Facts in News
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WCCB receives Asia Environmental Enforcement Award-2020
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- 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.
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‘Footwear Sizing System’
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- 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.
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Carbon Watch
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- 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.
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Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES)
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- 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).
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Ayesha Aziz Women pilot
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- 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.
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Sant Ravidas
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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.
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