Sustainable fishing sorely needed to save sharks off India’s coastline

• In the coastal town of Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, In fish market spadenose sharks. Listed as “near threatened” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, its population has been declining the world over. A bit further on, we find silky sharks, listed as “vulnerable” on the Red List. This part of coastal Andhra Pradesh is known for landing shark species, big and small.
• India is the third largest shark-producing nation in the world according to a 2019 report by TRAFFIC, an organisation that monitors wildlife trade for data collection, analysis, and to make trade recommendations.
• As many as 10 species of sharks and rays are protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act (WLPA), 1972, with more species added in the amendments to the Act in 2022. Thus, shark fishing per se is not illegal in India, only catching species listed in the Act. Given that these are slow growth species, sustainable harvesting from the ocean is vital to ensure their populations remain stable.
• Most of the shark species we find at the landing centre in Kakinada are listed as “near threatened” or “vulnerable to extinction” or “endangered”. And there is a reason for this. Sharks are what biologists define as “K-selected” species, which means they give birth to only a few young after a long gestation. They grow slowly and reach sexual maturity late. This is why harvests of shark and ray species for fisheries can quickly become unsustainable if not regularly monitored.

PM Modi to launch mission to eliminate sickle cell anaemia

National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission

• It was announced as part of the Union Budget 2023.
• Vision: Eliminate sickle cell disease (SCD) as a public health problem in India before 2047.
• The overall aim is to enable access to affordable and quality health care for all SCD patients and to lower the prevalence through awareness, change of practices and screening interventions.
• The mission will entail awareness creation, universal screening of seven crore people in the 0-40 years age group in affected tribal areas and counselling through collaborative efforts of central ministries and state governments.
• Initially, the focus shall be on 17 states with higher prevalence of SCD,, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar and Uttarakhand.

Sickle Cell Anaemia

• It is an inherited blood disorder.
• Itaffects haemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to cells throughout the body.
• People with this disease have atypical haemoglobinmolecules called haemoglobin S, which can distort red blood cells into a sickle, or crescent, shape.
• These sickle cells also become rigid and sticky, which can slow or block blood flow.
• What causes it?
  • The cause of Sickle cell disease is a defective gene called a sickle cell gene.
  • A person will be born with sickle cell disease only if two genes are inherited—one from the mother and one from the father.
• Symptoms:
  • Early stage: Extreme tiredness or fussiness from anaemia, painfully swollen hands and feet, and jaundice.
  • Later stage: Severe pain, anaemia, organ damage, and infections.
• Treatments:
  • The only cure for this disease is bone marrow or stem cell transplantation.
  • However, there are treatments that can help relieve symptoms, lessen complications, and prolong life.

Rajya Sabha polls in 3 states on July 24

• Origin: India follows the British parliamentary system, so the Rajya Sabha, or the Upper House of Parliament, is equivalent to the House of Lords in the United Kingdom.
• Present strength: The Rajya Sabha currently has 245 members, including 233 elected members and 12 nominated. As per the constitutional limit, the Upper House strength cannot exceed 250.
• Membership: While 233 members are elected from states and Union Territories (UTs), the President of India nominates the remaining 12 from the fields of art, literature, science and social services.
• Tenure: Every Rajya Sabha MP has a tenure of six years, and elections to one-third of seats are held every two years.
• Vacancy: According to Section 154 of the Representation of the People Act 1951, a member chosen to fill a casual vacancy will serve for the remainder of his predecessor''s term of office.
• Chair: The Indian vice-president is the chairperson of the Upper House, which also has a deputy chair.

Rajya Sabha

• While Lok Sabha members are elected directly by the voters, Rajya Sabha members are elected indirectly by the people, that is, by the elected Members of a state''s Legislative Assembly (MLAs).
• How many Rajya Sabha members a state can send depends on its population.
• MLAs vote in the Rajya Sabha elections in what is called proportional representation with the single transferable vote (STV) system. Each MLA’s vote is counted only once.
• In this system, MLAs don’t vote for each seat.
• Instead, the MLAs are given a paper with the names of all candidates. They have to give their order of preference for each candidate, marking 1,2,3… against their names.
• The ballot is open, but MLAs have to show their ballots to an authorised agent from their party to prevent practices such as cross-voting. A vote cannot be counted if the ballot is not shown to the agent. Independent MLAs cannot show their ballot to anyone.
• If a qualifying number of voters choose a candidate as their first choice, he or she is elected.
• The remaining votes go to the next candidates but with a lesser value. So, MLAs also vote for candidates from other parties.
• The candidate that gets rank 1 from an MLA secures a first preference vote. In order to win, a candidate needs a specific number of such first-preference votes. This number depends on the strength of the state Assembly and the number of MPs it sends to Rajya Sabha.
• To win, a candidate should get a required number of votes which is known as a quota or preference vote. The formula is = [Total number of votes/(Number of Rajya Sabha seats + 1)] + 1.
• However, the formula is changed in case more than one seat needs to be filled. The total number of votes required for a candidate in the case is = [(Number of votes x 100) / (Vacancies + 1)] + 1.

