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Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020

Why in News Recently, the Parliament has passed the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The Bill replaces the ordinance for amendment of the...

13 Mar 2020 News Analysis
Nuclear Power Plants in India

Why in News Recently, the government provided details related to various nuclear power plants in the country. Presently, India has 22 operating...

13 Mar 2020 News Analysis
Sericulture in India

Why in News Cocoon production in Karnataka has picked up to meet the growing demand for indigenous silk. Silk imports from China have been badly...

12 Mar 2020 News Analysis
Major Constitutional Amendments: Part-3

Click here for Major Constitutional Amendments: Part 1 Click here for Major Constitutional Amendments: Part 2 Seventy Third Amendment Act,...

12 Mar 2020 Paper 2
National Supercomputing Mission

Why in News Recently, a Right to Information (RTI) reply has revealed that India has produced just three supercomputers since 2015 under the...

12 Mar 2020 News Analysis
Sahyadri Megha: New Paddy Variety

Why in News The University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences (UAHS), Shivamogga (Karnataka), has developed a new variety of paddy,...

12 Mar 2020 News Analysis
Invocation of Disaster Management Act, 2005 to Deal with COVID-19

Why in News Various government authorities have invoked their respective powers under the Disaster Management (DM) Act, 2005 to deal with the novel...

12 Mar 2020 News Analysis
Divya Kala Shakti: Witnessing the Abilities in Disabilities

Why in News The first ever regional event “Divya Kala Shakti: Witnessing the Abilities in Disabilities” is being organized in Chennai...

12 Mar 2020 News Analysis
White Giraffe

Why in News Poachers have killed two extremely rare white giraffes in northeast Kenya, leaving just one such animal in the world. Key Points The...

12 Mar 2020 News Analysis
Oil Prices Crash

This article is based on Oil’s rout: on fall in prices, What the dip in oil prices means, The sudden crash in crude oil prices offers many...

11 Mar 2020 News Editorials
India State of Forest Report, 2019

Volume I It is the 16th biennial assessment of India’s forests by Forest Survey of India, an organisation under the Ministry of Environment,...

11 Mar 2020 Summary of Important Reports
Hubli-Ankola Railway Line Project

Why in News The Hubballi-Ankola railway line project, saw stiff opposition from a majority of the board members of the Karnataka State Wildlife...

11 Mar 2020 News Analysis
Long Term Reverse Repo Operation

Why in news According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the response to the Long Term Reverse Repo Operation (LTROs) has been highly...

11 Mar 2020 News Analysis
Government to Launch Mahua-based Alcoholic Drink

Why in News The central government is set to launch a mahua-based alcoholic beverage ‘Mahua Nutribeverage’ in the market for the first...

11 Mar 2020 News Analysis
Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak

Why in News Stock markets in India crashed on 9th March, 2020 as Sensex and Nifty indices saw their biggest ever fall in absolute terms. The...

11 Mar 2020 News Analysis
Attukal Pongala Festival

Why in News In Thiruvananthapuram, Kerela, the annual “Attukal Pongala”, one of the largest all-women religious congregations, began...

11 Mar 2020 News Analysis
CPCB Notifies Contaminated Sites

Why in News According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), there are 128 sites in India contaminated by toxic and hazardous...

11 Mar 2020 News Analysis
New Hub Under National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems

Why in News The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar, Punjab is setting up a Sectoral Application Hub in Technologies for Agriculture and...

11 Mar 2020 News Analysis
Foundation Day of National Archives of India

Why In News Recently, on the occasion of 130th Foundation Day of National Archives of India, an exhibition “Jallianwala Bagh” was...

11 Mar 2020 News Analysis
National Institute of Health & Family Welfare

Why in News Recently, the 43rd Annual Day of the National Institute of Health & Family Welfare (NIHFW) was organised. On the occasion, the...

