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THE INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. RPF LAUNCHES NATIONWIDE OPERATION TO CURB HUMAN TRAFFIC

THE CONTEXT: Railway Protection Force has launched a nationwide operation to curb human trafficking. As a part of “Operation AAHT”, special teams will be deployed on all long-distance trains/routes with focus on rescuing victims, particularly women and children, from the clutches of traffickers. The Railways, which operate about 21,000 trains across the country daily, is the most reliable mode of transportation for the traffickers who often moved their victims on long-distance trains.

THE EXPLANATION:

The RPF that rescued more than 2,000 women and children between 2017 to 21 from the clutches of traffickers intensified the crackdown on human trafficking with the increasing number of cases. The National Crime Records Bureau registers about 2,200 cases of Human Trafficking cases on an average each year.

Human Trafficking, especially of women and children, for sexual exploitation, forced marriage, domestic servitude, organ transplant; drug peddling etc is an organised crime and the most abominable violation of human rights. Thousands of Indians and persons from neighboring countries were trafficked every day to some destinations where they were forced to live like slaves.

The Indian Railways which transported over 23 million passengers each day (pre-pandemic), is the largest, fastest and most reliable carrier for suspects who trafficked scores of women and children. The RPF personnel had a pan-India presence and were deployed in escorting trains to provide security to railway assets and passengers.

Analysis of the operation –

As part of “Operation AAHT”, the infrastructure and intelligence network of the force could be utilised to collect, collate and analyse clues on victims, source, route, destination, popular trains used by suspects, identity of carriers/agents, kingpins etc and shared with other law-enforcing agencies. The RPF could act as a bridge cutting across States to assist the local police in the mission to curb the menace.

Explaining the need to strengthen the intelligence machinery and the action plan to identify, investigate, rescue and rehabilitate victims of the offence, the cyber cells would start patrolling the web/social media to look for digital footprints of Human Trafficking and added that the focus should be more on trains originating from districts bordering Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

2. J&K BECOMES FIRST UT TO BE INTEGRATED WITH NATIONAL SINGLE-WINDOW SYSTEM

THE CONTEXT: Lt Governor Manoj Sinha launched the single-window portal for Jammu and Kashmir, making it the first Union territory to be integrated with the national single-window system.While 130 industrial services have been made online on the single-window system, over 160 more services will be integrated this year.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Terming the system a “historic move” to facilitate investment. Now global investors can apply for all their business approvals in Jammu and Kashmir through the national single-window system.
• Government is linking the Union territory into a web of partnerships with domestic and foreign companies and ensuring global best practices in our regulatory institutions and systems.
• Since the launch of the new industrial development scheme, policies have evolved to make the Union territory more competitive and lucrative for industries and service enterprises.
• In January last year, the UT administration announced a new industrial developmental scheme (IDS) with a total outlay of Rs 28,400 crore to encourage new investment and to take industrial development to the block level.
• The administration was strengthening the Union territory’s power and road infrastructure, improving connectivity and the law and order situation.
• The integrated single-window system will facilitate new investments locally and globally, e through the national single-window system or through J&K single-window system with user-friendly interfaces and timely approvals.

THE ECONOMY

3. VANDE BHARAT TRAIN

THE CONTEXT: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has in the Union Budget for 2022-2023 proposed the development and manufacture of 400 new Vande Bharat trains in the next three years. In her speech, Ms. Sitharaman said these would be “new generation” trains with better energy efficiency and passenger riding experience.

WHAT IS VANDE BHARAT TRAIN?

• The Vande Bharat train is an indigenously designed and manufactured semi high speed, self-propelled train that is touted as the next major leap for the Indian Railways in terms of speed and passenger convenience since the introduction of Rajdhani trains.
• These trains, dubbed as Train 18 during the development phase.
• The Vande Bharat coaches incorporate passenger amenities.
• The first Vande Bharat was manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, in about 18 months as part of the ‘Make in India’ programme.
• It can achieve a maximum speed of 160 kmph due to faster acceleration and deceleration.
• It has an intelligent braking system with power regeneration for better energy efficiency thereby making it cost, energy and environment efficient.
• The Vande Bharat was India’s first attempt at adaptation of the train set technology compared with conventional systems of passenger coaches hauled by separate locomotives.

