Members of high-powered committee on Ladakh say MHA order is vague, avoids mention of Sixth Schedule

• The committee will discuss measures to:
  • protect the region’s unique culture and language taking into consideration its geographical location and strategic importance;
  • ensure protection of land and employment for the people of Ladakh;
  • strategise inclusive development and discuss issues related to the empowerment of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill District Councils of Leh and Kargil.
• Why was the committee formed?
  • After the unique status of the formerly-existing State of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution was read down by Parliament on August 5, 2019, civil society organisations in Ladakh have been calling for the protection of land, resources, and jobs for the previous three years.
• What is the sixth schedule?
  • The sixth schedule under Article 244 of the Constitution protects the autonomy of tribal populations through creation of autonomous development councils which can frame laws on land, public health and agriculture.
  • As of now ten autonomous councils exist in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
  • As per the 2011 Census, the total population of Ladakh was 2,74,289, and nearly 80% of them are tribals.

Stalemate over SYL canal continues as meeting between Haryana, Punjab remains inconclusive

• The Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal (SYL), is an under-construction canal to connect the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers.
• The decades-old dispute over the canal, which is supposed to carry water from Punjab to Haryana, has its origin in a disagreement over sharing of Ravi-Beas water.
• The river Beas joins river Sutlej in Punjab.
• The dispute regarding sharing of river water emerged after Punjab was reorganised in 1966, and the state of Haryana was created (out of Punjab).
• After this, Punjab refused to share waters of Ravi and Beas with Haryana.

Dispute on water sharing:

• Before the reorganisation in 1955, out of 15.85 million acre feet (MAF) water of Ravi and Beas, the Centre had allocated 8 MAF to Rajasthan, 7.20 MAF to undivided Punjab, 0.65MAF to Jammu and Kashmir.
• In March 1976, when Punjab Reorganisation Act was implemented, the Centre notified fresh allocations, providing 3.5 MAF To Haryana.
• Later, in 1981, the water flowing down Beas and Ravi was revised and estimated to be at 17.17 MAF. Out of this, 4.22 MAF was allocated to Punjab, 3.5 MAF to Haryana, and 8.6 MAF to Rajasthan.
• To enable Haryana to use its share of the waters of the Sutlej river and its tributary, Beas, a canal linking the Sutlej with the Western Yamuna Canal, was planned. The 212-km canal (SYL) was supposed to carry Haryana’s share of water to its southern parts.
• 122 km of the canal was to pass through Punjab and the remaining 90 km was to pass through Haryana. Haryana has completed its side of the canal, however, Punjab has continued to delay the construction for over three decades.
• In 2002 and 2004, the Supreme Court ordered the completion of the canal in Punjab.
• In 2004, the Punjab assembly passed a law, which declared all inter-state agreements related to the sharing of Ravi and Beas waters, as invalid.
• However, in 2016 the Supreme Court invalidated (cancelled) this law.

Dieback disease hits neem trees in Telangana again

• The dieback disease was first reported in the country during the 1990s near Dehradun in Uttarakhand, while it was first noticed in Telangana in 2019.
• The dieback disease is mainly caused by the fungi Phomopsis azadirachtae.
• The dieback disease affects leaves, twigs and the inflorescence of neem trees of all ages and it causes almost 100% loss of fruit production in severely infected trees.
• The dieback is a fungal disease but the neem trees are sometimes hit by insect infestation and the combination of both increases its impact.
• The disease posing a threat to the neem trees has been identified as twig blight and dieback disease in Telangana, and it has reappeared in the state this year on a massive scale.
• The appearance of symptoms starts with the onset of the rainy season and becomes progressively severe in the later part of the rainy season and early winter.

South Asian black carbon aerosols increase glacial mass loss over Tibetan plateau

• Black carbon aerosols are produced by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass, and are characterised by strong light absorption.
• The South Asia region adjacent to the Tibetan Plateau has among the highest levels of black carbon emission in the world.
• Many studies have emphasised black carbon aerosols from South Asia can be transported across the Himalayas to the inland region of the Tibetan Plateau.
• Black carbon deposition in snow reduces the albedo of surfaces -- a measure of how much of Sun''s radiations are reflected -- which may accelerate the melting of glaciers and snow cover, thus changing the hydrological process and water resources in the region.
• Black carbon aerosols in South Asia heat up the middle and upper atmosphere, thus increasing the North­–South temperature gradient.
• Accordingly, the convective activity in South Asia is enhanced, which causes convergence of water vapour in South Asia. Meanwhile, black carbon also increases the number of cloud condensation nuclei in the atmosphere.
• These changes in meteorological conditions caused by black carbon aerosols make more water vapour form precipitation in South Asia, and the northward transport to the Tibetan Plateau was weakened.
• As a result, precipitation in the central and the southern Tibetan Plateau decreases during the monsoon, especially in the southern Tibetan Plateau.
• The decrease in precipitation further leads to a decrease of mass gain of glaciers.
• From 2007 to 2016, the reduced mass gain by precipitation decrease accounted for 11% of the average glacier mass loss on the Tibetan Plateau and 22.1% in the Himalayas.

