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GS Paper: GS3

  • Indian Antarctic Bill Introduced in Lok Sabha

    The government has introduced the ‘Antarctica Bill, 2022’ in the Lok Sabha that envisages regulating visits and activities to Antarctica as well potential disputes that may arise among those present on the continent.

    Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022

    Aims and objectives:

    • To provide for national measures to protect the Antarctic environment and associated ecosystems and to give effect to the Antarctic Treaty
    • To provide a harmonious policy framework for India’s Antarctic activities through a well-established legal mechanism
    • Facilitate activities of the Indian Antarctic programme, including management of Antarctic tourism and sustainable development of fisheries
    • To prohibit Indian expedition to Antarctica or carrying of certain activities in Antarctica without a permit or the written authorisation of another party to the protocol
    • To provide for inspection in India by an officer designated by the Central government as an Inspector and to constitute an inspection team to carry out inspections in Antarctica

    Key feature: Committee on Antarctic governance

    • It will empower the government to establish a committee on Antarctic governance and environmental protection to monitor, implement and ensure compliance with the relevant international laws, emissions standards and rules of protection.
    • The panel is to be headed by the secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, as ex officio chairperson.
    • Among other roles, he has also been the vice-president of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research of the International Science Council since 2018.
    • The committee will have ten members from various ministries, departments and organizations of the Union government, plus two experts on the Antarctic environment or other relevant areas.

    About Antarctica Treaty

    • Antarctica has a geographical area of 14 million sq. km and has had no indigenous population (i.e. “Antarcticans” don’t exist).
    • However, a few thousand people reside there, in some 40 research stations spread across the continent, throughout the year.
    • In 1959, 12 countries – Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the USSR, the UK and the US signed the ‘Antarctic Treaty’.
    • Their aim was to prevent the continent from being militarised and to establish it as a centre of peaceful activities.
    • Later, more countries, including India, have become party to the treaty, and today it counts more than 54 members.
    • The treaty requires each party to take appropriate measures within its competence, including the adoption of laws and regulations, administrative actions and enforcement measures, to ensure compliance with the protocol.
    • Countries also signed the ‘Protocol on Environmental Protection’ to the Antarctic Treaty in 1991, which designates Antarctica as a “natural reserve, devoted to peace and science”.

    Need for the Antarctic Legislation

    • The growing presence of Indian scientists in Antarctica and the commitment to Antarctic research and protection prompted the government to adopt domestic legislation consistent with its obligations as a member of the Antarctic Treaty system.
    • These laws will enable India’s courts to deal with disputes or crimes committed in parts of Antarctica, and help build credibility vis-à-vis India’s participation.

    India at the Poles

    • India maintains two research stations on the continent: ‘Maitri’ (commissioned in 1989) at Schirmacher Hills and ‘Bharati’ (2012) at Larsemann Hills.
    • It has also launched 41 scientific expeditions every year thus far.
    • Together with the ‘Himadri’ station in Svalbard, above the Arctic circle, India is among an elite group of countries with multiple research in the polar regions.

     

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  • Crisis and sustainability in the face of climate change

    Context

    The footprint of the Covid-19 pandemic across the sectors of the economy has instilled a new reckoning for resilience and sustainability on the economic, social and environmental (ESG) front.

    IPCC reports suggest adaption for resilience

    • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its latest report on climate impacts, vulnerability and adaptation last month.
    • The report suggests that adaptation to climate impacts in the near to medium term can help communities and ecosystems become resilient against the threats from current and future levels of warming.
    •  Ecosystem-based adaptation, for instance, is recommended for taking care of communities and social well-being, while restoring forests, lands and marine ecosystems.
    • The report details the variability in projected climate impacts and the vulnerabilities that can be expected across regions the world over due to differences in the range of warming, geographical location, demographics and the unique biophysical, social and cultural contexts.
    • Cost-effective adaptation: It depends on a host of enablers on which global partnerships need to deliver.
    • Enablers include international cooperation, inclusive technology, financial flows, knowledge sharing and capacity building, with institutions and innovations to support policy development and on-ground implementation.