11 Mar 2020 News Analysis

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			'title' => 'Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p><br />Recently, the Parliament has passed the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Bill replaces the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/investment-in-coal-mining">ordinance for amendment</a> of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act) and the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 (CMSP Act) which was promulgated on 11th January 2020.</li>
<li>The Bill is expected to open a <strong>new era in Indian coal &amp; mining sector especially to promote <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/ease-of-doing-business-2020">Ease of Doing Business</a></strong>.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>NOTE:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>MMDR Act</strong> regulates the <a href="/to-the-points/paper1/mining-sector-in-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>overall mining sector in India</strong></a>.</li>
<li>The <strong>CMSP Act</strong> provides for the auction and allocation of coal mines whose allocation was cancelled by the Supreme Court in 2014.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Schedule I</strong> of the Act provides a list of all such mines; Schedule II and III are sub-classes of the mines listed in the Schedule I.</li>
<li><strong>Schedule II</strong> mines are those where production had already started before the Supreme court&rsquo;s order in 2014 and Schedule III mines are ones that had been earmarked for a specific end-use.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Removal of restriction on end-use of coal:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Currently, companies acquiring Schedule II and Schedule III coal mines through auctions can use the coal produced <strong>only for specified end-uses such as power generation and steel production</strong>.</li>
<li>The Bill removes this restriction on the use of coal mined by such companies. And thus companies will be allowed to carry on <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/investment-in-coal-mining" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coal mining operation</a> for own consumption, sale or for any other purposes, as may be specified by the central government.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Eligibility for auction of coal and lignite blocks:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Bill clarifies that the companies <strong>need not possess any prior coal mining experience in India in order to participate in the auction of coal and lignite blocks</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Composite license for prospecting and mining:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Bill adds a <strong>new type of license</strong>, called <strong>prospecting license-cum-mining lease</strong>. It will be a composite license providing for both prospecting and mining activities.</li>
<li><strong>Currently, separate licenses</strong> are provided for prospecting and mining of coal and lignite, called prospecting license, and mining lease, respectively. Prospecting includes exploring, locating, or finding mineral deposit.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Advance action for auction:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Bill provides that <strong>state governments</strong> can take <strong>advance action for auction of a mining lease before its expiry</strong>.</li>
<li>Under the MMDR Act, mining leases for specified minerals (minerals other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals) are auctioned on the expiry of the lease period.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Transfer of statutory clearances to new bidders:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Bill provides that the various approvals, licenses, and clearances given to the previous lessee will be <strong>extended to the successful bidder for a period of two years</strong>.</li>
<li>During this period, the new lessee will be allowed to continue mining operations. However, the new lessee <strong>must obtain</strong> all the required clearances within this two-year period.</li>
<li>Currently, upon expiry, mining leases for specified minerals (minerals other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals) can be transferred to new persons through auction. This <strong>new lessee is required to obtain statutory clearances before starting mining operations</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Prior approval from the central government:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Bill provides that <strong>prior approval of the central government will not be required</strong> by the state government in granting licenses for coal and lignite, in certain cases.</li>
<li>These include cases where the allocation has been done by the central government, and the mining block has been reserved to conserve a mineral.</li>
<li>Under the MMDR Act, state governments <strong>require prior approval of the central government</strong> for granting reconnaissance permit, prospecting license, or mining lease for coal and lignite.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1606090" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source: PIB</a></p>',
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			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/mineral-laws-amendment-bill-2020'
		],
		(int) 1 => [
			'title' => 'Nuclear Power Plants in India',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, the government provided details related to various nuclear power plants in the country.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Presently, <strong>India has 22 operating nuclear power reactors</strong>, with an installed capacity of 6780 MegaWatt electric (MWe). Among these eighteen reactors are <strong>Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs)</strong> and four are <strong>Light Water Reactors (LWRs).</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/nuclear-energy-conclave" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>nuclear energy programme</strong></a> in India was launched around the time of independence under the leadership of Homi J Bhabha.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR)</strong> is being implemented by the <strong>Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI)</strong>, a wholly owned Enterprise of the Government of India under the administrative control of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).</li>
</ul>
<h3>Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>PHWR is a nuclear power reactor, commonly using<strong> unenriched natural uranium</strong> as its fuel. It uses <strong>heavy water (Deuterium oxide D<sub>2</sub>O)</strong> as its coolant and moderator.</li>
<li>The <strong>heavy water coolant is kept under pressure</strong>, allowing it to be heated to higher temperatures without boiling, much as in a typical pressurized water reactor.</li>
<li>While heavy water is significantly more expensive than ordinary light water, it yields<strong> greatly enhanced neutron economy,</strong> allowing the reactor to operate without fuel enrichment facilities.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Light Water Reactor</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The light water reactor is a type of <strong>thermal- neutron reactor</strong> that <strong>utilizes normal water</strong> as opposed to heavy water.</li>
<li>It is fuelled by<strong> Low Enriched Uranium.</strong></li>
<li>It uses water as both a coolant method and a neutron moderator.</li>
<li>It <strong>produces heat by controlled nuclear fission.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that <strong>generates more fissile material than it consumes</strong>. These are designed to <strong>extend the nuclear fuel supply</strong> for electric power generation.</li>
<li>Breeder reactors achieve this because their neutron economy is high enough to create more fissile fuel than they use, by irradiation of a fertile material, such as <strong>Uranium-238</strong> or <strong>Thorium-232</strong> that is loaded into the reactor along with fissile fuel.</li>
<li><strong>PFBR is a 500 MWe fast breeder nuclear reactor</strong> presently being constructed at the <strong>Madras Atomic Power Station in Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu).</strong></li>
<li>It is fuelled by <strong>Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>MOX fuel is <strong>manufactured from plutonium recovered from used reactor fuel,</strong> <strong>mixed with depleted uranium.</strong><strong></strong></li>
<li>Mixed oxide (MOX) fuel provides almost 5% of the new nuclear fuel used today.</li>
<li>MOX fuel also provides a means of burning weapons-grade plutonium (from military sources) to produce electricity.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Depleted Uranium</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In order to produce fuel for certain types of nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons, uranium has to be "enriched" in the U-235 isotope, which is responsible for nuclear fission.</li>
<li>During the enrichment process the fraction of U-235 is increased from its natural level (0.72% by mass) to between 2% and 94% by mass.</li>
<li>The <strong>by-product uranium mixture (after the enriched uranium is removed)</strong> has reduced concentrations of U-235 and U-234. This by-product of the enrichment process is known as depleted uranium (DU).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1605939" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
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			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/nuclear-power-plants-in-india'
		],
		(int) 2 => [
			'title' => 'Sericulture in India',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p><strong>Cocoon production in Karnataka</strong> has picked up to meet the growing demand for indigenous silk.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Silk imports from China have been badly hit on account of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/coronavirus-disease-named-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Coronavirus.</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Sericulture:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is an <strong>agro-based industry.</strong></li>
<li>It involves <strong>rearing of silkworms</strong> for the production of raw silk, which is the yarn obtained out of cocoons spun by certain species of insects.</li>
<li>The major activities of sericulture comprise of food-plant cultivation to feed the silkworms which spin silk cocoons and reeling the cocoons for unwinding the silk filament for value-added benefits such as processing and weaving.</li>
<li><strong>Domesticated silkworm (Bombyx mori)</strong> are raised for the purpose of sericulture.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The <strong>Government of India</strong> has allocated ₹2161.68 crores for three years i.e. <strong>2017-2020</strong> to its <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/proposal-to-hike-monthly-pensions" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Central Sector Scheme</strong></a> &lsquo;<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/silk-samagra" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Silk Samagra</strong></a>&rsquo; for the development of sericulture in the country.</li>
<li><strong>Silk Production in India:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>There are<strong> five major types of silk of commercial importance,</strong> obtained from different species of silkworms. These are<strong> Mulberry, Oak Tasar</strong> &amp;<strong> Tropical Tasar, Muga </strong>and<strong> Eri.</strong></li>
<li>Except for mulberry, other non-mulberry varieties of silks are <strong>wild silks,</strong> known as <strong>vanya silks.</strong></li>
<li>India has the <strong>unique distinction of producing all these commercial varieties</strong> of silk.</li>
<li><strong>South India</strong> is the leading silk producing area of the country and is also known for its famous silk weaving enclaves like <strong>Kancheepuram, Dharmavaram, Arni,</strong> etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1584012034_image2.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1584012034_image2.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="677" height="448" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/cocoon-production-poised-to-pick-up/article31046588.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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		],
		(int) 3 => [
			'title' => 'Major Constitutional Amendments: Part-3',
			'catname' => 'Paper 2',
			'desc' => '<p><em>Click here for <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/major-constitutional-amendment-part-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Major Constitutional Amendments: Part 1</strong></a></em></p>
<p><em>Click here for <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/major-constitutional-amendments-part-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Major Constitutional Amendments: Part 2</strong></a></em></p>
<p><strong>Seventy Third Amendment Act, 1992</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendment:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Granted constitutional status and protection to the <strong>Panchayati Raj institutions.</strong> For this purpose, the Amendment has <strong>added a new Part-IX</strong> entitled as &lsquo;the panchayats&rsquo; and a new <strong>Eleventh Schedule</strong> containing 29 functional items of the panchayats</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Seventy Fourth Amendment Act, 1992</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendment:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Granted constitutional status and protection to the<strong> urban local bodies.</strong> For this purpose, the Amendment has <strong>added a new Part IX-A</strong> entitled as <strong>&lsquo;the municipalities&rsquo;</strong> and a new <strong>Twelfth Schedule</strong> containing 18 functional items of the municipalities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Seventy Seventh Amendment Act, 1995</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendment:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Provided for reservation in promotions in government jobs for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.</strong> This amendment nullified the Supreme Court ruling with regard to reservation in promotions.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eightieth Amendment Act, 2000</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendment:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Provided for an &lsquo;alternative scheme of devolution&rsquo; of revenue between the Centre and states. This was enacted on the basis of the recommendations of the Tenth Finance Commission which had recommended that out of the total income obtained from Central taxes and duties, 29% should be distributed among the states.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty First Amendment Act, 2000</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Empowered the state to consider the unfilled reserved vacancies of a year as a separate class of vacancies to be filled up in any succeeding year or years.</strong> Such class of vacancies is not to be combined with the vacancies of the year in which they are being filled up to determine the <strong>ceiling of 50% reservation</strong> on total number of vacancies of that year. In brief, this amendment ended the 50% ceiling on reservation in backlog vacancies.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Second Amendment Act, 2000</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Provided for making of any provision in favour of the SCs and STs</strong> for relaxation in qualifying marks in any examination or lowering the standards of evaluation, for reservation in matters of promotion to the public services of the Centre and the states</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Fourth Amendment Act, 2001</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Extended the ban on the readjustment of seats in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies for another 25 years (i.e., up to 2026)</strong> with the same objective of encouraging population limiting measures. In other words, the number of seats in the Lok Sabha and the assemblies are to remain the same till 2026. It also provided for the readjustment and rationalisation of territorial constituencies in the states on the basis of the population figures of 1991 census.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Fifth Amendment Act, 2001</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Provided for &lsquo;consequential seniority&rsquo; in the case of promotion by virtue of rule of reservation for the government servants belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes with retrospective effect from June 1995.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Sixth Amendment Act, 2002</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Made elementary education a fundamental right under the Article 21A</strong></li>
<li><strong>Changed the subject matter of Article 45 in Directive Principles</strong></li>
<li><strong>Added a new fundamental duty under Article 51-A</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Seventh Amendment Act, 2003</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Provided for the readjustment and rationalisation of territorial constituencies in the states on the basis of the population figures of 2001 census and not 1991 census as provided earlier by the 84th Amendment Act of 2001.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Ninth Amendment Act, 2003</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Bifurcated the erstwhile combined National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes into two separate bodies, namely, National Commission for Scheduled Castes (Article 338) and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (Article 338-A).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ninety First Amendment Act, 2003</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Made the following provisions to limit the size of Council of Ministers, to debar defectors from holding public offices, and to strengthen the anti-defection law:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Central Council of Ministers, shall not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha.</li>
<li>A member of either house of Parliament belonging to any political party who is disqualified on the ground of defection shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a minister.</li>
<li>The total number of ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the Council of Ministers in a state shall not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly of that state. But, the number of ministers, including the Chief Minister, in a state shall not be less than 12.</li>
<li>A member of either House of a state legislature belonging to any political party who is disqualified on the ground of defection shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a minister.</li>
<li>A member of either House of Parliament or either House of a State Legislature belonging to any political party who is disqualified on the ground of defection shall also be disqualified to hold any remunerative political post. The expression &ldquo;remunerative political post&rdquo; means:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Any office under the central government or a state government where the salary or remuneration for such office is paid out of the public revenue of the concerned government or,</li>
<li>Any office under a body, whether incorporated or not, which is wholly or partially owned by the central government or a state government and the salary or,</li>
<li>Remuneration for such an office is paid by such a body, except where such salary or remuneration paid is compensatory in nature (Article 361-B).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The provision of the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) pertaining to exemption from disqualification in case of split by one-third members of the legislature party has been deleted. It means that the defectors have no more protection on grounds of splits.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ninety Second Amendment Act, 2003</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Included four more languages in the Eighth Schedule. They are <strong>Bodo, Dogri (Dongri), Maithili and Santhali.</strong> With this, the total number of constitutionally recognised languages increased to 22</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ninety Third Amendment Act, 2005</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Empowered the state to make special provisions for the socially and educationally backward classes or the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in educational institutions including private educational institutions (whether aided or unaided by the state), except the minority educational institutions (clause (5) in Article 15).</strong></li>
<li>This Amendment was enacted to nullify the Supreme Court judgement in the Inamdar case (2005) where the apex court ruled that the state cannot impose its reservation policy on minority and non-minority unaided private colleges, including professional colleges. The court declared that reservation in private, unaided educational institutions was unconstitutional.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ninety Sixth Amendment Act, 2011</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Substituted &ldquo;Odia&rdquo; for &ldquo;Oriya&rdquo;. Consequently, the &ldquo;Oriya&rdquo; language in the Eighth Schedule shall be pronounced as &ldquo;Odia&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Ninety Seventh Amendment Act, 2011</strong></li>
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Gave constitutional status and protection to cooperative societies.</strong> It made the following three changes in the constitution:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It made the right to form co-operative societies a fundamental right (Article 19).</li>
<li>It included a new Directive Principle of State Policy on the promotion of co-operative societies.</li>
<li>It added a new Part IX-B in the constitution which is entitled &ldquo;The Co-operative societies&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ninety Ninth Amendment Act 2014</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Replaced the collegium system of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts with a new body called the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC).</li>
<li>However, in 2015, the Supreme Court declared this Amendment Act as unconstitutional and void. Consequently, the earlier collegium system became operative again</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>One Hundredth Amendment Act, 2014</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Gave effect to the acquiring of certain territories by India and transfer of certain other territories to <strong>Bangladesh</strong> (through the exchange of enclaves and retention of adverse possessions) in pursuance of the<strong> Land Boundary Agreement of 1974 and its Protocol of 2011.</strong></li>
<li>For this purpose, this amendment act amended the provisions relating to the territories of four states (Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura) in the First Schedule of the Constitution.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>One Hundred and First Amendment Act, 2017</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Introduction of the Goods and Services Tax</strong></li>
<li>Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an indirect tax (or consumption tax) used in India on the supply of goods and services. It is a comprehensive, multistage, destination-based tax: comprehensive because it has subsumed almost all the indirect taxes except a few state taxes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>One Hundred and Second Amendment Act, 2018</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Constitutional status was provided to the National Commission for Backward Classes under India's Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.</strong></li>
<li>Article 338B into the Constitution after Articles 338 and 338A which deal with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (SC) and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (ST) respectively.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>One Hundred Third Amendment Act, 2019</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It introduced <strong>reservations for Economic Weaker Section</strong> for the first time in independent India</li>
<li>Amendment in Article 16 allows a 10% reservation to EWS in public employment.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/to-the-points/Paper2/major-constitutional-amendments-part-3'
		],
		(int) 4 => [
			'title' => 'National Supercomputing Mission',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, a <a href="/to-the-points/paper4/right-to-information-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Right to Information (RTI)</strong></a> reply has revealed that India has produced <strong>just three supercomputers since 2015</strong> under the <strong>National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).</strong></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Supercomputing Mission</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The National Supercomputing Mission was announced in <strong>2015,</strong> with an aim to connect national academic and R&amp;D institutions with a grid of more than <strong>70 high-performance computing facilities at an estimated cost of ₹4,500 crores</strong> over the <strong>period of seven years.</strong></li>
<li>It supports the government's vision of <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-digital-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>'Digital India'</strong></a> and <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/five-years-of-make-in-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>'Make in India'</strong></a> initiatives.</li>
<li>The mission is being implemented by the Department of Science and Technology (Ministry of Science and Technology) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), through<strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/jatan-virtual-museum-software" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune</a></strong> and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.</li>
<li>It is also an effort to improve the number of supercomputers owned by India.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>These supercomputers will also be networked on the National Supercomputing grid over the National Knowledge Network (NKN). The NKN connects academic institutions and R&amp;D labs over a high-speed network.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Under NSM, the long-term plan is to build a strong base of 20,000 skilled persons over the next five years who will be equipped to handle the complexities of supercomputers.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Progress of NSM:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>NSM&rsquo;s first supercomputer named <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-fact-for-prelims-5th-march-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Param Shivay</strong></a> has been installed in IIT-BHU, Varanasi, in 2019. It has 837 TeraFlop High-Performance Computing (HPC) capacity.</li>
<li>The <strong>second supercomputer</strong> with a capacity of <strong>1.66 PetaFlop</strong> has been installed at IIT-Kharagpur.</li>
<li>The <strong>third system, Param Brahma,</strong> has been installed at IISER-Pune, which has a capacity of<strong> 797 TeraFlop.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Incomplete Utilization of Funds allocated to NSM:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/national-supercomputing-mission" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>NSM</strong> </a>envisaged setting up a network of <strong>70 high-performance computing</strong> facilities in the country but <strong>skewed funding</strong> for the mission <strong>during the initial years slowed down the overall pace</strong> of building supercomputers.</li>
<li><strong>Only 16.67 % of the total budget of Rs 4,500 crore,</strong> has been utilised during the <strong>last four-and-a-half years</strong> for execution of the mission.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Global Scenario:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Globally, <strong>China has the maximum number of supercomputers</strong> and maintains the top position in the world, followed by the US, Japan, France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland and the United Kingdom.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Teraflops:</strong> It is a unit of computing speed equal to one million million (10^12) floating-point operations per second (FLOPS).</li>
<li><strong>Petaflops:</strong> It is a unit of computing speed equal to one thousand million million (10^15) floating-point operations per second (FLOPS).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/in-four-years-of-a-national-mission-total-supercomputers-built-three-6309952/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/national-supercomputing-mission-1'
		],
		(int) 5 => [
			'title' => 'Sahyadri Megha: New Paddy Variety',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences (UAHS), Shivamogga (Karnataka), has developed a new variety of paddy, &lsquo;Sahyadri Megha&rsquo;.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The University has developed the new variety to prevent decline in the area under paddy cultivation.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Reasons Behind Developing the New Variety</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Paddy growers are switching over to commercial crops like arecanut, ginger and rubber for lucrative returns.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The area under paddy that was around 1.5 lakh hectares in Shivamogga district in 1990, has come down to around 1.05 lakh hectares.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The<strong> &lsquo;Jyothi&rsquo; variety</strong> which is widely cultivated in the command areas of the Bhadra and the Tunga reservoirs and in semi-arid areas in Sorab, Shikaripur, Hanagal and Sirsi taluks in Karnataka has become vulnerable to blast disease and other infestations.</li>
<li>Demand by customers in urban areas for red rice which is rich in fibre and protein.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>The red variety</strong> gets its rich colour from an antioxidant called <strong>anthocyanins,</strong> which are also found in deep purple or reddish fruits and vegetables. The compound is believed to have properties that can reduce inflammation, allergy, prevent risks of cancer and help in weight management.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Sahyadri Megha</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Sahyadri Megha is a red variety of paddy that is <strong>resistant to blast disease and rich in nutrients.</strong></li>
<li>It was developed under the <strong>hybridization breeding method</strong> by cross-breeding the best among the <strong>&lsquo;Jyothi&rsquo;</strong> variety with that of <strong>&lsquo;Akkalu&rsquo;,</strong> a disease-resistant and protein-rich paddy variety.</li>
<li>The new variety will be notified under the <strong>Indian Seed Act 1966</strong> shortly after which it will become part of the seed chain.</li>
<li><strong>Key Attributes</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>protein content in it is 12.48%, higher</strong> than the other red rice varieties grown.</li>
<li>The <strong>yield per hectare</strong> from &lsquo;Sahyadri Megha&rsquo; is around 65 quintals, substantially higher than other red paddy varieties.</li>
<li>It is a<strong> medium-term paddy</strong> that can be grown when there is a delay in the onset of monsoon. It can be <strong>harvested after 120 days of sowing.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Blast Disease</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is caused by <strong>fungus Pyricularia grisea (P. oryzae).</strong></li>
<li>Also known as <strong>rotten neck or rice fever.</strong></li>
<li>First recorded in India during 1918.</li>
<li>Expected grain loss : 70 to 80%.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/uahs-develops-new-paddy-variety-resistant-to-blast-disease/article31015990.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source : TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/sahyadri-megha-new-paddy-variety'
		],
		(int) 6 => [
			'title' => 'Invocation of Disaster Management Act, 2005 to Deal with COVID-19',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Various government authorities have invoked their respective powers under<strong> the Disaster Management (DM) Act, 2005</strong> to deal with the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak</strong></a> in the country.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Delegation of Powers to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The powers exercised by the home secretary for being the <strong>Chairman of the National Executive Committee (NEC)</strong> under <strong>section 10 of the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/national-disaster-management-authority-ndma-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DM Act (2005)</a></strong> have been delegated to the Ministry of Health and Family welfare.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Section 10 evaluates the preparedness</strong> at all governmental levels for the purpose of responding to any threatening disaster situation or disaster and <strong>give directions,</strong> where necessary, for enhancing such preparedness.</li>
<li>It also <strong>lays down guidelines for, or give directions to, the concerned Ministries or Departments</strong> of the Government of India, <strong>the State Governments and the State Authorities</strong> regarding measures to be taken by them in response to any threatening disaster situation or disaster</li>
<li>Thus it majorly <strong>monitors and implements</strong> the national plan and the plans prepared by the ministries or departments of the central government and gives <strong>superintendence power to the officer executing</strong> plans.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The delegation would help<strong> to enhance preparedness and containment of novel coronavirus (COVID-19)</strong> in the country.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Invocation of Powers by District Authorities:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Some of the district authorities in the COVID-19 affected states like Maharashtra have also invoked power under the <strong>DM Act.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The Act gives power to the district administration under <strong>Sections 33 and 34</strong> to deal with any disaster-related situation.</li>
<li>Under Section 33 and 34 the district authorities may opt for <strong>requisition powers for any officer or any department at the district level or any local authority</strong> to take measures for <strong>prevention or mitigation of disaster</strong> or to effectively respond to it and such <strong>officer or department is bound to carry out such order.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>This step will help to create <strong>awareness among the public regarding COVID-19</strong> and will also help to<strong> regulate the medical supply of masks, injections and medicines, </strong>etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Executive Committee</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A National Executive Committee (NEC) is constituted under <strong>Section 8 of the DM Act, 2005</strong> to assist the National Disaster Management Authority in the performance of its functions.</li>
<li><strong>Union Home secretary</strong> is its ex-officio chairperson.</li>
<li>NEC has been given the responsibility to act as the coordinating and monitoring body for disaster management, to prepare a National Plan, monitor the implementation of National Policy etc.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/coronavirus-govt-vests-powers-of-home-secretary-under-dm-act-with-health-secy-120031101709_1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: BS</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/invocation-of-disaster-management-act-2005-to-deal-with-covid-19'
		],
		(int) 7 => [
			'title' => 'Divya Kala Shakti: Witnessing the Abilities in Disabilities',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The first ever regional event <strong>&ldquo;Divya Kala Shakti: Witnessing the Abilities in Disabilities&rdquo;</strong> is being organized in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) on 12<sup>th</sup> March, 2020.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Divya Kala Shakti is a <strong>cultural event</strong> which provides a wider and unique platform to showcase the <strong>potential of <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/issues-related-to-persons-with-disability" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Persons with Differently Abled</a> in the field of performing art,</strong> music, dance, acrobatics etc.</li>
