Current Affair 1:

World Wildlife Day

 

On 20 December 2013 at the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), March 3 was declared United Nations World Wildlife Day (WWD).

This day holds significance as the day that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed in 1973.

The UNGA Resolution designated the CITES Secretariat as the facilitator for the global observance of this special day for wildlife on the UN calendar. UN World Wildlife Day has now become the global annual event dedicated to wildlife.

The WWD2024 Theme is Connecting People and Planet: Exploring Digital Innovation in Wildlife Conservation.

About CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora):

It is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species. 

CITES was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of IUCN (The World Conservation Union). The text of the Convention was finally agreed at a meeting of representatives of 80 countries in Washington, D.C., United States of America, on 3 March 1973, and on 1 July 1975 CITES entered in force.

Parties of the Convention

States that have agreed to be bound by the Convention ('joined' CITES) are known as Parties. Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties – in other words they have to implement the Convention – it does not take the place of national laws. Rather it provides a framework to be respected by each Party, which has to adopt its own domestic legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at the national level.

Current Affair 2:

ADITI Scheme of Ministry of Defence

 

Read the background:

ADITI Scheme under DDP, to be implemented through DIO with budgetary support of Rs. 750 Crore within time frame from FY 2023-2024 to FY 2025-2026.

Current Affair 3:

Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR)

 

News:

The Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) has been developed by BHAVINI (Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited), a government enterprise under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) which was set up in 2003 to focus on fast breeder reactors. Construction of the PFBR began in 2004, with an original expected completion date of 2010.

India has adopted a three-stage nuclear power programme, with the long-term goal of deploying a thorium-based closed nuclear fuel cycle.

1. The first stage involves the use of pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs), fueled by natural uranium, and light water reactors.
2. The second stage involves reprocessing used fuel from the first stage to recover the plutonium to fuel FBRs.
3. In stage 3, Advanced Heavy Water Reactors (AHWRs) will burn thorium-plutonium fuels and breed fissile uranium-233.

The PFBR will initially use a core of uranium-plutonium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel, surrounded by a uranium-238 'blanket', with plans to use a blanket of uranium and thorium to "breed" plutonium and U-233 for use as driver fuels for AHWRs.

In line with the true spirit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, PFBR has been fully designed and constructed indigenously by BHAVINI with significant contribution from more than 200 Indian industries including MSMEs.

Once commissioned, India will only be the second country after Russia to have a commercial operating Fast Breeder Reactor.

Upon completion of the core loading, the first approach to criticality will be achieved, leading to generation of power subsequently.

Something more

In January, Modi formally dedicated to the nation the Demonstration Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Plant at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (ICGAR) in Kalpakkam, a precursor to large-scale plants for the reprocessing of fast reactor fuel, and in February, he visited the Kakrapar plant in Gujarat for the dedication of the first two Indian-designed and built 700 MWe PHWRs. The second of those units - Kakrapar 4 - was connected to the grid just days later.

A fast breeder test reactor has been in operation at IGCAR since 1985, although it did not reach its full 40 MWt design capacity until 2022.

 

Current Affair 4:

Women, Business and Law Index: Work Bank

 

It is a World Bank index to measure how laws and regulations affect women’s economic opportunity on a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 means equal legal rights for men and women.

Women, Business, and the Law 2024 is the 10th in a series of annual studies measuring the laws that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies.

The 10th in a series, it presents two sets of data: Women, Business and the Law 1.0 and an expanded version, Women, Business, and the Law 2.

Women, Business, and the Law 1.0 updates data for the original eight indicators with reforms undertaken by economies over the last year.

Women, Business and the Law 2.0 introduces a new framework for measuring the enabling environment for women’s economic opportunities.

 

Ranking:

India's ranking improved to 113 out of 190 countries.

Indian women enjoyed 60% of the legal rights given to men as per the new report, lower than the global average of 64.2%.

Top rankers:

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