THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. THE RHINO POACHING IN ASSAM

THE CONTEXT: Rhino poaching in Assam is one of the major environmental issues in India which continues in the region of Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park and some other grasslands of Assam.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Wildlife officials said 2,479 of the 2,623 horns stored in 12 district treasuries since 1979 were burnt in six large iron pyres placed at a stadium in Bokakhat, about 240 km east of Guwahati. These were lit remotely through drones.

INDIAN RHINO VISION 2020 (IRV 2020)

• Launched in 2005.
• Initiative led by Forest Department, Government of Assam, in partnership with WWF India, International Rhino Foundation.
• Goal of IRV2020 was to increase the rhino population in Assam to 3,000by, establishing populations in new areas.
• Rhinos are now found in four Protected Areas in Assam:Pabitora Wildlife Reserve, Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park, Kaziranga National Park, and Manas National Park.

ONE-HORNED RHINOS:

• Only the Great One-Horned Rhino is found in India.
• Also known as the Indian Rhino, it is the largest of the rhino species.
• It is identified by a single black horn and grey-brown hide with skin folds.
• They primarily graze, with a diet consisting almost entirely of grasses as well as leaves, branches of shrubs and trees, fruit, and aquatic plants.
• Conservation status:
• IUCN Red List: Vulnerable.
• CITES: Appendix I
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I.
• The Greater One-Horned Rhinois one among the five different species of Rhino. The other four are:

1. Black Rhino:Smaller of the two African species. (IUCN: Critically Endangered)
2. White Rhino:Recently, researchers have created an embryo of the northern white Rhino by using In-vitro Fertilization (IVF) process. (ICUN: Near Threatened)
3. Javan Rhino: Critically endangeredin IUCN Red List.
4. Sumatran Rhino:Recently gone extinct in Malaysia, but Critically Endangered in IUCN Red List.

Kaziranga National Park ·         It was declared as a National Park in 1974. ·         It has been declared a tiger reserve since 2007. It has a total tiger reserve area of 1,030 sq km with a core area of 430 sq. km. ·         It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 ·         It is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International. ·         The National Highway 37 passes through the park area. ·         The park also has more than 250 seasonal water bodies, besides the Diphlu River running through it.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

2. THE NON-FUNGIBLE TOKENS

THE CONTEXT: According to market data tracker DappRadar data analytics, the sales of NFTs surged $25 billion in 2021 as the crypto asset exploded in popularity, fuelled by the rising interest of celebrities and tech evangelists.

THE EXPLANATION:

The cryptocurrency boom over the past two years has helped propel a newer market to record heights: digital collectibles, also known as NFTs.

What are Fungible and Non-Fungible assets?

• A fungible asset is something that can be readily interchanged like money. With money, you can swap a £10 note for two £5 notes, and it will have the same value.
• On the other hand, a non-fungible asset means it has unique properties which cannot be interchanged with something else.

Example: It could be a painting that is one of a kind. You can take a photo of the painting or buy a print, but there will only ever be one original painting.

What are Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)?

• Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are unique cryptographic tokens that exist on a blockchain and cannot be replicated.
• They are one-of-a-kind assets in the digital world that can be bought and sold like any other piece of property, but they have no tangible form of their own.
• The digital tokens can be thought of as certificates of ownership for virtual or physical assets.

How do they work?

• Non- Fungible tokens are unique, irreplaceable, mostly digital items that users buy and sell online.
• NFTs use blockchain technology to keep a digital record of ownership, similar to cryptocurrencies. They were first launched on ethereum, the same blockchain that supports the cryptocurrency ether, and to this day most NFTs can still only be purchased using ether.

How is an NFT different from cryptocurrency?

NFTs and cryptocurrencies are very different from each other. While both are built on Blockchain, that is where the similarity ends.

Cryptocurrency is a currency and is fungible, meaning that it is interchangeable. For instance, if you hold one crypto token, say one Ethereum, the next Ethereum that you hold will also be of the same value. But NFTs are non-fungible, that means the value of one NFT is not equal to another. Every art is different from other, making it non fungible, and unique.

Who can buy NFTs?

Anyone who holds a cryptocurrency wallet can buy an NFT. This is the only prerequisite to purchase an NFT.

THE GOVERNMENT SCHEMES AND INITIATIVES IN NEWS

3. THE ONE RANK ONE PENSION (OROP) POLICY

THE CONTEXT: The government clarified that the same rank and length of service were necessary for claiming the OROP benefits.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is OROP Policy?

• OROP means same pension, for same rank, for same length of service, irrespective of the date of retirement.
• It was a longstanding demand of the Indian armed forces and veterans.
• The concept was provoked by the then decision by Indira Gandhi-led government, in 1973, two years after the historic victory in the 1971 Bangladesh war.

How did the issue escalate?

• The Rank pay was a scheme implemented by the Rajiv Gandhi led govt in 1986, in the wake of 4th Central Pay Commission.
• It reduced the basic pay of seven armed officers’ ranks of 2nd Lieutenant, Lieutenant, Captain, Majors, Lt. Colonel, Colonels, Brigadiers and their equivalent by fixed amounts designated as rank pay.

How was it reviewed?

• In 2008, the then UPA led Government in the wake of the Sixth Central Pay Commission (6CPC), discarded the concept of rank-pay.
• Instead, it introduced Grade pay, and Pay bands, which instead of addressing the rank, pay, and pension asymmetries caused by ‘rank pay’ dispensation, reinforced existing asymmetries.

Issues with this pension policy

• The causes that inform the OROP protest movement are not pension alone, as armed forces veterans have often tried to make clear, and the parliamentary committee recorded.
• The issues, veterans emphasize, are of justice, equity, honor, and national security.
• The failure to address issue of pay-pension equity, and the underlying issue of honor, is not only an important cause for the OROP protest movement, but its escalation.