    Gaps in the literature, acknowledge the uncertainties in climate science

    • The IPCC has been consistently drawing attention to the lack of adequate science from and on developing countries.
    • These countries have in turn been asking for the inclusion of what is broadly termed as “grey literature” or non-peer-reviewed literature in the IPCC process.
    • Good science encompasses the formal and the informal, theory and empiricism, the traditional along with the modern.
    • It relies on evolution through acknowledging the gaps and unknowns, the negatives and positives of past knowledge.
    • The understanding of adaptation finance, adaptation costing, and mapping of climate impacts and adaptation needs of communities in geographically remote locations, for instance, could improve with suitable sourcing of information.

    Way forward

    • Sustainable development, inclusive of climate resilience, calls for an ensemble approach — one that places contextually appropriate emphasis on tackling climate change impacts and development needs in a world with growing challenges.
    • The pathway to be adopted is one of an integrated risk assessment approach, where solutions are interventions that impact the immediate, near and medium-term outcomes for developing economies.
    • Striking the right balance is at any time a choice driven as much by enablers (capabilities, lifestyles and values, financial flows, technical know-how) as by constraints (warming levels, poverty, inequality, lack of health and education).

    Conclusion

    The pandemic highlighted the need for balance in nature-people relationships, even as it tested the ability of the developing world.

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  • Areas under AFSPA regime reduced: Home Ministry

    The Union Home Ministry has considerably reduced the “disturbed areas” under the Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act (AFSPA) in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland.

    AFSPA: A Backgrounder

    • The AFSPA, 1958 came into force in the context of insurgency in the North-eastern States decades ago.
    • It provides “special power” to the Armed Forces applies to the Army, the Air Force and the Central Paramilitary forces etc.
    • It has been long contested debate whether the “special powers” granted under AFSPA gives total immunity to the armed forces for any action taken by them.

    Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958

    • Armed Forces Special Powers Act, to put it simply, gives armed forces the power to maintain public order in “disturbed areas.”
    • AFSPA gives armed forces the authority use force or even open fire after giving due warning if they feel a person is in contravention of the law.
    • The Act further provides that if “reasonable suspicion exists”, the armed forces can also arrest a person without warrant; enter or search premises without a warrant; and ban the possession of firearms.

    What are the Special Powers?

    The ‘special powers’ which are spelt out under Section 4 provide that:

    (a) Power to use force, including opening fire, even to the extent of causing death if prohibitory orders banning assembly of five or more persons or carrying arms and weapons, etc are in force in the disturbed area;

    (b) Power to destroy structures used as hide-outs, training camps, or as a place from which attacks are or likely to be launched, etc;

    (c) Power to arrest without warrant and to use force for the purpose;

    (d) Power to enter and search premises without a warrant to make arrest or recovery of hostages, arms and ammunition and stolen property etc.

    What are the Disturbed Areas?

    • A disturbed area is one that is declared by notification under Section 3 of the AFSPA.
    • As per Section 3, it can be invoked in places where “the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary”.

    Who can declare/notify such areas?

    • The Central Government or the Governor of the State or administrator of the Union Territory can declare the whole or part of the State or Union Territory as a disturbed area.
    • A suitable notification would have to be made in the Official Gazette.

    Presently ‘Disturbed Areas’

    • AFSPA is currently in force in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, 3 districts of Arunachal Pradesh, and areas falling within the jurisdiction of 8 police stations in Arunachal Pradesh bordering Assam.
    • In Jammu and Kashmir, a separate law Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990 has been in force.

    AFSPA: Is it a License to Kill?

    While the operation of the Section has been controversial in itself, it has attracted much criticism when actions have resulted in the death of civilians.

    • Power to kill: Section 4 of the Act granted officers the authority to “take any action” even to the extent to cause the death.
    • Protection against prosecution: This power is further bolstered by Section 6 which provides that legal can be instituted against the officer, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government.

    Supreme Court’s Observations over AFSPA

    • These extra-judicial killings became the attention of the Supreme Court in 2016.
    • It clarified that the bar under Section 6 would not grant “total immunity” to the officers against any probe into their alleged excesses.
    • The judgment noted that if any death was unjustified, there is no blanket immunity available to the perpetrator(s) of the offense.
    • The Court further noted that if an offense is committed even by Army personnel, there is no concept of absolute immunity from trial by the criminal court constituted under the CrPC.

