POLITY & GOVERNANCE
CONSTITUTION DAY
Related Topic in KAS Prelims Syllabus:
Indian Constitution [Paper-I]: Indian Constitution and its salient features
Context
Constitution Day, also known as ‘Samvidhan Divas‘, is celebrated in India on 26th November every year to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India.
70th Constitution Day
- Constitution Day was first celebrated in 2015 as a mark of tribute to India’s first law minister Bhim Rao Ambedkar, who played a pivotal role in the drafting of the Constitution.
- On 26th November 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution of India, which came into effect from 26th January 1950.November 26 was earlier celebrated as Law Day.
- Jammu and Kashmir celebrated the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India on November 26 for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370.
About Constitution of India
- Constitution of India was framed by a Constituent Assembly set up under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946.
- The Constitution of India was not typeset or printed but was handwritten and calligraphic in both English and Hindi.
- It was entirely handcrafted by the artists of Shantiniketan under the guidance of Acharya Nandalal Bose, with the calligraphy texts done by Prem Behari Narain Raizada in Delhi.
- The original copies of the Constitution of India are kept in special helium-filled cases in the Library of the Parliament of India.
- It is the longest written constitution of any independent country in the world.
- At present, Constitution of India contains 448 articles in 25 parts and 12 schedules. It had 395 articles in 22 parts and 8 schedules at the time of commencement.
ENVIRONMENT
SUMATRAN RHINO
Related Topic in KAS Prelims Syllabus:
Environment [Paper-II]: Biodiversity – its importance and concerns, Environment protection for sustainable development
News
Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is now extinct in Malaysia following the death of its last captive individual, Iman.
About Sumatran Rhino
- Sumatran rhino is a mostly solitary animal except for courtship and offspring-rearing. They are the only Asian rhino with two horns.
- It is the most vocal rhino species and also communicates through marking soil with its feet, twisting saplings into patterns, and leaving excrement.
- It is the smallest of the five extant rhino species in the world.
- The other rhino species include the White Rhino, the Black Rhino, the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros and the Javan Rhino.
Location
- Earlier, they were found across parts of Southeast Asia, including the foothills of Bhutan and northeast India, southern China, Cambodia and Thailand.
- Now, they are restricted to just a few sites in Sumatra and Borneo, in Indonesia.
Habitat
- They live in dense tropical forest, in both the lowlands and highlands.
- They are well adapted to life in very dense tropical forests.
- They are primarily attracted to areas with plentiful food resources, such as shrubs, fruits, shoots, leaves and roots
Sumatran Rhino in India
- In the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century, the Sumatran rhinoceros occurred in parts of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Northern Bengal, Bhutan, Comilla and the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
- The last Sumatran Rhino of India was killed in 1967.
Conservation Status
- IUCN’s Red List identifies the Sumatran rhinoceros as Critically Endangered.
Threats
- It once roamed across Asia as far as India, but its numbers have shrunk drastically due to deforestation and poaching.
- The small and fragmented nature of their populations and a correspondingly low birthrate are the biggest threat to their survival.
- There are now only an estimated 80 Sumatran rhinos left in the world, clustered into three isolated populations on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, along with a few individuals in Indonesian Borneo.
- Indonesian government officials have reached a consensus that the only way to bring the Sumatran Rhino back from the brink is to relocate the widely dispersed wild populations to managed breeding facilities designed specifically for their care.
Sumatran Rhino Rescue
- It aims to find the remaining wild Sumatran rhinos and bring them to sanctuaries where they can more easily breed.
- Its long-term goal is to return a larger, healthier population to the wild.
- The initiative includes WWF, the Indonesian government, IUCN, Global Wildlife Conservation, National Geographic Society, and the International Rhino Foundation.
ECONOMY
SPECIAL NON-RESIDENT RUPEE (SNRR) ACCOUNT
Related Topic in KAS Prelims Syllabus:
Economy and Planning [Paper-II]: Structure of Indian Banking and Non-Banking Financial Institutions and reforms
News
- RBI has enhanced the scope of ‘Special Non-resident Rupee’ (SNRR) Account by allowing persons residing outside India to open such accounts for purposes like external commercial borrowing and trade credit in INR (Indian Rupee).
