UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 15-06-2020

Aarogya Path

AarogyaPath is an information platform launched by union government, it aims to provide real-time availability of critical healthcare supplies for manufacturers, suppliers and customers.
It is a Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) National Healthcare Supply Chain Portal.
It is an integrated public platform that provides single-point availability of key healthcare goods such as medical equipment, drugs, apparel, etc.
It will set up an information management and forecasting database platform at national level to capture demand and supply scenarios for key healthcare needs items.
CSIR expects AarogyaPath to become the national healthcare information platform of choice in the years to come, filling a critical gap in last-mile delivery of patient care within India through improved availability and affordability of healthcare supplies.
It will also create opportunities for business expansion due to an expanded network of buyers and visibility of new requirements for products.

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research

It was established by the Government of India in September 1942 as an autonomous body. It comes under the Ministry of Science & Technology.
It is known for its cutting edge research and development knowledge base in diverse science and technology areas.
It has been ranked first in the Nature Ranking Index-2020.

Bum La Pass

The Bum La Pass is a mountain pass located at the Indo-China border above 15,200 ft above sea level, it is about 37 km away from Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
The road to Bum La is also a historical route, the People's Liberation Army of China invaded India during the 1962 Sino-Indian War.
In 2006, Bumla pass was re-opened to traders for the first time in 44 years.
Traders from both sides of the pass were permitted to enter each other's territories, in addition to postal workers from each country.
The area includes route taken by the 14th Dalai Lama when he escaped China and reached India to take refuge.
It is one of the five officially agreed Border Personnel Meeting points between the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army of China for regular consultations and interactions between the two armies to improve relations.
Other important pass in Arunachal Pradesh are

Border Personnel Meeting points

Border Personnel Meeting points are locations along the disputed Sino-Indian border where the armies of both countries hold ceremonial and practical meetings to resolve border issues and improve relations.

While border meetings have been held since the 1990s, the first formal Border Personnel Meeting point was established in 2013.
There are five meeting points, two in the Indian Union Territory of Ladakh, one in Sikkim, and two in Arunachal Pradesh, they are as follows

International Boundary Lines between India-China

Line of Actual Control (LAC) - Line of Actual Control (LAC) is a ceasefire line that separates the Indian-controlled state of Jammu and Kashmir from the Chinese-controlled area known as Aksai Chin.
The McMahon Line – It is the demarcation line between Tibet and the North-east region of India proposed by British colonial administrator Henry McMahon at the 1914 Shimla Convention signed between British and Tibetan representatives.
It is currently the effective boundary between China and India, although its legal status is disputed by the Chinese government.

Sharavathi Monkey Park

Karnataka government has decided to develop a monkey park in Shivamogga district.
The monkey park will be established on the uninhabited islands in the Sharavathi backwaters region.
The park will be the first such in the state and will be set up on 100 acres of land at the Nagavalli forest in Hosanagara taluk, Shivamogga district.
The proposed 100-acre monkey park will have fruit-bearing trees, water sources, and solar fence will be put up around the area to avoid monkeys venturing outside the park premises.
The idea came up following a spike in the cases of monkeys raiding agricultural and plantation crops in Malnad region in recent times and several protests by farmers.
As a solution to the menace, the State government took a decision to establish the park and in the 2020-21 budget, ₹6.25 crore was allocated for the purpose.
In Himachal Pradesh, there are state-of-the-art monkey sterilization and rehabilitation centers to address the monkey menace, however it has failed to attain its objective.

Indian Gaur

The Indian Gaur or Bison (Bos gaurus) is the largest and the tallest in the family of wild cattle and is a grazing animal.
It is categorized as vulnerable under IUCN Red List, and protected under Wild Life Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I.
It is kept well and protected in some of the famous national parks of India like Nagarhole, Bandipur, Kabini and Masinagudi (Mudumalai).
The destruction in the grasslands has led to the decline in availability of food for these animals.
The illegal hunting of the Indian bison is done for their commercial value as well as due to the high demand of gaur meat in the illegal market of India-Nepal border.
Recently, the first population estimation exercise of the Indian Gaur (Bison) was carried out in the Nilgiris Forest Division, Tamil Nadu.
World Wide Fund for Nature India assisted the exercise and highlighted that there are estimated 2,000 Indian gaurs across the division.

Malabar Gliding Frog

Recently, a rare amphibian, Malabar Gliding Frog (Rhacophorus malabaricus) was spotted in Pullad, Kerala.
In the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List it is placed in the Least Concern category.
The amphibian is endemic to the rainforest of western ghats.
Endemic species are those plants and animals that exist only in one geographical region.
It is a green frog with slender body, webbed feet, unusual body positions and very well camouflaged.
Camouflage, also called cryptic coloration, is a defense mechanism or tactic that organisms use to disguise their appearance, usually to blend in with their surroundings.
It has a body length of 10 cm, making it one of the largest mossy frogs.
Mossy Frogs, have the skin which is green in colour and resembles moss growing on the rock.
As their body is so soft, they can live only in moist forests with streams.

Source: PIB, Indian Express, the Hindu