    Constitutionality of AFSPA

    • Attempts have been made to examine the constitutionality of the Act on the grounds that it is contravention to the:
    1. Right to Life and Personal Liberty (Article 21) and
    2. Federal structure of the Constitution since law and order is a State subject

    Recommendations to repeal AFSPA

    (1) Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy Commission

    • The 2004 Committee headed by Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy, the content of which has never officially been revealed by the Government, recommended that AFSPA be repealed.
    • Additionally, it recommended that appropriate provisions be inserted in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 (UAPA) instead.
    • It also recommended that the UAPA be modified to clearly specify the powers of the armed forces and paramilitary forces and grievance cells should be set up in each district where the armed forces are deployed.

    (2) ARC II

    • The Administrative Reforms Commission in its 5th Report on ‘Public Order’ had also recommended that AFSPA be repealed.
    • It recommended adding a new chapter to be added to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967.
    • However, the recommendation was considered first and then rejected.

    Other issues with AFSPA

    (1) Sexual Misconduct by Armed Forces

    • The issue of violation of human rights by actions of armed forces came under the consideration of the Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law (popularly known as Justice Verma Committee) set up in 2012.
    • It observed that- in conflict zones, legal protection for women was neglected.

    (2) Autocracy

    • The reality is that there is no evidence of any action being taken against any officer of the armed forces or paramilitary forces for their excesses.

    Caution given by the Supreme Court

    A July 2016 judgment authored by Justice Madan B. Lokur in Extra Judicial Execution Victim Families Association quoted the “Ten Commandments” issued by the Chief of the Army Staff for operations in disturbed areas:

    1. Definite circumstances: The “power to cause death is relatable to maintenance of public order in a disturbed area and is to be exercised under definite circumstances”.
    2. Declaration preconditions: These preconditions include a declaration by a high-level authority that an area is “disturbed”.
    3. Due warning: The officer concerned decides to use deadly force on the opinion that it is “necessary” to maintain public order. But he has to give “due warning” first.
    4. No arbitrary action: The persons against whom the action was taken by the armed forces should have been “acting in contravention of any law or order for the time being in force in the disturbed area”.
    5. Minimal use of force: The armed forces must use only the “minimal force required for effective action against the person/persons acting in contravention of the prohibitory order.”
    6. Empathy with perpetrators: The court said that: the people you are dealing with are your own countrymen. All your conduct must be dictated by this one significant consideration.
    7. People friendliness: The court underscored how the Commandments insist that “operations must be people-friendly, using minimum force and avoiding collateral damage – restrain must be the key”.
    8. Good intelligence: It added that “good intelligence is the key to success”.
    9. Compassion: It exhorted personnel to “be compassionate, help the people and win their hearts and minds. Employ all resources under your command to improve their living conditions”.
    10. Upholding Dharma (Duty): The judgment ended with the final Commandment to “uphold Dharma and take pride in your country and the Army”.

    Conclusion

    • Despite demands by civil society groups and human rights activities, none of the recommendations have not been implemented to date.

     

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  • The Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2021

    Context

    The Lok Sabha has approved a Bill to amend the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, the law that governs the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).

    What are the changes proposed in the Bill?

    • Introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 17, 2021, and titled the Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
    • The key changes it proposes are in the area of discipline and governance and administration.
    • 1] Discipline: The ICAI’s disciplinary committee and board of discipline will be chaired by non-chartered accountants (CA),
    • Its elected council members will no longer be in a majority in them.
    • 2] Governance and administration: The term of the ICAI’s Council will be raised from three to four years, the maximum number of consecutive terms for its elected members will be reduced to two from the current three;
    • The ICAI’s Secretary will replace the ICAI’s president as its chief executive and perform the functions to be specified;
    • The ICAI will appoint its auditor from the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India’s panel of CA firms;
    • The Government will form a coordination committee for the ICAI and the Institutes of Cost Accountants and Company Secretaries of India.
    • The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has endorsed these changes and has further recommended an end to the ICAI’s monopoly in certification.

