetisation

    • Unlike in privatisation, no sale of government assets is involved.
    • The government parts with its assets — such as roads, coal mines — for a specified period of time in exchange for a lump sum payment.
    • Asset monetisation will happen mainly in three sectors: roads, railways and power.
    • Other assets to be monetised include: airports, ports, telecom, stadiums and power transmission.
    • Two important statements have been made about the asset monetisation programme.
    • The focus will be on under-utilised assets.
    • Monetisation will happen through public-private partnerships (PPP) and Investment Trusts.

    Challenges

    1) Investors would prefer property utilised assets over underutilised assets

    • Suppose an asset is not being used adequately because it has not been properly developed or marketed well enough.
    • A private party may judge that it can put the assets to better use.
    • It will pay the government a price equal to the present value of cash flows at the current level of utilisation.
    • This is a win-win situation for the government and the private player.
    • The government gets a ‘fair’ value for its assets.
    • The private player gets its return on investment.
    • Increase in efficiency: The economy benefits from an increase in efficiency.
    • Monetising under-utilised assets thus has much to commend it.
    • However, in case of an asset that is being properly utilised, the private player has little incentive to invest and improve efficiency.
    • It simply needs to operate the assets as they are.
    • The private player may value the cash flows assuming a normal rate of growth.
    •  The cost of capital for a private player is higher than for a public authority.
    • The higher cost of capital for the private player could offset the benefit of any reduction in operating costs.
    • The government earns badly needed revenues but these could be less than what it might earn if it continued to operate the assets itself.
    • There is no improvement in efficiency.
    • The benefits to the economy are likely to be greater where under-utilised assets are monetised.
    • However, private players will prefer well-utilised assets to assets that are under-utilised.
    • That is because, in the former, cash flows and returns are more certain.

    2) Valuation challenges

    • It is very difficult to get the valuation right over a long-term horizon, say, 30 years.
    •  For a road or highway, growth in traffic would also depend on factors other than the growth of the economy.
    • . If the rate of growth of traffic turns out to be higher than assessed by the government in valuing the asset, the private operator will reap windfall gains.
    • Alternatively, if the winning bidder pays what turns out to be a steep price for the asset, it will raise the toll price steeply.
    • The consumer ends up bearing the cost.
    • It could be argued that a competitive auction process will address these issues and fetch the government the right price while yielding efficiency gains.
    • But that assumes, among other things, that there will be a large number of bidders for the many assets that will be monetised.

    3) Life of the returned asset may not be long

    • There is no incentive for the private player to invest in the asset towards the end of the tenure of monetisation.
    • The life of the asset, when it is returned to the government, may not be long.
    • In that event, asset monetisation virtually amounts to sale.
    • Monetisation through the PPP route is thus fraught with problems.

    Way forward: InvIT route

    • Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvIT) are mutual fund-like vehicles in which investors can subscribe to units that give dividends.
    •  Monetisable assets will be transferred to InvITs.
    • The sponsor of the Trust is required to hold a minimum prescribed proportion of the total units issued.
    • InvITs offer a portfolio of assets, so investors get the benefit of diversification.
    • In the InvIT route to monetisation, the public authority continues to own the rights to a significant portion of the cash flows and to operate the assets.
    • So, the issues that arise with transfer of assets to a private party — such as incorrect valuation or an increase in price to the consumer — are less of a problem.

    Key takeaways

    • Low cost of capital for public authority: In general, due to the low cost of capital for public authority, the economy is best served when public authorities develop infrastructure and monetise these.
    • InvIT route: Monetisation through InvITs is likely to prove less of a problem than the PPP route.
    • Monetise under utilised assets: We are better off monetising under-utilised assets than assets that are well utilised.
    • Monitoring authority should be set up: To ensure proper execution, there is a case for independent monitoring of the process.
    • The government may set up an Asset Monetisation Monitoring Authority staffed by competent professionals.

    Consider the question “How asset monetisation is different from privatisation? What are the challenges in asset monetisation? Suggest the ways forward.”

    Conclusion

    Government must pay attention to the challenges in asset monetisation and use it in the proper way to increase the efficiency in the economy.

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  • Govt’s clarifications on CSR Expenditure

    The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has clarified that companies have to ensure that funds transferred to implementing agencies are actually utilized for them to be counted towards mandatory CSR expenditure.

    What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?

    • CSR is a type of business self-regulation that aims to contribute to the societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethically-oriented practices.
    • It rests on the ideology of “give and take” i.e. to take scarce resources from the environment for running a business, and in turn to contribute towards economic, social, and environmental development.

    CSR in India

    • India is the first country in the world to make corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandatory, following an amendment to the Companies Act, 2013 in April 2014.
    • Businesses can invest their profits in areas such as education, poverty, gender equality, and hunger as part of any CSR compliance.

    All companies with a net worth of Rs 500 crore or more, a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more, or net profit of Rs 5 crore or more, are required to spend 2 per cent of their average profits of the previous three years on CSR activities every year.

    What is the recent clarification?

    • The MCA has clarified that excess Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure prior to FY21 cannot be set off against future CSR expenditure requirements.
    • Corporate donations to government schemes cannot be counted as CSR.
    • The ministry has also clarified that companies have to ensure that funds transferred to implementing agencies are actually utilized for them to be counted towards mandatory CSR expenditure.