- RBI, in consultation with the government, also decided to remove the restriction on the tenure of the SNRR account for the purposes given above.
- The decision was taken to popularise cross-border transactions in Indian rupee.
What is SNRR Account?
- Any person living outside India having business interest in India can open an SNRR account with an authorised dealer.
- The account is necessary for making bona fide transactions in the Indian currency.
Features
- SNRR account will carry the nomenclature of the specific business for which it is opened and not earn any interest.
- Debits/ credits and the balances in the account should be incidental and commensurate with the business operations of the account holder.
- The operations in the SNRR account should not result in the account holder making available foreign exchange to any person resident in India against reimbursement in rupees or in any other manner.
- The balances in the SNRR account can be repatriated outside India.
- Transfers from any NRO account to the SNRR account are not permitted.
- All transactions in the SNRR account will be subject to payment of applicable taxes in India.
- Opening of SNRR accounts by Pakistan and Bangladesh nationals and entities incorporated in Pakistan and Bangladesh requires prior approval of Reserve Bank.
Difference between SNRR and NRO Account
- NRO Account is opened in India in the name of an NRI for managing his income in India. The income could be from rent, dividend, pension, interest etc.
- While the NRO account can earn interest, the SNRR is a non-interest earning account.
- While the balances in a NRO account are non-repatriable (except for current income and to the extent permissible for NRIs/ PIOs under FEMA 13(R)), SNRR is a repatriable account.
- It means that SNRR account holders can move their money from India to their country of origin.
FACTS OF THE DAY
WOODEN BREAST SYNDROME
- Broiler chicken can sometimes be hard to chew compared to normal chicken.
- Researchers recently found that it may be due to a condition called wooden breast syndrome.
- It is a metabolic disorder characterised by abnormal fat accumulation in the breast muscle tissue. When it affects broiler chickens, it makes the meat hard and chewy.
- It is a costly problem that can render the birds unmarketable and cause losses for growers.
- The researchers identified an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase as likely contributing to wooden breast syndrome in broiler chickens.
- The findings could help drive short-term solutions for growers to manage the condition through supplements, or to reduce the number of birds that develop the condition.
INTERNATIONAL TOURISM MART
- Union Minister of State (I/C) for Culture & Tourism and Chief Minister of Manipur jointly inaugurated the 8th International Tourism Mart at Imphal, Manipur.
- The 8th International Tourism Mart will put the spotlight on “Sustainable Tourism an engine for Economic Growth and Employment”.
- It is an annual event organised in the North Eastern region with the objective of highlighting the tourism potential of the region in the domestic and international markets.
- It brings together the tourism business fraternity and entrepreneurs from the eight North Eastern States.
- The event has been planned and scheduled to facilitate interaction between buyers, sellers, media, Government agencies and other stakeholders.
- The Mart will also give a platform for promoting cultural ties, providing enhanced connectivity to the States of North Eastern Region with other countries in our neighbourhood.
JOHADS IN HARYANA
- Johads are community-owned rainwater storage wetland mainly used for harnessing water resources.
- Haryana state government has recently come out with a plan of rehabilitating over 16,400 ponds in rural areas across the state in order to analyze pond water to ascertain its suitability for irrigation and other uses.
NATIONAL MILK DAY
- It is celebrated every year on November 26 to commemorate the birthday of Verghese Kurien, the father of India’s White Revolution.
- The organized milk sector flourished in the Country after the Independence due to efforts of Dr. Kurien.
- India is the world’s largest producer of milk, contributing about 22 per cent of the world’s total milk production with over 187.7 million tonnes of milk production every year.
- World milk day is celebrated on 1st June in the entire world but in India National Milk Day is celebrated on 26th November.
IMMUNISATION CAMPAIGN AGAINST FILARIA
- Uttar Pradesh government has launched a massive immunisation campaign against the filariasis or Filaria.
- Central government has set year 2021 as the deadline for complete eradication of filaria in India.
- Filariasis is a parasitic disease caused by an infection with roundworms of the Filarioidea type.
- It spreads from person to person by mosquito bites.
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