<li>The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had organized the event at national level on 18<sup>th</sup> April and 23<sup>rd</sup> July 2019.</li>
<li>In Chennai, the event is being organized by the <strong>National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (Divyangjan), Chennai</strong> in collaboration with <strong>Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan),</strong> Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>About 98 children and youth with different disabilities from the Southern region will participate in the event. They <strong>will perform dance, music, etc. in classical, folk and modern style.</strong></li>
<li>This event also includes for the first time Yoga and Acrobatics.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD)</strong> was established in the year <strong>2005</strong> in Chennai under the <strong>Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.</strong> It serves as a national resource center for empowerment of persons with Multiple Disabilities.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1606019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/divya-kala-shakti-witnessing-the-abilities-in-disabilities'
		],
		(int) 8 => [
			'title' => 'White Giraffe',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Poachers have killed two extremely rare white giraffes in northeast Kenya, leaving just one such animal in the world.</p>
<h3>Key Points<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1583995517_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1583995517_image1.jpg" style="float: right;" width="350" caption="false" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The white giraffes were first spotted in 2016.</li>
<li>The white appearance of the giraffe is <strong>due to leucism,</strong> a genetic condition that causes skin cells to have no pigmentation.</li>
<li><strong>Leucism is different from albinism</strong> where no melanin is produced at all. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Melanin is a dark biological pigment found in skin, hair, feathers, scales, eyes, and some internal membranes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Giraffe</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Giraffes are most often found in savanna/woodland habitats and range widely throughout Africa.</li>
<li>The<strong> International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)</strong> had classified giraffes as<strong> vulnerable</strong> in the Red List in December 2016, when it noted that their population had dropped by over 40% since 1985.</li>
<li>According to IUCN, the<strong> four principal factors that have led to a population decline</strong> among giraffes are <strong>habitat loss, civil unrest, poaching</strong> and<strong> ecological issues.</strong></li>
<li>Giraffes are listed under <strong>Appendix II of the CITES.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-there-is-only-one-white-giraffe-left-in-the-world-6309643/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/white-giraffe'
		],
		(int) 9 => [
			'title' => 'Oil Prices Crash',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/oils-rout/article31025950.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Oil&rsquo;s rout: on fall in prices</strong></a>, <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/editorials/what-the-dip-in-oil-prices-means/story-lD0DL3lD5CANK7JzljWGoK.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>What the dip in oil prices means</strong></a>, <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/editorial/the-sudden-crash-in-crude-oil-prices-offers-many-opportunities-for-india/article31025475.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The sudden crash in crude oil prices offers many opportunities for India</strong></a>, <a href="https://www.livemint.com/opinion/columns/how-the-country-should-make-the-most-of-a-second-oil-windfall-11583777398767.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>How the country should make the most of a second oil windfall</strong></a>. It talks about the impact of recent oil prices crash.</p>
</div>
<p>Recently, the International oil prices crashed by about to 31%, <strong>the biggest fall since the 1991 Gulf War.</strong> The fall in prices came after the disintegration of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/opec" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>OPEC+ alliance</strong></a> (made up of OPEC plus other producers including Russia) that triggered an <strong>all-out price war</strong> between <strong>Saudi Arabia and Russia.</strong></p>
<p>In response to it Saudi Arabia has threatened to drive prices to such a low point that Russia will be forced back to the negotiating table and consequently, a price war has been started. <strong>This reduction in oil prices may have several global repercussions.</strong></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Background of the Price war</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In 2014-2015, Oil prices crashed. In order to sustain the oil-exporting economies, Russia and Saudi Arabia had held up oil prices by cutting production.</li>
<li>However, Russia was facing issues on its energy front due to the <strong>US shale oil industry</strong> and<strong> sanctions imposed by the US and European Union</strong> against its energy industry.</li>
<li>Thus, Russia decided to<strong> unilaterally adopt an alternative strategy of increasing production and driving down prices</strong> (this was against the OPEC+ agreement to cut down production in order to sustain oil-exporting countries), with the idea of driving high-cost oil producers and US shale out of business.</li>
<li>But this strategy by Russia would hurt the<strong> interest</strong> of the Saudi-led <strong>Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Why did oil prices crash?</h3>
<p>The global oil market is now set to witness the rare conjunction of a low-demand and a high-supply scenario.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>High-Supply Scenario: Price War</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia has raised the possibility of the market being flooded with excess oil production, leading to a supply shock.</li>
<li>According to Goldman Sachs, this price war could drive the oil prices to as low as $20 a barrel.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Low Demand Scenario: Coronavirus impact</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>China&rsquo;s efforts to curtail the coronavirus outbreak has <strong>disrupted its economy and oil imports.</strong></li>
<li>This has slowed down the world&rsquo;s second-largest economy and has caused global economic disruptions.</li>
<li>Also, coronavirusAccording to some forecasts, <strong>global oil demand growth in 2020 will be less than 0.48 million barrels per day,</strong> down from 1.1 million barrels in December 2019, as the shut-down of factories in China, disruptions in supply chains, and travel restrictions imposed across the world depress demand.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Impact On Other Players</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It marks the <strong>disintegration of the grouping called OPEC+</strong> as the price war ended more than three years of cooperation on supporting the market.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Also, failure of the OPEC and Russia to reach an agreement on oil production cuts, possibly signalling the <strong>end of a nearly five-decade-long intervention by oil producers in the international market.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The<strong> race to the bottom</strong> could result in many casualties among global oil producers, including the US shale oil industry. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A collapse of these shale oil producers may set off defaults in the bond markets, setting off a downward vicious cycle in US markets.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Impact On India</h3>
<p>India imports more than 80% of its oil needs, the price crash offers a breather on the macroeconomic front. For example:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Current Account Deficit:</strong> The collapse in oil prices will <strong>cut the country&rsquo;s import bill, </strong>and <strong>soften its current account deficit.</strong></li>
<li>According to estimates, <strong>a one-dollar decrease in crude oil price reduces the oil bill by around $1.6 billion per year.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Inflation:</strong> The fall in crude prices will also help<strong> ease inflationary pressures</strong> that have been building up over the past few months.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This will increase the space for the monetary policy committee to ease rates further.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Fiscal Health: Low oil prices</strong> offer an opportunity to raise some revenue and improve its fiscal balance.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The growth slowdown in the last two years has resulted in a precarious fiscal situation because of tax revenue shortfalls.</li>
<li>The revenue earned, can be used by the government to spend or meet its fiscal commitments in the form of budgetary transfers to states, payment of dues and compensation for revenue shortfalls to state governments under the goods and services tax (GST) framework.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Reviving Economic Growth:</strong> Further, the additional tax revenue thus generated through higher excise duty should be used to clear all dues of the central government, whether to private companies, state governments, or others awaiting tax refunds.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Also, putting cash in the hands of households and small businesses may tackle the<strong> slowdown in consumption in the Indian economy.</strong></li>
<li>The potential excise duty windfall from oil prices could come in handy for the government to provide relief to <strong>beleaguered telecom companies.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Negative fallouts:</strong> However, there could be a flip side for India too from the oil price slump.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The value of Indian oil and gas companies will be impacted (Reliance-Aramco deal may get delayed).</li>
<li>Remittances from the Persian Gulf will reduce.</li>
<li>Centre&rsquo;s disinvestment programme as the sale of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) could run into headwinds.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>During the last major oil prices crash (between mid-2014 and early 2016), the Centre and many States chose to appropriate most of the savings through regular hikes in excise duty and value-added tax on petrol and diesel. However, only a small proportion of cost reduction benefits were passed on to customers.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In a similar scenario, the gains made by excise duty, should be used for productive infrastructure investments and not be wasted on runaway revenue expenditure.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>However, this oil prices crash will eventually recover in the future. Therefore, it is imperative that India should persist with measures to reduce the country's oil dependency over the long run.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It should strive to increase the use of renewable, and catalyse a shift to electric vehicles.</li>
<li>More efforts should be put in to ramp up the stagnating domestic oil output.</li>
<li>The country's <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>strategic oil reserves</strong></a> should be strengthened by making use of attractive buying opportunities in global markets.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; border-style: dotted; border-color: #ff0000; background-color: #f1f2cb;">
<p><span style="color: #000080;"><em><strong>Drishti Mains Question</strong></em></span></p>
<p>Recent global oil price crash offers a breather for India on the various macroeconomic fronts. Discuss.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/oil-prices-crash'
		],
		(int) 10 => [
			'title' => 'India State of Forest Report, 2019',
			'catname' => 'Summary of Important Reports',
			'desc' => '<h2><strong>Volume I</strong></h2>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is the 16<sup>th</sup> biennial assessment of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-state-of-forest-report-isfr-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>India&rsquo;s forests by Forest Survey of India</strong></a>, an organisation under the <strong>Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change</strong> (MoEFCC).</li>
<li>FSI undertakes National Forest Inventory to assess the growing stock in forests and TOF (Tree Outside Forest), bamboo resource, carbon stock and to assess the dependence of the people living in Forest Fringe Villages for fuelwood, fodder, small timber and bamboo.</li>
<li>In the current ISFR, a new chapter<strong> &lsquo;Forest Types and Biodiversity&rsquo;</strong> has been added which presents findings of the forest type mapping based on Champion &amp; Seth classification (1968) and the results of the first ever rapid biodiversity assessment of plant species in the 16 Forest Type Groups.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>Total Forest and Tree cover</strong> is <strong>24.56%</strong> of the geographical area of the country. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>Total Forest cover</strong> is 7,12,249 sq km which is <strong>21.67%</strong> of the geographical area of the country.</li>
<li>The <strong>Tree cover</strong> is <strong>2.89%</strong> of the geographical area of the country.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>As compared to ISFR 2017 the current assessment shows an increase of <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>0.65% of forest and tree cover put together, at the national level</li>
<li>0.56% of forest cover</li>
<li>1.29% of tree cover</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Change in Recorded forest Area/Green Wash <strong>(RFA/GW)</strong> as compared to previous assessment of 2017.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Forest cover within the RFA/GW: a slight decrease of 330 sq km (0.05%)</li>
<li>Forest cover outside the RFA/GW: there is an increase of 4,306 sq km.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The top five States (UT) in terms of increase in forest cover: <strong>Karnataka&gt;Andhra Pradesh&gt;Kerala&gt;Jammu &amp; Kashmir&gt;Himachal Pradesh.</strong></li>
<li>Forest cover in the <strong>hill districts</strong> is 40.30% of the total geographical area of these districts. An increase of 544 sq km (0.19%) in 140 hill districts of the country.</li>
<li>The total forest cover in the <strong>tribal districts</strong> is 37.54% of the geographical area of these districts.</li>
<li>Total forest cover in the <strong>North Eastern region</strong> is 65.05% of its geographical area. The current assessment shows a decrease of forest cover to the extent of 765 sq km (0.45%) in the region. Except Assam and Tripura, all the States in the region show decrease in forest cover.</li>
<li><strong>Mangrove cover</strong> in the country has increased by 1.10% as compared to the previous assessment.</li>
<li><strong>Wetlands</strong> cover 3.83% of the area within the RFA/GW of the country. Amongst the States, Gujarat has the largest area of wetlands within RFA in the country followed by West Bengal.</li>
<li>Dependence of fuelwood on forests is highest in the State of Maharashtra, whereas, for fodder, small timber and bamboo, dependence is highest in Madhya Pradesh.</li>
<li>It has been assessed that the annual removal of the small timber by the people living in forest fringe villages is nearly 7% of the average annual yield of forests in the country.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Introduction</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Forest Cover:</strong> The forest canopy area covered on the ground irrespective of the legal status of land. It includes all tree patches which have canopy density more than 10% and area of 1 ha or more in size.</li>
<li><strong>Canopy Density:</strong> It is defined as the proportion of an area in the field/ground, that is covered by the crown of trees.</li>
<li><strong>Recorded Forest Area (RFA):</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Forest Area (or recorded forest area) refers to all the geographic areas recorded as forest in government records.</li>
<li>Recorded forest areas comprises Reserved Forests (RF) and Protected Forests (PF), which have been constituted under the provisions of Indian Forest Act, 1927.</li>
<li>Besides RFs and PFs, the recorded forest area may include all such areas, which have been recorded as forests under any State Act or local laws or any revenue records.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>TOF (Trees Outside Forest):</strong> Trees found outside the recorded forest areas. TOF refers to all trees growing outside RFA irrespective of patch size which could also be larger than 1 ha.</li>
<li><strong>Tree cover:</strong> All patches of trees occurring outside RFA which are of size less than 1 ha including the scattered trees. Tree cover forms an important part of the trees outside forests (TOF). Therefore, tree cover can be considered as a subset of TOF.</li>
<li>According to the Global Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) done by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) once every five years, <strong>India has 2% of the Global forest area, standing at 10<sup>th</sup> position among the top ten countries in respect of forest area.</strong> Russia Federation tops the list with 20% of the global forest cover.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Chapter 2- Forest Cover</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>National Forest Policy of India, 1988 envisages a goal of <strong>achieving 33% of geographical area of the country under forest and tree cover.</strong></li>
<li>The main objectives:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>to monitor forest cover and changes therein at the National, State and District levels.</li>
<li>to generate information on forest cover in different density classes and changes therein.</li>
<li>to produce forest cover and other thematic maps derived from it for the whole country.</li>
<li>to provide a primary base layer for assessment of different parameters including growing stock, forest carbon etc.</li>
<li>to provide information for international reporting.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Forest cover:</strong> Includes all lands having trees more than one hectare in area with tree canopy density of more than 10%, irrespective of ownership, legal status of the land and species composition of trees.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Very Dense Forest:</strong> All lands with tree canopy density of 70% and above. The relative composition of forest cover under this category is <strong>3.02%</strong></li>
<li><strong>Moderately Dense Forest:</strong> All lands with tree canopy density of 40% and more but less than 70%. Forest cover under this category is <strong>9.39%</strong></li>
<li><strong>Open Forest:</strong> All lands with tree canopy density of 10% and more but less than 40 %. Forest cover of <strong>9.26%</strong> falls under this category.</li>
<li><strong>Scrub Forest:</strong> Lands with canopy density less than 10%. Geographical area under this category is <strong>1.41%.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Non-forest:</strong> Lands not included in any of the above classes (includes water). Geographical area under the non-forest category is <strong>76.92%.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Largest forest cover in India:</strong> Madhya Pradesh &gt; Arunachal Pradesh &gt; Chhattisgarh &gt; Odisha &gt; Maharashtra</li>
<li><strong>Forest cover as percentage of total geographical area:</strong> Mizoram (85.41%) &gt; Arunachal Pradesh (79.63%) &gt; Meghalaya (76.33%) &gt; Manipur (75.46%) &gt; Nagaland (75.31%).</li>
<li>There is an <strong>overall gain of 3,976 sq km</strong> of forest cover in the country as compared with the ISFR 2017 report.</li>
<li><strong>States/UTs showing significant gain in forest cover:</strong> Karnataka &gt; Andhra Pradesh &gt; Kerala &gt; J&amp;K</li>
<li><strong>States showing loss in forest cover:</strong> Manipur &gt; Arunachal Pradesh &gt; Mizoram</li>
<li>There is an overall increase in forest cover in the tribal districts by 1,181 sq km.</li>
<li>There are 218 tribal districts in 27 States/UTs as identified by the Government of India under the <strong>Integrated Tribal Development Programme.</strong></li>
<li>Gujarat has the largest area of the <strong>wetlands</strong> within RFA/GW in the country followed by West Bengal. Wetlands within forest areas form important ecosystems.</li>
<li>Among the smaller States/UTs, Puducherry followed by A&amp;N Islands have large areas of wetlands within RFA/GW.</li>
<li>In the country as a whole there are 62,466 wetlands covering 3.83% of the area within the RFA/GW areas of the country.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Chapter 3- Mangrove Cover</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Mangroves</strong> are a diverse group of salt-tolerant plant communities of tropical and subtropical regions of the world which can survive the limiting factors imposed by lack of oxygen, high salinity and diurnal tidal inundation.</li>
<li>According to Champion &amp; Seth Classification (1968) Mangroves are included in <strong>Type Group-4 Littoral &amp; Swamp Forests</strong></li>
<li><strong>IMPORTANCE OF MANGROVES</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Mangroves have a complex root system which is very efficient in dissipating the sea wave energy thus protecting the coastal areas from tsunamis, storm surge and soil erosion. Their protective role has been widely recognized especially after the devastating Tsunami of 2004.</li>
<li>Mangrove roots slow down water flows and enhance sediment deposition. Therefore, they act as a zone of land accretion due to trapping of fine sediments including heavy metal contaminants. They also arrest coastal erosion and sea water pollution.</li>
<li>They act as a fertile breeding ground for many fish species and other marine fauna.</li>
<li>They act as an important source of livelihood for the coastal communities dependent on collection of honey, tannins, wax and fishing.</li>
<li>Mangroves are important carbon sink.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>About 40% of the world's Mangrove Cover is found in South East Asia and South Asia.</li>
<li>The mangrove cover in India is 4,975 sq km, which is <strong>0.15% of the country&rsquo;s total geographical area.</strong></li>
<li>Increase in the mangrove cover as compared to 2017 assessment: 54 sq km</li>
<li><strong>Among the states and UTs, West Bengal has the highest percentage of area under total Mangrove cover followed by Gujarat and Andaman Nicobar Islands.</strong></li>
<li>Top three states showing Mangrove cover increase: Gujarat &gt; Maharashtra &gt; Odisha</li>
</ul>
<h3>Forest Types &amp; Biodiversity</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A total of 16 types have been identified by Champion and Seth to classify the range of forest<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Moist Tropical Forest:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Tropical Wet Evergreen Forest</li>
<li>Tropical Semi-Evergreen Forest</li>
<li>Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest</li>
<li>Littoral and Swamp Forest</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Dry Tropical Forest<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest</li>
<li>Tropical Thorn Forest</li>
<li>Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Montane Subtropical Forest<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Subtropical Broadleaved Hill Forest</li>
<li>Subtropical Pine Forest</li>
<li>Subtropical Dry Evergreen Forest</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Montane Temperate Forest<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Montane Wet Temperate Forest</li>
<li>Himalayan Moist Temperate Forest</li>
<li>Himalayan Dry Temperate Forest</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Subalpine Forest<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Subalpine Forest</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Alpine Scrub<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Moist Alpine Scrub</li>
<li>Dry Alpine Scrub</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>States and UTs with maximum species diversity of; <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Trees:</strong> Karnataka,</li>
<li><strong>Shrubs:</strong> Arunachal Pradesh,</li>
<li><strong>Herbs:</strong> Jammu &amp; Kashmir.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>State with maximum species richness for Maximum richness of species taking all the three types of plants: Arunachal Pradesh &gt; Tamil Nadu &gt; Karnataka</li>
</ul>
<h3>Forest Fire &amp; Monitoring</h3>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Action Plan on Forest Fires, 2018</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>MoEF&amp;CC, has come up with the National Action Plan on Forest Fires, 2018 to revamp forest fire management in the country.</li>
<li>Main objectives <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>informing,</li>
<li>enabling and</li>
<li>empowering forest fringe communities and</li>
<li>incentivizing them to work in tandem with the State Forest Departments (SFDs).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The plan proposes nine strategies to address the issue, including establishment of a &ldquo;Centre of Excellence on Forest Fire Management&rdquo;at FSI.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A joint study report of MoEF&amp;CC and World Bank titled &ldquo;Strengthening Forest Fire Management in India&rdquo; released in June 2018 revealed that in the year 2000, 20 districts, representing 3% of India&rsquo;s land area and 16% of forest cover accounted for 44% of all fire detections.</li>
<li>The upgraded version of the Forest Fire Alert System version 3.0 (FAST 3.0) was released on16th January, 2019 with a separate activity of monitoring large forest fires.</li>
<li>Forest Cover of States &amp; UTs under different fire prone classes:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Extremely Fire Prone: Mizoram &gt; Tripura</li>
<li>Very Highly Fire Prone: Mizoram &gt; Manipur</li>
<li>Highly Fire Prone: Nagaland &gt; Manipur</li>
<li>Moderately Fire Prone: Punjab &gt; Nagaland</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It is seen that most of the fire prone forest areas are found in the northeastern region and the central part of the country.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Tree Cover</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The<strong> total tree cover</strong> of the country has been estimated to be <strong>95,027 sq km.</strong></li>
<li><strong>There is an increase of 1,212 sq km in the extent of tree cover as compared to the 2017 assessment.</strong></li>
<li>State-wise estimates of Tree Cover:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Maximum Tree Cover:</strong> Maharashtra &gt; Madhya Pradesh &gt; Rajasthan &gt; J&amp;K</li>
<li><strong>Maximum Tree Cover as percentage of geographical area:</strong> Chandigarh &gt; Delhi &gt; Kerala &gt; Goa</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>State-wise estimates of Tree Outside Forest (TOF)<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Maximum extent of TOF:</strong> Maharashtra &gt; Odisha &gt; Karnataka</li>
<li>Maximum extent of TOF as percentage of geographical area: Kerala &gt; Goa &gt; Nagaland.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Forest Inventory (NFI)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is a major forest resource assessment activity carried out by FSI.</li>
<li>The primary objective is to assess growing stock of trees, number of trees, bamboo, soil carbon, occurrence of NTFP (Non-Timber Forest Products) and invasive species and other parameters depicting growth &amp; health of forest.</li>
<li>The NFI has three components, Forest Inventory, TOF (Rural) Inventory and TOF (Urban) Inventory.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Chapter 8- Bamboo Resources of the Country</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In India, bamboo grows naturally throughout the country except in Kashmir region. India is home to about 125 indigenous and 11 exotic species of bamboo from 23 genera.</li>
<li>Bamboo contributes significantly to the social, economic &amp; ecological development of any region.</li>
<li><strong>Bamboo bearing area of the country:</strong> 16.00 million hectare.</li>
<li><strong>Increase in bamboo bearing area:</strong> 0.32 million hectare, as compared ISFR 2017.</li>
<li><strong>States with maximum bamboo bearing area:</strong> Madhya Pradesh &gt; Maharashtra &gt; Arunachal Pradesh &gt; Odisha.</li>
<li><strong>Maximum occurrence of pure bamboo:</strong> Maharashtra &gt; Madhya Pradesh &gt; Chhattisgarh.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Chapter 9- Carbon Stock in India&rsquo;s Forest</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Total carbon stock in the country's forest: estimated to be 7,124.6 million tonnes.</li>
<li>There is an increase of 42.6 million tonnes in the carbon stock of the country as compared to the last assessment of 2017.</li>
<li><strong>State-wise Maximum carbon stock:</strong> Arunachal Pradesh &gt; MadhyaPradesh &gt; Chhattisgarh &gt; Maharashtra</li>
<li><strong>State-wise Maximum per hectare carbon stock:</strong> Sikkim &gt; Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands &gt; Jammu &amp; Kashmir &gt; Himachal Pradesh &gt; Arunachal Pradesh</li>
<li>Soil organic carbon is the largest pool of forest carbon followed by Above Ground Biomass (AGB), Below Ground Biomass (BGB), Litter and dead wood.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Chapter 10- People &amp; Forests</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>As per the Census 2011 nearly 1,70,000 villages are located in the proximity of forest areas and are termed <strong>Forest Fringe Villages (FFVs).</strong></li>
<li>The study conducted by FSI assessed the dependence of the people living in proximity to forests in terms of removal of:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Quantity of fuelwood</li>
<li>Quantity of fodder</li>
<li>Quantity of small Timber</li>
<li>Quantity of bamboo</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Top 3 states in dependence on forests for</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Fuelwood:</strong> Maharashtra &gt; Odisha &gt; Rajasthan</li>
<li><strong>Fodder:</strong> Madhya Pradesh &gt; Maharashtra &gt; Gujarat</li>
<li><strong>Small Timber:</strong> Madhya Pradesh &gt; Gujarat &gt; Maharashtra</li>
<li><strong>Bamboo:</strong> Madhya Pradesh &gt; Chhattisgarh &gt; Gujarat</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>Volume II</strong></h2>
<h3>Chapter 1- Forest and tree resources in States and UTs</h3>
<p><strong>Andhra Pradesh:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The state has the second largest coastline after Gujarat.</li>
<li>Main rivers that drain Andhra Pradesh are the Godavari, Krishna and Penna.</li>
<li>The forests in the State can broadly be divided into four major groups: Deccan Plateau, Central Plateau, Eastern Highland and the East Coastal Plains.</li>
<li><strong>Red Sanders</strong> <em>(Pterocarpus santalinus)</em> is endemic to Andhra Pradesh and is highly valued for its rich red colour and grain pattern.</li>
<li>Forest Cover in the State is 17.88 % of the State's geographical area.</li>
<li><em>Solanum nigrum</em> is the largest NTFP species found in the state with a relative abundance of 98.98%.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Arunachal Pradesh:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Major rivers viz Kameng, Subansiri, Siang, Lohit and Tirap, these divide the State into five major valleys.</li>
<li>Cane and bamboo are found in abundance.</li>
<li>The <strong>population density</strong> of the State is 17 persons per sq km, <strong>lowest in the country.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 2 National Parks (Mouling and Namdapha) and 11 Wildlife Sanctuaries covering 11.68% of its geographical area.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 79.63%</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Assam:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Situated along the Brahmaputra and Barak river valleys.</li>
<li>The State can be divided into 3 physiographic domains: Brahmaputra valley, Central Assam Hills (Mikir Hills in Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hill districts) and Barak valley.</li>
<li><strong>Kaziranga National Park</strong> is home to ⅔ of the world's population of one-horned Rhinoceros.</li>
<li><strong>Endangered and Rare species:</strong> pygmy hog, hispid hare, and great Indian hornbill etc.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 36.11%</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area:</strong> 5 National Parks (Dibru-Saikhowa, Kaziranga, Manas, Nameri and Orang) and 18 Wildlife Sanctuaries covering 4.87% of its geographical area.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Bihar:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Ganga is the main river which flows from west to east through the State.</li>
<li>Bihar is a forest deficient State with Total Forest cover: 7.76%</li>
<li><strong>Sal</strong> <em>(Shorea robusta)</em> forests are found throughout the state.</li>
<li>Major Forest Types: Tropical Dry Deciduous and Tropical moist deciduous.</li>
<li><em>Mangifera indica and Litchi sinensis</em> are the major tree species in numbers found in TOF(rural) and TOF(urban) respectively.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Chhattisgarh:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The State can be divided into three agro-climatic zones: the Chhattisgarh Plains, the Northern Hills of Chhattisgarh and the Bastar Plateau.</li>
<li>Major rivers: Rihand, Hasdo (a tributary of Mahanadi) and Indravati.</li>
<li>Major Forest Types: Tropical Dry Deciduous and Tropical moist deciduous.</li>
<li>Major tree species: Sal <em>(Shorea robusta)</em> and Teak <em>(Tectona grandis)</em>.</li>
<li>Other Major species: Bija <em>(Pterocarpus marsupium)</em>, Saja <em>(Terminalia tomentosa)</em>, Dhavdha <em>(Anogeissus latifolia)</em>, Mahua <em>(Madhuca indica)</em>, Tendu <em>(Diospyros melanoxylon)</em> and bamboo<em> (Dendrocalamus strictus)</em></li>
<li>The pressure on forests is high as the state is mostly inhabited by tribal people or non-tribal landless people.</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 3 National Parks (Guru Ghasidas, Indravati, Kanger Valley) and 11 Wildlife Sanctuaries</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Delhi:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The landscape of Delhi can geographically be divided into three major regions: the low-lying Yamuna flood plains, the Aravalli Ridge and the great Gangetic plains that cover most part of the city.</li>
<li>Major Forest Types: Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest and Tropical Thorn Forests.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 13.18%.</li>
<li>The Protected Area network: 1 Wildlife Sanctuary (Asola Bhatti) which covers 1.96% of the geographical area of the State.</li>
<li><em>Prosopis juliflora,</em> an invasive species, is the most abundant tree species found in Delhi.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Goa:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The State has two distinct physiographic regions, namely Western Ghats and coastal plains.</li>
<li>Major rivers: Mandovi and Zuari.</li>
<li>The Tribal population is 10.23% of the total population.</li>
<li>Goa has 16 mangrove species including Rhizophora spp, Bruguiera spp, Ceriops tagal, Kandelia spp, Avicennia spp, Sonneratia spp, etc</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 60.44%</li>
<li>Various schemes implemented by Goa Forest Department: Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests, Western Ghats Development Programme, Development of Gardens, Parks and Fountains, Social and Urban Forestry etc.</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network: 1 National Park (Mollem) and 6 Wildlife Sanctuaries.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Gujarat:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The unique features of the State of Gujarat:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>largest coastline in the country</li>
<li>the saline deserts of Rann</li>
<li>Grasslands</li>
