23rd June 2021
Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary
Recently, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has given the green signal to Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary as 52nd Tiger Reserve of India.
Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary
- It is the fourth tiger reserve of Rajasthan after Ranthambore, Sariska and Mukundra tiger reserves.
- It is like a buffer for the Ranthambore National Park.
- It is located almost 45 kilometers on Bundi-Nainwa Road and covers an area of 252 square kilometers.
- It is home to wild predators like hyena, tigers, panthers, antelopes and wild boars.
- It was notified as a sanctuary in 1982.
- It comprises of hilly dry deciduous forests on Vindhyan formations.
- It includes floral diversities like Mango, Dhok, Khair and Salar.
IMD to strengthen radar network over Maharashtra
Recently, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) will install seven new Doppler radars in Maharashtra, including Mumbai in 2021. The IMD use Doppler radars of varying frequencies i.e. S-band, C-band and X-band.
- The radars are commonly used by the IMD to detect and track the movement of weather systems, cloud bands and gauge rainfall over its coverage area of about 500 km.
- The radars guide meteorologists, particularly in times of extreme weather events like cyclones and associated heavy rainfall.
- The forecasters can follow the development of weather systems as well as their varying intensities, and accordingly predict weather events and their impact.
Radars in India
- The India’s east coast has radars operational at eight locations i.e. Kolkata, Paradip, Gopalpur, Vishakhapatnam, Machilipatanam, Sriharikota, Karaikal and Chennai.
- Along the west coast, there are radars at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Goa and Mumbai.
- The other radars are operating from Srinagar, Patiala, Kufri, Delhi, Mukteshwar, Jaipur, Bhuj, Lucknow, Patna, Mohanbar, Agartala, Sohra, Bhopal, Hyderabad and Nagpur.
Doppler Weather Radar
- It is an instrument that sends pulses of electromagnetic energy into the atmosphere to find precipitation, determine its motion and intensity, and identify the precipitation type such as rain, snow or hail.
- The electromagnetic pulse strikes an object such as a raindrop or a snowflake and the wave reflects back to the radar with data that can be analyzed by meteorologists.
- The meteorologists can use this information to determine specific areas where dangerous weather conditions exist.
- Weather radar utilizes either a solid-state or tube transmitter to send energy pulses (also known as radar beams) into the air to detect precipitation.
X-Band Radar
- They have a smaller wavelength that makes them more sensitive to lighter particles.
- The X-band radar is used to detect thunderstorms and lightning.
- These radars are also more susceptible to attenuation as the smaller wavelength does not allow the radar beam to penetrate through heavy precipitation bands.
- The X-Band radar generally uses a smaller antenna dish and therefore is much less expensive than C- and S-Band radars.
C-Band Radar
- The C-Band radars are often intended for short-range weather observation but can be used in medium- to long-range precipitation analysis.
- The C-band guides at the time of cyclone tracking.
- The beam does attenuate much more than the longer wavelength S-Band and therefore does not recognize precipitation rates as accurately as the S-Band.
- They are generally smaller and less expensive than S-Band weather radars, but more expensive than the smaller X-Band radar.
S-Band Radar
- Its longer wavelength allows the beam to penetrate through several bands of precipitation, expanding the range for analysis further than the C-Band radar.
Downgrading status of Great Barrier Reef
Recently, a UN committee has recommended that Great Barrier Reef should be added to a list of “in danger” World Heritage Sites.
Reasons for adding Great Barrier Reef to ‘in danger’ list
- In 2015, UNESCO noted the outlook for the reef was poor but kept the site’s status unchanged.
- It has suffered three major coral bleaching events due to severe marine heatwaves.
- It is a warning to the international community and all of humanity that the coral ecosystem is in danger.
- The environmental campaigners said the threat to the Great Barrier Reef’s heritage status highlight Australia’s lack of action to curb the carbon emissions which contribute to global warming.
- In December 2020, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has said that the climate change had pushed the reef into critical condition.
- The recommendation from UNESCO is clear and unequivocal that the Australian government is not doing enough to protect our greatest natural asset, especially on climate change.
Implication of downgrading status of Great Barrier Reef
- The move could potentially lead towards its eventual removal as a World Heritage Site as it is a major tourist attraction that supports thousands of jobs.
- The placement on the UN body’s in-danger list is not considered a sanction.
World Heritage Sites under ‘in danger’ list
- The Italian city of Venice, which has been overrun with tourists, and the waterfront of the English city of Liverpool, which is undergoing a major redevelopment, are among the other listings in UNESCO’s sights.
- The UNESCO has recommended that a total of seven sites be added to the endangered list.
- The two sites i.e. Liverpool’s waterfront and Selous game reserve in Tanzania, where poachers have run amok, be stripped of their World Heritage status altogether.
Great Barrier Reef
- It is a site of remarkable variety and beauty on the north-east coast of Australia.
- It contains the world’s largest collection of coral reefs, with 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc.
- It includes extensive cross-shelf diversity, stretching from the low water mark along the mainland coast up to 250 kilometres offshore.
- It is larger than the Great Wall of China and the only living thing on earth visible from space.
- The “bricks” in the reef framework are formed by the calcareous remains of the tiny creatures known as coral polyps and hydrocorals.
- The “cement” that binds these remains together is formed in large part by coralline algae and bryozoans.
World’s First GM Rubber Plant
Recently, the world’s first genetically modified (GM) rubber plant was planted on the outskirts of Guwahati, Assam.
GM Rubber Plant
- GM Rubber is the second genetically modified crop to start field trial in India after Bt. Cotton.
- It is developed at the Kerala-based Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII).
- It is first of its kind developed exclusively for the northeast and is expected to thrive in the climatic conditions of the region.