    Challenges facing Chartered Accountancy and ICAI

    1] Lacking critical thinking and analytical ability

    • Senior industry managers say that many CAs do not have what it takes to succeed in the corporate world, i.e., analytical ability, critical thinking, appreciation of the business context, grasp of technology, and communication and presentation skills.
    • CA students do not have in-class interaction.
    • Also, the coaching is focused on cracking examinations rather than facilitating understanding and application.

    2] Poor record in disciplining members

    • The ICAI’s record in disciplining its members is even more problematic.
    • There have been persistent complaints that the ICAI is lax in acting against errant members.
    •  In 2018, the Government had set up the National Financial Reporting Authority as India’s first independent regulator of accounting and audit.
    • The proposed changes in the composition of the ICAI’s disciplinary arms will further limit its role.
    • As a result, the ICAI will be effectively reduced to an examination board.

    3] ICAI failed to keep pace with changes

    • The ICAI was set up in 1949, largely as the Indian version of the U.K. institute
    •  Much of the work that CAs do and clamour for is a remnant of the licence raj.
    • Many businesses and professions have changed beyond recognition as a result of the economic reforms initiated in 1991.
    •  The demutualised and technology-driven National Stock Exchange of India has transformed stock-broking.
    • Indian IT and pharma companies now compete successfully with the best in the world.
    • In contrast, CA has not kept pace with the changes in India’s dynamic economy and changing society.
    • Overseas accountancy qualifications such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) are gaining popularity in India, perhaps because they are recognised worldwide, are more relevant to current and future needs, and are accepted even in India by global companies and global accounting firms.

    4] Challenges posed by technology such as AI/ML

    • Accounting and auditing are more amenable to the replacement of humans by technology.
    • AI, robotics, and other technological advances are likely to reduce the need for human intervention in accounting.
    • Also, recent administrative reforms aimed at enabling ease of doing business and ease of living, such as faceless tax assessment, easy filing of tax returns, prompt refunds, rising threshold for tax audit, and abolition of Goods and Services Tax audit have greatly reduced the availability of captive, government-mandated, make-work business for CAs.

    Way forward

    • Setting IIAs: The Parliamentary Committee’s suggestion to set up a string of Indian Institutes of Accounting (IIAs) on the lines of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) is innovative.
    • At one level, they will end the ICAI’s statutory monopoly over certification.
    • More competition should result in better quality and higher standards of conduct.

    Conclusion

    The Bill and the Parliamentary Committee’s report can be seen as efforts to drag the ICAI to the contemporary world. It would be wise to read the proposed changes as a warning and respond maturely.

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  • India’s Lithium Dependency Worries

    Lithium has been among the most sought-after mineral during the past few years, largely on the back of its usage in battery manufacturing.

    India is at odds with a major import source for the mineral, China.

    About Lithium

    • Lithium is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3.
    • It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element.
    • Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable and must be stored in mineral oil.
    • When cut, it exhibits a metallic lustre, but moist air corrodes it quickly to a dull silvery grey, then black tarnish.
    • Lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.
    • It is a crucial building block of the lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), laptops and mobile phones.

    Lithium-ion batteries

    • A lithium-ion battery or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery.
    • They are commonly used for portable electronics and electric vehicles and are growing in popularity for military and aerospace applications.
    • A prototype Li-ion battery was developed by Akira Yoshino in 1985, based on earlier research by John Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, Rachid Yazami and Koichi Mizushima during the 1970s–1980s.
    • In 2019, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was given to this trio “for the development of lithium-ion batteries”.

    Global producers of lithium

    • Australia and Chile have swapped positions as the world’s leading lithium-producing country over the past decade. In 2019, the world’s Top 5 lithium producers were:
    1. Australia – 52.9% of global production
    2. Chile – 21.5%
    3. China – 9.7%
    4. Argentina – 8.3%
    5. Zimbabwe – 2.1%
    • The U.S. ranked 7th with 1.2% of the world’s lithium production.
    • In 2019, the world’s Top 5 lithium reserves by country were:
    1. Chile – 55.5% of the world’s total
    2. Australia – 18.1%
    3. Argentina – 11.0%
    4. China – 6.5%
    5. U.S. – 4.1%

    Why is India looking for lithium?