<li>wetlands</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Physiographically the State can be divided into three distinct regions:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The peninsula (Saurashtra): hilly tract with low hills</li>
<li>Kachchh on the north-west: it is barren and contains the famous Rann of Kachchh</li>
<li>The mainland: from the Rann of Kachchh and the Aravalli hills to the river Damanganga, consists of plains with alluvial soil.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Gujarat has the last reserve of the Asiatic lion in the forests of Gir and Wild Ass in the Little Rann of Kachchh.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 7.57%</li>
<li>Wetland area inside RFA/GW: 39.88%, largest in the country</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 4 National Parks (Vansda, Velavadar, Gir, Marine- Gulf of Kachchh)<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>23 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 1 Conservation Reserve</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Dominant tree species in the state is neem (Azadirachta indica)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Haryana:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Major rivers of the state: Yamuna and the Ghaggar</li>
<li>Over 500 bird species recorded in the State i.e. 40% of total bird species in the country.</li>
<li><strong>Major Forest Type Groups:</strong> Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest, Tropical Thorn Forest and Subtropical Pine Forests.</li>
<li>Total forest cover is very low: 3.62%</li>
<li>Major agroforestry species: Poplar and Eucalyptus trees</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 2 National Parks (Kalesar and Sultanpur), 8 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 2 Conservation Reserves.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Himachal Pradesh:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The State has three distinct regions:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Shiwaliks: altitude upto 1,500 m</li>
<li>Middle Himalayan region:1,500 m to 3,000 m</li>
<li>The Himadris: higher than 3,000 m.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Important rivers of the State: Satluj, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Yamuna.</li>
<li>The forests in the State can be broadly classified into coniferous forests and broad-leaved forests.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 27.72%</li>
<li>It is a forest fire sensitive State.</li>
<li><strong>The Protected Area network in the State:</strong> 5 National Parks (Great Himalayan, Inderkilla, Khirganga, Khirganga, Simbalbara) , 28 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 3 Conservation Reserves.</li>
<li>Dominant tree species in the state are: Deodar <em>(Cedrus deodara),</em> Pinus wallichiana and Chir<em> (Pinus roxburghii)</em></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Jammu &amp; Kashmir:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Situated in the northernmost part of the country.</li>
<li>Major rivers: Jhelum, Chenab, Indus, Ravi, Tawi etc.</li>
<li>All the 22 districts of UT of Jammu &amp; Kashmir and two districts of UT of Ladakh are hill districts and both UT's do not have any tribal district.</li>
<li>Dominant tree species in TOF: Grewia oppositifolia</li>
<li>Major Invasive species: Lantana camara</li>
<li>National Parks: Salim Ali, Dachigam, Hemis, Kishtwar</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><strong>Jharkhand:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Jharkhand is rich in forests and mineral wealth.</li>
<li>Physiographically, the State has four major plateaus, the Chhota Nagpur plateau is the most prominent.</li>
<li>Important rivers of the State; Ganga, Son, South Koel, Baitarani and Damodar.</li>
<li>Various ethnic groups such as Munda, Oraon, Ho, Santhal, Paharia, Chero, Birjea, Asura and others live in the State and follow varying practices of agro-pastoralism.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 29.62%</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Karnataka:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Physiographically the State can be divided into two distinct regions: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Hilly region (The Malnad): comprising Western Ghats</li>
<li>Plain region (the Maidan): comprising the inland plateau.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>East flowing (drain into Bay of Bengal): Cauvery and Krishna</li>
<li>West flowing (drain into Arabian sea): Sharavathi and Kali.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>The evergreen forests of the Western Ghats cover about 60% of the forest area of the State and are recognized as one of the four Biodiversity Hotspots of India.</strong></li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 20.11%</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 5 National Parks (Anshi, Bandipur, Bannerghatta, Kudremukh, Nagarahole ) 30 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 15 Conservation Reserves.</li>
<li>Karnataka supports about 10% of the total tiger population and 25% of the elephant population of the country.</li>
<li>Major species:&nbsp;<em>Tectona grandis,Terminalia spp, Dalbergia latifolia, Pterocarpus spp,</em> etc. In the Scrub and Thorny Forests,<em> Acacia spp,Capparis spp., Prosopis spp.,</em> etc</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Kerala:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Physiographically, the State can be divided into coastal, midland and highland zones.</li>
<li>Major rivers of the State: Periyar, Kaloda and Attingok.</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 6 National Parks (Anamudi Shola, Eravikulam, Mathikettan Shola, Pambadum Shola, Periyar, Silent Valley), 17 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 1 Community Reserve covering 6.40% of its geographical area.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 54.42%</li>
<li>Dominant tree species in TOF (rural): Hevea brasiliensis</li>
<li>Dominant tree species in TOF (urban): Cocos nucifera</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Madhya Pradesh:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Madhya Pradesh is a forest rich State and is ranked first among the States in terms of the RFA.</li>
<li>Major rivers: Narmada, Tapti, Son, Betwa, Shipra and Chambal.</li>
<li>Madhya Pradesh State Minor Forest Produce (Trading &amp; Development) Co-operative Federation, formed in 1984, collects, processes and markets Tendu leaves, Sal Seed, Kullu Gum and other NTFPs.</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 10 National Parks (Bandhavgarh, Dinosaur Fossils, Fossil, Pench, Kanha, Madhav, Panna, Sanjay, Satpura, Van Vihar).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>25 Wildlife Sanctuaries.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>There are 6 Tiger Reserves in the State.</li>
<li>The State with a population of 526 Tigers, is recognized as Tiger State of India, as per the 'All India Tiger Estimation 2018'</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 25.14%</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Maharashtra:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is situated in the western peninsular region of the country.</li>
<li>Maharashtra is ranked second among the States in terms of the recorded forest area.</li>
<li>The State has three physiographic zones <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Deccan Plateau,</li>
<li>Western Ghats and</li>
<li>West Coast.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Godavari, Bhima, Narmada, Tapti, Koyna and Krishna.</li>
<li>A 24-hour toll free helpline number 1926 called 'Hello Forest' has been set up to provide information regarding plantations, protection and mass awareness.</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 6 National Parks (Chandoli, Gugamal, Nawegaon, Pench, Borivilli, Tadoba), 48 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 6 Conservation Reserves.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 16.50%</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Manipur:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Physiographically, Manipur can be characterized in two distinct physical regions&ndash;<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>an outlying area of rugged hills and narrow valleys</li>
<li>the inner area of flat plain</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Imphal and Bara</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 75.46%</li>
<li>It is a highly fire prone area.</li>
<li>Out of 126 species of bamboo reported in India, 53 species are found in Manipur</li>
<li>Major species of trees: Teak, Pine, Oak, Uningthou <em>(Phoebe spp.)</em> Leihao<em> (Michelia spp.)</em></li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 1 National Park (Keibul-Lamjao), 2 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 4 Conservation Reserves.</li>
<li>Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Eastern India, and has been declared a Ramsar site.</li>
<li>The Keibul Lamjao National Park situated on the southern shore of the Loktak Lake is home to the endangered Rucervus eldii (brow-antlered deer or Sangai) also known as the dancing deer.</li>
<li>Lilium mackliniae or Siroi Lily is a rare species that is only found in Manipur Siroi hill ranges.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Meghalaya:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The State has three distinct regions<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Garo Hills,</li>
<li>Khasi Hills and</li>
<li>Jaintia hills.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Sanda, Simsang Umngot and Myntdu.</li>
<li>Shifting cultivation is still prevalent in the State.</li>
<li>Unlike other States, forests in Meghalaya are largely under the community and private ownership with only 1,113 sq km of forests under the direct control of the State Forest Department.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 76.32%</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 2 National Parks (Balphakram, Nokrek Ridge), 4 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 65 Community Reserves.</li>
<li>Dominant tree species : <em>Pinus kasya</em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Mizoram:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Amongst the States, Mizoram has the highest area under forest cover in terms of percentage of geographical area covering 85.41%.</li>
<li>Tropical wet-evergreen forests of the State have valuable species in the top canopy such as Dipterocarpus turbinatus, Artocarpus chaplasha, Terminalia myriocarpa, Amoora wallichii, Michelia champaca, Mesua ferrea etc.</li>
<li>It has nearly 40% of forest area under Very highly fire prone</li>
<li>Bamboos occur abundantly in the middle and lower stories in the evergreen forest type</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 2 National Parks (Murlen, Phawngpui Blue Mountain), 8 Wildlife Sanctuaries.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Nagaland:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Major river: Barak river.</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 1 National Park (Intanki National Park), 3 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 57 Community Reserves.</li>
<li>Total Forest Cover: 75.31%</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Odisha:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Physiographically, the State can be divided into four regions<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Northern Plateau,</li>
<li>Eastern Ghats,</li>
<li>Central Tableland and</li>
<li>Coastal Plains.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Mahanadi, Brahmani and Baitarani.</li>
<li>Total Forest Cover: 33.15%</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 2 National Parks (Bhitarkanika and Simlipal), 19 Wildlife Sanctuaries.</li>
<li>Dominant tree species in TOF is Mangifera indica</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Punjab:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Major rivers: Satluj and Beas.</li>
<li><strong>Major forest type Groups:</strong> Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests, Tropical Thorn Forests and Subtropical Pine Forests</li>
<li>The Community reserves of 'Lalwan' in Hoshiarpur and 'Keshopur-Chamb' in Gurdaspur districts are the first notified community reserves in the country under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972</li>
<li>The Forest Cover in the State is 3.67% of the State's geographical area.</li>
<li>Total wetlands: 119 covering 3.32% of total RFA/GW.</li>
<li>Major tree species in TOF: <em>Eucalyptus species, Melia azadirachta</em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Rajasthan:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The State has 4 distinct regions:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Western Desert with Barren Hills,</li>
<li>Level Rocky and Sandy Plains,</li>
<li>The Aravalli Hills</li>
<li>South-Eastern Plateau.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Banas, Chambal, Luni and Mahi.</li>
<li>Major forest type groups: Tropical Dry Deciduous and Tropical Thorn Forests.</li>
<li>Protected Area network of the State: 5 National Parks (Desert, Keoladeo, Mukundra Hills, Ranthambhore, Sariska), 25 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 11 Conservation Reserves</li>
<li><strong>Project Tiger sites:</strong> 3 (Ranthambhore, Sariska and Mukundra Hills)</li>
<li><strong>Ramsar sites:</strong> 2 (Keoladeo Ghana sanctuary and Sambhar lake)</li>
<li>The Forest Cover in the State is 4.86 % of the State's geographical area. It is a forest deficient State.</li>
<li>Dominant tree species in Trees Outside Forests (TOF): <em>Prosopis cineraria, Azadirachta indica</em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Sikkim:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Major rivers: Teesta, Ranjeet, Rangpo and Lachen.</li>
<li>It is a forest rich State with Total forest cover of 47.11%.</li>
<li>Sikkim harbors around one third of the flowering plants of India.</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 1 National Park (Khangchendzonga), 7 Wildlife Sanctuaries,1 Conservation Reserve, covering 30.77% of its geographical area.</li>
<li><strong>Khangchendzonga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Tamil Nadu:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Four major physiographic regions:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Coastal Plain,</li>
<li>Eastern Ghats</li>
<li>Central Plateau and</li>
<li>Western Ghats.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Cauvery, Bhavani, Palar, Vaigai.</li>
<li>Wide range of biodiversity: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Marine coastal ecosystem in Gulf of Munnar</li>
<li>Terrestrial evergreen forest in Western Ghats</li>
<li>Temperate forest in the hills</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A biodiversity Hotspot</li>
<li>A threatened ecosystem</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Pioneer state in conservation of marine fauna.</li>
<li>Famous for Teak and Sandalwood forest.</li>
<li><strong>Mukurthi National Park,</strong> famous for Nilgiri Tahr. Other National Parks include- <strong>Guindy, Gulf of Mannar Marine, Annamalai and Mudumalai</strong></li>
<li>Around 5% of area comes under Protected Area Network</li>
<li>Total Forest cover is 20.27% of the total geographical area of the state.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Telangana:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Major Rivers: Godavari, Krishna</li>
<li>Dense Teak forests found on the banks of river Godavari.</li>
<li>Major forest types: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Tropical moist deciduous</li>
<li>Tropical dry deciduous</li>
<li>Tropical thorn forest</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>'Telangana Ku Haritha Haram': Greening programme to plant and protect 230 crore seedlings over 4 years.</li>
<li>Nearly 5% of its geographical area constitutes Protected Area Network.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover in the state is 18.36%.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Tripura:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Around one-third of the population belongs to the Scheduled Tribes.</li>
<li>Major forest types: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Tropical Semi-Evergreen</li>
<li>Tropical Moist deciduous</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>A Sizable area covered under Bamboo and the economy is dependent on it.</li>
<li>Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) and Eco Development Committees (EDCs) formed to promote people&rsquo;s participation in forest management.</li>
<li>Total Forest Cover is around 74% of the state&rsquo;s geographical area.</li>
<li><strong>National Parks-</strong> Clouded Leopard and Bison (Rajbari)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Uttar Pradesh:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Three Physiographic divisions in the state:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Shivalik region in the north,</li>
<li>Gangetic plains in the central region and</li>
<li>Vindhya hills in the south.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Ganga, Yamuna, Gomti, Ghagra, Betwa, Chambal and Gandak.</li>
<li>Majorly agrarian state with total forest cover of only 6.15% of total geographical area.</li>
<li>In 2019 22.5 crores saplings planted under Vriksha Mahakumbh Programme to increase forest and tree cover.</li>
<li>Most tree species are exempt from felling and transit rules to enhance livelihood and income of farmers.</li>
<li>Around 12% of the total area constitutes the Protected Area Network.</li>
<li><strong>Dudhwa National Park</strong> is known for successful translocation of one horned rhinoceros.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Uttarakhand:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Climate and vegetation vary greatly with altitude:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>glaciers at the highest elevations</li>
<li>subtropical forests at the lower elevations.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Ganga, Yamuna, Ramganga &amp; Sharda along with their tributaries.</li>
<li>Three Physiographic divisions in the state:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>the Himalayas,</li>
<li>the Shiwalik and</li>
<li>the Terai region.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Van Panchayats are present in the state.</li>
<li>Forest Fires are a major problem.</li>
<li>3.24% of its geographical area constitutes the Protected Area network. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>National Parks:</strong> Corbett, Gangotri, Govind, Nanda Devi, Rajaji and Valley of Flowers</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The total Forest Cover is 45.44%.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>West Bengal:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>State has two natural divisions:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>the North Himalayan and</li>
<li>the south Alluvial Gangetic Plains.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Teesta, Torsa and Jaldhaka are tributaries of river Brahmaputra.</li>
<li>Sal trees found in the foothills of Himalayas; Oaks, Conifers and Rhododendrons found in the higher altitudes above 1000 and 1,500 metres.</li>
<li>Total forest cover in the state is 19.04% of the total geographical area.</li>
<li><strong>National Parks:</strong> Buxa, Jaldapara, Gorumara, Neora Valley, Singalila and Sunderban</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is drained by several small rivulets, Kalpong being an important river in Diglipur Island.</li>
<li>Saddle Peak, is the highest hill in the islands.</li>
<li>6 indigenous aboriginal tribal groups viz Jarawa, Sentinelese, Great Andamanese, Onge, Nicobarese and Shompen, found in the islands.</li>
<li>About 2,200 varieties of plants recorded in the Islands, out of which 200 are endemic, some of them are Anoectochilus narasimhan, Ceropegia andamanica, Codonocarpus andamanicus, Cyrtandromoea nicobarica, Grewia indandamanica, Hippocratea andamanica, Leea grandifolia, Mangifera nicobarica, Memecylon andamanicum, Mesua manii, Miliusa andamanica,</li>
<li>9 National Parks (Campbell Bay, Galathea Bay, Marine Wandoor, Middle Button Island, Mount Harriett, North Button Island, Rani Jhansi Marine, Saddle Peak, South Button Island), 96 Wildlife Sanctuaries,1 biosphere reserve; constituting Protected Area Network of 18.71%.</li>
<li>Total forest cover is 81.74%.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Chandigarh:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It falls in the Great Indian Northern Plains near the foothills of the Shivalik Hills.</li>
<li>Major forest type: Tropical dry deciduous.</li>
<li>Thrust area for the Forest Department is Urban Forestry.</li>
<li>2 Wildlife Sanctuaries viz Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary and City Bird Wildlife Sanctuary, covering an area of 22.81%.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover in the state is 19.32%.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Dadra &amp; Nagar Haveli:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Major river: Daman Ganga and its three tributaries.</li>
<li>Major forest type: Tropical dry deciduous and Tropical moist deciduous forest.</li>
<li>High dependence of population on forests for fuel wood, fodder, small timber.</li>
<li>Major tribes: Dhodia, Kokna and Varli; relatively minor tribes: Koli, Kathodi, Naika and Dubla.</li>
<li>1 Wildlife Sanctuary (Dadra &amp; Nagar Haveli) covering 18.77% of the geographical area of UT.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover is 42.19%.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Daman &amp; Diu:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Major forest type: Littoral &amp; Swamp forest.</li>
<li>Total forest cover is 18.46%.</li>
<li>1 Wildlife Sanctuary- Fudam Bird Sanctuary, spawning ground for fishes and feeding ground for species of avifauna like Black Winged Stilt and Great White Egret</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Lakshadweep:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The UT of Lakshadweep does not have any notified forests, 82% of the land is covered by privately owned coconut plantations.</li>
<li>It has a vast lagoon of 4,200 sq km with an abundance of marine fauna.</li>
<li>Lakshadweep also has coral atolls.</li>
<li>1 Wildlife Sanctuary- Pitti (Bird Island) covering 0.03% of the geographical area of the UT.</li>
<li>Total Forest Cover is 90.33% of geographical area, however there is no RFA.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Puducherry:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>UT of Puducherry does not have any natural forests inside its jurisdiction.</li>
<li>The farmers of Puducherry cultivate Casuarina spp.</li>
<li>The Government has constituted the Puducherry Union Territory Wetland Authority for conservation of wetlands of the UT.</li>
<li>1 Wildlife Sanctuary- Oussudu Lake covering 0.80 % of the geographical area of the UT.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover is 10.70% of total geographical area of the UT.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://164.100.117.97/WriteReadData/userfiles/ISFR2019%20Vol-I.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>India State of Forest Report, 2019- Volume I</strong></a></p>
<p><a href="http://164.100.117.97/WriteReadData/userfiles/ISFR2019%20Vol-II.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>India State of Forest Report, 2019- Volume II</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/summary-of-important-reports/india-state-of-forest-report-2019'
		],
		(int) 11 => [
			'title' => 'Hubli-Ankola Railway Line Project',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Hubballi-Ankola railway line project, saw stiff opposition from a majority of the board members of the Karnataka State Wildlife Board.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The proposed 164.44-km railway line passes through forests between two major protected areas &mdash; <strong>Kali Tiger Reserve and Bedthi Conservation Reserve.</strong></li>
<li>More than 80% the line has to pass through the dense forest lands of the Western Ghats, and this entails the diversion of 727 hectares of prime forests.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1583919577_image2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1583919577_image2.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="500" caption="false" /></a></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Kali Tiger Reserve</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Kali Tiger Reserve is located in the central portion of <strong>Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state.</strong></li>
<li>The Tiger Reserve comprises two important protected areas of the region viz., Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary and Anshi National Park.</li>
<li>These two protected areas are contiguous to each other and form a single tract of protected area located in <strong>the biologically sensitive Western Ghats.</strong></li>
<li>Forests of the Tiger Reserve are primarily<strong> moist deciduous and semi-evergreen,</strong> with excellent patches of evergreen forests in the western most parts as well as in deep valleys.</li>
<li>Animals found in the Tiger Reserve include Tiger, Leopard, Elephant, Bison, Wild dog, Sambar, Spotted deer, Sloth bear, Wild boar, Hanuman langur, Bonnet macaque, varieties of reptiles and birds, etc.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>State Boards for Wildlife</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>SBWL is constituted under <strong>the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.</strong></li>
<li>The SBWL is headed by the Chief Minister, with the Forest Minister of the State as the Vice Chair.</li>
<li>State Boards for Wildlife advises the state governments in selection and management of protected areas and other matters connected with the protection of wildlife..</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/karnataka-wildlife-board-opposes-proposed-hubballi-ankola-rail-line/article31026797.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source : TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/hubli-ankola-railway-line-project'
		],
		(int) 12 => [
			'title' => 'Long Term Reverse Repo Operation',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in news</h3>
<p>According to the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/important-institutions-national-institution-reserve-bank-of-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Reserve Bank of India (RBI)</strong></a>, the response to the <strong>Long Term Reverse Repo Operation (LTROs)</strong> has been highly encouraging.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Long Term Reverse Repo Operation (LTRO) is a mechanism <strong>to facilitate the transmission of monetary policy</strong> actions and the flow of credit to the economy. This helps in <strong>injecting liquidity in the banking system.</strong></li>
<li>Funds through LTRO are provided at the repo rate. This means that banks can avail one year and three-year loans at the same interest rate of one day repo. But usually, loans with higher maturity period (here like 1 year and 3 years) will have a higher interest rate compared to short term (repo) loans.</li>
<li>According to the RBI, the LTRO scheme will be in addition to the existing <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/rbi-keeps-policy-rates-unchanged" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) and the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF)</strong></a> operations.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The LAF and MSF are the two sets of liquidity operations by the RBI with the LAF having a number of tools like repo, reverse repo, term repo etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The central bank has been conducting LTROs for one- and three-year tenors of appropriate sizes for up to a total amount of Rs 1,00,000 crore at the policy repo rate from the fortnight beginning February 15, 2020.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The central bank received total bids of ₹1.94 lakh crore, for the three-year repo, compared with the notified amount of ₹25,000 crores.</li>
<li>In yet another (LTROs) ₹48,856 crores worth of bids were conducted for an amount of ₹25,000 crores with a three-year tenor.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>LTROs are conducted on <strong>Core Banking Solution (E-KUBER) platform.</strong> The operations would be conducted at a fixed rate.</li>
<li>The minimum bid amount would be Rs 1 crore and multiples thereof. There will be no restriction on the maximum amount of bidding by individual bidders.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>E-Kuber</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>e-Kuber is the <strong>Core Banking Solution</strong> of Reserve Bank of India which was <strong>introduced in 2012.</strong></li>
<li>Core Banking Solutions (CBS) can be defined as a solution that enables banks to offer a multitude of customer-centric services on a 24x7 basis from a single location, supporting retail as well as corporate banking activities.</li>
<li>The centralisation thus makes a <strong>&ldquo;one-stop&rdquo; shop for financial services a reality</strong>. Using CBS, customers can access their accounts from any branch, anywhere, irrespective of where they have physically opened their accounts.</li>
<li>Almost all branches of commercial banks, including the Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), are brought into the core-banking fold.</li>
<li>The e-kuber system can be accessed either through <strong>INFINET or Internet.</strong> The INFINET is a Closed User Group Network for the exclusive use of member banks and financial institutions and is the communication backbone for the National Payments System.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Benefits of the LTROs</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Enhance Liquidity:</strong> It will enhance liquidity in the banking system by Rs 1 lakh crore.</li>
<li><strong>Bring down the cost of funds for banks:</strong> The introduction of long-term repo operations (LTRO) will bring down the cost of funds for banks without effectively cutting deposit rates. This decision is likely to make reverse repo rate as the operative policy rate over a point of time.</li>
<li><strong>Boost Investment:</strong> It is a measure that is expected to bring down short-term rates and also boost investment in corporate bonds.</li>
<li><strong>Ensure banks have durable liquidity:</strong> These efforts are being carried forward with a view to assuring banks about the availability of durable liquidity at a reasonable cost relative to prevailing market conditions.</li>
<li><strong>Ensure credit flow to productive sectors:</strong> This should encourage banks to undertake maturity transformation smoothly and seamlessly so as to augment credit flows to productive sectors.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/rbi-gets-48856-cr-in-bids-for-ltros/article31026008.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/long-term-reverse-repo-operation'
		],
		(int) 13 => [
			'title' => 'Government to Launch Mahua-based Alcoholic Drink',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The central government is set to launch a <strong>mahua-based alcoholic beverage &lsquo;Mahua Nutribeverage&rsquo;</strong> in the market for the first time.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Beverage will come in <strong>six fruit-based flavours</strong> and will be available at the price of ₹700 for a 750ml bottle.</li>
<li>This is the <strong>first time</strong> that the <strong>Ministry of Tribal Affairs</strong> is getting into bottling and sale of alcoholic beverages.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The beverage has a <strong>high nutritional value</strong> and <strong>relatively low alcohol</strong> content (5%).</li>
<li>It has been developed by the <strong>Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi</strong> in collaboration with the T<a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/apeda-trifed" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>ribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India</strong></a> <strong>(TRIFED).</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>TRIFED is a <strong>national-level apex organization</strong> functioning under the administrative control of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>TRIFED has signed a memorandum with the <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/mission-raksha-gyan-shakti-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Research Development Corporation</a> (NRDC)</strong> to undertake the assignment of technology transfer to the suitable entrepreneurs for production and marketing of the beverage.</li>
<li>The marketing is being undertaken under the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/van-dhan-internship-programme" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Van Dhan Vikas Karyakram.</strong></a><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is <strong>Tribal Affairs Ministry&rsquo;s value-addition scheme</strong> which was launched in <strong>Chhattisgarh&rsquo;s Bijapur in 2018.</strong></li>
<li>The nation-wide programme earmarked ₹500-600 crore for training tribal clusters to add value to their produce and sell it in a packaged format, aiming to increase their income manifold.</li>
<li>The products marketed under the scheme include only those that need <strong>primary-level processing,</strong> including handicrafts, textiles, food items, jams and pulps and jewellery.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Besides mahua, other tribal staples such as <strong>tamarind and amla</strong> will be de-seeded and brought to the market in the form of candies and jams.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Mahua<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1583915376_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1583915376_image1.jpg" style="float: right;" width="280" caption="false" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Its scientific name is <strong>Madhuca indica.</strong></li>
<li>It is a prominent forest tree in tribal areas of <strong>Bastar (Chhattisgarh)</strong> and plays an important role in the rural economy.</li>
<li>The mahua flowers are a<strong> rich source of sugars</strong> and are said to contain <strong>vitamins, minerals and calcium.</strong></li>
<li>The flowers are fermented and distilled yielding spirituous liquor also known as <strong>&lsquo;country beer&rsquo;.</strong></li>
<li>An <strong>estimated 90% of the annual production</strong> of Mahua flower is used in the process of brewing beverages.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/government-to-launch-mahua-based-alcoholic-drink-6307451/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/government-to-launch-mahua-based-alcoholic-drink'
		],
		(int) 14 => [
			'title' => 'Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Stock markets in India crashed on 9<sup>th</sup> March, 2020 as <strong>Sensex</strong> and <strong>Nifty</strong> indices saw their biggest ever fall in absolute terms.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Sensex dropped 1,942 points or 5.17% to 35,635 and the Nifty dropped 538 points to 10,451, wiping out as much as Rs 6.8 lakh crore of investor wealth.</li>
<li>According to the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/securities-and-exchange-board-of-india-sebi" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)</strong></a>, volatility in stock market is due to <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/the-economic-impact-of-coronavirus" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>perceived economic fallout from COVID-19</strong></a> and <strong>steep fall in global crude prices.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Oil prices also crashed on the same day after the collapse of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) supply cut agreement with Russia.</li>
<li>The price of Brent crude oil fell almost 30% to $31.14 a barrel, its biggest single fall since the start of the first Gulf war (1990-91).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Sensex</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Sensex, otherwise known as the S&amp;P BSE Sensex index, is the <strong>benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)</strong> in India.</li>
<li>It comprises <strong>30</strong> of the largest and most actively-traded stocks on the BSE, providing an accurate gauge of India's economy. The index's composition is reviewed in June and December each year.</li>
<li>Initially compiled in 1986, the Sensex is the <strong>oldest stock index in India.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Nifty</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Nifty is primarily an <strong>equity benchmark index</strong> which was introduced in <strong>1996</strong> by the<strong> National Stock Exchange.</strong></li>