- It has additional copies of gene MnSOD (manganese containing superoxide dismutase) in it.
Significance of GM Rubber Plant
- It will resist reduced moisture or drought, low and high temperatures as well as high light intensity.
- The new crop is expected to cut short the maturity period of rubber, indicating chances for early yielding as well.
- There are no plant species in India that can breed with natural rubber and there is no risk of genes flowing from GM rubber into any native species.
Reasons for GM Rubber crop in Northeast India
- The growth of young rubber remains suspended during the winter months which are also characterised by progressive drying of the soil.
- The MnSOD gene has the ability to protect plants from the adverse effects of severe environmental stresses such as cold, drought, etc.
- Natural rubber is a native of warm humid Amazon forests and it is not naturally suited for the cold conditions in northeastern region of the country.
Delta Plus Variant
Recently, the Union Health Ministry had categorised the Delta Plus variant of the novel coronavirus as a ‘variant of concern’ and directed states to take up immediate containment measures in clusters where the variant has been detected.
Delta Plus Variant
- It is the gen-next of the Sars-2 coronavirus i.e. a mutant of the Delta version.
- Delta Plus variant or B.1.617.2.1 is closely related to the Delta variant which is a major contributor to the second wave of Covid-19 in India.
- The Delta Plus variant has mutation in the spike protein region of the RNA virus, which potentially makes it more transmissible.
- It has the mutation called K417N which was first found in the Beta variant (South Africa).
- The K417N mutation is within the receptor-binding domain of the spike protein, and this change is noteworthy because this mutation is also found in the B.1.351 or Beta variant of concern.
Delta Variant
- It was first detected in samples isolated from Maharashtra in December 2020.
- It was named B.1.617.2 or the second version of Sars-2 mutant B.1.617.
- It was named Delta variant by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Classification of coronavirus variants
- The Public Health England (PHE) says that if the variants of SARS-CoV-2 are considered to have concerning epidemiological, immunological or pathogenic properties, they are raised for formal investigation.
- The variants emerging from the B.1.617 lineage are designated as Variants Under Investigation (VUI) with a year, month, and number.
- The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classifies variants into three categories variant of interest (VOI), variant of concern (VOC) and variant of high consequence.
- The CDC defines a VOI as a variant with:
- Specific genetic markers that have been associated with changes to receptor binding;
- Reduced neutralization by antibodies generated against previous infection or vaccination; and
- Reduced efficacy of treatments, potential diagnostic impact, or predicted increase in transmissibility or disease severity.
- A variant of concern (VOC) is defined as a variant for which there is:
- Evidence of an increase in transmissibility;
- More severe disease (e.g. increased hospitalizations or deaths);
- Significant reduction in neutralization by antibodies generated during previous infection or vaccination; and
- Reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, or diagnostic detection failures
Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2021
Recently, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) has released the findings of the online survey in the Digital News Report 2021.
- The 2021 report is based on an online poll of 92,000 people in 46 media markets, representing the views of more than half the world’s population.
- Television news has continued to perform strongly in some countries, but print newspapers have seen a further sharp decline almost everywhere as lockdowns impacted physical distribution.
- Finland had the highest levels of overall trust in news with 65 per cent, while the US had the lowest levels of trust at 29 per cent.
- India is ranked at 31 when it came to “trust in news” out of the 46 media markets surveyed by the Reuters Institute.
- The Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) provided logistical support for surveying the Indian market.
- The study found out that:
- 73 per cent of the respondents in India use smartphones to access news;
- 82 per cent source news online, including from social media; and
- 63 per cent acquiring information solely from social media platforms like WhatsApp and YouTube.
Digital News Report
- It is the most comprehensive global analysis of news consumption trends.
- Its first edition was launched in 2012.
- It reveals new insights about digital news consumption based on a representative survey of online news consumers.
Recusal by Judges
Recently, the two Supreme Court judges have recused themselves from hearing cases relating to West Bengal.
- In another scenario, the Delhi High Court judge had recused himself from hearing a plea by digital media houses challenging the validity of the IT rules regulating intermediaries.
What is recusal by judges?
- It is a basic precept that no one should be a Judge in his or her own case.
- The courts must keep the promise of dispensing fair and impartial justice, and must decide controversies without bias.
- The practice of recusal is when and how an individual justice should be excluded from participating in a specific case, where he has some interest.
- Recusal is removal of oneself as a Judge or policymaker in a particular matter, especially because of a conflict of interest.
Reasons of Judges’ Recusal
- A judge can withdraw from hearing a case when there is a conflict of interest in order to prevent creating a perception that she carried a bias while deciding the case.
- The conflict of interest can be in many ways such as from holding shares in a company that is a litigant to having a prior or personal association with a party involved in the case.
- The practice of recusal stems from the cardinal principle of due process of law that nobody can be a judge in her own case.
- Any interest or conflict of interest would be a ground to withdraw from a case since a judge has a duty to act fair.
- The other instance for recusal is when an appeal is filed in the Supreme Court against a judgement of a High Court that may have been delivered by the SC judge when she was in the HC.
Process of recusal by judges
- The decision to recuse generally comes from the judge herself as it rests on the conscience and discretion of the judge to disclose any potential conflict of interest.
- There are instances when lawyers or parties in the case bring it up before the judge.
- If a judge recuses, the case is listed before the Chief Justice for allotment to a fresh Bench.
- There are no formal rules governing recusals, although several Supreme Court judgments have dealt with the issue.
Can a judge refuse to recuse?
- The decision to recuse or not rests with the judge once a request is made for recusal.
- It is often left to individual judges to record reasons for recusal since there are no formal rules governing the process of recusal.
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