    Impact of the move

    • This clarification may impact donations to state government schemes which are often done for the sake of managing relationships with the government.

    Earlier changes

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  • [pib] Bharat Series (BH-series) for Vehicles

    The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has rolled out a new series for vehicles registration ‘BH’ to avoid re-registration of vehicles while moving to another state.

    Bharat series (BH-series)

    • There was a procedure of re-registration of a vehicle while moving to another state.
    • A vehicle bearing BH registration mark shall not require assignment of a new registration mark when the owner of the vehicle shifts from one State to another.
    • Format of Bharat series (BH-series) Registration Mark –

    Registration Mark Format:

    1. YY BH #### XX
    2. YY – Year of first registration
    3. BH- Code for Bharat Series
    4. ####- 0000 to 9999 (randomized)
    5. XX- Alphabets (AA to ZZ)

    Why such move?

    • Station relocation occurs with both Government and private sector employees.
    • Such movements create a sense of unease in the minds of such employees with regard to transfer of registration from the parent state to another state.
    • Under section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a person is allowed to keep the vehicle for not more than 12 months in any state other than the state where the vehicle is registered.

    Who can get this BH series?

    • BH-series will be available on voluntary basis to Defense personnel, employees of Central Government/ State Government/ Central/ State PSUs and private sector companies/organizations.
    • The motor vehicle tax will be levied for two years or in multiple of two.
    • This scheme will facilitate free movement of personal vehicles across States/UTs of India upon relocation to a new State/UT.
    • After completion of the fourteenth year, the motor vehicle tax shall be levied annually which shall be half of the amount which was charged earlier for that vehicle.

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  • Places in news: Pantanal Wetlands

    Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetlands is facing a severe crisis due to wildfires and climate change.

    Pantanal Wetlands

    • The Pantanal is a natural region encompassing the world’s largest tropical wetland area, and the world’s largest flooded grasslands.
    • It is located mostly within the Brazilian and extends to some portions of Bolivia and Paraguay.
    • It sprawls over an area estimated at between 140,000 and 195,000 square kilometer.
    • Roughly 80% of the Pantanal floodplains are submerged during the rainy seasons, nurturing a biologically diverse collection of aquatic plants and helping to support a dense array of animal species.

    Risks faced

    • Unlike the Amazon rainforest, vegetation in the Pantanal has evolved to coexist with fire — many plant species there require the heat from fires to germinate.
    • Often caused by lightning strikes, those natural fires spring up at the end of the dry season, but the surrounding floodplains prevent them from spreading.
    • What’s different now is the drought, contributing further to the unusually dry conditions and exacerbating the fire risk.

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  • Animal Discoveries 2020 report by ZSI

    India has added 557 new species to its fauna reveals Animal Discoveries 2020, a document published recently by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).

    Major species discovered

    The number of faunal species in India has climbed to 1,02,718 species. Among the new species, some interesting species discovered in 2020 are:

    • Trimeresurus salazar, a new species of green pit viper discovered from Arunachal Pradesh;
    • Lycodon deccanensis, the Deccan wolf snake discovered from Karnataka; and
    • Sphaerotheca Bengaluru, a new species of burrowing frog named after the city of Bengaluru.
    • Xyrias anjaalai, a new deep-water species of snake eel from Kerala;
    • Glyptothorax giudikyensis, a new species of catfish from Manipur; and
    • Clyster galateansis, a new species of scarab beetles from the Great Nicobar Biosphere.

    Visitor species

    • Myotis cf. frater, a bat species earlier known from China, Taiwan and Russia, has been reported for the first time from Uttarakhand in India
    • Zoothera citrina gibsonhilli, an orange-headed thrush earlier known from southern Myanmar to south Thailand (central Malay peninsula) was reported for the first time from India based on a collection made from the Narcondam island in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

    Significance

    • The ZSI publication shows that India is a mega biodiverse country, rich in biodiversity, with 23.39% of its geographical area under forest and tree cover.
    • India is positioned 8th in mega biodiversity countries in the world with 0.46 BioD index which is calculated by its percentage of species in each group relative to the total global number of species in each group.

    About Zoological Survey of India

    • The ZSI was set up by British zoologist Thomas Nelson Annandale, in 1916.
    • It is the premier taxonomic research organization in India.
    • It was established to promote surveys, exploration and research leading to advancement of our knowledge of various aspects of the exceptionally rich animal life of India.
    • The ZSI had its genesis as the Zoological Section of the Indian Museum at Calcutta in 1875.
    • Since its inception, the ZSI has been documenting the diversity and distribution of the fauna of India towards carrying out its mandate of conducting exploration-cum-taxonomic-research programmes.
    • The ZSI has published an extremely large amount of information on all animal taxa, from Protozoa to Mammalia.

    Try answering this PYQ:

    Q.With reference to India’s Biodiversity, Ceylon frogmouth, Coppersmith barbet, Gray-chinned minivet and White-throated redstart are: (CSP 2020)

    (a) Birds

    (b) Primates

    (c) Reptiles

    (d) Amphibians

     

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