HOW MANY VANDE BHARAT TRAINS DO THE RAILWAYS CURRENTLY OPERATE?

• Currently, two Vande Bharat Expresses are operational —one between New Delhi and Varanasi and the other from New Delhi to Katra.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE PROGRAMME?

• On the 400 new trains, Railway minister said the announcement had given the Railways a target of coming out with an even better version.
• The design updates in the upcoming trains would focus on safety and comfort of the passengers, including reduced noise and vibration levels.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

4. BETTER HABITAT MANAGEMENT FOR TIGERS, FLOURISH IN SARISKA

THE CONTEXT: The measurement for habitat management for tigers launched about six months ago at the famous Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan’s Alwar district has started bearing fruit. The tiger population in the wildlife sanctuary has gone up to 25, while the resources are being provided to create water supply and develop grasslands for ungulates as a prey base.

THE EXPLANATION:

New route for tourist –

The forest administration has already opened a new route in the tiger reserve’s buffer zone, adjacent to Alwar town, for tourists to facilitate better sightings of the big cats. The new Bara-Liwari route, located in the region where a tigress gave birth to two cubs recently, will reduce pressure on the core area and increase livelihood opportunities for the rural population.

A foundation established by a private bank has started delivering goods and resources which the Forest Department could not arrange because of a variety of handicaps. As part of its corporate social responsibility expenditure, the foundation is funding development of grasslands, earthen bunds and water holes for wild animals at 10 different locations and making livelihood intervention for the villagers being relocated from the sanctuary.

The tiger reserve, spread across 1,216 sq. km area, witnessed the first-of-its-kind tiger relocation from the Ranthambore National Park by helicopter in 2008 after the felines became extinct in the sanctuary. Since then, the animal has taken some time in multiplying at its own ease, unlike the Panna tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh, where a similar aerial translocation was carried out in 2009.

Facility for guards –

The foundation has already distributed 23 motorcycles with helmets to the forest guards in Sariska for monitoring the tiger movement with the pledge that one new motorcycle per new tiger will be given in the future.

 The grassland habitats developed in dry patches of land have helped ungulates to feed better and breed in the areas such as Naya Pani, Dabli and Bhagani, leading to an enhanced feed for tigers.

The forest administration, assisted by the foundation, has created new water sources at 10 diverse habitats within the forest, where solar pump-based tubewells were being sunk. This will facilitate the supply of water to far-off areas, even in the elevated zones without any diesel pump noise as faced in the past.

Amid the efforts being made for relocation of villages, about 1,000 families are still staying in the forest area, with some of them residing within the core area of 881 sq. km, such as in Madhopur, Indala, Kundalka and Haripura. According to the forest officials, the rehabilitated villagers’ needs, including thekhatedarirights on the land allotted to them, have been met on priority to act as a catalyst for the remaining villages to be shifted out of the reserve areas.

5. WHAT ARE RAMSAR SITES, AND WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS LISTING?

THE CONTEXT: On the eve of the World Wetlands Day, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands designated Khijadia Bird Sanctuary near Jamnagar in Gujarat and Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh as wetlands of international importance.

WHAT IS RAMSAR CONVENTION?

The Ramsar Convention, which came into existence in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.

With the addition of these two wetlands, the number of Ramsar Sites in India has gone up to 49, the highest for any country in South Asia.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS OF WETLANDS?

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands defines wetlands as “areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters.”

As per US Fish and Wildlife services-

• at least periodically, the land supports predominantly hydrophytes
• the substrate is predominantly undrained hydric soil
• the substrate is non-soil and is saturated with water or covered by shallow water at some time during the growing season of each year.

