Prelim Bits 01-03-2023 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

Inji gramam Scheme

Kulathoor, an agrarian village near Thiruvananthapuram well known for its paddy and banana, is rooting for ginger.

• Ginger is mostly grown in Idukki district and in leased lands in Karnataka by Keralite farmers.
• Inji gramam project was launched in March 2022 under the Panchayat’s People’s Plan.
• ‘Inji gramam’ (Ginger village) is an initiative of the panchayat and Kulathoor Krishi Bhavan.
• The scheme is a pilot project in which 250 farmers of Kulathoor grama panchayat, were selected to cultivate ginger.
• Nearly 10 tonnes (10,000 kilograms) have been harvested from the first crop.
• Ginger - Ginger is a perennial aromatic rhizome.
• Ginger is propagated from seed rhizomes.
• It takes 8 to 10 months to harvest the crop.
• Poultry manure, cow dung and dry leaves are used as manure.

References

1. The Hindu -‘Inji gramam’ - a new scheme to cultivate ginger

MeitY launches GAC

The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) launched the Grievance Appellate Committee, a faceless dispute resolution mechanism.

• Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) is a faceless (online) dispute resolution mechanism.
• GAC makes digital platforms (big and small), accountable to Digital Nagriks (users).
• Act - The GAC was one of the provisions in the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
• GAC aims to ensure a Safe, trusted and accountable internet for Indian users.
• So far, 3 such bodies have been constituted comprising of professionals from various fields.
• Composition - The GAC is a 3-member committee.
• It consists of a chairperson and 2 whole-time members appointed by the Central Government.
• In which one will be a member ex-officio and two will be independent members.
• Process - The users may file their appeal through the GAC’s online platform.
• The users can also track their appeal through the appellant login window in the platform.
• GACs can also be accessible through the Common Service Centres (CSCs).
• Function - The GAC deals with the appeals of users aggrieved by decisions of Grievance Officers of social media intermediaries and other intermediaries.
• All the decisions of GAC will be uploaded on website and accessible to the public.
• Duration - The users can file an appeal with the GACs within a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of communication from the intermediary’s Grievance Officer.
• This Committee will subsequently endeavour to address the user’s appeal within a period of 30 days.

References

1. PIB - MeitY launches the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC)
2. The Hindu - Portal opened for complaints against decisions of social media platforms
3. Grievance Appellate Committee

Proton Beam Therapy

Cancer patients in India face twin challenges in accessing proton beam therapy (PBT)

• Proton beam therapy (PBT) represents a very sophisticated form of modern radiation therapy.
• PBT offers the highest degree of precision and efficacy in cancer treatment.
• The PBT is considered a viable alternative to radiation for treating solid tumours, especially for head and neck cancers.
• Unlike radiation which uses X-rays, PBT uses protons to tackle cancer.
• While radiation can prove toxic to the whole body, protons can destroy cancer cells precisely by targeting tumours, thus saving adjoining organs.
• PBT in India - Currently there are 42 PBT machine installations in the U.S., followed by Europe (35), Japan (26), China (7), Taiwan (3) and South Korea (2) and India has only one.
• Apollo Hospital in Chennai is the only centre in the whole of South and West Asia offering the PBT.
• Government Initiative - Indian government to install a PBT unit in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Jhajjar) - Shelved.
• The foundation stone was laid for PBT unit at the National Hadron Beam facility of Tata Memorial Hospital in Navi Mumbai in 2014.

References

1. The Hindu - Proton beam therapy out of reach for many with cancer
2. FE - A rare brain tumour gets successfully treated with PBT

Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary

The strawberry harvest is done by farmers who live in one of the 56 villages in the tropical deciduous forest of the Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary.

• The Sunabeda plateau is largely a grass-covered plateau 3,000 feet above sea level, along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border
• The Sunabeda wildlife sanctuary is in Nuapada district, Odisha adjoining Udanti and Sitanadi Sanctuaries of Chhatisgarh State.
• The sanctuary houses canyons and 11 waterfalls apart from diverse wildlife.
• The sanctuary forms the catchment area of the Jonk, Sunder and Indra rivers.
• Fauna - Tigers, swamp deer, leopards, gaurs, sloth beer, barking deer, common langur and rhesus monkeys.
• Birds - The sanctuary is home to vultures, hill mynah, patridge, and pea fowls.
• It forms a migration link for wild buffaloes across the two states of Odisha and Chhatisgarh.
• The Chuktia Bhunjia tribes lives inside the sanctuary.

Chuktia Bhunjia tribe

• Chuktia Bhunjia tribe is one of 13 PVTGs found in Odisha.
• The Chuktia Bhunjia Development Agency (CBDA) works for the development of the tribe, especially in livelihood programmes.

References

1. The Hindu - Strawberry farming making waves in Odisha
2. Odisha Tourism - Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary

Methane Global Tracker Report

The International Energy Agency (IEA) released their annual Methane Global Tracker Report.

• According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) annual Methane Global Tracker report, the fossil fuel companies have done almost nothing to curb the emissions despite their pledge to do so.
• The report shows that some progress is being made but that emissions are still far too high and not falling fast enough.
• But fossil fuel companies failed to take any substantial action regarding the issue.

The fossil fuel companies emitted 120 million metric tonnes of methane into the atmosphere in 2022, only slightly below the record highs seen in 2019.

• Findings - The energy sector accounts for around 40% of the total average methane emissions from human activity.
• More than 260 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas (mostly composed of methane) is wasted through flaring and methane leaks globally.
• 80% of the available options to curb the release of methane could be implemented by the fossil fuel industry at net zero cost.
• Ultimately, reducing 75% of the wastage of natural gas could lower global temperature rise by nearly 0.1 degree Celsius by mid-century.
• Methane - Methane (CH₄) is a hydrocarbon.
• Methane is a greenhouse gas, which is responsible for 30% of the warming since preindustrial times, second only to carbon dioxide.
• Methane is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide.
• Carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for much longer than methane, but methane is roughly 25 times more powerful at trapping heat in the atmosphere.
• Methane cuts are among the cheapest options to limit near-term global warming.

References

1. IE - What IEA’s annual report says?
2. IEA - Global Methane Tracker