Current Affairs - 2019-20

Notes:
The Bhitarkanika National Park (BNP) is located in Kendrapara district of Odisha and is spread over 672 square kilometers. It is in news recently because the national park has registered an impressive rise in mammal population due to adequate conservation measures and vigil by anti-poaching squad of the forest department. According to the latest head count report released by the forest department, the enumerators spotted 7,129 mammals of 14 species in Kendrapara district while the figure stood at 6,122 in 2016. According to wildlife staff, there are couple of factors are contributing to the rising graph. First, the rich and lush-green mangrove forest has turned out to be an ideal habitat for hyenas, boars and deer. Besides, lack of human interference in their habitation corridors has also emerged favourable. There is also imbalance in predator-prey base in Bhitarkanika. Unlike the Sundarbans, Bhitarkanika mangroves are devoid of tigers.

Notes:
Before 5 August 2019, Part VI was not applicable to Jammu & Kashmir state. On 6 August 2019, parliament of India declared all the clauses of Article 370 except clause 1 to be inoperative. After this, Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act was passed dividing the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories viz. Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Notes:
Based on the given information, the fauna in question is the Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta).

Explanation for each point:

1. Recently declared vermin in Himachal Pradesh: In some regions of Himachal Pradesh, India, the Rhesus Macaque has been declared vermin, meaning it is considered a pest and can be hunted or killed to control its population.
2. Listed as least concern in the IUCN Red List: The Rhesus Macaque is listed as “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, indicating that its overall population is stable and it is not at significant risk of extinction.
3. Regular swimmer: Rhesus Macaques are known to be good swimmers and are often observed swimming in rivers or crossing water bodies.
4. Native to Asia: The Rhesus Macaque is native to various countries in South and Southeast Asia, including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and China.
5. Diurnal: Rhesus Macaques are diurnal animals, which means they are primarily active during the day and rest during the night.

Taking all these characteristics into account, the fauna being described is the Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta).

Notes:
The Convention on Cybercrime is also known as the Budapest Convention. It is the first international treaty seeking to address Internet and computer crime by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques, and increasing cooperation among nations. It is supplemented by a Protocol on Xenophobia and Racism committed through computer systems. The Convention was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe at its 109th session in 2001 and came into effect in 2004.

Notes:
Recently, Meghalaya became the first state in the country to operationalise a law that makes social audit of government programmes and schemes a part of government practice. The Meghalaya state government recently launched “The Meghalaya Community Participation and Public Services Social Audit Act, 2017”. The key provisions of the social audit law are as follows:

• Make an easy edit in the course of action for implementation of government schemes as per requirement
• The law gives people a direct say in how money will be spent and fills an information gap for officers and locals

The law also has provision for appointment of social audit facilitator to conduct the audit directly with the people.

Notes:
In Budget 2018, Bamboo has been termed as “Green Gold”. The Finance Minister announced a Re-structured National Bamboo Mission with corpus of Rs.1290 crore to promote bamboo sector. Taxonomically, bamboo is a grass. However, the Indian Forest Act, 1927 classifies Bamboo as tree as well as grass. While the bamboos produced in the forest area have been termed as tree, those produced in non-forest areas have been termed as grass. The recent change introduced in the Forest Act, 1927 has made Bamboo as one of the highest yielding renewable natural resource. The non-forest bamboo produce will now be used for artifacts and for infrastructure development.

Notes:
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is working on providing “Universal Identity Cards” to all Divyangjan (persons with disabilities) which will be valid in all States for all schemes.

Notes:
The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2017 (WESP) has been published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Notes:
"Flamenco India", a dance cultural festival, was celebrated recently to mark diplomatic relationship between India and Spain.

Notes:
VPM1002 is a new vaccine for tuberculosis