Current Affair 1:

Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards (CA|TS)

 

CA|TS is a set of criteria which allows tiger sites to check if their management will lead to successful tiger conservation. CA|TS is organised under seven pillars and 17 elements of critical management activity.

CA|TS was developed by tiger and protected area experts. Officially launched in 2013, CA|TS is an important part of Tx2, the global goal to double wild tiger numbers by the year 2022.

Until CA|TS, there has not been a set of criteria which not only provide clarity on management of tiger sites, but also encourage further development and sharing of best practice across the tiger range countries.

CA|TS is a partnership of tiger range governments, inter-governmental agencies, institutions, NGOs and conservation organisations and is also being adopted for use beyond tigers, including potentially jaguars, lions, and freshwater dolphins. Tigers are the first species selected for the initiative.

With respect to India:

On the eve of Global Tiger Day 2020, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change of India have announced the adoption of the Conservation Assured Tiger Standards [CA|TS] across all of the country’s 50 tiger reserves.

The accreditation has been granted to 14 reserves in India. The 14 reserves are Manas, Kaziranga, and Orang (Assam); Sundarbans (West Bengal); Valmiki (Bihar); Dudhwa (Uttar Pradesh); Panna, Kanha, Satpuda and Pench (Madhya Pradesh); Anamalai and Mudumalai (Tamil Nadu); Parambikulam (Kerala) and Bandipur (Karnataka).

Current Affair 2:

Red algal blooms on glaciers is a now regular phenomenon all over the world.

The peculiar phenomenon – sometimes known as blood snow – is the result of a defence mechanism produced by microscopic algae that grow in the Alpine snow. Normally these microalgae have a green colour as they contain chlorophyll, the family of pigments produced by most plants to help them absorb energy from sunlight. However, when the snow algae grow prolifically and are exposed to strong solar radiation, they produce red-coloured pigment molecules known as carotenoids, which act as a sunshield to protect their chlorophyll.

It isn't the only type of microalgae responsible for red snow though. Several other types, such as Chlamydomonas nivalis and an algae found growing close to Antarctic penguin colonies called Chloromonas polyptera, also produce pigments to create red and pink stained snow.

This increasing abundance of red snow algae may also be contributing to climate change too. The red pigment turns the snow surface dark, reducing the amount of light and heat it reflects back into space – something known as the albedo effect. By trapping more of the Sun's heat, the snow melts even faster, allowing the algae to proliferate further.

Studies have shown red algal blooms occur on glaciers all over the world, from Antarctica to the Himalayas and in the Arctic.

 

Current Affair 3:

The concept of "Crowding out" and "Crowding in" economics

 

Our Chief Economic Advisor is saying that if Govt. will borrow more and spend more it will result in "crowding in" of private investment while a SEBI member Mr. G Mahalingam is saying that increased Govt. borrowing (which govt. has planned for this year because of Covid-19) will "crowd out" private investment.

Now let me explain "Crowding out" and "Crowding in":

CROWDING OUT: If the economy is in boom phase and the economic resources are fully utilized then if government incurs fiscal deficit, there is a decrease in private investment due to reduction in the amount of savings available to the private sector. This is because if the government decides to borrow from the private citizens by issuing bonds to finance deficits, these bonds (which are risk free) will compete with corporate bonds and other financial instruments for the available supply of funds. If people decide to buy government bonds, the funds remaining to be invested in private sector will be less. Thus, some private/corporate borrowers will get "crowded out" (displaced) of the financial markets as the government claims an increasing share of the economy's total savings.

CROWDING IN: Opposite of crowding out is "crowding in" where private investment increases as debt financed government spending increases. If in the economy there are unutilized resources or the economy is in slowdown/recession, then an increased government spending boosts the demand for goods which in turn increases the private sector demand for new output sources such as factories, equipment. Thus, the private sector crowds in (gets pulled in) to satisfy increasing consumer needs.

In this year Economic Survey (2020-21), which is authored by Chief Economic Advisor, he has strongly supported that in the present situation (covid-19 induced slowdown), if Govt will borrow more and spend more, then there will be "crowding in" rather than "crowding out". And he has also used that data to support the argument that "India has never faced crowing out in the last 30 years post liberalization". He has also said that we should not worry much about increasing Debt rather we should focus more on growth because higher growth leads to lower Debt/GDP ratio because of increase in GDP (denominator) BUT lower debt does not necessarily lead to higher growth. He has also supported "Counter-cyclical fiscal policy" in the present time which means in a slowing economy (due to covid) Govt. should spend more.

Below are some excerpts from this year economic survey supporting crowding in:

Current Affair 4:

Earth Overshoot Day

 

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. We maintain this deficit by liquidating stocks of ecological resources and accumulating waste, primarily carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Earth Overshoot Day is hosted and calculated by Global Footprint Network, an international research organization that provides decision-makers with a menu of tools to help the human economy operate within Earth’s ecological limits.

(Earth’s Biocapacity / Humanity’s Ecological Footprint) x 365 = Earth Overshoot Day

Earth Overshoot Day 2021 lands on July 29.

Current Affair 5:

Social Audit of Social Sector Schemes

 

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has formulated a scheme, namely Information-Monitoring, Evaluation and Social Audit (I-MESA) in FY 2021-22. Under this scheme, Social Audits are to be conducted for all the schemes of the Department starting FY 2021-22. These social audits are done through Social Audit Units (SAU) of the States and National Institute for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.

 

<< Previous Next >>