Great Barrier Reef risks ''in danger'' World Heritage listing

• The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s natural wonders and is the largest coral reef on Earth.
• Spanning 2,300km along the Queensland coast of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef’s 3,000 coral reef systems contain a huge diversity of marine plants and animals, such as sea turtles, reef fish, sharks, hard and soft corals and migrating whales.
• It was placed on the World Heritage List in 1981 in recognition of its superb natural beauty and biological diversity.
• It was recognised in 1975 by the creation of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
• The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act (GBRMPA) that was brought in later provides the framework for managing the reef as a large ecosystem.

The world''s biggest active volcano, Hawaii''s Mauna Loa, erupts after 38 years

• Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that together make up the Big Island of Hawaii, which is the southernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago.
• It’s not the tallest (that title goes to Mauna Kea) but it’s the largest and makes up about half of the island’s land mass.
• It sits immediately north of Kilauea volcano, which is currently erupting from its summit crater.
• Kilauea is well-known for a 2018 eruption that destroyed 700 homes and sent rivers of lava spreading across farms and into the ocean.
• Mauna Loa last erupted 38 years ago.
• In written history, dating to 1843, it’s erupted 33 times.

volcanoes

• Any volcano that has erupted within the Holocene period (in the last 11,650 years) is considered to be “active” by scientists.
• “Dormant” volcanoes are those active volcanoes which are not in the process of erupting currently, but have the potential to do so in the future.
• Mauna Loa was a dormant volcano for the last 38 years.
• “Extinct” volcanoes are ones which scientists predict will never face any further volcanic activity.
• Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the UK, is an extinct volcano.

Krakatoa, Indonesia

• One of the most catastrophic volcanic eruptions ever occurred in Krakatoa in 1883.

Mount Vesuvius, Italy

• In 79 CE, Mount Vesuvius erupted in one of the deadliest eruptions in European history, killing as many as 16,000 and destroying the town of Pompeii.

Mount Fuji, Japan

• It last erupted in 1707-1708 and had a devastating effect on the local population.

Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland

• Sometimes referred to as E15, it is one of the many volcanic features of Iceland.
• In 2010, a relatively small eruption managed to bring air traffic in Europe to a complete standstill.

Kīlauea, Hawaii

• Adjacent to the Mauna Loa, this is one of the most active volcanoes on the planet.
• It has been erupting intermittently since recorded history, with its eruption lasting from 1983 to 2018 being the longest continuous eruption ever recorded.

Mount St Helens, USA

• Located in Washington State, Mount St. Helens was a major eruption that occurred on May 18, 1980 and it remains the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in U.S. history.

Govt allows Indian airlines to wet lease wide-body planes for a year

• Wet leasing means renting the plane along with operating crew and engineers, while dry leasing refers to taking only the aircraft on rent.
• The technical term for wet leasing is ACMI which stands for aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance.
• These are the aspects of the operation that the wet lease airline takes care of, while the airline client will still be responsible for paying for direct operating costs such catering and fuel as well as fees such as airport fees, ground handling charges and navigation fees.
• Operations of an aircraft on wet lease is not encouraged by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) as the crew is often not approved by Indian authorities.
• Also, wet leasing is generally a short-term arrangement, as it is more expensive than a dry lease.

Betting for exotic meat, gambling dens in Manipur descend further into illegality

• Police and forest officials in the Manipur’s Ukhrul town have been scanning “gambling dens” following reports of wild animals — dead or alive — being offered as prizes for raffle draws. Apart from wild boars and deer, animals such as binturong (an arboreal mammal also known as bearcat), squirrels and flying foxes (bats) have been found to be on offer.
• The binturong (Arctictis binturong) is a medium-sized mammal, also known as a bearcat, of the Viverridae family, which includes civets, linsangs and genets.
• Its nine subspecies are the sole occupants of the genus Arctictis.
• They can weigh up to 50 pounds, but most often weigh in at between 25 and 35 pounds.
• Binturongs live in the rainforests of Southeast Asia.
• Its range extends from Nepal, India, and Bhutan southward to the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java and eastward to Borneo.

Prehensile Tail:

• The animals spend most of their time hanging out in the treetops.
• The animal uses its tail—which is almost as long as its body—like a fifth limb as it climbs through the forest.
• This tail is prehensile, which means it’s capable of gripping things.
• The binturong is one of only two carnivores that has a prehensile tail.
  • The other is the kinkajou.
• They are classified as a vulnerable species by IUCN.

IAF conducts ‘Samanvay 2022’ to assess efficacy of institutional disaster management structures

• The exercise aims to provide a unique platform for the exchange of domain knowledge, experience and best practices with the participating Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries.
• Various representatives of the ASEAN countries are participating in the exercise.
• The aim of the exercise includes assessing the efficacy of institutional Disaster Management structures and contingency measures.
• The exercise will promote a synergistic approach by involving various institutions like the Armed Forces, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Civil Administration.
• The exercise would aid in the evolution of institutional frameworks for effective communication, interoperability, cooperation and their application for the successful conduct of HADR.

Disaster Management in India:

• In India, NDMA is the apex statutory body for disaster management.
• It was formally constituted on 27th September 2006, in accordance with the Disaster Management Act, 2005 with Prime Minister as its Chairperson.
• Indian defence forces, under the aegis of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS), have been carrying out HADR operations within the country as well as outside the country.
• The defence forces can deliver during various HADR contingencies because of their expertise in damage assessment, evacuation, setting up of relief infrastructure, restoring communication and providing medical facilities, distributing ration supplies, clothing etc.