Ensure the return of displaced people, says Meghalaya tribal body

Autonomous District Councils (ADC)

• The Sixth Schedule provides a list of ten tribal areas in Assam (3), Meghalaya (3), Tripura (1) and Mizoram (3).
• Each of these tribal areas constitutes an autonomous district. Each autonomous district has an Autonomous District Council (ADC).
• Membership: ADCs have up to 30 members with a term of five years, of whom four are nominated by the governor and the remaining 26 are elected on the basis of adult franchise.
• Tenure: The term of the District Councils is for five years from the date of their constitution.
• Functions: The functions of ADCs as defined in schedule 6 of the constitution included –
  • making laws on land,
  • management of forests, except reserved forests,
  • appointment of traditional chiefs and headmen,
  • making rules regulating the inheritance of property, marriage, divorce, the constitution of village courts,
  • It can establish, construct or manage primary schools, dispensaries, markets, ferries, fisheries, roads and so on in the district.
  • It can also make regulations for the control of money lending and trading by non-tribals. But such regulations require the assent of the governor.
• Revenue source: The main Revenue Sources of ADCs, as specified in the Sixth Schedule, were:
  • taxes on professions, trades, callings and employment;
  • taxes on animals, vehicles and boats;
  • taxes on the entry of goods into a market and sale therein, and tolls on passenger and goods carried on ferries; and
  • taxes for the maintenance of schools, dispensaries or roads.

India sends notice to Pakistan to amend 1960 Indus Water Treaty

Indus Waters Treaty

• It was signed in September 1960 between India and Pakistan.
• The treaty was brokered by the World Bank, which, too, is a signatory to the treaty.
• Provisions:
  • The treaty fixed and delimited the rights and obligations of both countries concerning the use of the waters of the Indus River system.
  • It gives control over the waters of the three "eastern rivers'' -- the Beas, Ravi, and Sutlej -- to India while control over the waters of the three "western rivers'' '' -- the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum -- to Pakistan.
  • The Treaty allows India to use the western river waters for limited irrigation use and unlimited non-consumptive use for such applications as power generation, navigation, floating of property, fish culture, etc.
  • It lays down detailed regulations for India in building projects over the western rivers.
  • The Treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers. It is known as the Permanent Indus Commission, which has a Commissioner from each country.

Slowdown visible in India''s startup story as only three unicorns added in 2023: Report

Unicorn Startup

• The term unicorn refers to a privately held startup company with a value of over $1 billion.
• It is commonly used in the venture capital industry. The term was first popularised by venture capitalist Aileen Lee when she referred to the 39 startups that had a valuation of over $1 billion as unicorns.
• The valuation of unicorns is not expressly linked to their current financial performance but is largely based on their growth potential, as perceived by investors and venture capitalists who have taken part in various funding rounds.
• There are more than 1,000 unicorn companies around the world as of March 2022.

Gazelles and Cheetahs in the Startup ecosystem

• Gazelles:
  • They are those start-ups founded after the year 2000 and have the potential to go Unicorn in 2 years.
  • Their valuation ranges from US$500mn to US$1bn.
  • Once you exceed the $1 bn valuation, you become a unicorn.
• Cheetahs:
  • They are those start-ups founded after the year 2000 and have the potential to become a Unicorn in the next four years.
  • Their estimated valuation ranges between US$200mn to US$500mn.

