UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 13-07-2020 | Current Affairs

Forest Fires in India

According to the report of the Forest Survey of India, between 2003–2017, a total of 5,20,861 active forest fire events were detected in India.
About 54% of the forest cover in India is exposed to occasional fire.
Most fire prone regions - Northeast India, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Western Himalaya have shown a sharp increase of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and ozone during high fire activity periods.
The occurrence of high fire intensity at the low altitude Himalayan hilly regions may be due to the plant species (pine trees) in the area and proximity to villages.
Villages make them more susceptible to anthropogenic activities like forest cover clearance, grazing and so on.
The sharp increase in average and maximum air temperature, decline in precipitation, and change in land-use patterns have caused the increased episodes of forest fires in most of the Asian countries.

Burn Indices

The Normalized Burn Ratio is an effective burn index commonly used to identify burnt regions in large fire zones.
In normal conditions, healthy vegetation exhibits a very high reflectance in the near-infrared spectral region and considerably low reflectance in the shortwave infrared spectral region.
These conditions get dismantled and reversed if a fire occurs.
Remote Sensing Burn Indices - The spectral differences between healthy vegetation and burnt forest areas can easily be identified and highlighted by remote sensing burn indices.
Remote sensing based models to measure primary productivity over an area and also looked at burn indices, which help to demarcate the forest fire burn scars using satellite imagery.
It can be a promising tool for land resource managers and fire officials.

Zinc Gluconate

Element Zinc is vital for maintaining normal bone homeostasis, and its levels are reported to get reduced in rheumatoid arthritis patients and arthritis-induced animals.
It is also known that oral supplementation of zinc in the form of zinc gluconate have very low bioavailability in humans.
Institute of Nano Science & Technology (INST) has formulated nanoparticles with chitosan and loaded these nanoparticles with zinc gluconate for reducing the severity of rheumatoid arthritis.
Zinc gluconate-loaded chitosan nanoparticles exerted superior therapeutic effects compared to the free form of zinc gluconate.
Chitosan is nontoxic, biocompatible, biodegradable natural polysaccharide.
It is one of the most abundant biopolymers obtained from the exoskeleton of crustaceans have shown absorption promoting characteristics.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints.
It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints.
Most commonly, the wrist and hands are involved, with the same joints typically involved on both sides of the body.
This may result in a low red blood cell count, inflammation around the lungs, and inflammation around the heart.
While the cause of rheumatoid arthritis is not clear, it is believed to involve a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Pain medications, steroids, and NSAIDs are frequently used to help with symptoms.

Reservations for Divyangjan

The Supreme Court, in a significant decision, confirmed that persons with disabilities are also socially backward.
The decision highlighted Divyangjan are entitled to the same benefits of relaxation as Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates in public employment and education.
SC upheld a 2012 judgment of the Delhi High Court in Anamol Bhandari vs. Delhi Technological University.

Constitutional provisions on reservations

Article 15 (4) empowers the State to make special provision for the advancement of the SCs and the STs.
E.g. providing fee concession in admission to any educational institution, building hostels for SCs/STs.
Article 15 (5) empowers the State to reserve seats for SCs and the STs in admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State.
However, it excludes minority educational institutions referred to in Article 30 (1).
Article 16 (4) empowers the State to make provisions for the reservation of appointments or posts in favor of SCs/STs.
Article 46 - Empower the state to promote educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular SC & ST and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.

NATGRID

It is the integrated intelligence grid connecting databases of core security agencies of the Government of India.
It functions under Ministry of Home Affairs.
It was proposed as a counter-terrorism measure after the terrorist attacks on Mumbai in 2008.
It is a medium for at least 10 Central agencies such as the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing to access data on a secured platform.
The data will be procured by NATGRID from 21 organizations such as the telecom, tax records, bank, immigration etc.
Recently, NATGRID has signed a MoU with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to access the centralized online database on FIRs and stolen vehicles.
The MoU will give NATGRID access to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) database, a platform that links around 14,000 police stations.
All State police are mandated to file FIRs in the CCTNS.

National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)

It releases the Crime in India report which serves as a statistical tool in understanding the law and order situation across the country.
It developed CCTNS in 2009 which aims at creating a comprehensive and integrated system for effective policing at all levels through adoption of principles of e-Governance.

Himalayan Viagra

Ophiocordyceps sinensis, also known as Himalayan Viagra is a fungus.
It is known for its aphrodisiac and rejuvenation properties
Recently IUCN has placed the fungus, in the ‘vulnerable’ category.
According to IUCN its spread has declined by at least 30% over the past 15 years as a result of overharvesting.
It is endemic to the Himalayan and Tibetan plateau and is found in China, Bhutan, Nepal and India.
In India, it is primarily found in Uttarakhand in the higher reaches of districts like Pithoragarh and Chamoli.
It is world’s costliest fungus which sells in international markets for upwards of Rs.20 lakh per.

Source: PIB, the Hindu

UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 13-07-2020