International Jaguar Day celebrated at National Zoological Park

• International Jaguar Day is observed annually on November 29.
• International Jaguar Day was created to raise awareness about the increasing threats facing the jaguar and the critical conservation efforts ensuring its survival.
• It celebrates the Americas’ largest wild cat as an umbrella species for biodiversity conservation and an icon for sustainable development and the centuries-old cultural heritage of Central and South America.
• This is the third largest Cat Predator of the World and an important species of Amazon Rainforest.
• International Jaguar Day also represent the collective voice of jaguar range countries, in collaboration with national and international partners, to draw attention to the need to conserve jaguar corridors and their habitats as part of broader efforts to achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Jaguars (Panthera onca):

• Jaguars (Panthera onca) are often mistaken for leopards, but can be differentiated due to the spots within the rosettes on their coats.
• While many cats avoid water, jaguars are great swimmers, and have even been known to swim the Panama Canal.
• Jaguars once roamed broadly from central Argentina all the way up to the southwestern United States.
• Since the 1880s, they’ve lost more than half their territory.
• Their main stronghold today is the Amazon Basin, though they still exist in smaller numbers through Central America as well.
• They’re typically found in tropical rainforests but also live in savannas and grasslands.
• Jaguars are classified as Near-threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
• The species has national protections in almost every country it’s found, and trade in its parts is banned by CITES.

Ministry of Power  launches scheme for Procurement of Aggregate Power of 4500 MW for five years under B (v) of SHAKTI Policy

• The scheme will help states that are facing power shortage and help generation plants to increase their capacities.
• PFC Consulting Limited has been designated as the nodal agency. It has invited bids for the supply of 4,500 MW electricity.
• The supply will commence from April 2023.
• The utilities that have shown interest for the scheme are Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd, Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Ltd, New Delhi Municipal Corporation and Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd.
• It is for the first time that bidding is being carried out under B(v) of SHAKTI scheme.

SHAKTI Scheme:

• SHAKTI, or Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India, was launched in 2018.
• It aims to provide coal to stressed power units which lack coal supply.

World’s first Intranasal vaccine iNCOVACC gets Approved by DCGI

• It is developed by Bharat Biotech International Limited.
• It was developed in partnership with Washington University, St Louis, which had designed and developed the recombinant adenoviral vectored construct and evaluated in pre-clinical studies for efficacy.
• The approval is under Restricted Use in Emergency Situation for ages 18 and above in India, for heterologous booster doses.
• iNCOVACC is a recombinant replication deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion stabilised SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
• It is the world''s first intranasal vaccine to receive both primary series and heterologous booster approval.
• The vaccine candidate was evaluated in Phases I, II and III clinical trials with successful results and has been specifically formulated to allow intranasal delivery through nasal drops.
• It is stable at 2-8 degrees Celsius for easy storage and distribution.

RBI to launch first pilot for retail digital rupee on December 1

• Eight banks have been identified for phase-wise participation in this pilot.
• The first phase will begin with four banks including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank in four cities across the country.
• Four more banks, including Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank will join this pilot subsequently.
• The pilot would initially cover four cities, including Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar and later extend to Ahmedabad, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna and Shimla.
• The scope of the pilot may be expanded gradually to include more banks, users and locations as needed.
• The pilot would cover select locations in a closed user group - CUG comprising participating customers and merchants.
• The digital Rupee would be in the form of a digital token that represents legal tender.
• Users will be able to transact with digital Rupee through a digital wallet offered by the participating banks and stored on mobile phones.
• Transactions can be both Person to Person and Person Merchant.
• Payments to merchants can be made using QR codes displayed at merchant locations.
• The digital Rupee would offer features of physical cash like trust, safety and settlement finality.
• As in the case of cash, it will not earn any interest and can be converted to other forms of money, like deposits with banks.
• The pilot will test the robustness of the entire process of digital rupee creation, distribution and retail usage in real time.
• Different features and applications of the digital Rupee token and architecture will be tested in future pilots, based on the learnings from this pilot.

NITI Aayog releases study report on ‘Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) Policy Framework and its Deployment Mechanism in India’

• Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) is the technology for decarbonising carbon dioxide (CO2) from high polluting sectors such as steel, cement, oil, gas, petrochemicals, chemicals and fertilisers, has a critical role to play for the country to halve CO2 emissions by 2050
• The purpose of CCUS policy framework is to develop and implement a practicable framework to accelerate research and development on carbon capture, utilisation and storage in India.
• It is key to ensuring sustainable development and growth in India, particularly for the production of clean products and energy, leading to an Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• CCUS also has an important role to play in enabling sunrise sectors such as coal gasification and the nascent hydrogen economy in India.
• CCUS projects will also lead to a significant employment generation. It estimates that about 750 mtpa of carbon capture by 2050 can create employment opportunities of about 8-10 million on full time equivalent (FTE) basis in a phased manner.
• On the policy framework, the NITI Aayog report suggested that in the near term, CCUS policy should be carbon credits or incentives based, to seed and promote the CCUS sector in India through tax and cash credits.
• As India is the third largest emitter of CO2 in the world after China and the US about 2.6 gigatonne per annum, carbon capture utilisation and storage is an essential imperative for India to reach its Decarbonisation Goals.

Emission Reduction:

• At COP 26 late year in Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced panchamrit to mitigate climate change including achieving net zero by 2070.
• The government of India has also committed to reducing CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2050.