However, the Indian government’s definition of wetland excludes river channels, paddy fields and other areas where commercial activity takes place.

The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 notified by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change define wetlands as “area of marsh, fen, peatland or water; whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters, but does not include river channels, paddy fields, human-made water bodies/ tanks specifically constructed for drinking water purposes and structures specifically constructed for aquaculture, salt production, recreation and irrigation purposes.”

WETLANDS IN INDIA

• Globally, wetlands cover 6.4 per cent of the geographical area of the world.
• In India, according to the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment compiled by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), wetlands are spread over 1,52,600 square kilometres (sq km) which is 4.63 per cent of the total geographical area of the country.

Ramsar Sites in India

• India’s tally of 49 designated wetlands spread over 10,936 sq km in 18 states and two Union Territories is the largest network of Ramsar Sites in South Asia.
• Of the 49 sites, 10 are in UP, 6 in Punjab, 4 each in Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir, 3 each in Himachal Pradesh and Kerala, 2 each in Haryana, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal, Rajasthan and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Ladakh, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RAMSAR LISTING

Not every Ramsar Site is a notified protected area under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, hence systematic protection and conservation regimes might not be in place there. But a Ramsar tag makes it incumbent upon authority to strengthen the protection regime there and also creates defences against encroachment etc on wetlands.

6. E-FASTING CAN MINIMISE E-WASTE

THE CONTEXT: Electronic (e-waste) is emerging as a serious public health and environmental issue globally in this century.

STATUS OF E-WASTE AROUND THE WORLD

• The United States is the world leader in producing electronic waste, generating about three million tonnes each year.
• China already produces about 2.3 million tonnes (2010 estimate) domestically, second only to the United States.
• India is the ‘fifth-largest electronic waste producer in the world’. Approximately 1.2 million tonnes of e-waste is generated annually in India according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
• Annually, computer devices account for nearly 70 per cent of e-waste; 12 per cent comes from the telecom sector, eight per cent from medical equipment and seven per cent from electric equipment.
• The government, public sector companies and private sector companies, generate nearly 75 per cent of electronic waste, with the contribution of individual households being only 16 per cent. Unorganised processing and recycling of e-waste is also not safe from the environmental point of view.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF PROCESSING DIFFERENT ELECTRONIC WASTE COMPONENTS

HOW E-WASTE IS HARMFUL AND HAZARDOUS ?

• E-waste is already a major catastrophe due to its harmful and hazardous effects. It will continue to create more problems if not handled or processed properly.
• Children and adults, who are especially vulnerable to the effects of e-waste, often work, live and play in or near e-waste recycling centres. E-waste can pose several health hazards which include damage of kidney, immune system, reproductive system and central nervous system.
• Electronics waste contains hazardous but also simultaneously valuable and scarce materials which can be extracted. Up to 60 elements are generally found in complex electronics. In the United States, an estimated 70 per cent of heavy metals in landfills come from discarded electronics.

HOW CAN E-FASTING MINIMISE E-WASTE ?

• A digital fasting or e-fasting is usually referred to as reducing technology use such as turning off notifications, turning our phone off while working and setting limits for time we spend on technology daily can not only be helpful for us but also minimise e-waste.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY 8TH FEB 2022

Q. Which of the following is the first state in India to present a separate agriculture budget?

1. Telangana
2. Rajasthan
3. West Bengal
4. Tamil Nadu

Q2. Ramappa temple, which received world heritage tag recently, is located in which of the following states of India?

a. Andhra Pradesh

b. Telangana

c. Karnataka

d. Tamil Nadu

ANSWER FOR 7^TH FEB 2022

Answer:  C

Explanation:

1. Satkosia Tiger reserve – Odisha
2. Valmiki Tiger reserve – Bihar
3. Mukundara Hills Tiger reserve – Rajasthan