Prelim Bits 19-09-2023 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

Liptako-Gourma Charter

The military leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger has recently signed a mutual defence pact, Liptako-Gourma Charter in Mali's capital Bamako.

• AES - The Charter established the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
• Aim - It aims to establish an architecture of collective defence and mutual assistance.
• Binding - The charter binds the signatories to assist one another — including militarily — in the event of an attack on any one of them.
• It also binds the 3 countries to work to prevent or settle armed rebellions.

Liptako-Gourma Region

• The region is the meeting point of the borders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

• Armed rebellion - The region has been ravaged by jihadist insurgency which erupted in northern Mali in 2012 and later spreaded to Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015.
• Their relations with the neighbours such as the regional bloc ECOWAS and the international partners such as France strained because of coups in the region.
• Mali has also asked the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA to leave the country.

References

1. The Hindu | Mali, Niger, Burkina sign mutual defence pact
2. Aljazeera | Sahel security alliance

Nyukmadung Dairy

Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) has established a first-of-its-kind parlour for yak milk in Nyukmadung village of Arunachal Pradesh.

• Nyukmadung Dairy is located at the farm of the ICAR-National Research Centre on Yak (NRC-Y), Arunachal Pradesh.
• Aim - The dairy, inclusive of a parlour, aims to make yak farming more remunerative by making yak milk and its diverse derivatives popular.

The YAK

• Scientific name - Poephagus grunniens
• Lifeline - Yak is the lifeline of ethnic communities of Himalayan and trans-Himalayan regions.
• Multipurpose - It helps the highlanders by yielding milk, meat, fibre, hide, and dung apart from being used for transportation.
• Significance of Yak Milk - It is creamy white, thick, sweetish, fragrant, and richer in protein, fat, lactose, minerals, and total solids than cow milk.
• It is enriched with a higher nutrient density and loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, amino acids, and antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
• It is processed into various traditional products like chhurpi (wet soft cheese), churkham (hard cheese) and mar (butter).
• Butter Tea - A small portion of the raw milk is had in the form of butter tea for the communities’ own consumption.

References

1. The New Indian Express | Yak milk parlour in Arunachal Pradesh
2. The Hindu | A parlour for yak milk in Arunachal Pradesh

Palamuru–Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS)

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao inaugurated the Palamuru–Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme at Narlapur in Nagarkurnool district.

• About - The scheme envisages lifting water from the Srisailam reservoir to the K P Laxmidevipally reservoir district with 5 stage lifting and then utilizing water by gravity.
• It is built on River Krishna at a cost of Rs 35,000 crore in Nagarkurnool district, Telangana.
• Purpose – The project aims to provide irrigation and water for both industrial and drinking purpose.
• Execution - The project was planned to be executed in 2 phases.
  • Phase – I – Provides drinking water to 1226 villages in 70 blocks
  • Phase – II - Addresses irrigation requirements
• As part of Phase I, 6 balancing reservoirs, including Anjanagiri, Veeranjaneya, Venkatadri, Kurumurthyraya, Udandapur and KP Lakshmidevipally were constructed.

The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project is the world's largest multi-stage lift irrigation project.

References

1. The Indian Express | Telangana CM inaugurates lift irrigation project
2. Document | Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme

Santiniketan on UNESCO’s World Heritage List

Santiniketan, the university town in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, has been inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List during the 45^th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

• Establishment - Established in 1901, by poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore, lovingly known as Gurudev.
• It was originally an ashram built by Debendranath Tagore, where anyone, irrespective of caste and creed, could spend time meditating the one Supreme God.
• Popularly known as - University Town
• It served as a residential school and centre for art based on ancient Indian traditions and a vision of the unity of humanity transcending religious and cultural boundaries.
• University - In 1921, a ‘world university’ was established at Santiniketan to recognise the unity of humanity or Visva Bharati.

Visva-Bharati University

• It is the sole Central University of West Bengal.
• Location- Santiniketan
• Founded by - Rabindranath Tagore
• It was declared as a Central University and an Institution of National Importance by an Act of Parliament in 1951.
• Chancellor - Prime Minister

References

1. Times of India | Tagore’s Santiniketan makes it to UNESCO WHS list
2. UNESCO | Newly inscribed Sites

Montreal Protocol

Ozone Day 2023 celebrates the success of the Montreal Protocol, which has helped put the ozone layer on track to being intact again.

• Montreal Protocol - It is an international agreement designed to protect the stratospheric ozone layer by regulating the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances (ODS).
• Signed - It was originally signed in 1987 and enacted in 1989 and substantially amended in 1990 and 1992.
• Summit - The parties to the protocol meet annually to make a decision and review the execution of its operations to date.
• The Parties are assisted by the Ozone Secretariat, which is based at UN Environment Programme headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.
• Equal but differentiated responsibilities - The Protocol phases down the ODS in a step-wise manner, with different timetables for developed and developing countries.
• Kigali Amendment - It seeks to eliminate 80-90% of the HFCs currently in use by the year 2050.
• India - India became a signatory to the Montreal Protocol in 1992.
• India is an Article 5 country and is entitled to assistance from the Multilateral Fund in its efforts to phase out ODSs and switch over to non-ODS technologies.
• Multilateral Fund - It was established in 1991 for the implementation of the Montreal Protocol under Article 10 of the treaty.
• The Fund's objective is to provide financial and technical assistance to developing country parties to the Montreal Protocol whose annual per capita consumption and production of ODS is less than 0.3 kg to comply with the control measures of the Protocol.
• The Fund’s activities are implemented by UNEP, UNDP, UNIDO and the World Bank.

References

1. Indian Express | Ozone Day celebrates montreal protocol
2. UNEP | Montreal Protocol