Shri Narayan Rane launches ‘CHAMPIONS 2.0 Portal’, ‘Mobile App for Geo-tagging of Cluster Projects, Technology Centers’ and ''MSME Idea Hackathon 3.0'' for women entrepreneurs

CHAMPIONS 2.0 Portal

• Champions portal is a single-window grievance redressal portal for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.
• The CHAMPIONS stands here for the Creation and Harmonious Application of Modern Processes for Increasing Output and National Strength. Accordingly, the name of the system is CHAMPIONS.
• It was launched on June 1, 2020, by the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.
• It is created in a Hub & Spoke Model.
• The Hub is situated in New Delhi in the Secretary MSME’s office. The spokes will be in the States in various offices and institutions of the Ministry.
• As per the operational requirements, the MSME Ministry had earlier expanded the scope of the portal by onboarding 25 ministries/departments/ government institutions, 32 state governments, 58 banks/
• New Features:
  • The revamped portal will now incorporate AI-driven chatbots and will be available in 11 languages, including Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, and Kannada.
  • The portal will also have a real-time feedback mechanism for its analysis.

Power ministry establishes UTPRERAK, a Centre of Excellence to Accelerate Adoption of Energy Efficient Technologies in Indian Industry

UTPRERAK

• The Unnat Takniki Pradarshan Kendra (UTPRERAK) is the Centre of Excellence to Accelerate Adoption of Energy Efficient Technologies and seeks to play a catalytic role in improving the energy efficiency of the Indian industry.
• It is also named as Advanced Industrial Technology Demonstration Centre (AITDC)
• It has been set up by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power.

Mandates

• The Centre is mandated to become the key reference and resource institution on industrial energy-efficient technologies.
• It will demonstrate and showcase energy-efficient technologies in key industry sectors.
• It will act as an exhibition cum information centre and knowledge repository.
• It will be a knowledge exchange platform where best practices from across various key sectors can be diffused among industry professionals through workshops and seminars.

Bureau of Energy efficiency

• It is a statutory body under the Union Ministry of Power.
• It was set up under the provisions of the Energy Conservation Act of 2001.
• Mission: Develop policy and strategies with a thrust on self-regulation and market principles within the overall framework of the Energy Conservation Act (EC Act), 2001.
• Primary Objective: To reduce energy intensity in the Indian economy.

Shri Parshottam Rupala to launch the ‘Report Fish Disease’ App developed by ICAR- National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBFGR) under National Surveillance Programme for Aquatic Animal Diseases (NSPAAD)

Report Fish Disease App

• It will strengthen the farmer-based disease reporting system and for improving the reporting of aquatic animal diseases in the country.
• The app has been developed by ICAR-NBFGR under National Surveillance Programme for Aquatic Animal Diseases (NSPAAD).
• Funded under: Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana by the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India.

Benefits

• It will help the farmers in reporting the incidence of diseases in finfish, shrimps, and molluscs on their farms with the field-level officers and fish health experts.
• This shall help farmers in getting scientific advice for the efficient management of the disease.
• The data regarding the diseases will be stored on temporal & spatial scales and can be used for mapping the disease cases.
• It would support farmers in improving farmer-based reporting, getting scientific advice, and reducing losses due to diseases, thereby increasing farmers’ income.

Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana

• It is a flagship scheme for focused and sustainable development of the fisheries sector in the country with an estimated investment of Rs. 20,050 crores for its implementation during a period of 5 years from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25 in all States/Union Territories.
• Aims
  • It aims at enhancing fish production by an additional 70 lakh tonnes by 2024-25.
  • Increasing fisheries export earnings to Rs.1,00,000 crore by 2024-25.
  • Doubling of incomes of fishers and fish farmers, reducing post-harvest losses from 20-25%.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying

When did humans first arrive in Southeast Asia?

• It revealed that humans were present in the vicinity of Tam Pà Ling Cave for roughly 56,000 years.
• It also confirmed that, far from reflecting a rapid dump of sediments, the site contains sediments that accumulated steadily over some 86,000 years.
• The age of the lowest fossil, a fragment of a leg bone found seven metres deep, suggests modern humans arrived in this region between 86,000 and 68,000 years ago.
• Even researchers found a toothsome 150,000 years old belonging to a Denisovan.
• This suggests the site may lie on a previously used dispersal route among hominins.

Tam Pà Ling Cave

• It is a sloping cave situated high in the Annamite mountain range in Northern Laos.
• The stratigraphy of the site indicates formation by periodic slope wash deposition from the muddy slope at the entrance of the cave.

Denisovans

• They are extinct human relatives otherwise known only from remains found in Siberia and Tibet.
• They lived lakhs of years ago, coexisting with Neanderthals in some regions and interbreeding with early modern humans in some cases.
• They were first identified as a separate species in 2010, following the discovery of a fragment of a finger bone and two teeth, dating back to about 40,000 years ago, in the Denisovan Cave in Siberia.