Hand Holding Programme of “Thinking Palette”

8th August 2020 

Daily News Articles (​covering ‘The Hindu’+ ‘PIB’+ ‘Indian Express’) 
 
1. Eravikulam National Park (ENP)
● Recently a series of landslides triggered by
heavy rains flattened a row of dwelling units
of Nayamakkad tea estate workers in Idukki
district in Kerala.

● The Nayamakkad estate is located about 30

km from Munnar, adjacent to the Eravikulam
National Park (ENP), and can be accessed
through the national park.

About the ENP

● Eravikulam National Park is located in the
High Ranges (Kannan Devan Hills) of the
Southern Western Ghats in Kerala. It is the
first national park in Kerala.
● In 1975, it was declared as the
‘Eravikulam-Rajamalai’ Wildlife Sanctuary for
the protection of​ IUCN Endangered the Nilgiri Tah​r and its habitat. Subsequently, in
1978 it was upgraded to a National Park.
● Anamudi, 2,695 meters, the highest peak of the western ghats is inside this park.
● Many perennial streams criss-cross the park. They merge to form tributaries of the
Periyar river​ and ​Cauvery River.
● The largest surviving population of Nilgiri tahr​ ​is recorded in the park.
● Apart from it other animals recorded in the park are lion-tailed macaques, gaur, Indian
muntjac and sambar deer. Golden jackal, jungle cat etc.

2. Electric Vehicle Policy (EV Policy)

● The Delhi government had recently launched its ambitious Electric Vehicle Policy,
which aims to boost the city’s economy, reduce pollution levels and generate
employment in the transport sector.

● The three-year policy aims to make EVs account for a quarter of the new vehicles
registered in the capital by 2024, which is currently just 0.29% in the national capital.

● Also EV buyers will benefit from purchase incentives, ​scrappage benefits

(first-of-its-kind in the country) ​on older vehicles, interest subvention on loans and
waiver of road tax and registration fees.

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● In addition, the policy envisages setting up of charging and battery swapping stations,
and setting up a battery recycling ecosystem.

● The state government will be creating a non-lapsable 'State EV Fund' which will be
supported through the air ambience fund, levy of additional taxes and cess on
inefficient and polluting vehicles.

● The benefits would be in addition to those outlined by central’s FAME. The Centre also
has an EV policy called ​Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric vehicles
(FAME)​ under the second phase of which incentives to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore
have been allotted for supporting sales of over a million vehicles.

3. Food Vision 2050 Prize

● The Rockefeller Foundation has selected Hyderabad-based non-profit, ​Naandi
Foundation​, as one of the ‘Top 10 Visionaries’ in the world for the Food Vision 2050
Prize.

● The award recognised the application of the​ Arakunomics model​ in regions of Araku,
Wardha and New Delhi, leading to the Food Vision 2050 that follows an “ABCDEFGH”
framework centring on: Agriculture, Biology, Compost, Decentralised decision-making,
Entrepreneurs, Families, Global Markets, and ‘Headstands’.

Arakunomics model
● It is a new integrated economic model that ensures profits for farmers, quality for
consumers through ​Regenerative agriculture.

● The model is a tribute to the tribal farmers of Araku region for the world-class coffee
produced and launched in Paris in 2017, as well as for the high carbon landscape
transformation they did by planting 25 million trees.

Naandi Foundation
● Naandi Foundation has been working in 19 states of India covering 10,000 villages and
slums. Apart from programmes on education for girls and employment for youth,
Naandi’s other focus areas have been eradication of hunger & malnutrition,
school-feeding programs and promotion of farm livelihoods.

● Naandi chose to develop its agriculture and food system vision in ​3 strategically
diverse regions in India:-
(i) ​Araku ​characterised by extreme poverty, denudation of forest, erosion of soil,
high maternal mortality rates and increasingly eco-fragile terrain.
(ii)​ Wardha (Maharashtra) region​ has been infamous for one of the highest farmer
suicides in India. The hot and arid conditions coupled with scanty rainfall has made
this region the epicentre of agrarian distress in India.
(iii) ​New Delhi,​ the capital of India and one of the biggest metros in the country, and
like all cities, at the tipping point of a food system crisis.

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Regenerative agriculture ​is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming
systems. It focuses on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, improving the water
cycle, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting biosequestration, increasing resilience to
climate change, and strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil.