<li>The term Nifty is derived from the combination National and Fifty as Nifty consists of <strong>50 actively traded stocks.</strong> Nifty is an abbreviation of National Stock Exchange Fifty.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Perceived Economic Fallout From COVID-19</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Fall in economic activities globally:</strong> Falling Chinese exports, faster than expected pace of shrinking of the Japanese economy, increasing cases of Coronavirus outside China, and disruption of global supply chains, have contributed to the panic in the financial markets worldwide.</li>
<li><strong>Investment Outflow:</strong> Selling of securities by foreign institutional investors have contributed to the sharp selloff in Indian markets. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A sell-off occurs when a large volume of securities are sold in a short period of time. This leads to decline in the price of the security.</li>
<li><strong>Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)</strong> refer to outside companies investing in the financial markets of India.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Yes Bank Crisis:</strong> The<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/the-yes-bank-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Yes Bank crisis</strong></a> has raised concerns over the stability of the country's banking system, adding to the woes of domestic investors.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Fall in Global Crude Prices</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Top crude oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia have begun a price war. Saudi Arabia slashed its oil prices after it failed to convince Russia to support sharp crude oil production cuts.</li>
<li>A three-year supply pact between members of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/opec" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)</strong></a> and Russia collapsed after Russia refused to support deeper oil cuts to cope with the substantial fall in demand caused by the impact of coronavirus on travel and economic activity.</li>
<li><strong>Immediate Impact</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the Sensex pack, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) was the worst performer, losing over 16%.</li>
<li>State-owned Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have reduced the prices of sensitive petroleum products such as petrol and diesel by 30 paise and 25 paise a litre respectively across major cities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Long-Term Impact</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The fall in the prices of crude oil goes well for the Indian economy as <strong>India imports more than 80% of its oil requirements.</strong></li>
<li>The savings on oil imports is estimated to be around US $30 billion in the Financial Year 2021 if there is no significant uptick in global demand. This will help in arresting the rising inflation in the country.</li>
<li>However, according to some experts, very low prices imply less growth for emerging countries like India, thus impacting negatively.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Government&rsquo;s Move to Boost Agri-exports</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The central government has identified <strong>21 agricultural products,</strong> including honey, potatoes, grapes, soya beans and groundnuts, in which Indian exports could benefit from trade restrictions against Chinese goods.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Some countries have imposed restrictions on Chinese goods in response to the outbreak of COVID-19.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The total value of China&rsquo;s global exports of these products amounted to $5488.6 million in 2018. India exported $4,445.9 million worth of these commodities in the same period and could now have a chance to grab part of China&rsquo;s market share.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/covid-19-outbreak-could-help-agri-exports/article31026024.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/impact-of-covid-19-outbreak'
		],
		(int) 15 => [
			'title' => 'Attukal Pongala Festival',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>In Thiruvananthapuram, Kerela, the annual &ldquo;Attukal Pongala&rdquo;, one of the largest all-women religious congregations, began recently amid the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/coronavirus-disease-named-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>COVID-19</strong></a> <strong>virus</strong> threat.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Pongala is a <strong>ten-day- long festival</strong> of<strong> Attukal Bhagavathy Temple.</strong></li>
<li>The festival commences with the musical rendering of the story of the <strong>Goddess (Kannaki Charitam) during the "Kappu Kettu ceremony".</strong></li>
<li>The story invokes the presence of Kodungallur Bhagavathy and the <strong>slaying of the Pandyan King.</strong> This festival commemorates the victory of Good over Evil, by the slaying of Pandyan King.</li>
<li>The event of the Goddess annihilating the Pandyan King is accompanied by much sound and fury of the temple drums and "Vaykurava" by devotees, immediately followed by the lighting of the hearths for the preparation of the offering for the Goddess.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Pongala</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Pongala, which means <strong>'to boil over&rsquo;,</strong> is the ritual in which women prepare sweet payasam (a pudding made from rice, jaggery, coconut and plantains cooked together) and offer it to the Goddess or &lsquo;Bhagavathy&rsquo;.</li>
<li>The pongala is cooked in pots &ndash; preferably earthen.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Attukal Bhagavathy temple</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This temple is dedicated to <strong>Goddess Bhagavathy.</strong></li>
<li>Also known as <strong>&ldquo;the Sabarimala of Women''</strong>, this temple attracts the biggest set of women devotees for the annual Attukal Pongala festival.</li>
<li>Attukal Devi temple and its main festival Attukal Pongala reached <strong>Guinness Book of World Records</strong> of largest annual gathering of women, when 1.5 million (15 Lakhs) women offered pongala on February 23, 1997 and on March 10, 2009, when over 2.5 million people took part in it.</li>
<li>The temple is built with elements of<strong> Kerala architectural style and Tamil architectural style as well.</strong></li>
<li>Tha main building also comprises Goddess Kali, Goddess Parvathy, Lord Shiva, Goddess Sri Rajarajeswari and several others.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Kerala Architectural Style</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It displays certain variation on plan and elevation from its counterparts on the eastern coast of south India.</li>
<li>These variations are mainly owing to <strong>distinct climatic conditions</strong> and the employment of different building materials along with the native systems of beliefs and culture.</li>
<li>Kerala temples have a distinct style of their own by the<strong> lavish use of wood, stone and metals.</strong></li>
<li>Wood is used for making Temples because of rich forest cover.</li>
<li>The base structure of the temple is made using <strong>granite and laterite.</strong></li>
<li>The roof may have <strong>one, two or even three stories.</strong></li>
<li>The shape of the roof depends on the plan of the sanctum below.</li>
<li>The steep and needle like roof is made of wood and is covered with copper plates in order<strong> to protect the inner skeletal framework from the vigorous monsoons.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/pongala-offered-amid-covid-19-fears/article31027269.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source : TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/attukal-pongala-festival'
		],
		(int) 16 => [
			'title' => 'CPCB  Notifies Contaminated Sites',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>According to the <strong>Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB),</strong> there are 128 sites in India contaminated by<strong> toxic and hazardous substances.</strong></li>
<li><strong>West Bengal led the list</strong> with 27 sites followed by Odisha at 23.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Incidents of Contamination</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Oil contamination</strong> due to leakage of underground oil pipelines of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited in Tamil Nadu.</li>
<li><strong>Pesticide and heavy metal contamination</strong> in creeks at Eloor, Kerala.</li>
<li><strong>Chromium contamination</strong> at Rania, Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, and Lohianagar, Uttar Pradesh.</li>
<li>Improperly disposed <strong>electronic waste</strong> lying on the banks of river Ramganga, Moradabad.</li>
<li><strong>Mercury contamination</strong> of the soil at Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, and Ganjam, Odisha.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>The Central Pollution Control Board</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>CPCB is a<strong> statutory organisation</strong> which was constituted in September, 1974 under the <strong>Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.</strong></li>
<li>It was entrusted with the powers and functions under the <strong>Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.</strong></li>
<li>It serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the provisions of the <strong>Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.</strong></li>
<li>Principal Functions of the CPCB, as spelt out in the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>to promote cleanliness of streams and wells in different areas of the States by prevention, control and abatement of water pollution.</li>
<li>to improve the quality of air and to prevent, control or abate air pollution in the country.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>India&rsquo;s Record</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Independent organisations have warned that<strong> India has a poor track record</strong> in dealing with chemical accidents.</li>
<li>According to <strong>ToxicsLink,</strong> an organisation that deals with hazardous waste disposal, there have been four major chemical accidents recorded, on average, every month between 2016-2019 and several accidents are not duly recorded.</li>
<li>A committee constituted by the NGT in a report on the state of the management of hazardous waste (HW) in India noted that the <strong>inventory was not very comprehensive.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/west-bengal-tops-list-in-sites-contaminated-by-toxic-substances/article31026039.ece/amp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source : TH</strong></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/cpcb-notifies-contaminated-sites'
		],
		(int) 17 => [
			'title' => 'New Hub Under National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The<strong> Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar, Punjab</strong> is setting up a <strong>Sectoral Application Hub in Technologies for Agriculture and Water.</strong></p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The hub is being set up under the <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/national-mission-on-interdisciplinary-cyber-physical-systems" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems</a> (NMICPS)</strong> and is granted by Union Government&rsquo;s <strong>Science and Engineering Research Board.</strong></li>
<li>The application hub will bring solutions for <strong>stubble management, water quality improvement </strong>and<strong> mapping of hazardous substances in water.</strong></li>
<li>The hub <strong>aims</strong> at carrying out translational research and work with concerned departments to develop prototypes, products and implementations.</li>
</ul>
<h3>National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It was <strong>launched in 2018</strong> and is implemented by the <strong>Department of Science &amp; Technology</strong> for a period of five years.</li>
<li>NMICPS covers entire India which includes Central Ministries, State Governments, Industry and Academia.</li>
<li><strong>Objectives:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is a <strong>comprehensive mission</strong> which would address technology development, application development, human resource development &amp; skill enhancement, entrepreneurship and start-up development in <strong>Cyber-Physical System (CPS)</strong> and associated technologies.</li>
<li>The mission <strong>aims</strong> at establishing 15 Technology Innovation Hubs (TIH), six Application Innovation Hubs (AIH) and four Technology Translation Research Parks (TTRP).</li>
<li>These Hubs &amp; TTRPs will connect to Academics, Industry, Central Ministries and State Government in developing solutions at reputed academic, R&amp;D and other organizations across the country in a hub and spoke model.</li>
<li>The Hubs &amp; TTRPs have<strong> four focused areas</strong> namely:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Technology Development.</li>
<li>HRD &amp; Skill Development.</li>
<li>Innovation, Entrepreneurship &amp; Start-ups Ecosystem Development.</li>
<li>International Collaborations.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Cyber-Physical Systems</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>These systems <strong>integrate</strong> sensing, computation, control and networking into physical objects and infrastructure, connecting them to the Internet and to each other.</li>
<li><strong>Few Potential applications:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Driverless cars</strong> that communicate securely with each other on smart roads.</li>
<li><strong>Sensors</strong> in the home to detect changing health conditions.</li>
<li><strong>Improving agricultural practices.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Enabling scientists</strong> to address issues arising out of climate change.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Advances in cyber-physical systems will enable capability, adaptability, scalability, resiliency, safety, security and usability that will far exceed the simple embedded systems of today.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
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		(int) 18 => [
			'title' => 'Foundation Day of National Archives of India',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why In News</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently, on the occasion of <strong>130<sup>th</sup> Foundation Day</strong> of <strong>National Archives of India,</strong> an exhibition <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/100-years-of-jallianwala-bagh-massacre" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;Jallianwala Bagh&rdquo;</strong></a> was inaugurated, to mark the <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/jallianwala-bagh-massacre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jallianwala Bagh massacre centenary</a>.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The present exhibition is primarily presented with the help of original and digital copies of archival documents relating to the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre available in National Archives of India.</li>
<li>This is an attempt to portray the relentless struggle of the Indian people against the British tyranny through our record holdings.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Archives of India</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The National Archives of India is an attached office under the <strong>Ministry of Culture.</strong> It was established on 11 March 1891 at Kolkata (Calcutta) as the Imperial Record Department.</li>
<li>Following the transfer of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911, the present building of the National Archives of India was constructed in 1926 which was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.</li>
<li>The transfer of all records from Calcutta to New Delhi was completed in 1937. It is the <strong>nodal agency</strong> for the implementation of the <strong>Public Records Act, 1993 and Public Record Rules, 1997.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1605808" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
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		(int) 19 => [
			'title' => 'National Institute of Health & Family Welfare ',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently, the <strong>43<sup>rd</sup> Annual Day</strong> of the<strong> National Institute of Health &amp; Family Welfare (NIHFW)</strong> was organised.</li>
<li>On the occasion, the Union Health Minister emphasized that <strong>synergy and cooperation between institutions</strong> needed to counter India&rsquo;s Public Health challenges.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The National Institute of Health &amp; Family Welfare (NIHFW) is situated in Delhi and was<strong> established in 1977.</strong></li>
<li>NIHFW is the premier organisation under Ministry Of Health and Family Welfare for capacity building through training of health professionals, frontline health workers such as <strong>Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs)</strong> and<strong> Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANMs)</strong> and other central and state officers &amp; healthcare staff.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Accredited Social Health Activist</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>An Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) is a <strong>community health worker</strong> instituted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) as a <strong>part of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).</strong> The mission began in 2005.</li>
<li>ASHAs must primarily be female residents of the village that they have been selected to serve, who are likely to remain in that village for the foreseeable future.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Auxiliary Nurse Midwife</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Auxiliary nurse midwife, commonly known as ANM,</strong> is a village-level female health worker in India who is known as the first contact person between the <strong>community and the health services.</strong></li>
<li>ANMs are regarded as the grass-roots workers in the health organisation pyramid.</li>
<li>Their services are considered <strong>important to provide safe and effective care</strong> to village communities.</li>
<li>The role may help communities achieve the targets of <strong>national health programmes.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1605817" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 0 => [
		'title' => 'Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p><br />Recently, the Parliament has passed the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Bill replaces the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/investment-in-coal-mining">ordinance for amendment</a> of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act) and the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 (CMSP Act) which was promulgated on 11th January 2020.</li>
<li>The Bill is expected to open a <strong>new era in Indian coal &amp; mining sector especially to promote <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/ease-of-doing-business-2020">Ease of Doing Business</a></strong>.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>NOTE:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>MMDR Act</strong> regulates the <a href="/to-the-points/paper1/mining-sector-in-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>overall mining sector in India</strong></a>.</li>
<li>The <strong>CMSP Act</strong> provides for the auction and allocation of coal mines whose allocation was cancelled by the Supreme Court in 2014.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Schedule I</strong> of the Act provides a list of all such mines; Schedule II and III are sub-classes of the mines listed in the Schedule I.</li>
<li><strong>Schedule II</strong> mines are those where production had already started before the Supreme court&rsquo;s order in 2014 and Schedule III mines are ones that had been earmarked for a specific end-use.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Removal of restriction on end-use of coal:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Currently, companies acquiring Schedule II and Schedule III coal mines through auctions can use the coal produced <strong>only for specified end-uses such as power generation and steel production</strong>.</li>
<li>The Bill removes this restriction on the use of coal mined by such companies. And thus companies will be allowed to carry on <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/investment-in-coal-mining" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coal mining operation</a> for own consumption, sale or for any other purposes, as may be specified by the central government.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Eligibility for auction of coal and lignite blocks:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Bill clarifies that the companies <strong>need not possess any prior coal mining experience in India in order to participate in the auction of coal and lignite blocks</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Composite license for prospecting and mining:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Bill adds a <strong>new type of license</strong>, called <strong>prospecting license-cum-mining lease</strong>. It will be a composite license providing for both prospecting and mining activities.</li>
<li><strong>Currently, separate licenses</strong> are provided for prospecting and mining of coal and lignite, called prospecting license, and mining lease, respectively. Prospecting includes exploring, locating, or finding mineral deposit.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Advance action for auction:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Bill provides that <strong>state governments</strong> can take <strong>advance action for auction of a mining lease before its expiry</strong>.</li>
<li>Under the MMDR Act, mining leases for specified minerals (minerals other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals) are auctioned on the expiry of the lease period.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Transfer of statutory clearances to new bidders:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Bill provides that the various approvals, licenses, and clearances given to the previous lessee will be <strong>extended to the successful bidder for a period of two years</strong>.</li>
<li>During this period, the new lessee will be allowed to continue mining operations. However, the new lessee <strong>must obtain</strong> all the required clearances within this two-year period.</li>
<li>Currently, upon expiry, mining leases for specified minerals (minerals other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals) can be transferred to new persons through auction. This <strong>new lessee is required to obtain statutory clearances before starting mining operations</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Prior approval from the central government:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Bill provides that <strong>prior approval of the central government will not be required</strong> by the state government in granting licenses for coal and lignite, in certain cases.</li>
<li>These include cases where the allocation has been done by the central government, and the mining block has been reserved to conserve a mineral.</li>
<li>Under the MMDR Act, state governments <strong>require prior approval of the central government</strong> for granting reconnaissance permit, prospecting license, or mining lease for coal and lignite.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1606090" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source: PIB</a></p>',
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	(int) 1 => [
		'title' => 'Nuclear Power Plants in India',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, the government provided details related to various nuclear power plants in the country.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Presently, <strong>India has 22 operating nuclear power reactors</strong>, with an installed capacity of 6780 MegaWatt electric (MWe). Among these eighteen reactors are <strong>Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs)</strong> and four are <strong>Light Water Reactors (LWRs).</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/nuclear-energy-conclave" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>nuclear energy programme</strong></a> in India was launched around the time of independence under the leadership of Homi J Bhabha.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR)</strong> is being implemented by the <strong>Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI)</strong>, a wholly owned Enterprise of the Government of India under the administrative control of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).</li>
</ul>
<h3>Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>PHWR is a nuclear power reactor, commonly using<strong> unenriched natural uranium</strong> as its fuel. It uses <strong>heavy water (Deuterium oxide D<sub>2</sub>O)</strong> as its coolant and moderator.</li>
<li>The <strong>heavy water coolant is kept under pressure</strong>, allowing it to be heated to higher temperatures without boiling, much as in a typical pressurized water reactor.</li>
<li>While heavy water is significantly more expensive than ordinary light water, it yields<strong> greatly enhanced neutron economy,</strong> allowing the reactor to operate without fuel enrichment facilities.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Light Water Reactor</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The light water reactor is a type of <strong>thermal- neutron reactor</strong> that <strong>utilizes normal water</strong> as opposed to heavy water.</li>
<li>It is fuelled by<strong> Low Enriched Uranium.</strong></li>
<li>It uses water as both a coolant method and a neutron moderator.</li>
<li>It <strong>produces heat by controlled nuclear fission.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that <strong>generates more fissile material than it consumes</strong>. These are designed to <strong>extend the nuclear fuel supply</strong> for electric power generation.</li>
<li>Breeder reactors achieve this because their neutron economy is high enough to create more fissile fuel than they use, by irradiation of a fertile material, such as <strong>Uranium-238</strong> or <strong>Thorium-232</strong> that is loaded into the reactor along with fissile fuel.</li>
<li><strong>PFBR is a 500 MWe fast breeder nuclear reactor</strong> presently being constructed at the <strong>Madras Atomic Power Station in Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu).</strong></li>
<li>It is fuelled by <strong>Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>MOX fuel is <strong>manufactured from plutonium recovered from used reactor fuel,</strong> <strong>mixed with depleted uranium.</strong><strong></strong></li>
<li>Mixed oxide (MOX) fuel provides almost 5% of the new nuclear fuel used today.</li>
<li>MOX fuel also provides a means of burning weapons-grade plutonium (from military sources) to produce electricity.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Depleted Uranium</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In order to produce fuel for certain types of nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons, uranium has to be "enriched" in the U-235 isotope, which is responsible for nuclear fission.</li>
<li>During the enrichment process the fraction of U-235 is increased from its natural level (0.72% by mass) to between 2% and 94% by mass.</li>
<li>The <strong>by-product uranium mixture (after the enriched uranium is removed)</strong> has reduced concentrations of U-235 and U-234. This by-product of the enrichment process is known as depleted uranium (DU).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1605939" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
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		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/nuclear-power-plants-in-india'
	],
	(int) 2 => [
		'title' => 'Sericulture in India',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p><strong>Cocoon production in Karnataka</strong> has picked up to meet the growing demand for indigenous silk.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Silk imports from China have been badly hit on account of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/coronavirus-disease-named-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Coronavirus.</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Sericulture:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is an <strong>agro-based industry.</strong></li>
<li>It involves <strong>rearing of silkworms</strong> for the production of raw silk, which is the yarn obtained out of cocoons spun by certain species of insects.</li>
<li>The major activities of sericulture comprise of food-plant cultivation to feed the silkworms which spin silk cocoons and reeling the cocoons for unwinding the silk filament for value-added benefits such as processing and weaving.</li>
<li><strong>Domesticated silkworm (Bombyx mori)</strong> are raised for the purpose of sericulture.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The <strong>Government of India</strong> has allocated ₹2161.68 crores for three years i.e. <strong>2017-2020</strong> to its <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/proposal-to-hike-monthly-pensions" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Central Sector Scheme</strong></a> &lsquo;<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/silk-samagra" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Silk Samagra</strong></a>&rsquo; for the development of sericulture in the country.</li>
<li><strong>Silk Production in India:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>There are<strong> five major types of silk of commercial importance,</strong> obtained from different species of silkworms. These are<strong> Mulberry, Oak Tasar</strong> &amp;<strong> Tropical Tasar, Muga </strong>and<strong> Eri.</strong></li>
<li>Except for mulberry, other non-mulberry varieties of silks are <strong>wild silks,</strong> known as <strong>vanya silks.</strong></li>
<li>India has the <strong>unique distinction of producing all these commercial varieties</strong> of silk.</li>
<li><strong>South India</strong> is the leading silk producing area of the country and is also known for its famous silk weaving enclaves like <strong>Kancheepuram, Dharmavaram, Arni,</strong> etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1584012034_image2.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1584012034_image2.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="677" height="448" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/cocoon-production-poised-to-pick-up/article31046588.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/sericulture-in-india'
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	(int) 3 => [
		'title' => 'Major Constitutional Amendments: Part-3',
		'catname' => 'Paper 2',
		'desc' => '<p><em>Click here for <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/major-constitutional-amendment-part-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Major Constitutional Amendments: Part 1</strong></a></em></p>
<p><em>Click here for <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/major-constitutional-amendments-part-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Major Constitutional Amendments: Part 2</strong></a></em></p>
<p><strong>Seventy Third Amendment Act, 1992</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendment:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Granted constitutional status and protection to the <strong>Panchayati Raj institutions.</strong> For this purpose, the Amendment has <strong>added a new Part-IX</strong> entitled as &lsquo;the panchayats&rsquo; and a new <strong>Eleventh Schedule</strong> containing 29 functional items of the panchayats</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Seventy Fourth Amendment Act, 1992</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendment:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Granted constitutional status and protection to the<strong> urban local bodies.</strong> For this purpose, the Amendment has <strong>added a new Part IX-A</strong> entitled as <strong>&lsquo;the municipalities&rsquo;</strong> and a new <strong>Twelfth Schedule</strong> containing 18 functional items of the municipalities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Seventy Seventh Amendment Act, 1995</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendment:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Provided for reservation in promotions in government jobs for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.</strong> This amendment nullified the Supreme Court ruling with regard to reservation in promotions.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eightieth Amendment Act, 2000</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendment:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Provided for an &lsquo;alternative scheme of devolution&rsquo; of revenue between the Centre and states. This was enacted on the basis of the recommendations of the Tenth Finance Commission which had recommended that out of the total income obtained from Central taxes and duties, 29% should be distributed among the states.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty First Amendment Act, 2000</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Empowered the state to consider the unfilled reserved vacancies of a year as a separate class of vacancies to be filled up in any succeeding year or years.</strong> Such class of vacancies is not to be combined with the vacancies of the year in which they are being filled up to determine the <strong>ceiling of 50% reservation</strong> on total number of vacancies of that year. In brief, this amendment ended the 50% ceiling on reservation in backlog vacancies.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Second Amendment Act, 2000</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Provided for making of any provision in favour of the SCs and STs</strong> for relaxation in qualifying marks in any examination or lowering the standards of evaluation, for reservation in matters of promotion to the public services of the Centre and the states</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Fourth Amendment Act, 2001</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Extended the ban on the readjustment of seats in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies for another 25 years (i.e., up to 2026)</strong> with the same objective of encouraging population limiting measures. In other words, the number of seats in the Lok Sabha and the assemblies are to remain the same till 2026. It also provided for the readjustment and rationalisation of territorial constituencies in the states on the basis of the population figures of 1991 census.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Fifth Amendment Act, 2001</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Provided for &lsquo;consequential seniority&rsquo; in the case of promotion by virtue of rule of reservation for the government servants belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes with retrospective effect from June 1995.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Sixth Amendment Act, 2002</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Made elementary education a fundamental right under the Article 21A</strong></li>
<li><strong>Changed the subject matter of Article 45 in Directive Principles</strong></li>
<li><strong>Added a new fundamental duty under Article 51-A</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Seventh Amendment Act, 2003</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Provided for the readjustment and rationalisation of territorial constituencies in the states on the basis of the population figures of 2001 census and not 1991 census as provided earlier by the 84th Amendment Act of 2001.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Ninth Amendment Act, 2003</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Bifurcated the erstwhile combined National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes into two separate bodies, namely, National Commission for Scheduled Castes (Article 338) and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (Article 338-A).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ninety First Amendment Act, 2003</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Made the following provisions to limit the size of Council of Ministers, to debar defectors from holding public offices, and to strengthen the anti-defection law:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Central Council of Ministers, shall not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha.</li>
<li>A member of either house of Parliament belonging to any political party who is disqualified on the ground of defection shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a minister.</li>