    • India has been scouting for lithium reserves since the Centre’s push to boost the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country.
    • The ₹18,000 crore production-linked incentive scheme for advanced chemistry cell (ACC) battery storage, a flagship incentive scheme for the industry has kicked off.
    • However, the supply of lithium, which is largely an imported product, has declined.
    • With India being in a diplomatic tussle with China, the supplies from the neighbouring country have declined and India too is looking for other import avenues.

    Why has the supply of lithium declined?

    • The supply of lithium has not been in line with the surge in demand from electric vehicle makers across the world.
    • China also is witnessing a mismatch between demand and supply, which has led to a rise in prices.

     

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  • What is Project NETRA?

    The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is building up its orbital debris tracking capability by deploying new radars and optical telescopes under the Network for Space Objects Tracking and Analysis (NETRA) project.

    Project NETRA

    • The project will give India its own capability in space situational awareness (SSA) like the other space powers — which is used to ‘predict’ threats from debris to Indian satellites.
    • NETRA’s eventual goal is to capture the GEO, or geostationary orbit, scene at 36,000 km where communication satellites operate.
    • The initial SSA will first be for low-earth orbits or LEO which have remote-sensing spacecraft.
    • Under NETRA the ISRO plans to put up many observational facilities: connected radars, telescopes; data processing units and a control centre.
    • They can, among others, spot, track and catalogue objects as small as 10 cm, up to a range of 3,400 km and equal to a space orbit of around 2,000 km.
    • The NETRA effort would make India a part of international efforts towards tracking, warning about and mitigating space debris.

    What NETRA consists of?

    • In the plans are a high-precision, long range telescope in Leh and a radar in the North East.
    • Along with them, we will also use the Multi-Object Tracking Radar (MOTR) that we have put up at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, and the telescopes at Ponmudi and Mount Abu to get a broad SSA picture.
    • NORAD, or the North American Aerospace Defense Command, is an initiative of the U.S. and Canada that shares selective debris data with many countries.
    • The new SSA centre would consolidate debris tracking activities that are now spread across ISRO centres.
    • Currently there are 15 functional Indian communication satellites in the geostationary orbit of 36,000 km; 13 remote sensing satellites in LEO of up to 2,000 km; and eight navigation satellites in medium earth orbits.

    Why Space debris matters?

    • Space junk or debris consists of spent rocket stages, dead satellites, fragments of space objects and debris resulting from ASAT.
    • Hurtling at an average speed of 27,000 kmph in LEO, these objects pose a very real threat as collisions involving even centimetre-sized fragments can be lethal to satellites.
    • Last year, ISRO monitored 4,382 events in LEO and 3,148 events in the geostationary orbit where space objects closely approached Indian assets.
    • Fragments from the Fengyun-1C satellite (part of the anti-satellite test (ASAT) by China in 2007) and the Cosmos 2251-Iridium satellite collision in 2009 accounted for the maximum number of these threats.
    • The observations also covered 84 “close approaches of less than one km” between Starlink satellites and Indian assets.

    Enhancing Space situational awareness (SSA)

    • India, as a responsible space power, should have SSA as a part of a national capability, as in the U.S. This is a vital requirement for protecting our space assets and a force multiplier.
    • The SSA has a military quotient to it and adds a new ring to the country’s overall security.
    • It uses satellites, ground and air radars to secure its two countries against attacks from air, space or sea.
    • With long-range tracking radars, the SSA also provides us the capability of an early warning system against ballistic missiles coming in at a height.
    • Apart from radars and telescopes, he said India should also think of deploying satellites that track other satellites — as the U.S. and other space powers had done.
    • Combined with other elements of military intelligence SSA would help us to understand motives behind any suspicious orbit changes of other satellites and to know if they were spying on or harming our spacecraft.

     

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  • Startup India Initiative and its Success

    A research, reviewing India’s entrepreneurial policy Startup India, affirmed its positive impact in reducing regional entrepreneurial disparities.

    Startup India Initiative

    • The Startup India campaign was first announced by PM Modi during his speech on 15 August 2015 address from the Red Fort.
    • The action plan for this initiative is focusing on three areas:
    1. Simplification and Handholding.
    2. Funding Support and Incentives.
    3. Industry-Academia Partnership and Incubation.
    • An additional area relating to this initiative is to discard restrictive States Government policies within this domain, such as License Raj, Land Permissions, Foreign Investment Proposals, and Environmental Clearances.
    • It was organized by the Department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPI&IT).

