Daily current affairs -12 July, 2020 | The Hindu |

The Hindu newspaper analysis-12 July,2020

1- India's Tiger census of 2018 has sets a Guinness world record:-

         

          India's Tiger census of 2018 has set of Guinness world record for being the world largest camera-trap wildlife survey.

.All India Tiger estimation 2018 (fourth cycle) counted 2967 tiger, which is about 75% of the global Tiger population.

. Camera traps- outdoor photographic devices fitted with motion sensors that start recording when an animal passes by.

. Highest number of Tiger India-  Madhya Pradesh (526), Karnataka (524), Uttarakhand (442).

. Tiger census conducted by National Tiger conservation authority (NTCA) In every 4 years.

.NTCA - The National Tiger Conservation Authority was established in December 2005 following a recommendation of the Tiger Task Force, constituted by the Prime Minister of India for reorganised management of Project Tiger and the many Tiger Reserves in India. 

 

2-China study group (CSG):-

     

          an informal group constituted in 1997,the CSG comprise the cabinet secretary,secretaries of Defence and Home,army chief and director of IB among other.

. Apex policy advisor to the government on China.

3- should Kuwait draft expat bill worry India?

    

           Kuwait national assembly is discussing several proposals to to reduce the share of foreigners in the country population which is now pagged at 70%.

. Many proposals under consideration and one is to put country caps on the number of emigrants in the country.

. India should not exceed 15% of Kuwait citizens, while Egyptian, Bangladeshis and Filipinos among other must not each exceed 10% of Kuwait.

4- IAF on a buying spree.

 

          on July 2nd the difence acquisition council  (DAC) chaired by Defence minister rajnath Singh approved defence deal worth Rupees 38, 900 crore which includes Procurement of 21 Mig-29 fighter jets for the IAF along with upgradation of 59 existing Mig-29 jets in the IAF inventory.

. Major deals- mig-29 procurement and upgradation from Russia (cost Rs.7,418).

. 12 su-30Mkis, which will be licence produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).(cost rs.10,730).

OTHER STEP- pinaka rocket ammunition long-range land attack missile system of over 1000 km range and close 250 Astra beyond visible range air to air missiles for the IAF.

. The Astra MK-1 have been integrated on the Su-30 mki jets and is being inducted into the force.

. An ungraded variant, the Astra Mk-II is under development by the defence research and development organisation ( DRDO).

4- Aerosol - aerosol are minute particles that are expelled under pressure ,as in the case of fine mist from a jar of perfume ,or can of roach repellent. however, aerosol is a term used to broadly refer to particles suspended in the air, they could include fine dust mist or smoke.

. Much smaller ( 5 microns or lesser).

5- Assam keelback snake -

     

        asam keelback snake spotted for the first time in 129 years ago.

. First time since 1869, wildlife institute of India ,Dehradun.

. Zoologist Abhijit das (2018).

Wildlife institute of India, Dehradun- established in 1982.

. WII is an internationally acclaimed institution, which offers training program,academic course and advisory in wildlife research and management.

. The institute is actively engaged in research across the breath of the country on biodiversity related issues.

. The WII an autonomous institution under the ministry of environment forest and climate change,goverment of India.

. First known as Habitus pealii this snake was named after Edward Peal, a British tea planter who first collected two specimens of this snake from upper Assam, 129 years ago.

. Assam keelback is so far known only to inhabit Sivasager in upper Assam and Poba in Assam- Arunanchal border.

6- understanding forest fires and their effect carbon emissions:-

         According to the report of the forest survey of India,over 54% of the forest cover in India is exposed to occasional fire.

. The study published in science of the total environment used remote sensing based models to measures primary productivity over in area and also looked at burn indices,which help to demorcate  the forest fire burns scars using satellite imagery.

. The normalised burn ratio is an effective burn index commonly used to identify burnt regions in large fire zones.

. Most fire-prone in Indian states- northeast India,Madhya Pradesh,odisa,Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

. Western Himalaya have shown of sharp increase of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and Ozone during high fire actively periods.

. The current paper noted very high to high carbon emissions in the Eastern Himalayan States, Western desert region and lower Himalayan region.

. Why forest fire in Himalayan hilly region? --because of the plant species (pine trees) in the area and proximity to villagers.

7- UNESCO regrets turkish move on hagia Sophia:- the UN's cultural agency UNESCO has voiced deep regret over Turkey move to convert Istanbul's iconic 6th century Hagia Sophia into a mosque .

. It is a powerful symbol for dialogue.

         Thank you , Have a good day 👍