<li>The total number of ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the Council of Ministers in a state shall not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly of that state. But, the number of ministers, including the Chief Minister, in a state shall not be less than 12.</li>
<li>A member of either House of a state legislature belonging to any political party who is disqualified on the ground of defection shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a minister.</li>
<li>A member of either House of Parliament or either House of a State Legislature belonging to any political party who is disqualified on the ground of defection shall also be disqualified to hold any remunerative political post. The expression &ldquo;remunerative political post&rdquo; means:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Any office under the central government or a state government where the salary or remuneration for such office is paid out of the public revenue of the concerned government or,</li>
<li>Any office under a body, whether incorporated or not, which is wholly or partially owned by the central government or a state government and the salary or,</li>
<li>Remuneration for such an office is paid by such a body, except where such salary or remuneration paid is compensatory in nature (Article 361-B).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The provision of the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) pertaining to exemption from disqualification in case of split by one-third members of the legislature party has been deleted. It means that the defectors have no more protection on grounds of splits.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ninety Second Amendment Act, 2003</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Included four more languages in the Eighth Schedule. They are <strong>Bodo, Dogri (Dongri), Maithili and Santhali.</strong> With this, the total number of constitutionally recognised languages increased to 22</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ninety Third Amendment Act, 2005</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Empowered the state to make special provisions for the socially and educationally backward classes or the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in educational institutions including private educational institutions (whether aided or unaided by the state), except the minority educational institutions (clause (5) in Article 15).</strong></li>
<li>This Amendment was enacted to nullify the Supreme Court judgement in the Inamdar case (2005) where the apex court ruled that the state cannot impose its reservation policy on minority and non-minority unaided private colleges, including professional colleges. The court declared that reservation in private, unaided educational institutions was unconstitutional.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ninety Sixth Amendment Act, 2011</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Substituted &ldquo;Odia&rdquo; for &ldquo;Oriya&rdquo;. Consequently, the &ldquo;Oriya&rdquo; language in the Eighth Schedule shall be pronounced as &ldquo;Odia&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Ninety Seventh Amendment Act, 2011</strong></li>
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Gave constitutional status and protection to cooperative societies.</strong> It made the following three changes in the constitution:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It made the right to form co-operative societies a fundamental right (Article 19).</li>
<li>It included a new Directive Principle of State Policy on the promotion of co-operative societies.</li>
<li>It added a new Part IX-B in the constitution which is entitled &ldquo;The Co-operative societies&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ninety Ninth Amendment Act 2014</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Replaced the collegium system of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts with a new body called the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC).</li>
<li>However, in 2015, the Supreme Court declared this Amendment Act as unconstitutional and void. Consequently, the earlier collegium system became operative again</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>One Hundredth Amendment Act, 2014</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Gave effect to the acquiring of certain territories by India and transfer of certain other territories to <strong>Bangladesh</strong> (through the exchange of enclaves and retention of adverse possessions) in pursuance of the<strong> Land Boundary Agreement of 1974 and its Protocol of 2011.</strong></li>
<li>For this purpose, this amendment act amended the provisions relating to the territories of four states (Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura) in the First Schedule of the Constitution.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>One Hundred and First Amendment Act, 2017</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Introduction of the Goods and Services Tax</strong></li>
<li>Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an indirect tax (or consumption tax) used in India on the supply of goods and services. It is a comprehensive, multistage, destination-based tax: comprehensive because it has subsumed almost all the indirect taxes except a few state taxes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>One Hundred and Second Amendment Act, 2018</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Constitutional status was provided to the National Commission for Backward Classes under India's Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.</strong></li>
<li>Article 338B into the Constitution after Articles 338 and 338A which deal with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (SC) and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (ST) respectively.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>One Hundred Third Amendment Act, 2019</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It introduced <strong>reservations for Economic Weaker Section</strong> for the first time in independent India</li>
<li>Amendment in Article 16 allows a 10% reservation to EWS in public employment.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/to-the-points/Paper2/major-constitutional-amendments-part-3'
	],
	(int) 4 => [
		'title' => 'National Supercomputing Mission',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, a <a href="/to-the-points/paper4/right-to-information-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Right to Information (RTI)</strong></a> reply has revealed that India has produced <strong>just three supercomputers since 2015</strong> under the <strong>National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).</strong></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Supercomputing Mission</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The National Supercomputing Mission was announced in <strong>2015,</strong> with an aim to connect national academic and R&amp;D institutions with a grid of more than <strong>70 high-performance computing facilities at an estimated cost of ₹4,500 crores</strong> over the <strong>period of seven years.</strong></li>
<li>It supports the government's vision of <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-digital-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>'Digital India'</strong></a> and <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/five-years-of-make-in-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>'Make in India'</strong></a> initiatives.</li>
<li>The mission is being implemented by the Department of Science and Technology (Ministry of Science and Technology) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), through<strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/jatan-virtual-museum-software" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune</a></strong> and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.</li>
<li>It is also an effort to improve the number of supercomputers owned by India.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>These supercomputers will also be networked on the National Supercomputing grid over the National Knowledge Network (NKN). The NKN connects academic institutions and R&amp;D labs over a high-speed network.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Under NSM, the long-term plan is to build a strong base of 20,000 skilled persons over the next five years who will be equipped to handle the complexities of supercomputers.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Progress of NSM:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>NSM&rsquo;s first supercomputer named <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-fact-for-prelims-5th-march-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Param Shivay</strong></a> has been installed in IIT-BHU, Varanasi, in 2019. It has 837 TeraFlop High-Performance Computing (HPC) capacity.</li>
<li>The <strong>second supercomputer</strong> with a capacity of <strong>1.66 PetaFlop</strong> has been installed at IIT-Kharagpur.</li>
<li>The <strong>third system, Param Brahma,</strong> has been installed at IISER-Pune, which has a capacity of<strong> 797 TeraFlop.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Incomplete Utilization of Funds allocated to NSM:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/national-supercomputing-mission" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>NSM</strong> </a>envisaged setting up a network of <strong>70 high-performance computing</strong> facilities in the country but <strong>skewed funding</strong> for the mission <strong>during the initial years slowed down the overall pace</strong> of building supercomputers.</li>
<li><strong>Only 16.67 % of the total budget of Rs 4,500 crore,</strong> has been utilised during the <strong>last four-and-a-half years</strong> for execution of the mission.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Global Scenario:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Globally, <strong>China has the maximum number of supercomputers</strong> and maintains the top position in the world, followed by the US, Japan, France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland and the United Kingdom.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Teraflops:</strong> It is a unit of computing speed equal to one million million (10^12) floating-point operations per second (FLOPS).</li>
<li><strong>Petaflops:</strong> It is a unit of computing speed equal to one thousand million million (10^15) floating-point operations per second (FLOPS).</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/in-four-years-of-a-national-mission-total-supercomputers-built-three-6309952/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/national-supercomputing-mission-1'
	],
	(int) 5 => [
		'title' => 'Sahyadri Megha: New Paddy Variety',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences (UAHS), Shivamogga (Karnataka), has developed a new variety of paddy, &lsquo;Sahyadri Megha&rsquo;.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The University has developed the new variety to prevent decline in the area under paddy cultivation.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Reasons Behind Developing the New Variety</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Paddy growers are switching over to commercial crops like arecanut, ginger and rubber for lucrative returns.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The area under paddy that was around 1.5 lakh hectares in Shivamogga district in 1990, has come down to around 1.05 lakh hectares.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The<strong> &lsquo;Jyothi&rsquo; variety</strong> which is widely cultivated in the command areas of the Bhadra and the Tunga reservoirs and in semi-arid areas in Sorab, Shikaripur, Hanagal and Sirsi taluks in Karnataka has become vulnerable to blast disease and other infestations.</li>
<li>Demand by customers in urban areas for red rice which is rich in fibre and protein.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>The red variety</strong> gets its rich colour from an antioxidant called <strong>anthocyanins,</strong> which are also found in deep purple or reddish fruits and vegetables. The compound is believed to have properties that can reduce inflammation, allergy, prevent risks of cancer and help in weight management.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Sahyadri Megha</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Sahyadri Megha is a red variety of paddy that is <strong>resistant to blast disease and rich in nutrients.</strong></li>
<li>It was developed under the <strong>hybridization breeding method</strong> by cross-breeding the best among the <strong>&lsquo;Jyothi&rsquo;</strong> variety with that of <strong>&lsquo;Akkalu&rsquo;,</strong> a disease-resistant and protein-rich paddy variety.</li>
<li>The new variety will be notified under the <strong>Indian Seed Act 1966</strong> shortly after which it will become part of the seed chain.</li>
<li><strong>Key Attributes</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>protein content in it is 12.48%, higher</strong> than the other red rice varieties grown.</li>
<li>The <strong>yield per hectare</strong> from &lsquo;Sahyadri Megha&rsquo; is around 65 quintals, substantially higher than other red paddy varieties.</li>
<li>It is a<strong> medium-term paddy</strong> that can be grown when there is a delay in the onset of monsoon. It can be <strong>harvested after 120 days of sowing.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Blast Disease</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is caused by <strong>fungus Pyricularia grisea (P. oryzae).</strong></li>
<li>Also known as <strong>rotten neck or rice fever.</strong></li>
<li>First recorded in India during 1918.</li>
<li>Expected grain loss : 70 to 80%.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/uahs-develops-new-paddy-variety-resistant-to-blast-disease/article31015990.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source : TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/sahyadri-megha-new-paddy-variety'
	],
	(int) 6 => [
		'title' => 'Invocation of Disaster Management Act, 2005 to Deal with COVID-19',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Various government authorities have invoked their respective powers under<strong> the Disaster Management (DM) Act, 2005</strong> to deal with the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak</strong></a> in the country.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Delegation of Powers to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The powers exercised by the home secretary for being the <strong>Chairman of the National Executive Committee (NEC)</strong> under <strong>section 10 of the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/national-disaster-management-authority-ndma-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DM Act (2005)</a></strong> have been delegated to the Ministry of Health and Family welfare.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Section 10 evaluates the preparedness</strong> at all governmental levels for the purpose of responding to any threatening disaster situation or disaster and <strong>give directions,</strong> where necessary, for enhancing such preparedness.</li>
<li>It also <strong>lays down guidelines for, or give directions to, the concerned Ministries or Departments</strong> of the Government of India, <strong>the State Governments and the State Authorities</strong> regarding measures to be taken by them in response to any threatening disaster situation or disaster</li>
<li>Thus it majorly <strong>monitors and implements</strong> the national plan and the plans prepared by the ministries or departments of the central government and gives <strong>superintendence power to the officer executing</strong> plans.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The delegation would help<strong> to enhance preparedness and containment of novel coronavirus (COVID-19)</strong> in the country.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Invocation of Powers by District Authorities:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Some of the district authorities in the COVID-19 affected states like Maharashtra have also invoked power under the <strong>DM Act.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The Act gives power to the district administration under <strong>Sections 33 and 34</strong> to deal with any disaster-related situation.</li>
<li>Under Section 33 and 34 the district authorities may opt for <strong>requisition powers for any officer or any department at the district level or any local authority</strong> to take measures for <strong>prevention or mitigation of disaster</strong> or to effectively respond to it and such <strong>officer or department is bound to carry out such order.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>This step will help to create <strong>awareness among the public regarding COVID-19</strong> and will also help to<strong> regulate the medical supply of masks, injections and medicines, </strong>etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Executive Committee</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A National Executive Committee (NEC) is constituted under <strong>Section 8 of the DM Act, 2005</strong> to assist the National Disaster Management Authority in the performance of its functions.</li>
<li><strong>Union Home secretary</strong> is its ex-officio chairperson.</li>
<li>NEC has been given the responsibility to act as the coordinating and monitoring body for disaster management, to prepare a National Plan, monitor the implementation of National Policy etc.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/coronavirus-govt-vests-powers-of-home-secretary-under-dm-act-with-health-secy-120031101709_1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: BS</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/invocation-of-disaster-management-act-2005-to-deal-with-covid-19'
	],
	(int) 7 => [
		'title' => 'Divya Kala Shakti: Witnessing the Abilities in Disabilities',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The first ever regional event <strong>&ldquo;Divya Kala Shakti: Witnessing the Abilities in Disabilities&rdquo;</strong> is being organized in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) on 12<sup>th</sup> March, 2020.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Divya Kala Shakti is a <strong>cultural event</strong> which provides a wider and unique platform to showcase the <strong>potential of <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/issues-related-to-persons-with-disability" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Persons with Differently Abled</a> in the field of performing art,</strong> music, dance, acrobatics etc.</li>
<li>The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had organized the event at national level on 18<sup>th</sup> April and 23<sup>rd</sup> July 2019.</li>
<li>In Chennai, the event is being organized by the <strong>National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (Divyangjan), Chennai</strong> in collaboration with <strong>Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan),</strong> Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>About 98 children and youth with different disabilities from the Southern region will participate in the event. They <strong>will perform dance, music, etc. in classical, folk and modern style.</strong></li>
<li>This event also includes for the first time Yoga and Acrobatics.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD)</strong> was established in the year <strong>2005</strong> in Chennai under the <strong>Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.</strong> It serves as a national resource center for empowerment of persons with Multiple Disabilities.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1606019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/divya-kala-shakti-witnessing-the-abilities-in-disabilities'
	],
	(int) 8 => [
		'title' => 'White Giraffe',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Poachers have killed two extremely rare white giraffes in northeast Kenya, leaving just one such animal in the world.</p>
<h3>Key Points<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1583995517_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1583995517_image1.jpg" style="float: right;" width="350" caption="false" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The white giraffes were first spotted in 2016.</li>
<li>The white appearance of the giraffe is <strong>due to leucism,</strong> a genetic condition that causes skin cells to have no pigmentation.</li>
<li><strong>Leucism is different from albinism</strong> where no melanin is produced at all. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Melanin is a dark biological pigment found in skin, hair, feathers, scales, eyes, and some internal membranes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Giraffe</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Giraffes are most often found in savanna/woodland habitats and range widely throughout Africa.</li>
<li>The<strong> International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)</strong> had classified giraffes as<strong> vulnerable</strong> in the Red List in December 2016, when it noted that their population had dropped by over 40% since 1985.</li>
<li>According to IUCN, the<strong> four principal factors that have led to a population decline</strong> among giraffes are <strong>habitat loss, civil unrest, poaching</strong> and<strong> ecological issues.</strong></li>
<li>Giraffes are listed under <strong>Appendix II of the CITES.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-there-is-only-one-white-giraffe-left-in-the-world-6309643/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/white-giraffe'
	],
	(int) 9 => [
		'title' => 'Oil Prices Crash',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/oils-rout/article31025950.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Oil&rsquo;s rout: on fall in prices</strong></a>, <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/editorials/what-the-dip-in-oil-prices-means/story-lD0DL3lD5CANK7JzljWGoK.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>What the dip in oil prices means</strong></a>, <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/editorial/the-sudden-crash-in-crude-oil-prices-offers-many-opportunities-for-india/article31025475.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The sudden crash in crude oil prices offers many opportunities for India</strong></a>, <a href="https://www.livemint.com/opinion/columns/how-the-country-should-make-the-most-of-a-second-oil-windfall-11583777398767.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>How the country should make the most of a second oil windfall</strong></a>. It talks about the impact of recent oil prices crash.</p>
</div>
<p>Recently, the International oil prices crashed by about to 31%, <strong>the biggest fall since the 1991 Gulf War.</strong> The fall in prices came after the disintegration of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/opec" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>OPEC+ alliance</strong></a> (made up of OPEC plus other producers including Russia) that triggered an <strong>all-out price war</strong> between <strong>Saudi Arabia and Russia.</strong></p>
<p>In response to it Saudi Arabia has threatened to drive prices to such a low point that Russia will be forced back to the negotiating table and consequently, a price war has been started. <strong>This reduction in oil prices may have several global repercussions.</strong></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Background of the Price war</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In 2014-2015, Oil prices crashed. In order to sustain the oil-exporting economies, Russia and Saudi Arabia had held up oil prices by cutting production.</li>
<li>However, Russia was facing issues on its energy front due to the <strong>US shale oil industry</strong> and<strong> sanctions imposed by the US and European Union</strong> against its energy industry.</li>
<li>Thus, Russia decided to<strong> unilaterally adopt an alternative strategy of increasing production and driving down prices</strong> (this was against the OPEC+ agreement to cut down production in order to sustain oil-exporting countries), with the idea of driving high-cost oil producers and US shale out of business.</li>
<li>But this strategy by Russia would hurt the<strong> interest</strong> of the Saudi-led <strong>Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Why did oil prices crash?</h3>
<p>The global oil market is now set to witness the rare conjunction of a low-demand and a high-supply scenario.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>High-Supply Scenario: Price War</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia has raised the possibility of the market being flooded with excess oil production, leading to a supply shock.</li>
<li>According to Goldman Sachs, this price war could drive the oil prices to as low as $20 a barrel.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Low Demand Scenario: Coronavirus impact</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>China&rsquo;s efforts to curtail the coronavirus outbreak has <strong>disrupted its economy and oil imports.</strong></li>
<li>This has slowed down the world&rsquo;s second-largest economy and has caused global economic disruptions.</li>
<li>Also, coronavirusAccording to some forecasts, <strong>global oil demand growth in 2020 will be less than 0.48 million barrels per day,</strong> down from 1.1 million barrels in December 2019, as the shut-down of factories in China, disruptions in supply chains, and travel restrictions imposed across the world depress demand.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Impact On Other Players</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It marks the <strong>disintegration of the grouping called OPEC+</strong> as the price war ended more than three years of cooperation on supporting the market.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Also, failure of the OPEC and Russia to reach an agreement on oil production cuts, possibly signalling the <strong>end of a nearly five-decade-long intervention by oil producers in the international market.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The<strong> race to the bottom</strong> could result in many casualties among global oil producers, including the US shale oil industry. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A collapse of these shale oil producers may set off defaults in the bond markets, setting off a downward vicious cycle in US markets.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Impact On India</h3>
<p>India imports more than 80% of its oil needs, the price crash offers a breather on the macroeconomic front. For example:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Current Account Deficit:</strong> The collapse in oil prices will <strong>cut the country&rsquo;s import bill, </strong>and <strong>soften its current account deficit.</strong></li>
<li>According to estimates, <strong>a one-dollar decrease in crude oil price reduces the oil bill by around $1.6 billion per year.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Inflation:</strong> The fall in crude prices will also help<strong> ease inflationary pressures</strong> that have been building up over the past few months.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This will increase the space for the monetary policy committee to ease rates further.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Fiscal Health: Low oil prices</strong> offer an opportunity to raise some revenue and improve its fiscal balance.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The growth slowdown in the last two years has resulted in a precarious fiscal situation because of tax revenue shortfalls.</li>
<li>The revenue earned, can be used by the government to spend or meet its fiscal commitments in the form of budgetary transfers to states, payment of dues and compensation for revenue shortfalls to state governments under the goods and services tax (GST) framework.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Reviving Economic Growth:</strong> Further, the additional tax revenue thus generated through higher excise duty should be used to clear all dues of the central government, whether to private companies, state governments, or others awaiting tax refunds.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Also, putting cash in the hands of households and small businesses may tackle the<strong> slowdown in consumption in the Indian economy.</strong></li>
<li>The potential excise duty windfall from oil prices could come in handy for the government to provide relief to <strong>beleaguered telecom companies.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Negative fallouts:</strong> However, there could be a flip side for India too from the oil price slump.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The value of Indian oil and gas companies will be impacted (Reliance-Aramco deal may get delayed).</li>
<li>Remittances from the Persian Gulf will reduce.</li>
<li>Centre&rsquo;s disinvestment programme as the sale of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) could run into headwinds.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>During the last major oil prices crash (between mid-2014 and early 2016), the Centre and many States chose to appropriate most of the savings through regular hikes in excise duty and value-added tax on petrol and diesel. However, only a small proportion of cost reduction benefits were passed on to customers.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In a similar scenario, the gains made by excise duty, should be used for productive infrastructure investments and not be wasted on runaway revenue expenditure.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>However, this oil prices crash will eventually recover in the future. Therefore, it is imperative that India should persist with measures to reduce the country's oil dependency over the long run.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It should strive to increase the use of renewable, and catalyse a shift to electric vehicles.</li>
<li>More efforts should be put in to ramp up the stagnating domestic oil output.</li>
<li>The country's <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>strategic oil reserves</strong></a> should be strengthened by making use of attractive buying opportunities in global markets.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; border-style: dotted; border-color: #ff0000; background-color: #f1f2cb;">
<p><span style="color: #000080;"><em><strong>Drishti Mains Question</strong></em></span></p>
<p>Recent global oil price crash offers a breather for India on the various macroeconomic fronts. Discuss.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/oil-prices-crash'
	],
	(int) 10 => [
		'title' => 'India State of Forest Report, 2019',
		'catname' => 'Summary of Important Reports',
		'desc' => '<h2><strong>Volume I</strong></h2>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is the 16<sup>th</sup> biennial assessment of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-state-of-forest-report-isfr-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>India&rsquo;s forests by Forest Survey of India</strong></a>, an organisation under the <strong>Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change</strong> (MoEFCC).</li>
<li>FSI undertakes National Forest Inventory to assess the growing stock in forests and TOF (Tree Outside Forest), bamboo resource, carbon stock and to assess the dependence of the people living in Forest Fringe Villages for fuelwood, fodder, small timber and bamboo.</li>
<li>In the current ISFR, a new chapter<strong> &lsquo;Forest Types and Biodiversity&rsquo;</strong> has been added which presents findings of the forest type mapping based on Champion &amp; Seth classification (1968) and the results of the first ever rapid biodiversity assessment of plant species in the 16 Forest Type Groups.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>Total Forest and Tree cover</strong> is <strong>24.56%</strong> of the geographical area of the country. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>Total Forest cover</strong> is 7,12,249 sq km which is <strong>21.67%</strong> of the geographical area of the country.</li>
<li>The <strong>Tree cover</strong> is <strong>2.89%</strong> of the geographical area of the country.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>As compared to ISFR 2017 the current assessment shows an increase of <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>0.65% of forest and tree cover put together, at the national level</li>
<li>0.56% of forest cover</li>
<li>1.29% of tree cover</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Change in Recorded forest Area/Green Wash <strong>(RFA/GW)</strong> as compared to previous assessment of 2017.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Forest cover within the RFA/GW: a slight decrease of 330 sq km (0.05%)</li>
<li>Forest cover outside the RFA/GW: there is an increase of 4,306 sq km.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The top five States (UT) in terms of increase in forest cover: <strong>Karnataka&gt;Andhra Pradesh&gt;Kerala&gt;Jammu &amp; Kashmir&gt;Himachal Pradesh.</strong></li>
<li>Forest cover in the <strong>hill districts</strong> is 40.30% of the total geographical area of these districts. An increase of 544 sq km (0.19%) in 140 hill districts of the country.</li>
<li>The total forest cover in the <strong>tribal districts</strong> is 37.54% of the geographical area of these districts.</li>
<li>Total forest cover in the <strong>North Eastern region</strong> is 65.05% of its geographical area. The current assessment shows a decrease of forest cover to the extent of 765 sq km (0.45%) in the region. Except Assam and Tripura, all the States in the region show decrease in forest cover.</li>
<li><strong>Mangrove cover</strong> in the country has increased by 1.10% as compared to the previous assessment.</li>
<li><strong>Wetlands</strong> cover 3.83% of the area within the RFA/GW of the country. Amongst the States, Gujarat has the largest area of wetlands within RFA in the country followed by West Bengal.</li>
<li>Dependence of fuelwood on forests is highest in the State of Maharashtra, whereas, for fodder, small timber and bamboo, dependence is highest in Madhya Pradesh.</li>
<li>It has been assessed that the annual removal of the small timber by the people living in forest fringe villages is nearly 7% of the average annual yield of forests in the country.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Introduction</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Forest Cover:</strong> The forest canopy area covered on the ground irrespective of the legal status of land. It includes all tree patches which have canopy density more than 10% and area of 1 ha or more in size.</li>
<li><strong>Canopy Density:</strong> It is defined as the proportion of an area in the field/ground, that is covered by the crown of trees.</li>
<li><strong>Recorded Forest Area (RFA):</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Forest Area (or recorded forest area) refers to all the geographic areas recorded as forest in government records.</li>
<li>Recorded forest areas comprises Reserved Forests (RF) and Protected Forests (PF), which have been constituted under the provisions of Indian Forest Act, 1927.</li>
<li>Besides RFs and PFs, the recorded forest area may include all such areas, which have been recorded as forests under any State Act or local laws or any revenue records.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>TOF (Trees Outside Forest):</strong> Trees found outside the recorded forest areas. TOF refers to all trees growing outside RFA irrespective of patch size which could also be larger than 1 ha.</li>
<li><strong>Tree cover:</strong> All patches of trees occurring outside RFA which are of size less than 1 ha including the scattered trees. Tree cover forms an important part of the trees outside forests (TOF). Therefore, tree cover can be considered as a subset of TOF.</li>
<li>According to the Global Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) done by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) once every five years, <strong>India has 2% of the Global forest area, standing at 10<sup>th</sup> position among the top ten countries in respect of forest area.</strong> Russia Federation tops the list with 20% of the global forest cover.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Chapter 2- Forest Cover</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>National Forest Policy of India, 1988 envisages a goal of <strong>achieving 33% of geographical area of the country under forest and tree cover.</strong></li>
<li>The main objectives:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>to monitor forest cover and changes therein at the National, State and District levels.</li>
<li>to generate information on forest cover in different density classes and changes therein.</li>
<li>to produce forest cover and other thematic maps derived from it for the whole country.</li>