    The success of the scheme

    • Minister for Commerce and Industry has informed the Lok Sabha that the entrepreneurial portal had more than 65,000 startups registered.
    • Of which, 40 attained the ‘unicorn’ status in the last twelve months, bringing the total as of date to 90.
    • India now ranks third among global startup eco-systems.
    • The networking, training and mentoring facilities provided by Startup India alongside entrepreneurship outreach campaigns in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, helped address regional entrepreneurial disparities in India.

    Limitations to its success

    (1) Heavy concentration in megacities

    • Entrepreneurship continues to be “highly concentrated” in three megacities, namely, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi NCR.
    • India’s venture capital industry is also clustered in and around these three cities.
    • Such concentration can lead to increased economic inequality and hinder emergence of entrepreneurs from industries other than those belonging to the clusters.

    (2) Narrow Representation

    • The Startup India Action Plan document has no mention of the words ‘caste’, ‘tribe’, ‘marginalised’, ‘indigenous’ or ‘social group’.
    • Additionally, the policy’s reliance on technology does not take into consideration India’s digital divide, especially with respect to urban and rural areas.

    (3) Few Women in the industry

    • There is an under-representation of women and marginalized caste groups in the national startup ecosystem.

    Dedicated measures to support Women

    • 10% of the fund in the Fund of Funds operated by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has been reserved for women-led startups.
    • Further, all the alternate investment funds where the SIDBI takes equity have been mandated to contribute 20% in business which are women led.
    • There is a capacity-building program and a dedicated webpage for women on the portal.

    Way ahead

    • There is a need for policies and progressive strategies from governments to encourage startups and provide access and assistance in key areas including tax clarity, incubation, affordability and licensing.
    • In any case, governments should be well prepared and dedicated to creating a culture of startups to impact the entrepreneurial ecosystem in their cities, countries and citizens.

     

    Also read:

    [Burning Issue] Five Years of Startup India Scheme

     

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  • Rhino population up by 200 in Kaziranga

    The population of the greater one-horned or Indian rhinoceros in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve has increased by 200 (from 2413 in 2018) in four years, the latest census of the flagship animal has revealed.

    About Indian Rhino

    • The Indian rhinoceros also called the greater one-horned rhinoceros and great Indian rhinoceros is a rhinoceros native to the Indian subcontinent.
    • It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and Schedule I animal in the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
    • It once ranged across the entire northern part of the Indian Subcontinent, along the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra River basins, from Pakistan to the Indian-Myanmar border.
    • Poaching for rhinoceros horn became the single most important reason for the decline of the Indian rhino.

    Why are Rhinos poached for horns?

    • Ground rhino horn is used in traditional Chinese medicine to cure a range of ailments, from cancer to hangovers, and also as an aphrodisiac.
    • In Vietnam, possessing a rhino horn is considered a status symbol.
    • Due to demand in these countries, poaching pressure on rhinos is ever persistent against which one cannot let the guard down.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. Consider the following statements:

    1. Asiatic lion is naturally found in India only.
    2. Double-humped camel is naturally found in India only.
    3. One-horned rhinoceros is naturally found in India only.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”fp1gk14f8l” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

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  • Places in news: Sariska Tiger Reserve

    A massive fire has broken out in the Sariska Tiger Reserve and Air Force helicopters equipped with water sprays are battling to bring it under control.

    Sariska Tiger Reserve

    • Sariska Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in Alwar district, Rajasthan.
    • It stretches over an area of 881 sq km comprising scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and rocky hills.
    • This area was a hunting preserve of the Alwar state and was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1958.
    • It was given the status of a tiger reserve making it a part of India’s Project Tiger in 1978.
    • It is the first reserve in the world with successfully relocated tigers.
    • It is a part of the Aravalli Range and the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests eco-region.

    Existential threats

    • It is rich in mineral resources, such as copper.
    • In spite of the Supreme Court’s 1991 ban on mining in the area, marble mining continues to threaten the environment.

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  • [Sansad TV] Perspective – NLMC: Utilising Unused Land