National Commission for Scheduled Tribes’ position on new Forest Conservation Rules ‘will be same’

• It was established by amending Article 338 and inserting a new Article 338A in the Constitution through the Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003.
• By this amendment, the erstwhile National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was replaced by two separate Commissions namely-
  • the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), and
  • the NCST w.e.f. 19 February, 2004.

What is the composition of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes?

• The term of office of Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and each member is three years from the date of assumption of charge.
• The Chairperson has been given the rank of Union Cabinet Minister, and the Vice-Chairperson that of a Minister of State and other Members have the ranks of a Secretary to the Government of India.

Functions

• To Monitor safeguards provided for STs under the Constitution or under other laws;
• To inquire into specific complaints relating to Rights & Safeguards of STs;
• To advise in the Planning Process relating to Socio-economic development of STs;
• To submit report to the President annually and other times on welfare Measures required related to Socio-economic development of STs;
• To discharge such other functions in relation to STs as the President may by rule specify;

Mahadayi water sharing row between Goa, Karnataka

• On December 30, 2022, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai told the Legislative Assembly that the government had received clearance from the Centre for two Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) on the Kalasa-Banduri Nala on the Mahadayi. It has escalated its long-standing dispute on the issue with neighbouring Goa.
• The Kalasa Banduri Nala project aims to divert water from Mahadayi to satisfy the drinking water needs of Belagavi, Dharwad, Bagalkot and Gadag districts.
• Though the project was first proposed in the early 1980s, it has remained on paper owing to a dispute between Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.
• As per plans, barrages are to be built against Kalasa and Banduri streams — tributaries of Mahadayi — and water diverted towards Karnataka’s parched districts.
• Mahadayi originates inside the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in the Belagavi district of Karnataka and flows into the Arabian Sea in Goa.

Tribunal

• A Tribunal was set up by the UPA government in November 2010.
• The Tribunal in 2018 awarded 13.42 TMC water from Mahadayi river basin to Karnataka, 1.33 TMC to Maharashtra and 24 TMC to Goa.
• In Karnataka’s share, 5.5 TMC was to meet drinking water needs and 8.02 TMC was for hydro-electricity generation.
• Of the 5.5 TMC, 3.8 TMC was to be diverted to Malaprabha basin through Kalasa and Banduri Nalas (canals).
• This was notified by the Central government in February 2020.

World Braille Day 2023 celebrates on 4th January

• The day commemorates the birth anniversary of French educator Louis Braille, who invented the Braille language in the year 1809.
• Louis Braille developed the Braille system by modifying Charles Barbie’s Night Write system.
• The first Braille system was published in 1829 and was adopted by the National Institute for Blind Youth.
• It is observed to raise awareness about the importance of Braille as a means of communication in the full realisation of the human rights of the visually impaired and partially sighted people.
• The day was recognised in 2019 by the United Nations.
• The Braille system, which is based on a series of raised dots that can be read with the fingertips, has given millions of people who are blind or visually impaired the ability to read and write, and has greatly increased their independence and ability to participate fully in society.

50 ASI-protected monuments disappear: How did they go ‘missing’.

• The Ministry of Culture mentioned in its report titled ‘Issues relating to Untraceable Monuments and Protection of Monuments in India’ which was submitted to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture.

Centrally Protected Monuments

• The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (AMASR Act) 1958 regulates the preservation of monuments and archaeological sites of national importance.
• The Act protects monuments and sites that are more than 100 years old, including temples, cemeteries, inscriptions, tombs, forts, palaces, step-wells, rock-cut caves, and even objects like cannons and mile pillars that may be of historical significance.
• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which is under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Culture, functions under this Act.