<li>to provide a primary base layer for assessment of different parameters including growing stock, forest carbon etc.</li>
<li>to provide information for international reporting.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Forest cover:</strong> Includes all lands having trees more than one hectare in area with tree canopy density of more than 10%, irrespective of ownership, legal status of the land and species composition of trees.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Very Dense Forest:</strong> All lands with tree canopy density of 70% and above. The relative composition of forest cover under this category is <strong>3.02%</strong></li>
<li><strong>Moderately Dense Forest:</strong> All lands with tree canopy density of 40% and more but less than 70%. Forest cover under this category is <strong>9.39%</strong></li>
<li><strong>Open Forest:</strong> All lands with tree canopy density of 10% and more but less than 40 %. Forest cover of <strong>9.26%</strong> falls under this category.</li>
<li><strong>Scrub Forest:</strong> Lands with canopy density less than 10%. Geographical area under this category is <strong>1.41%.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Non-forest:</strong> Lands not included in any of the above classes (includes water). Geographical area under the non-forest category is <strong>76.92%.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Largest forest cover in India:</strong> Madhya Pradesh &gt; Arunachal Pradesh &gt; Chhattisgarh &gt; Odisha &gt; Maharashtra</li>
<li><strong>Forest cover as percentage of total geographical area:</strong> Mizoram (85.41%) &gt; Arunachal Pradesh (79.63%) &gt; Meghalaya (76.33%) &gt; Manipur (75.46%) &gt; Nagaland (75.31%).</li>
<li>There is an <strong>overall gain of 3,976 sq km</strong> of forest cover in the country as compared with the ISFR 2017 report.</li>
<li><strong>States/UTs showing significant gain in forest cover:</strong> Karnataka &gt; Andhra Pradesh &gt; Kerala &gt; J&amp;K</li>
<li><strong>States showing loss in forest cover:</strong> Manipur &gt; Arunachal Pradesh &gt; Mizoram</li>
<li>There is an overall increase in forest cover in the tribal districts by 1,181 sq km.</li>
<li>There are 218 tribal districts in 27 States/UTs as identified by the Government of India under the <strong>Integrated Tribal Development Programme.</strong></li>
<li>Gujarat has the largest area of the <strong>wetlands</strong> within RFA/GW in the country followed by West Bengal. Wetlands within forest areas form important ecosystems.</li>
<li>Among the smaller States/UTs, Puducherry followed by A&amp;N Islands have large areas of wetlands within RFA/GW.</li>
<li>In the country as a whole there are 62,466 wetlands covering 3.83% of the area within the RFA/GW areas of the country.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Chapter 3- Mangrove Cover</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Mangroves</strong> are a diverse group of salt-tolerant plant communities of tropical and subtropical regions of the world which can survive the limiting factors imposed by lack of oxygen, high salinity and diurnal tidal inundation.</li>
<li>According to Champion &amp; Seth Classification (1968) Mangroves are included in <strong>Type Group-4 Littoral &amp; Swamp Forests</strong></li>
<li><strong>IMPORTANCE OF MANGROVES</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Mangroves have a complex root system which is very efficient in dissipating the sea wave energy thus protecting the coastal areas from tsunamis, storm surge and soil erosion. Their protective role has been widely recognized especially after the devastating Tsunami of 2004.</li>
<li>Mangrove roots slow down water flows and enhance sediment deposition. Therefore, they act as a zone of land accretion due to trapping of fine sediments including heavy metal contaminants. They also arrest coastal erosion and sea water pollution.</li>
<li>They act as a fertile breeding ground for many fish species and other marine fauna.</li>
<li>They act as an important source of livelihood for the coastal communities dependent on collection of honey, tannins, wax and fishing.</li>
<li>Mangroves are important carbon sink.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>About 40% of the world's Mangrove Cover is found in South East Asia and South Asia.</li>
<li>The mangrove cover in India is 4,975 sq km, which is <strong>0.15% of the country&rsquo;s total geographical area.</strong></li>
<li>Increase in the mangrove cover as compared to 2017 assessment: 54 sq km</li>
<li><strong>Among the states and UTs, West Bengal has the highest percentage of area under total Mangrove cover followed by Gujarat and Andaman Nicobar Islands.</strong></li>
<li>Top three states showing Mangrove cover increase: Gujarat &gt; Maharashtra &gt; Odisha</li>
</ul>
<h3>Forest Types &amp; Biodiversity</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A total of 16 types have been identified by Champion and Seth to classify the range of forest<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Moist Tropical Forest:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Tropical Wet Evergreen Forest</li>
<li>Tropical Semi-Evergreen Forest</li>
<li>Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest</li>
<li>Littoral and Swamp Forest</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Dry Tropical Forest<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest</li>
<li>Tropical Thorn Forest</li>
<li>Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Montane Subtropical Forest<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Subtropical Broadleaved Hill Forest</li>
<li>Subtropical Pine Forest</li>
<li>Subtropical Dry Evergreen Forest</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Montane Temperate Forest<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Montane Wet Temperate Forest</li>
<li>Himalayan Moist Temperate Forest</li>
<li>Himalayan Dry Temperate Forest</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Subalpine Forest<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Subalpine Forest</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Alpine Scrub<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Moist Alpine Scrub</li>
<li>Dry Alpine Scrub</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>States and UTs with maximum species diversity of; <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Trees:</strong> Karnataka,</li>
<li><strong>Shrubs:</strong> Arunachal Pradesh,</li>
<li><strong>Herbs:</strong> Jammu &amp; Kashmir.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>State with maximum species richness for Maximum richness of species taking all the three types of plants: Arunachal Pradesh &gt; Tamil Nadu &gt; Karnataka</li>
</ul>
<h3>Forest Fire &amp; Monitoring</h3>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Action Plan on Forest Fires, 2018</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>MoEF&amp;CC, has come up with the National Action Plan on Forest Fires, 2018 to revamp forest fire management in the country.</li>
<li>Main objectives <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>informing,</li>
<li>enabling and</li>
<li>empowering forest fringe communities and</li>
<li>incentivizing them to work in tandem with the State Forest Departments (SFDs).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The plan proposes nine strategies to address the issue, including establishment of a &ldquo;Centre of Excellence on Forest Fire Management&rdquo;at FSI.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A joint study report of MoEF&amp;CC and World Bank titled &ldquo;Strengthening Forest Fire Management in India&rdquo; released in June 2018 revealed that in the year 2000, 20 districts, representing 3% of India&rsquo;s land area and 16% of forest cover accounted for 44% of all fire detections.</li>
<li>The upgraded version of the Forest Fire Alert System version 3.0 (FAST 3.0) was released on16th January, 2019 with a separate activity of monitoring large forest fires.</li>
<li>Forest Cover of States &amp; UTs under different fire prone classes:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Extremely Fire Prone: Mizoram &gt; Tripura</li>
<li>Very Highly Fire Prone: Mizoram &gt; Manipur</li>
<li>Highly Fire Prone: Nagaland &gt; Manipur</li>
<li>Moderately Fire Prone: Punjab &gt; Nagaland</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It is seen that most of the fire prone forest areas are found in the northeastern region and the central part of the country.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Tree Cover</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The<strong> total tree cover</strong> of the country has been estimated to be <strong>95,027 sq km.</strong></li>
<li><strong>There is an increase of 1,212 sq km in the extent of tree cover as compared to the 2017 assessment.</strong></li>
<li>State-wise estimates of Tree Cover:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Maximum Tree Cover:</strong> Maharashtra &gt; Madhya Pradesh &gt; Rajasthan &gt; J&amp;K</li>
<li><strong>Maximum Tree Cover as percentage of geographical area:</strong> Chandigarh &gt; Delhi &gt; Kerala &gt; Goa</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>State-wise estimates of Tree Outside Forest (TOF)<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Maximum extent of TOF:</strong> Maharashtra &gt; Odisha &gt; Karnataka</li>
<li>Maximum extent of TOF as percentage of geographical area: Kerala &gt; Goa &gt; Nagaland.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Forest Inventory (NFI)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is a major forest resource assessment activity carried out by FSI.</li>
<li>The primary objective is to assess growing stock of trees, number of trees, bamboo, soil carbon, occurrence of NTFP (Non-Timber Forest Products) and invasive species and other parameters depicting growth &amp; health of forest.</li>
<li>The NFI has three components, Forest Inventory, TOF (Rural) Inventory and TOF (Urban) Inventory.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Chapter 8- Bamboo Resources of the Country</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In India, bamboo grows naturally throughout the country except in Kashmir region. India is home to about 125 indigenous and 11 exotic species of bamboo from 23 genera.</li>
<li>Bamboo contributes significantly to the social, economic &amp; ecological development of any region.</li>
<li><strong>Bamboo bearing area of the country:</strong> 16.00 million hectare.</li>
<li><strong>Increase in bamboo bearing area:</strong> 0.32 million hectare, as compared ISFR 2017.</li>
<li><strong>States with maximum bamboo bearing area:</strong> Madhya Pradesh &gt; Maharashtra &gt; Arunachal Pradesh &gt; Odisha.</li>
<li><strong>Maximum occurrence of pure bamboo:</strong> Maharashtra &gt; Madhya Pradesh &gt; Chhattisgarh.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Chapter 9- Carbon Stock in India&rsquo;s Forest</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Total carbon stock in the country's forest: estimated to be 7,124.6 million tonnes.</li>
<li>There is an increase of 42.6 million tonnes in the carbon stock of the country as compared to the last assessment of 2017.</li>
<li><strong>State-wise Maximum carbon stock:</strong> Arunachal Pradesh &gt; MadhyaPradesh &gt; Chhattisgarh &gt; Maharashtra</li>
<li><strong>State-wise Maximum per hectare carbon stock:</strong> Sikkim &gt; Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands &gt; Jammu &amp; Kashmir &gt; Himachal Pradesh &gt; Arunachal Pradesh</li>
<li>Soil organic carbon is the largest pool of forest carbon followed by Above Ground Biomass (AGB), Below Ground Biomass (BGB), Litter and dead wood.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Chapter 10- People &amp; Forests</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>As per the Census 2011 nearly 1,70,000 villages are located in the proximity of forest areas and are termed <strong>Forest Fringe Villages (FFVs).</strong></li>
<li>The study conducted by FSI assessed the dependence of the people living in proximity to forests in terms of removal of:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Quantity of fuelwood</li>
<li>Quantity of fodder</li>
<li>Quantity of small Timber</li>
<li>Quantity of bamboo</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Top 3 states in dependence on forests for</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Fuelwood:</strong> Maharashtra &gt; Odisha &gt; Rajasthan</li>
<li><strong>Fodder:</strong> Madhya Pradesh &gt; Maharashtra &gt; Gujarat</li>
<li><strong>Small Timber:</strong> Madhya Pradesh &gt; Gujarat &gt; Maharashtra</li>
<li><strong>Bamboo:</strong> Madhya Pradesh &gt; Chhattisgarh &gt; Gujarat</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>Volume II</strong></h2>
<h3>Chapter 1- Forest and tree resources in States and UTs</h3>
<p><strong>Andhra Pradesh:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The state has the second largest coastline after Gujarat.</li>
<li>Main rivers that drain Andhra Pradesh are the Godavari, Krishna and Penna.</li>
<li>The forests in the State can broadly be divided into four major groups: Deccan Plateau, Central Plateau, Eastern Highland and the East Coastal Plains.</li>
<li><strong>Red Sanders</strong> <em>(Pterocarpus santalinus)</em> is endemic to Andhra Pradesh and is highly valued for its rich red colour and grain pattern.</li>
<li>Forest Cover in the State is 17.88 % of the State's geographical area.</li>
<li><em>Solanum nigrum</em> is the largest NTFP species found in the state with a relative abundance of 98.98%.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Arunachal Pradesh:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Major rivers viz Kameng, Subansiri, Siang, Lohit and Tirap, these divide the State into five major valleys.</li>
<li>Cane and bamboo are found in abundance.</li>
<li>The <strong>population density</strong> of the State is 17 persons per sq km, <strong>lowest in the country.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 2 National Parks (Mouling and Namdapha) and 11 Wildlife Sanctuaries covering 11.68% of its geographical area.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 79.63%</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Assam:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Situated along the Brahmaputra and Barak river valleys.</li>
<li>The State can be divided into 3 physiographic domains: Brahmaputra valley, Central Assam Hills (Mikir Hills in Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hill districts) and Barak valley.</li>
<li><strong>Kaziranga National Park</strong> is home to ⅔ of the world's population of one-horned Rhinoceros.</li>
<li><strong>Endangered and Rare species:</strong> pygmy hog, hispid hare, and great Indian hornbill etc.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 36.11%</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area:</strong> 5 National Parks (Dibru-Saikhowa, Kaziranga, Manas, Nameri and Orang) and 18 Wildlife Sanctuaries covering 4.87% of its geographical area.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Bihar:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Ganga is the main river which flows from west to east through the State.</li>
<li>Bihar is a forest deficient State with Total Forest cover: 7.76%</li>
<li><strong>Sal</strong> <em>(Shorea robusta)</em> forests are found throughout the state.</li>
<li>Major Forest Types: Tropical Dry Deciduous and Tropical moist deciduous.</li>
<li><em>Mangifera indica and Litchi sinensis</em> are the major tree species in numbers found in TOF(rural) and TOF(urban) respectively.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Chhattisgarh:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The State can be divided into three agro-climatic zones: the Chhattisgarh Plains, the Northern Hills of Chhattisgarh and the Bastar Plateau.</li>
<li>Major rivers: Rihand, Hasdo (a tributary of Mahanadi) and Indravati.</li>
<li>Major Forest Types: Tropical Dry Deciduous and Tropical moist deciduous.</li>
<li>Major tree species: Sal <em>(Shorea robusta)</em> and Teak <em>(Tectona grandis)</em>.</li>
<li>Other Major species: Bija <em>(Pterocarpus marsupium)</em>, Saja <em>(Terminalia tomentosa)</em>, Dhavdha <em>(Anogeissus latifolia)</em>, Mahua <em>(Madhuca indica)</em>, Tendu <em>(Diospyros melanoxylon)</em> and bamboo<em> (Dendrocalamus strictus)</em></li>
<li>The pressure on forests is high as the state is mostly inhabited by tribal people or non-tribal landless people.</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 3 National Parks (Guru Ghasidas, Indravati, Kanger Valley) and 11 Wildlife Sanctuaries</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Delhi:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The landscape of Delhi can geographically be divided into three major regions: the low-lying Yamuna flood plains, the Aravalli Ridge and the great Gangetic plains that cover most part of the city.</li>
<li>Major Forest Types: Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest and Tropical Thorn Forests.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 13.18%.</li>
<li>The Protected Area network: 1 Wildlife Sanctuary (Asola Bhatti) which covers 1.96% of the geographical area of the State.</li>
<li><em>Prosopis juliflora,</em> an invasive species, is the most abundant tree species found in Delhi.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Goa:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The State has two distinct physiographic regions, namely Western Ghats and coastal plains.</li>
<li>Major rivers: Mandovi and Zuari.</li>
<li>The Tribal population is 10.23% of the total population.</li>
<li>Goa has 16 mangrove species including Rhizophora spp, Bruguiera spp, Ceriops tagal, Kandelia spp, Avicennia spp, Sonneratia spp, etc</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 60.44%</li>
<li>Various schemes implemented by Goa Forest Department: Rehabilitation of Degraded Forests, Western Ghats Development Programme, Development of Gardens, Parks and Fountains, Social and Urban Forestry etc.</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network: 1 National Park (Mollem) and 6 Wildlife Sanctuaries.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Gujarat:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The unique features of the State of Gujarat:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>largest coastline in the country</li>
<li>the saline deserts of Rann</li>
<li>Grasslands</li>
<li>wetlands</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Physiographically the State can be divided into three distinct regions:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The peninsula (Saurashtra): hilly tract with low hills</li>
<li>Kachchh on the north-west: it is barren and contains the famous Rann of Kachchh</li>
<li>The mainland: from the Rann of Kachchh and the Aravalli hills to the river Damanganga, consists of plains with alluvial soil.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Gujarat has the last reserve of the Asiatic lion in the forests of Gir and Wild Ass in the Little Rann of Kachchh.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 7.57%</li>
<li>Wetland area inside RFA/GW: 39.88%, largest in the country</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 4 National Parks (Vansda, Velavadar, Gir, Marine- Gulf of Kachchh)<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>23 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 1 Conservation Reserve</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Dominant tree species in the state is neem (Azadirachta indica)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Haryana:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Major rivers of the state: Yamuna and the Ghaggar</li>
<li>Over 500 bird species recorded in the State i.e. 40% of total bird species in the country.</li>
<li><strong>Major Forest Type Groups:</strong> Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest, Tropical Thorn Forest and Subtropical Pine Forests.</li>
<li>Total forest cover is very low: 3.62%</li>
<li>Major agroforestry species: Poplar and Eucalyptus trees</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 2 National Parks (Kalesar and Sultanpur), 8 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 2 Conservation Reserves.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Himachal Pradesh:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The State has three distinct regions:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Shiwaliks: altitude upto 1,500 m</li>
<li>Middle Himalayan region:1,500 m to 3,000 m</li>
<li>The Himadris: higher than 3,000 m.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Important rivers of the State: Satluj, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Yamuna.</li>
<li>The forests in the State can be broadly classified into coniferous forests and broad-leaved forests.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 27.72%</li>
<li>It is a forest fire sensitive State.</li>
<li><strong>The Protected Area network in the State:</strong> 5 National Parks (Great Himalayan, Inderkilla, Khirganga, Khirganga, Simbalbara) , 28 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 3 Conservation Reserves.</li>
<li>Dominant tree species in the state are: Deodar <em>(Cedrus deodara),</em> Pinus wallichiana and Chir<em> (Pinus roxburghii)</em></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Jammu &amp; Kashmir:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Situated in the northernmost part of the country.</li>
<li>Major rivers: Jhelum, Chenab, Indus, Ravi, Tawi etc.</li>
<li>All the 22 districts of UT of Jammu &amp; Kashmir and two districts of UT of Ladakh are hill districts and both UT's do not have any tribal district.</li>
<li>Dominant tree species in TOF: Grewia oppositifolia</li>
<li>Major Invasive species: Lantana camara</li>
<li>National Parks: Salim Ali, Dachigam, Hemis, Kishtwar</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><strong>Jharkhand:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Jharkhand is rich in forests and mineral wealth.</li>
<li>Physiographically, the State has four major plateaus, the Chhota Nagpur plateau is the most prominent.</li>
<li>Important rivers of the State; Ganga, Son, South Koel, Baitarani and Damodar.</li>
<li>Various ethnic groups such as Munda, Oraon, Ho, Santhal, Paharia, Chero, Birjea, Asura and others live in the State and follow varying practices of agro-pastoralism.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 29.62%</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Karnataka:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Physiographically the State can be divided into two distinct regions: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Hilly region (The Malnad): comprising Western Ghats</li>
<li>Plain region (the Maidan): comprising the inland plateau.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>East flowing (drain into Bay of Bengal): Cauvery and Krishna</li>
<li>West flowing (drain into Arabian sea): Sharavathi and Kali.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>The evergreen forests of the Western Ghats cover about 60% of the forest area of the State and are recognized as one of the four Biodiversity Hotspots of India.</strong></li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 20.11%</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 5 National Parks (Anshi, Bandipur, Bannerghatta, Kudremukh, Nagarahole ) 30 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 15 Conservation Reserves.</li>
<li>Karnataka supports about 10% of the total tiger population and 25% of the elephant population of the country.</li>
<li>Major species:&nbsp;<em>Tectona grandis,Terminalia spp, Dalbergia latifolia, Pterocarpus spp,</em> etc. In the Scrub and Thorny Forests,<em> Acacia spp,Capparis spp., Prosopis spp.,</em> etc</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Kerala:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Physiographically, the State can be divided into coastal, midland and highland zones.</li>
<li>Major rivers of the State: Periyar, Kaloda and Attingok.</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 6 National Parks (Anamudi Shola, Eravikulam, Mathikettan Shola, Pambadum Shola, Periyar, Silent Valley), 17 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 1 Community Reserve covering 6.40% of its geographical area.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 54.42%</li>
<li>Dominant tree species in TOF (rural): Hevea brasiliensis</li>
<li>Dominant tree species in TOF (urban): Cocos nucifera</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Madhya Pradesh:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Madhya Pradesh is a forest rich State and is ranked first among the States in terms of the RFA.</li>
<li>Major rivers: Narmada, Tapti, Son, Betwa, Shipra and Chambal.</li>
<li>Madhya Pradesh State Minor Forest Produce (Trading &amp; Development) Co-operative Federation, formed in 1984, collects, processes and markets Tendu leaves, Sal Seed, Kullu Gum and other NTFPs.</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 10 National Parks (Bandhavgarh, Dinosaur Fossils, Fossil, Pench, Kanha, Madhav, Panna, Sanjay, Satpura, Van Vihar).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>25 Wildlife Sanctuaries.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>There are 6 Tiger Reserves in the State.</li>
<li>The State with a population of 526 Tigers, is recognized as Tiger State of India, as per the 'All India Tiger Estimation 2018'</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 25.14%</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Maharashtra:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is situated in the western peninsular region of the country.</li>
<li>Maharashtra is ranked second among the States in terms of the recorded forest area.</li>
<li>The State has three physiographic zones <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Deccan Plateau,</li>
<li>Western Ghats and</li>
<li>West Coast.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Godavari, Bhima, Narmada, Tapti, Koyna and Krishna.</li>
<li>A 24-hour toll free helpline number 1926 called 'Hello Forest' has been set up to provide information regarding plantations, protection and mass awareness.</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 6 National Parks (Chandoli, Gugamal, Nawegaon, Pench, Borivilli, Tadoba), 48 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 6 Conservation Reserves.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 16.50%</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Manipur:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Physiographically, Manipur can be characterized in two distinct physical regions&ndash;<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>an outlying area of rugged hills and narrow valleys</li>
<li>the inner area of flat plain</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Imphal and Bara</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 75.46%</li>
<li>It is a highly fire prone area.</li>
<li>Out of 126 species of bamboo reported in India, 53 species are found in Manipur</li>
<li>Major species of trees: Teak, Pine, Oak, Uningthou <em>(Phoebe spp.)</em> Leihao<em> (Michelia spp.)</em></li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 1 National Park (Keibul-Lamjao), 2 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 4 Conservation Reserves.</li>
<li>Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Eastern India, and has been declared a Ramsar site.</li>
<li>The Keibul Lamjao National Park situated on the southern shore of the Loktak Lake is home to the endangered Rucervus eldii (brow-antlered deer or Sangai) also known as the dancing deer.</li>
<li>Lilium mackliniae or Siroi Lily is a rare species that is only found in Manipur Siroi hill ranges.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Meghalaya:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The State has three distinct regions<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Garo Hills,</li>
<li>Khasi Hills and</li>
<li>Jaintia hills.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Sanda, Simsang Umngot and Myntdu.</li>
<li>Shifting cultivation is still prevalent in the State.</li>
<li>Unlike other States, forests in Meghalaya are largely under the community and private ownership with only 1,113 sq km of forests under the direct control of the State Forest Department.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover: 76.32%</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 2 National Parks (Balphakram, Nokrek Ridge), 4 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 65 Community Reserves.</li>
<li>Dominant tree species : <em>Pinus kasya</em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Mizoram:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Amongst the States, Mizoram has the highest area under forest cover in terms of percentage of geographical area covering 85.41%.</li>
<li>Tropical wet-evergreen forests of the State have valuable species in the top canopy such as Dipterocarpus turbinatus, Artocarpus chaplasha, Terminalia myriocarpa, Amoora wallichii, Michelia champaca, Mesua ferrea etc.</li>
<li>It has nearly 40% of forest area under Very highly fire prone</li>
<li>Bamboos occur abundantly in the middle and lower stories in the evergreen forest type</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 2 National Parks (Murlen, Phawngpui Blue Mountain), 8 Wildlife Sanctuaries.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Nagaland:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Major river: Barak river.</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 1 National Park (Intanki National Park), 3 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 57 Community Reserves.</li>
<li>Total Forest Cover: 75.31%</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Odisha:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Physiographically, the State can be divided into four regions<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Northern Plateau,</li>
<li>Eastern Ghats,</li>
<li>Central Tableland and</li>
<li>Coastal Plains.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Mahanadi, Brahmani and Baitarani.</li>
<li>Total Forest Cover: 33.15%</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 2 National Parks (Bhitarkanika and Simlipal), 19 Wildlife Sanctuaries.</li>
<li>Dominant tree species in TOF is Mangifera indica</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Punjab:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Major rivers: Satluj and Beas.</li>
<li><strong>Major forest type Groups:</strong> Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests, Tropical Thorn Forests and Subtropical Pine Forests</li>
<li>The Community reserves of 'Lalwan' in Hoshiarpur and 'Keshopur-Chamb' in Gurdaspur districts are the first notified community reserves in the country under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972</li>
<li>The Forest Cover in the State is 3.67% of the State's geographical area.</li>
<li>Total wetlands: 119 covering 3.32% of total RFA/GW.</li>
<li>Major tree species in TOF: <em>Eucalyptus species, Melia azadirachta</em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Rajasthan:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The State has 4 distinct regions:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Western Desert with Barren Hills,</li>
<li>Level Rocky and Sandy Plains,</li>
<li>The Aravalli Hills</li>
<li>South-Eastern Plateau.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Banas, Chambal, Luni and Mahi.</li>
<li>Major forest type groups: Tropical Dry Deciduous and Tropical Thorn Forests.</li>
<li>Protected Area network of the State: 5 National Parks (Desert, Keoladeo, Mukundra Hills, Ranthambhore, Sariska), 25 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 11 Conservation Reserves</li>
<li><strong>Project Tiger sites:</strong> 3 (Ranthambhore, Sariska and Mukundra Hills)</li>
<li><strong>Ramsar sites:</strong> 2 (Keoladeo Ghana sanctuary and Sambhar lake)</li>
<li>The Forest Cover in the State is 4.86 % of the State's geographical area. It is a forest deficient State.</li>
<li>Dominant tree species in Trees Outside Forests (TOF): <em>Prosopis cineraria, Azadirachta indica</em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Sikkim:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Major rivers: Teesta, Ranjeet, Rangpo and Lachen.</li>
<li>It is a forest rich State with Total forest cover of 47.11%.</li>
<li>Sikkim harbors around one third of the flowering plants of India.</li>
<li><strong>Protected Area network of the State:</strong> 1 National Park (Khangchendzonga), 7 Wildlife Sanctuaries,1 Conservation Reserve, covering 30.77% of its geographical area.</li>
<li><strong>Khangchendzonga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Tamil Nadu:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Four major physiographic regions:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Coastal Plain,</li>
<li>Eastern Ghats</li>
<li>Central Plateau and</li>
<li>Western Ghats.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Cauvery, Bhavani, Palar, Vaigai.</li>
<li>Wide range of biodiversity: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Marine coastal ecosystem in Gulf of Munnar</li>
<li>Terrestrial evergreen forest in Western Ghats</li>
<li>Temperate forest in the hills</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A biodiversity Hotspot</li>
<li>A threatened ecosystem</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Pioneer state in conservation of marine fauna.</li>
<li>Famous for Teak and Sandalwood forest.</li>
<li><strong>Mukurthi National Park,</strong> famous for Nilgiri Tahr. Other National Parks include- <strong>Guindy, Gulf of Mannar Marine, Annamalai and Mudumalai</strong></li>
<li>Around 5% of area comes under Protected Area Network</li>
<li>Total Forest cover is 20.27% of the total geographical area of the state.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Telangana:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Major Rivers: Godavari, Krishna</li>
<li>Dense Teak forests found on the banks of river Godavari.</li>
<li>Major forest types: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Tropical moist deciduous</li>
<li>Tropical dry deciduous</li>
<li>Tropical thorn forest</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>'Telangana Ku Haritha Haram': Greening programme to plant and protect 230 crore seedlings over 4 years.</li>
<li>Nearly 5% of its geographical area constitutes Protected Area Network.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover in the state is 18.36%.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Tripura:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Around one-third of the population belongs to the Scheduled Tribes.</li>
<li>Major forest types: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Tropical Semi-Evergreen</li>
<li>Tropical Moist deciduous</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>A Sizable area covered under Bamboo and the economy is dependent on it.</li>
<li>Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) and Eco Development Committees (EDCs) formed to promote people&rsquo;s participation in forest management.</li>
<li>Total Forest Cover is around 74% of the state&rsquo;s geographical area.</li>
<li><strong>National Parks-</strong> Clouded Leopard and Bison (Rajbari)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Uttar Pradesh:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Three Physiographic divisions in the state:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Shivalik region in the north,</li>
<li>Gangetic plains in the central region and</li>
<li>Vindhya hills in the south.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Ganga, Yamuna, Gomti, Ghagra, Betwa, Chambal and Gandak.</li>
<li>Majorly agrarian state with total forest cover of only 6.15% of total geographical area.</li>
<li>In 2019 22.5 crores saplings planted under Vriksha Mahakumbh Programme to increase forest and tree cover.</li>
<li>Most tree species are exempt from felling and transit rules to enhance livelihood and income of farmers.</li>
<li>Around 12% of the total area constitutes the Protected Area Network.</li>
<li><strong>Dudhwa National Park</strong> is known for successful translocation of one horned rhinoceros.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Uttarakhand:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Climate and vegetation vary greatly with altitude:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>glaciers at the highest elevations</li>
<li>subtropical forests at the lower elevations.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Ganga, Yamuna, Ramganga &amp; Sharda along with their tributaries.</li>
<li>Three Physiographic divisions in the state:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>the Himalayas,</li>
<li>the Shiwalik and</li>
<li>the Terai region.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Van Panchayats are present in the state.</li>
<li>Forest Fires are a major problem.</li>
<li>3.24% of its geographical area constitutes the Protected Area network. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>National Parks:</strong> Corbett, Gangotri, Govind, Nanda Devi, Rajaji and Valley of Flowers</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The total Forest Cover is 45.44%.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>West Bengal:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>State has two natural divisions:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>the North Himalayan and</li>