4. Probe dominance of online advertising platforms: report

● The report, prepared by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, examining the future of
News in India has recommended that the ​Competition Commission of India
investigate the dominance of online advertising platforms.

Highlights of the report:-

● The report highlights, the ​advertisement-revenue model ​for digital news may be
displaying indications of market failure.

● To orient the market for digital news towards the public good, the role and practices of
online advertising platforms must be systematically studied by a specialised authority.

● The report specifies the need ​to address the entire chain of misinformation in order to
effectively tackle the crisis of misinformation. ​The report also favoured the enactment
of “light-touch measures” to address misinformation.

● The report suggests a range of legislative, co-regulatory and voluntary measures,

which provide an integrated framework to prevent the spread of misinformation and
enhance reader literacy.

5. Leopard poaching highest in Uttarakhand, Maharashtra 

● A recent study ‘SPOTTED’ in Illegal Wildlife Trade: A Peek into Ongoing Poaching and
Illegal Trade of Leopards in India’ has been conducted by TRAFFIC.
● As per the study, India on the seizure and mortality of ‘common leopards’ revealed that
of the total of 747 leopard deaths between 2015-2019 in India, 596 were linked to
illegal wildlife trade and activities related to poaching.
● The highest numbers of poaching incidents were reported from the States of
Uttarakhand and Maharashtra.
● It is also believed that bones of the leopard are possibly traded as tiger bones as they
have a larger international demand for traditional medicines.

About ​TRAFFIC
● TRAFFIC​, the ​Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network​, is the leading non-governmental
organisation working globally on the trade of wild animals and plants in the context of
both biodiversity and sustainable development.
● It was founded in 1976 as a strategic alliance of the World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

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● The mission ​to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the
conservation of nature.

● TRAFFIC's work involves research, publication of influential reports, projects,

education, outreach and advocacy on the issue of wildlife trade.

● The TRAFFIC International Board of Trustees is responsible for establishing the

strategic goals and approach and for TRAFFIC's work worldwide, advising on
implementation and ensuring accountability for use of financial and other resources.

6. Why are forex reserves shooting up when Indian economy is hit? 

● Covid-hit India’s foreign exchange reserves jumped by a record $11.9 billion in the
week ending July 31 to hit ​a fresh high of $534.5 billion​, making it the fifth largest
holder of reserves in the world.

● At a time when the economy is under stress and the growth is expected to contract in
2020-21, the rising forex reserves have come as a breather as it can cover India’s
import bill of more than one year.

Reasons behind the rise in Forex reserve?

● FPI inflows: ​While it started with a sharp rise in FPI inflows following the government’s
decision in September to cut corporate tax rate. Between April and December 2019,
FPIs pumped in a net $15.1 billion, according to the RBI.

● Dip in crude oil prices:​ India’s oil import bill declined as the global spread of
coronavirus since February 2020 not only roiled the stock markets but also led to a
crash in the Brent crude oil prices. While crude accounts for almost 20 per cent of
India’s total import bill, Brent crude oil prices fell to levels of $20 per barrel towards
March end, it dropped further and traded between $9 and $20 in April. In January
2020, Brent crude was trading between $60 and $70 per barrel.

● Import savings: ​Lockdown across countries in response to Covid-19 pandemic

impacted global trade and has resulted in a sharp dip in import expenditure —
electronics, gold and also crude oil prices among others.

● FDI inflows: ​Between September 2019 and March 2020 foreign direct investments
stood at $23.88 billion and in April and May it amounted to $5.9 billion. Market experts
say that a lot of FDI has also come in June and July too, especially the Rs 1 lakh crore
plus investment by global tech giants in Jio Platforms. Thus FDI inflow has been a
significant contributor to the rise in foreign exchange reserves.

● Dip in gold imports:​ Gold which was a big import component for India witnessed a
sharp decline in the quarter ended June 2020 following the high prices and the
lockdown induced by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Significance
● The rising forex reserves give a lot of comfort to the government and the Reserve Bank
of India in managing India’s external and internal financial issues at a time when the
economic growth is set to contract by 5.8 per cent in 2020-21.

● It’s a big cushion in the event of any crisis on the economic front and enough to cover
the import bill of the country for a year. The rising reserves have also helped the rupee
to strengthen against the dollar.

● Reserves will provide a level of confidence to markets that a country can meet its
external obligations, demonstrate the backing of domestic currency by external assets,
assist the government in meeting its foreign exchange needs and external debt
obligations and maintain a reserve for national disasters or emergencies.

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