ASI

• It was founded in 1861 by a British Army engineer Alexander Cunnigham who is also known as the ‘Father of Indian Archaeology’.
• It engages in archaeological research and conservation, and protection and preservation of ancient monuments and archaeological sites in the country.
• ASI regulates all archaeological activities conducted in the country through the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (AMASR Act), 1958.
• It also regulates the Antiquities and Art Treasure Act, of 1972.
• ASI has more than 3,693 protected monuments and archaeological sites of National Importance that it protects and preserves.

What Is A Winter Heat Wave?

• At least seven countries in Europe recorded their hottest January weather ever. These included Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia.
• Experts said that the continent is experiencing an extremely warm spell because of the formation of a heat dome over the region.

Heat dome

• A heat dome occurs when an area of high-pressure traps warm air over a region, for an extended period. The longer that air remains trapped, the more the sun works to heat the air, producing warmer conditions with every passing day.
• Heat domes generally stay for a few days but sometimes they can extend up to weeks, which might cause deadly heat waves.
• Moreover, when air sinks, it gets drier and further raises the temperature of the area.

How it is formed

• The heat dome’s formation is related to the behaviour of the jet stream; an area of fast-moving air high in the atmosphere.
• The jet stream is believed to have a wave-like pattern that keeps moving from north to south and then north again.
• When these waves get bigger, they move slowly and sometimes can become stationary. This is when a heat dome forms.

Previous instances of heat domes

• In 2021, a heat dome formed over western Canada and the US, causing deadly heat waves. Portland city in Oregon, US, saw the mercury rise to 46 degrees Celsius while the temperature in Washington hit 49 degrees Celsius.

PM pays tributes to Rani Velu Nachiyar on her birth anniversary

• Rani Velu Nachiyar was born on January 3, 1730, in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, India.
• She was the first queen to have ever actively opposed British rule and fought against colonial rulers many years before the Sepoy Mutiny.
• She is known by Tamils as
• She was trained in war to match weapons usage, martial arts like Valari, Silambam (fighting using the stick), horse riding and archery.
• She was a scholar in many languages and she had proficiency in languages like French, English and Urdu.
• She married the king of Sivagangai named Muthuvaduganathaperiya Udaiyathevar, with whom she had a daughter. When her husband was killed by British soldiers, she was drawn into battle.
• War against the British: In collaboration with Hyder Ali and Gopala Nayaker, she waged a war against the British and emerged victoriously
• She granted powers to the Marudu brothers to administer the country in 1780.

Ethiopia releases atlas to map livestock disease caused by the tsetse fly

• Ethiopia’s National Institute for Control and Eradication of Tsetse and Trypanosomosis (NICETT), through this atlas initiative, aims to establish a reference for the distribution of tsetse flies and African animal trypanosomosis (AAT) in western Ethiopia.

AAT

• It is caused by the parasitic protozoa trypanosomes, which are transmitted by the bite of tsetse flies, an African blood-sucking fly.
• It is a major livestock disease constraining sub-Saharan Africa’s agricultural production.
• There is no vaccine, and existing drugs are becoming less effective because of the development of resistance in parasites.
• A human form of the disease also exists, known as human African trypanosomosis or sleeping sickness.

Projects related to AAT

• The COMBAT project(Controlling and progressively Minimising the Burden of Animal Trypanosomosis)
  • The European Commission financed a four-year research and innovation project in Africa.
  • The project spans from August 2021-August 2025 and houses African countries, including South Africa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Senegal, Sudan, Chad, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

India to take over Asian Pacific Postal Union leadership

• Dr Vinaya Prakash Singh, erstwhile Member (Personnel) of, the Postal Services Board will take over the charge of Secretary General of the Union for a tenure of 4 years.

APPU

• Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU) is an intergovernmental organization of 32 member countries of the Asian-Pacific region.
• It is the only Restricted Union of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in the region, which is a specialized agency of the United Nations.
• Goal: To extend, facilitate and improve postal relations between member countries and to promote cooperation in the field of postal services.
• As the regional centre for various UPU projects, it also takes the lead in ensuring that all technical and operational projects of the UPU are fulfilled in the region so that the region is integrated into the global postal network in the best possible way.
• The APPU is made up of the three bodies
  • Congress: It is the supreme organ of the Union and meets not later than 2 years after the UPU congress
  • Executive Council: It comprises all members and meets every year to ensure the work of the union.
  • APPU Bureau: It serves as a body for liaison, information, inquiry and training for members.
• Secretary General leads the activities of the Union and is also the Director of the Asian Pacific Postal College (APPC) which is the largest intergovernmental postal training institute in the region.