<li>the south Alluvial Gangetic Plains.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Major rivers: Teesta, Torsa and Jaldhaka are tributaries of river Brahmaputra.</li>
<li>Sal trees found in the foothills of Himalayas; Oaks, Conifers and Rhododendrons found in the higher altitudes above 1000 and 1,500 metres.</li>
<li>Total forest cover in the state is 19.04% of the total geographical area.</li>
<li><strong>National Parks:</strong> Buxa, Jaldapara, Gorumara, Neora Valley, Singalila and Sunderban</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is drained by several small rivulets, Kalpong being an important river in Diglipur Island.</li>
<li>Saddle Peak, is the highest hill in the islands.</li>
<li>6 indigenous aboriginal tribal groups viz Jarawa, Sentinelese, Great Andamanese, Onge, Nicobarese and Shompen, found in the islands.</li>
<li>About 2,200 varieties of plants recorded in the Islands, out of which 200 are endemic, some of them are Anoectochilus narasimhan, Ceropegia andamanica, Codonocarpus andamanicus, Cyrtandromoea nicobarica, Grewia indandamanica, Hippocratea andamanica, Leea grandifolia, Mangifera nicobarica, Memecylon andamanicum, Mesua manii, Miliusa andamanica,</li>
<li>9 National Parks (Campbell Bay, Galathea Bay, Marine Wandoor, Middle Button Island, Mount Harriett, North Button Island, Rani Jhansi Marine, Saddle Peak, South Button Island), 96 Wildlife Sanctuaries,1 biosphere reserve; constituting Protected Area Network of 18.71%.</li>
<li>Total forest cover is 81.74%.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Chandigarh:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It falls in the Great Indian Northern Plains near the foothills of the Shivalik Hills.</li>
<li>Major forest type: Tropical dry deciduous.</li>
<li>Thrust area for the Forest Department is Urban Forestry.</li>
<li>2 Wildlife Sanctuaries viz Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary and City Bird Wildlife Sanctuary, covering an area of 22.81%.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover in the state is 19.32%.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Dadra &amp; Nagar Haveli:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Major river: Daman Ganga and its three tributaries.</li>
<li>Major forest type: Tropical dry deciduous and Tropical moist deciduous forest.</li>
<li>High dependence of population on forests for fuel wood, fodder, small timber.</li>
<li>Major tribes: Dhodia, Kokna and Varli; relatively minor tribes: Koli, Kathodi, Naika and Dubla.</li>
<li>1 Wildlife Sanctuary (Dadra &amp; Nagar Haveli) covering 18.77% of the geographical area of UT.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover is 42.19%.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Daman &amp; Diu:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Major forest type: Littoral &amp; Swamp forest.</li>
<li>Total forest cover is 18.46%.</li>
<li>1 Wildlife Sanctuary- Fudam Bird Sanctuary, spawning ground for fishes and feeding ground for species of avifauna like Black Winged Stilt and Great White Egret</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Lakshadweep:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The UT of Lakshadweep does not have any notified forests, 82% of the land is covered by privately owned coconut plantations.</li>
<li>It has a vast lagoon of 4,200 sq km with an abundance of marine fauna.</li>
<li>Lakshadweep also has coral atolls.</li>
<li>1 Wildlife Sanctuary- Pitti (Bird Island) covering 0.03% of the geographical area of the UT.</li>
<li>Total Forest Cover is 90.33% of geographical area, however there is no RFA.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Puducherry:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>UT of Puducherry does not have any natural forests inside its jurisdiction.</li>
<li>The farmers of Puducherry cultivate Casuarina spp.</li>
<li>The Government has constituted the Puducherry Union Territory Wetland Authority for conservation of wetlands of the UT.</li>
<li>1 Wildlife Sanctuary- Oussudu Lake covering 0.80 % of the geographical area of the UT.</li>
<li>Total Forest cover is 10.70% of total geographical area of the UT.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://164.100.117.97/WriteReadData/userfiles/ISFR2019%20Vol-I.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>India State of Forest Report, 2019- Volume I</strong></a></p>
<p><a href="http://164.100.117.97/WriteReadData/userfiles/ISFR2019%20Vol-II.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>India State of Forest Report, 2019- Volume II</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/summary-of-important-reports/india-state-of-forest-report-2019'
	],
	(int) 11 => [
		'title' => 'Hubli-Ankola Railway Line Project',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Hubballi-Ankola railway line project, saw stiff opposition from a majority of the board members of the Karnataka State Wildlife Board.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The proposed 164.44-km railway line passes through forests between two major protected areas &mdash; <strong>Kali Tiger Reserve and Bedthi Conservation Reserve.</strong></li>
<li>More than 80% the line has to pass through the dense forest lands of the Western Ghats, and this entails the diversion of 727 hectares of prime forests.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1583919577_image2.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1583919577_image2.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="500" caption="false" /></a></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Kali Tiger Reserve</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Kali Tiger Reserve is located in the central portion of <strong>Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state.</strong></li>
<li>The Tiger Reserve comprises two important protected areas of the region viz., Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary and Anshi National Park.</li>
<li>These two protected areas are contiguous to each other and form a single tract of protected area located in <strong>the biologically sensitive Western Ghats.</strong></li>
<li>Forests of the Tiger Reserve are primarily<strong> moist deciduous and semi-evergreen,</strong> with excellent patches of evergreen forests in the western most parts as well as in deep valleys.</li>
<li>Animals found in the Tiger Reserve include Tiger, Leopard, Elephant, Bison, Wild dog, Sambar, Spotted deer, Sloth bear, Wild boar, Hanuman langur, Bonnet macaque, varieties of reptiles and birds, etc.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>State Boards for Wildlife</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>SBWL is constituted under <strong>the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.</strong></li>
<li>The SBWL is headed by the Chief Minister, with the Forest Minister of the State as the Vice Chair.</li>
<li>State Boards for Wildlife advises the state governments in selection and management of protected areas and other matters connected with the protection of wildlife..</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/karnataka-wildlife-board-opposes-proposed-hubballi-ankola-rail-line/article31026797.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source : TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/hubli-ankola-railway-line-project'
	],
	(int) 12 => [
		'title' => 'Long Term Reverse Repo Operation',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in news</h3>
<p>According to the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/important-institutions-national-institution-reserve-bank-of-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Reserve Bank of India (RBI)</strong></a>, the response to the <strong>Long Term Reverse Repo Operation (LTROs)</strong> has been highly encouraging.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Long Term Reverse Repo Operation (LTRO) is a mechanism <strong>to facilitate the transmission of monetary policy</strong> actions and the flow of credit to the economy. This helps in <strong>injecting liquidity in the banking system.</strong></li>
<li>Funds through LTRO are provided at the repo rate. This means that banks can avail one year and three-year loans at the same interest rate of one day repo. But usually, loans with higher maturity period (here like 1 year and 3 years) will have a higher interest rate compared to short term (repo) loans.</li>
<li>According to the RBI, the LTRO scheme will be in addition to the existing <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/rbi-keeps-policy-rates-unchanged" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) and the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF)</strong></a> operations.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The LAF and MSF are the two sets of liquidity operations by the RBI with the LAF having a number of tools like repo, reverse repo, term repo etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The central bank has been conducting LTROs for one- and three-year tenors of appropriate sizes for up to a total amount of Rs 1,00,000 crore at the policy repo rate from the fortnight beginning February 15, 2020.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The central bank received total bids of ₹1.94 lakh crore, for the three-year repo, compared with the notified amount of ₹25,000 crores.</li>
<li>In yet another (LTROs) ₹48,856 crores worth of bids were conducted for an amount of ₹25,000 crores with a three-year tenor.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>LTROs are conducted on <strong>Core Banking Solution (E-KUBER) platform.</strong> The operations would be conducted at a fixed rate.</li>
<li>The minimum bid amount would be Rs 1 crore and multiples thereof. There will be no restriction on the maximum amount of bidding by individual bidders.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>E-Kuber</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>e-Kuber is the <strong>Core Banking Solution</strong> of Reserve Bank of India which was <strong>introduced in 2012.</strong></li>
<li>Core Banking Solutions (CBS) can be defined as a solution that enables banks to offer a multitude of customer-centric services on a 24x7 basis from a single location, supporting retail as well as corporate banking activities.</li>
<li>The centralisation thus makes a <strong>&ldquo;one-stop&rdquo; shop for financial services a reality</strong>. Using CBS, customers can access their accounts from any branch, anywhere, irrespective of where they have physically opened their accounts.</li>
<li>Almost all branches of commercial banks, including the Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), are brought into the core-banking fold.</li>
<li>The e-kuber system can be accessed either through <strong>INFINET or Internet.</strong> The INFINET is a Closed User Group Network for the exclusive use of member banks and financial institutions and is the communication backbone for the National Payments System.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Benefits of the LTROs</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Enhance Liquidity:</strong> It will enhance liquidity in the banking system by Rs 1 lakh crore.</li>
<li><strong>Bring down the cost of funds for banks:</strong> The introduction of long-term repo operations (LTRO) will bring down the cost of funds for banks without effectively cutting deposit rates. This decision is likely to make reverse repo rate as the operative policy rate over a point of time.</li>
<li><strong>Boost Investment:</strong> It is a measure that is expected to bring down short-term rates and also boost investment in corporate bonds.</li>
<li><strong>Ensure banks have durable liquidity:</strong> These efforts are being carried forward with a view to assuring banks about the availability of durable liquidity at a reasonable cost relative to prevailing market conditions.</li>
<li><strong>Ensure credit flow to productive sectors:</strong> This should encourage banks to undertake maturity transformation smoothly and seamlessly so as to augment credit flows to productive sectors.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/rbi-gets-48856-cr-in-bids-for-ltros/article31026008.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/long-term-reverse-repo-operation'
	],
	(int) 13 => [
		'title' => 'Government to Launch Mahua-based Alcoholic Drink',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The central government is set to launch a <strong>mahua-based alcoholic beverage &lsquo;Mahua Nutribeverage&rsquo;</strong> in the market for the first time.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Beverage will come in <strong>six fruit-based flavours</strong> and will be available at the price of ₹700 for a 750ml bottle.</li>
<li>This is the <strong>first time</strong> that the <strong>Ministry of Tribal Affairs</strong> is getting into bottling and sale of alcoholic beverages.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The beverage has a <strong>high nutritional value</strong> and <strong>relatively low alcohol</strong> content (5%).</li>
<li>It has been developed by the <strong>Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi</strong> in collaboration with the T<a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/apeda-trifed" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>ribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India</strong></a> <strong>(TRIFED).</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>TRIFED is a <strong>national-level apex organization</strong> functioning under the administrative control of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>TRIFED has signed a memorandum with the <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/mission-raksha-gyan-shakti-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Research Development Corporation</a> (NRDC)</strong> to undertake the assignment of technology transfer to the suitable entrepreneurs for production and marketing of the beverage.</li>
<li>The marketing is being undertaken under the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/van-dhan-internship-programme" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Van Dhan Vikas Karyakram.</strong></a><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is <strong>Tribal Affairs Ministry&rsquo;s value-addition scheme</strong> which was launched in <strong>Chhattisgarh&rsquo;s Bijapur in 2018.</strong></li>
<li>The nation-wide programme earmarked ₹500-600 crore for training tribal clusters to add value to their produce and sell it in a packaged format, aiming to increase their income manifold.</li>
<li>The products marketed under the scheme include only those that need <strong>primary-level processing,</strong> including handicrafts, textiles, food items, jams and pulps and jewellery.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Besides mahua, other tribal staples such as <strong>tamarind and amla</strong> will be de-seeded and brought to the market in the form of candies and jams.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Mahua<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1583915376_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1583915376_image1.jpg" style="float: right;" width="280" caption="false" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Its scientific name is <strong>Madhuca indica.</strong></li>
<li>It is a prominent forest tree in tribal areas of <strong>Bastar (Chhattisgarh)</strong> and plays an important role in the rural economy.</li>
<li>The mahua flowers are a<strong> rich source of sugars</strong> and are said to contain <strong>vitamins, minerals and calcium.</strong></li>
<li>The flowers are fermented and distilled yielding spirituous liquor also known as <strong>&lsquo;country beer&rsquo;.</strong></li>
<li>An <strong>estimated 90% of the annual production</strong> of Mahua flower is used in the process of brewing beverages.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/government-to-launch-mahua-based-alcoholic-drink-6307451/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/government-to-launch-mahua-based-alcoholic-drink'
	],
	(int) 14 => [
		'title' => 'Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Stock markets in India crashed on 9<sup>th</sup> March, 2020 as <strong>Sensex</strong> and <strong>Nifty</strong> indices saw their biggest ever fall in absolute terms.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Sensex dropped 1,942 points or 5.17% to 35,635 and the Nifty dropped 538 points to 10,451, wiping out as much as Rs 6.8 lakh crore of investor wealth.</li>
<li>According to the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/securities-and-exchange-board-of-india-sebi" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)</strong></a>, volatility in stock market is due to <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/the-economic-impact-of-coronavirus" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>perceived economic fallout from COVID-19</strong></a> and <strong>steep fall in global crude prices.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Oil prices also crashed on the same day after the collapse of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) supply cut agreement with Russia.</li>
<li>The price of Brent crude oil fell almost 30% to $31.14 a barrel, its biggest single fall since the start of the first Gulf war (1990-91).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Sensex</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Sensex, otherwise known as the S&amp;P BSE Sensex index, is the <strong>benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)</strong> in India.</li>
<li>It comprises <strong>30</strong> of the largest and most actively-traded stocks on the BSE, providing an accurate gauge of India's economy. The index's composition is reviewed in June and December each year.</li>
<li>Initially compiled in 1986, the Sensex is the <strong>oldest stock index in India.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Nifty</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Nifty is primarily an <strong>equity benchmark index</strong> which was introduced in <strong>1996</strong> by the<strong> National Stock Exchange.</strong></li>
<li>The term Nifty is derived from the combination National and Fifty as Nifty consists of <strong>50 actively traded stocks.</strong> Nifty is an abbreviation of National Stock Exchange Fifty.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Perceived Economic Fallout From COVID-19</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Fall in economic activities globally:</strong> Falling Chinese exports, faster than expected pace of shrinking of the Japanese economy, increasing cases of Coronavirus outside China, and disruption of global supply chains, have contributed to the panic in the financial markets worldwide.</li>
<li><strong>Investment Outflow:</strong> Selling of securities by foreign institutional investors have contributed to the sharp selloff in Indian markets. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A sell-off occurs when a large volume of securities are sold in a short period of time. This leads to decline in the price of the security.</li>
<li><strong>Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)</strong> refer to outside companies investing in the financial markets of India.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Yes Bank Crisis:</strong> The<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/the-yes-bank-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Yes Bank crisis</strong></a> has raised concerns over the stability of the country's banking system, adding to the woes of domestic investors.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Fall in Global Crude Prices</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Top crude oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia have begun a price war. Saudi Arabia slashed its oil prices after it failed to convince Russia to support sharp crude oil production cuts.</li>
<li>A three-year supply pact between members of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/opec" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)</strong></a> and Russia collapsed after Russia refused to support deeper oil cuts to cope with the substantial fall in demand caused by the impact of coronavirus on travel and economic activity.</li>
<li><strong>Immediate Impact</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the Sensex pack, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) was the worst performer, losing over 16%.</li>
<li>State-owned Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have reduced the prices of sensitive petroleum products such as petrol and diesel by 30 paise and 25 paise a litre respectively across major cities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Long-Term Impact</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The fall in the prices of crude oil goes well for the Indian economy as <strong>India imports more than 80% of its oil requirements.</strong></li>
<li>The savings on oil imports is estimated to be around US $30 billion in the Financial Year 2021 if there is no significant uptick in global demand. This will help in arresting the rising inflation in the country.</li>
<li>However, according to some experts, very low prices imply less growth for emerging countries like India, thus impacting negatively.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Government&rsquo;s Move to Boost Agri-exports</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The central government has identified <strong>21 agricultural products,</strong> including honey, potatoes, grapes, soya beans and groundnuts, in which Indian exports could benefit from trade restrictions against Chinese goods.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Some countries have imposed restrictions on Chinese goods in response to the outbreak of COVID-19.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The total value of China&rsquo;s global exports of these products amounted to $5488.6 million in 2018. India exported $4,445.9 million worth of these commodities in the same period and could now have a chance to grab part of China&rsquo;s market share.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/covid-19-outbreak-could-help-agri-exports/article31026024.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/impact-of-covid-19-outbreak'
	],
	(int) 15 => [
		'title' => 'Attukal Pongala Festival',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>In Thiruvananthapuram, Kerela, the annual &ldquo;Attukal Pongala&rdquo;, one of the largest all-women religious congregations, began recently amid the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/coronavirus-disease-named-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>COVID-19</strong></a> <strong>virus</strong> threat.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Pongala is a <strong>ten-day- long festival</strong> of<strong> Attukal Bhagavathy Temple.</strong></li>
<li>The festival commences with the musical rendering of the story of the <strong>Goddess (Kannaki Charitam) during the "Kappu Kettu ceremony".</strong></li>
<li>The story invokes the presence of Kodungallur Bhagavathy and the <strong>slaying of the Pandyan King.</strong> This festival commemorates the victory of Good over Evil, by the slaying of Pandyan King.</li>
<li>The event of the Goddess annihilating the Pandyan King is accompanied by much sound and fury of the temple drums and "Vaykurava" by devotees, immediately followed by the lighting of the hearths for the preparation of the offering for the Goddess.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Pongala</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Pongala, which means <strong>'to boil over&rsquo;,</strong> is the ritual in which women prepare sweet payasam (a pudding made from rice, jaggery, coconut and plantains cooked together) and offer it to the Goddess or &lsquo;Bhagavathy&rsquo;.</li>
<li>The pongala is cooked in pots &ndash; preferably earthen.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Attukal Bhagavathy temple</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This temple is dedicated to <strong>Goddess Bhagavathy.</strong></li>
<li>Also known as <strong>&ldquo;the Sabarimala of Women''</strong>, this temple attracts the biggest set of women devotees for the annual Attukal Pongala festival.</li>
<li>Attukal Devi temple and its main festival Attukal Pongala reached <strong>Guinness Book of World Records</strong> of largest annual gathering of women, when 1.5 million (15 Lakhs) women offered pongala on February 23, 1997 and on March 10, 2009, when over 2.5 million people took part in it.</li>
<li>The temple is built with elements of<strong> Kerala architectural style and Tamil architectural style as well.</strong></li>
<li>Tha main building also comprises Goddess Kali, Goddess Parvathy, Lord Shiva, Goddess Sri Rajarajeswari and several others.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Kerala Architectural Style</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It displays certain variation on plan and elevation from its counterparts on the eastern coast of south India.</li>
<li>These variations are mainly owing to <strong>distinct climatic conditions</strong> and the employment of different building materials along with the native systems of beliefs and culture.</li>
<li>Kerala temples have a distinct style of their own by the<strong> lavish use of wood, stone and metals.</strong></li>
<li>Wood is used for making Temples because of rich forest cover.</li>
<li>The base structure of the temple is made using <strong>granite and laterite.</strong></li>
<li>The roof may have <strong>one, two or even three stories.</strong></li>
<li>The shape of the roof depends on the plan of the sanctum below.</li>
<li>The steep and needle like roof is made of wood and is covered with copper plates in order<strong> to protect the inner skeletal framework from the vigorous monsoons.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/pongala-offered-amid-covid-19-fears/article31027269.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source : TH</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/attukal-pongala-festival'
	],
	(int) 16 => [
		'title' => 'CPCB  Notifies Contaminated Sites',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>According to the <strong>Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB),</strong> there are 128 sites in India contaminated by<strong> toxic and hazardous substances.</strong></li>
<li><strong>West Bengal led the list</strong> with 27 sites followed by Odisha at 23.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Incidents of Contamination</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Oil contamination</strong> due to leakage of underground oil pipelines of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited in Tamil Nadu.</li>
<li><strong>Pesticide and heavy metal contamination</strong> in creeks at Eloor, Kerala.</li>
<li><strong>Chromium contamination</strong> at Rania, Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, and Lohianagar, Uttar Pradesh.</li>
<li>Improperly disposed <strong>electronic waste</strong> lying on the banks of river Ramganga, Moradabad.</li>
<li><strong>Mercury contamination</strong> of the soil at Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, and Ganjam, Odisha.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>The Central Pollution Control Board</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>CPCB is a<strong> statutory organisation</strong> which was constituted in September, 1974 under the <strong>Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.</strong></li>
<li>It was entrusted with the powers and functions under the <strong>Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.</strong></li>
<li>It serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the provisions of the <strong>Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.</strong></li>
<li>Principal Functions of the CPCB, as spelt out in the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>to promote cleanliness of streams and wells in different areas of the States by prevention, control and abatement of water pollution.</li>
<li>to improve the quality of air and to prevent, control or abate air pollution in the country.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>India&rsquo;s Record</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Independent organisations have warned that<strong> India has a poor track record</strong> in dealing with chemical accidents.</li>
<li>According to <strong>ToxicsLink,</strong> an organisation that deals with hazardous waste disposal, there have been four major chemical accidents recorded, on average, every month between 2016-2019 and several accidents are not duly recorded.</li>
<li>A committee constituted by the NGT in a report on the state of the management of hazardous waste (HW) in India noted that the <strong>inventory was not very comprehensive.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/west-bengal-tops-list-in-sites-contaminated-by-toxic-substances/article31026039.ece/amp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source : TH</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 17 => [
		'title' => 'New Hub Under National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The<strong> Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar, Punjab</strong> is setting up a <strong>Sectoral Application Hub in Technologies for Agriculture and Water.</strong></p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The hub is being set up under the <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/national-mission-on-interdisciplinary-cyber-physical-systems" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems</a> (NMICPS)</strong> and is granted by Union Government&rsquo;s <strong>Science and Engineering Research Board.</strong></li>
<li>The application hub will bring solutions for <strong>stubble management, water quality improvement </strong>and<strong> mapping of hazardous substances in water.</strong></li>
<li>The hub <strong>aims</strong> at carrying out translational research and work with concerned departments to develop prototypes, products and implementations.</li>
</ul>
<h3>National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It was <strong>launched in 2018</strong> and is implemented by the <strong>Department of Science &amp; Technology</strong> for a period of five years.</li>
<li>NMICPS covers entire India which includes Central Ministries, State Governments, Industry and Academia.</li>
<li><strong>Objectives:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is a <strong>comprehensive mission</strong> which would address technology development, application development, human resource development &amp; skill enhancement, entrepreneurship and start-up development in <strong>Cyber-Physical System (CPS)</strong> and associated technologies.</li>
<li>The mission <strong>aims</strong> at establishing 15 Technology Innovation Hubs (TIH), six Application Innovation Hubs (AIH) and four Technology Translation Research Parks (TTRP).</li>
<li>These Hubs &amp; TTRPs will connect to Academics, Industry, Central Ministries and State Government in developing solutions at reputed academic, R&amp;D and other organizations across the country in a hub and spoke model.</li>
<li>The Hubs &amp; TTRPs have<strong> four focused areas</strong> namely:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Technology Development.</li>
<li>HRD &amp; Skill Development.</li>
<li>Innovation, Entrepreneurship &amp; Start-ups Ecosystem Development.</li>
<li>International Collaborations.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Cyber-Physical Systems</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>These systems <strong>integrate</strong> sensing, computation, control and networking into physical objects and infrastructure, connecting them to the Internet and to each other.</li>
<li><strong>Few Potential applications:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Driverless cars</strong> that communicate securely with each other on smart roads.</li>
<li><strong>Sensors</strong> in the home to detect changing health conditions.</li>
<li><strong>Improving agricultural practices.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Enabling scientists</strong> to address issues arising out of climate change.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Advances in cyber-physical systems will enable capability, adaptability, scalability, resiliency, safety, security and usability that will far exceed the simple embedded systems of today.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
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	(int) 18 => [
		'title' => 'Foundation Day of National Archives of India',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why In News</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently, on the occasion of <strong>130<sup>th</sup> Foundation Day</strong> of <strong>National Archives of India,</strong> an exhibition <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/100-years-of-jallianwala-bagh-massacre" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;Jallianwala Bagh&rdquo;</strong></a> was inaugurated, to mark the <strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/jallianwala-bagh-massacre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jallianwala Bagh massacre centenary</a>.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The present exhibition is primarily presented with the help of original and digital copies of archival documents relating to the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre available in National Archives of India.</li>
<li>This is an attempt to portray the relentless struggle of the Indian people against the British tyranny through our record holdings.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Archives of India</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The National Archives of India is an attached office under the <strong>Ministry of Culture.</strong> It was established on 11 March 1891 at Kolkata (Calcutta) as the Imperial Record Department.</li>
<li>Following the transfer of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911, the present building of the National Archives of India was constructed in 1926 which was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.</li>
<li>The transfer of all records from Calcutta to New Delhi was completed in 1937. It is the <strong>nodal agency</strong> for the implementation of the <strong>Public Records Act, 1993 and Public Record Rules, 1997.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1605808" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/foundation-day-of-national-archives-of-india'
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	(int) 19 => [
		'title' => 'National Institute of Health & Family Welfare ',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently, the <strong>43<sup>rd</sup> Annual Day</strong> of the<strong> National Institute of Health &amp; Family Welfare (NIHFW)</strong> was organised.</li>
<li>On the occasion, the Union Health Minister emphasized that <strong>synergy and cooperation between institutions</strong> needed to counter India&rsquo;s Public Health challenges.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The National Institute of Health &amp; Family Welfare (NIHFW) is situated in Delhi and was<strong> established in 1977.</strong></li>
<li>NIHFW is the premier organisation under Ministry Of Health and Family Welfare for capacity building through training of health professionals, frontline health workers such as <strong>Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs)</strong> and<strong> Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANMs)</strong> and other central and state officers &amp; healthcare staff.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Accredited Social Health Activist</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>An Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) is a <strong>community health worker</strong> instituted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) as a <strong>part of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).</strong> The mission began in 2005.</li>
<li>ASHAs must primarily be female residents of the village that they have been selected to serve, who are likely to remain in that village for the foreseeable future.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Auxiliary Nurse Midwife</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Auxiliary nurse midwife, commonly known as ANM,</strong> is a village-level female health worker in India who is known as the first contact person between the <strong>community and the health services.</strong></li>
<li>ANMs are regarded as the grass-roots workers in the health organisation pyramid.</li>
<li>Their services are considered <strong>important to provide safe and effective care</strong> to village communities.</li>
<li>The role may help communities achieve the targets of <strong>national health programmes.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1605817" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
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