What is the Present Scenario?

• The ruling Government has accepted the OROP. It has already released Rs. 5500 crores to serve the purpose, but still, there are some grievances from the veterans’ side.
• It refined Pensions for all pensioners retiring in the same rank as the average of the minimum and maximum pensions in 2013.
• The veterans noted governments’ proposal as one rank many pensions since the review of 5 years would lead to differences in pension between senior and a junior.

THE PT PERSPECTIVE

4. THE INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY- FEBRUARY 21

THE CONTEXT: International Mother Language Day is observed every year on February 21 to honour those in Bangladesh who sacrificed their lives to protect their mother tongue, Bangla, against the then rulers of West Pakistan and to honour the ethno-linguistic rights of individuals across the world.

THE EXPLANATION:

The Language movement: The transition from East Pakistan to Bangladesh has a blood-stained story behind it. For the first time in world history, a mother tongue became the focal point for an independence movement.

According to the United Nations, at least 43% of the estimated 6,000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. The UN proclaimed the period between 2022-2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, “to draw global attention to the critical status of many indigenous languages around the world and to mobilize stakeholders and resources for their preservation, revitalization, and promotion.”

 Ray of hope

• International Mother Language Day 2022 was celebrated across the world with the theme, ‘Using technology for multilingual learning: Challenges and opportunities’. It highlighted the role of technology in developing multilingual education and in supporting the development of quality teaching and learning for all.

5. THE 2022 WINTER OLYMPICS

THE CONTEXT: The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics concluded on February 20, 2022 during a snowflake-themed closing ceremony at the Bird’s Nest stadium attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

DIPLOMATIC BOYCOTT BY COUNTRIES:

• Recently, India announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 over Galwan row with China.
• Other countries like USA, New Zealand, Australia and Canada have already announced the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics 2022.

Reason for Boycott: Indian response to boycotting the Beijing Olympics came from the backdrop of China picking a Chinese soldier involved in the Galwan incident as an Olympic torchbearer.The Galwan clashes inmid-June 2020 had resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers, including a Colonel.

What is a diplomatic boycott? It simply means these countries will not send official government delegations to Beijing during the Games. Given the scale of the Olympics, high-ranking officials from a country’s government often travel to the Olympics. These officials are often labeled as the ‘VIP visitors’

FEW FACTS ABOUT WINTER OLYMPICS

Winter Olympic Games are held once every four years for sports that are practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games were held in 1924 in Chamonix, France.

What sports are in the 2022 Winter Olympics?

There will be a total of 109 medal events across the following 15 sports:

1. Alpine Skiing
2. Biathlon
3. Bobsled
4. Cross-Country Skiing
5. Curling
6. Figure Skating
7. Freestyle Skiing
8. Hockey
9. Luge
10. Nordic Combined
11. Short Track
12. Skeleton
13. Ski Jumping
14. Snowboarding
15. Speed Skating

Additionally, the 2022 Winter Olympics will feature seven new events: Women’s Monobob, Men’s and Women’s Big Air (Freestyle Skiing), Mixed Team Snowboard Cross, Mixed Team Aerials, Mixed Team Short Track Relay, and Mixed Team Ski Jumping.

Mascots of the Beijing Winter Games?

• Bing DwenDwen, the Olympic mascot, is a In Mandarin, the word “Bing” has several meanings, including ice, and also symbolizes purity and strength.
• ShueyRhonRhon, the Paralympic mascot, is a Chinese lantern child with a glowing heart who symbolizes warmth, friendship, courage, and perseverance of Paralympic athletes.

THE PLACES IN NEWS

6. THE CRISIS IN UKRAINE’S DONBASS REGION

THE CONTEXT: As tensions spiral between Russia and the West over Ukraine, the rebel-held self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DNR/DPR and LNR/LPR) in Eastern Ukraine have started evacuating civilians to the Rostov region in Russia claiming an impending Ukrainian military offensive.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Since Moscow invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula in March 2014, pro-Russia rebels in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions began seizing territory in Eastern Ukraine and held a referendum to declare independence from Ukraine
• In February 2015, representatives of Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE and the leaders of Donetsk and Luhansk signed a 13-point agreement, now known as the Minsk 2 accord.

PT PERSPECTIVE: MINSK AGREEMENTS: Minsk I It was signed by Ukraine and the Russian-backed separatists. Its provisions included prisoner exchanges, deliveries of humanitarian aid and the withdrawal of heavy weapons. However, the agreement broke down with violations by both sides. Minsk II It was signed by Russia, Ukraine, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the leaders of pro-Russian separatist regions. The agreement set out a series of military and political steps that remain unimplemented. About Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe(OSCE) is the world’s largest regional security organization. Purpose: Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, promotion of human rights, freedom of the press, and fair elections. Member States: It consists of 57 participating States from North America, Europe and Asia. Secretariat: Vienna, Austria.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY 22^nd FEB 2022

Q. Which of the following country do not border with Ukraine?

a) Hungary

b) Poland

c) Romania

d) Bulgaria

ANSWER FOR 21^STFEB 2022

Answer: b)

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: Pashmina refers to a fine variant of spun cashmere, the animal-hair fibre forming the downy undercoat of the Changthangi goat.
• Statement 2 is correct: Goats naturally shed their undercoat, which regrows in winter. This undercoat is collected by combing goat, not by shearing, as in other fine wools.
• Statement 3 is incorrect: A traditional producer of pashmina wool in the Ladakh region of the Himalayas are a people known as the Changpa. These are a nomadic people and inhabit the Changthang plateau of Tibet.

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