Current Affair 1:

Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE-ZOO) report 2022

 

Read introduction first:

A framework was designed, which proposes guidelines, criteria and indicators for evaluation of zoos of the country through the Management Effectiveness Evaluation Process (MEE-ZOO) in a manner which is holistic.

India has adopted World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) framework.

The WCPA Framework for Assessing Management Effectiveness in Protected Areas is adapted and modified to fit zoo management criteria. The framework has six elements: context, planning, inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes.

 

The Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Tamil Nadu secured the highest MEE Score of 82% among the large category zoos and rated “Very Good”. The Kamla Nehru Zoological Garden, Gujarat score of 59% and rated “Fair”, as the assessment revealed gaps that the zoo could proactively work towards.

 

More about Central Zoo Authority (CZA)

Current Affair 2:

Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006: Recent report

 

In India, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006  (PCM) prohibits the solemnization of marriage of a boy who is less than 21 years of age or a girl who is less than 18 years of age.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in its annual Crime in India (CII) report, provides data on the number of cases registered under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 across states under the head of Special and Local Laws (SLL) crimes. The latest report for 2021 was released recently.

As per the NCRB’s CII report, the number of cases registered under the PCM Act crossed 1000 for the first time in 2021. The number of cases registered in 2021 was 1050, up by 34% compared to 2020.

Karnataka alone accounted for more than 19% of the cases registered between 2011 and 2021 with 849 cases, the highest among all states/UTs. Tamil Nadu (649) and West Bengal (619) had the second and third highest number of cases registered, while Assam registered 596 cases.

 

Current Affair 3:

KRITAGYA 3.0

 

 

Indian Council of Agricultural Research with its National Agricultural Higher Education Project and Crop Science Division is organizing Hackathon 3.0 ‘’KRITAGYA” on promoting ‘speed breeding for crop improvement’.

Taking forward the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi through National Education Policy-2020, this program will provide an opportunity to students/faculties/entrepreneurs/innovators and others to showcase innovative approaches and technology solutions to promote innovation for crop improvement.

The definition of KRITAGYA is: KRI for Krishi meaning Agriculture, TA for Taknik meaning Technology and GYA for Gyan meaning Knowledge. In this competition, students, faculty and innovators/entrepreneurs from any university/technical institute across the country can apply and participate in the program as a group.

During 2020-21 and 2021-22 NAHEP in association with Agricultural Engineering and Animal Science Divisions of ICAR organized Hackathon 1.0 and 2.0 to promote the innovation in Farm Mechanization and in Animal Science, respectively.

About National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP)

ICAR commenced NAHEP with the assistance of World Bank (WB) in November 2017. The overall objective of NAHEP is to support participating Agricultural Universities (AUs) and ICAR in providing more relevant and higher quality education to the students.

Current Affair 4:

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

 

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation.

History of the SCO

About creation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was proclaimed on June 15, 2001 in Shanghai (China) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Currently, eight countries enjoy the status of the SCO full members: India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan; four countries — Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia — have an observer status with the SCO, and six countries — Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka — have a dialogue partner status.

 

 

International Co-operations:

Cooperation with the United Nations

On 2 December 2004, the 59th plenary session of the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution А/RES/59/48 (agenda item 151) entitled "Observer status for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the General Assembly." The resolution provided the SCO with the right to participate in the sessions and work of the General Assembly as an observer.

The SCO has established close ties with UN divisions, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

Cooperation with ASEAN

A Memorandum of Understanding between the secretariats of the SCO and ASEAN was signed in Jakarta on 21 April 2005.

Cooperation with  ICRC

On 9 June 2017, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Secretariat and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) signed a memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of the SCO Heads of State Council Meeting in Astana.

Now, news form recent summit:

The city of Varanasi has been nominated as the first-ever SCO Tourism and Cultural Capital during the period 2022-2023 at the 22nd Meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022.

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