Facts in News

                                Facts in News

WCCB receives Asia Environmental Enforcement Award-2020

• The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has received the 5th Asia Environmental Enforcement Award-2020 awarded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
• WCCB has won the award in the ‘innovation category’ for its contribution against transboundary international crimes.
• WCCB also won the same award in 2018 in the same category.

About Asia Environmental Enforcement Award

• Given by UNEP in collaboration with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, CITES, INTERPOL and World Customs Organisation.
• Recognises efforts to curb crimes against the environment like illegal trade in wildlife and plastic waste.

About WCCB

• Established in 2007 as Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau.
• Under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)
• Headquarters: New Delhi

• Initiated Operation WILDNET-II
  • It warned off potential traders and brought in offenders by synchronising efforts of various stakeholders.
  • Social media and online trade portals were also included.
  • It resulted in seizing a range of Wildlife Commodities and Wildlife Species like Pangolins, Rhino horn, Falcons, Sea Fans, Coral, Antlers, Parakeets, Turtles and Civet Cats.

‘Footwear Sizing System’

• CSIR-Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) will lead a pan India 3D feet scanning survey.
  • It will be used to define Indian footwear size standards.
  • It will be included by shoe manufacturers in their size charts.
  • supported by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) of the Union Ministry of Commerce
• Benefits:
  • remove some of the confusion involved in buying shoes of ‘EU’, ‘UK’ or ‘US’ sizes.
• India is the second largest footwear producing country after China.
  • India manufactures all kinds of footwear.
  • The share of men’s footwear is the largest at about 58 per cent, Women’s footwear accounts for 30 per cent, Children’s for 9 per cent, and others for 3 percent of the footwear.

Carbon Watch

• It is India’s first app to assess one’s carbon footprint.
• It has been launched by Chandigarh but can be accessed by all.
• It asks the user to feed certain data in 4 parts:
  • Water: inform about the consumption of Water
  • Energy: Data regarding monthly electricity units consumed and solar energy consumed
  • Waste Generation: Amount of waste produced by individual and family is to be inputted
  • Transport (Vehicular movement): Mode of transport like bicycle, two-wheeler or four-wheeler, etc will be asked
• Based on data, carbon footprint is automatically calculated.
• The application will also provide information such as the national and world average of the emission, and the individual’s level of emission generation.

Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES)

• Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) including Japanese Encephalitis (JE) is a group of clinically similar neurologic manifestations caused by several different viruses, bacteria, fungus, parasites, spirochetes, chemicals/ toxins etc.
• Symptoms-
  • It is characterized as acute-onset of fever and a change in mental status (mental confusion, disorientation, delirium, or coma) and/or new onset of seizures in a person of any age at any time of the year.
• Affects-
  •  The disease most commonly affects children and young adults and can lead to considerable morbidity and mortality.
• Treatment –
  • The first treatment plan for this viral infection is hydration and increasing the glucose levels in the body.
• Steps -Govt. of India, as part of the National Programme for Prevention & Control of JE/AES, follows a multi-pronged strategy encompassing
  • Preventive (sanitation, safe drinking water, improvement in nutrition etc.)
  •  Case management (capacity building of medical and para-medical staff referral etc.).
  • Rehabilitation (physical and social rehabilitation of disabled children).

Ayesha Aziz Women pilot

• Ayesha Aziz, a 25-year-old from Kashmir has become the youngest female pilot in the country.
•  In 2011, she became the youngest student pilot to get a license at the age of 16.
• In 2017, she graduated in aviation from the Bombay Flying Club (BFC) and obtained a commercial license.
• She also underwent an astronaut training program at the NASA-Huntsville Space Centre
• She was given the First Ladies’ Award by the President of India in 2018 and figured among the country’s top 100 women achievers.
•  She now flies GoAir planes and is emerging as a role model among women in the Kashmir valley, who too are eager to break the social barriers of a conservative society to join professions otherwise dominated by men.

Sant Ravidas

President Kovind addressed ‘Shri Guru Ravidas Vishva Mahapeeth Rashtriya Adhiveshan in Delhi

Shri Guru Ravidas

•  He was born in the Harijan caste during the fifteenth century at Kanshi (Banaras) in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India.
• His mother’s name was Kalsa Devi Ji and his father’s name was Baba Santokh Dass Ji.
• He was a great Saint, philosopher, poet, social reformer, and follower of God.
• He is considered as a spiritual Guru of Meera Bai who was the queen of Chittoor and daughter of one of the famous kings in Rajasthan naming Rao Dudaji.

Contributions and Teachings –

• He had envisaged a society that is based on equality and free from any kind of discrimination.
• He gave it the name ‘Be-gampura’ – the city where there is no place for any kind of grief or fear.
• He was one of the most famous and leading stars of the nirguna sampradaya (sant parampara) and was one of the prominent leaders of the North Indian Bhakti movement.
• There are 41 verses of Guru Ravidass Ji in the Sikh Holy Book, Guru Granth Sahib which was compiled by Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs.
• India’s constitutional values of social justice, freedom, equality and fraternity are in line with Guru Ravidas’s philosophy of life.
• The Chief Architect of our Constitution, Dr B.R. Ambedkar embodied the Constitutional principles around the values expressed by Guru Ravidasji.
• Sant Ravidas Jayanti –
  • It is celebrated every year on Magh Purnima on the full moon day of Magh month with great enthusiasm and happiness all over India.