Daily Current Affairs Capsule

06th January 2022

National Tiger Conservation Authority

(NTCA)

What’s the NEWS

• The 19th Meeting of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was
held under the chairmanship of Union Minister for Environment, Forest
& Climate Change
NTCA meeting highlights
• The 5th cycle of All India Tiger Estimation which is currently
underway will help in taking correct policy decision.
• We have 51 Tiger Reserves in the country and efforts are being made to
bring more areas under Tiger Reserve network.
• The tiger reserves are not just for tigers because more then 35 rivers
originates from these areas which are crucial for water security.
 • Today 14 Tiger Reserves have been accredited under CA|TS and
NTCA is working on getting other Tiger Reserves evaluated for CA|TS
accreditation
• The environment minister unveiled the Action Plan for introduction of
Cheetah in India, that has become extinct in independent India.
• The union minister also released a Water Atlas, mapping all the water
bodies in the tiger bearing areas of India.
• Landscape wise information have been outlined in this water atlas which
include, the Shivalik Hills and Gangetic plain landscape, Central Indian
Landscape and Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats landscape, North Eastern
Hills and Brahmaputra flood plains and Sundarbans.

National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)

• NTCA has been constituted under section 38 L (1) of Wildlife

(Protection) Act, 1972.
• Further, as per the section 38 L, sub section 2 of the said Act, the
authority consists of the Minister in charge of the Ministry of
Environment and Forests ( as Chairperson), the Minister of State in the
Ministry of Environment and Forests (as Vice-Chairperson), three
members of Parliament, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests
and other members.
• The authority derives its power from section 38 O (1) of WLPA, 1972
and functions under the guidance of Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and
members.
• It was established in December 2005, following a recommendation of the
Tiger Task Force, constituted by the Prime Minister of India for
reorganised management of Project Tiger and the many Tiger Reserves in
India.
• A programme for protection called, 'Tiger Protection Program'
(popularly known as Project Tiger) was started in 1973, by the
Government of India in co-operation with WWF.

Know! about 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.
• The long-term goal of CA|TS is to ensure safe havens for tigers.

How Does CA|TS Work And Who Is Using It?

• Sites taking part will initially be ‘registered’ (standards not yet attained)
then, when all required standards are met, ‘approved’ (standards
achieved).
• An approved site has achieved excellence in tiger site management.
• Sites are evaluated through an assessment and independent review
process.
• Of the 13 tiger range countries Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Russia have
registered and rolled out CA|TS, whilst discussion is ongoing with
Bhutan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and China.

Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi

(IGRUA)sets a new record of 19000 flying
hours in 2021

Know! about IGRUS

• Indira Gandhi RashtriyaUranAkademi(IGRUA)was established by the
Government of India in the year 1986 at Fursatganj Airfield, presently in
the district of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
 • IGRUA is an Autonomous Body established under the Societies
Registration Act 1860 and is administered by a Governing Council
under the Ex-officio Chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Civil
Aviation.
• IGRUA offers a training environment, superior to any other flying training
institution in the country.
• An all India entrance examination, wombat aptitude test for the selection
of trainees is conducted with the help of specialized software to verify
psychomotor skills and finally an interview.
• During the year 2021, IGRUA piled up 19000 hours of flying as against
an average yearly flying output of 15000 per year during the previous
five years while it was 11641 hours in 2020.
• IGRUA has already set foundation to hit a target of 25000 flying hours in
2022 by inducting a record 121 cadets in 2021 and expanding the fleet
strength in 2022.
• IGRUA has stretched its wings into a variety of other initiatives in
aviation, such as drone training course to become professional RPAS
pilots on micro & small category drones, ‘Train the Instructor’ course for
drone instructors and English Language Proficiency (ELP) course.

Six One District One Product brands

launched under the PMFME
What’s the NEWS
• Union Minister for Ministry of Food Processing Industries, launched six,
One District One Product (ODOP) brands under the Pradhan Mantri
Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme
 • The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has signed an agreement with
NAFED for developing 10 brands of selected ODOPs under the branding
and marketing component of the PMFME scheme.
Know! about these products
• Out of these, six brands namely Amrit Phal, Cori Gold, Kashmiri Mantra,
Madhu Mantra, Somdana, and Whole Wheat Cookies of Dilli Bakes were
launched today.
• The brand Amrit Phal for amla juice has been exclusively developed under
the ODOP concept for Gurugram, Haryana.
• Cori Gold brand has been developed for coriander powder which is the
identified ODOP for Kota, Rajasthan.
• Brand Kashmiri Mantra brings out the essence of spices from Kulgam,
Jammu and Kashmir.
• Brand Madhu Mantra has been developed under the ODOP concept for
honey from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
• Whole wheat cookies, is the second product developed under the brand
Dilli Bakes.
• Brand Somdana has been developed under the ODOP concept of
milletsfrom Thane, Maharashtra.
• Through this initiative under the PMFME scheme, the Ministry of Food
Processing Industries aims to encourage the micro food processing
enterprises (MFPEs)
• MFPs are encouraged to come forth and avail branding support under this
initiative including use of marketing rights of these brands from NAFED
Know! about the PMFME Scheme:
• Launched under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the Pradhan Mantri
Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme is
a centrally sponsored scheme that aims to enhance the competitiveness
of existing individual micro-enterprises in the unorganized segment
of the food processing industry and to promote formalization of the sector
and provide support to Farmer Producer Organizations, Self Help Groups,
and Producers Cooperatives along their entire value chain.
• With an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore over a period of five years from 2020-
21 to 2024-25, the scheme envisions to directly assist the 2,00,000
micro food processing units for providing financial, technical, and
business support for up-gradation of existing micro food processing
enterprises.

Launch of Smart cities and Academia

Towards Action & Research (SAAR)
What’s the NEWS
• As part of the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav (AKAM) celebrations across the
country, the Smart Cities Mission, MoHUA has launched “Smart cities
and Academia Towards Action & Research (SAAR)” program, a joint
initiative of MoHUA, National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and
leading Indian academic institutions of the country.
• Under the program, 15 premier architecture & planning institutes of the
country will be working with Smart Cities to document landmark projects
undertaken by the Smart Cities Mission.
• The documents will capture the learnings from best practices, provide
opportunities for engagement on urban development projects to students,
and enable real-time information flow between urban practitioners and
academia.
Smart cities and Academia Towards Action & Research (SAAR)” program
highlights
• Since the start of the Mission in 2015, the 100 Smart Cities have been
developing a total of 5,151 projects with an investment of Rs. 2,05,018
crore.
• The first activity envisaged under SAAR is to prepare a compendium of 75
landmark urban projects in India under the Smart City Mission.
• These 75 urban projects are innovative, multi-sectoral, and have been
implemented across geographies.
• The 75 projects covered in the compendium are distributed across 47 Smart
Cities.
• The partner institutes documenting the projects include inter alia Indian
Institute of Technology, Roorkee, Center for Environment Planning and
Technology, Ahmedabad, Jamia Milia Islamia, Delhi, and School of
Planning and Architecture, Bhopal.

• MoHUA and NIUA will facilitate linkages between the Institutions and
Smart Cities for specific landmark projects that are to be documented
under the program.
• The SAAR project includes 75 urban projects distributed across 47
Smart cities.
National Science Day (NSD) 2022 theme
launched

What’s the NEWS

• Union Minister of Science & Technology launched the theme of National
Science Day (NSD) 2022 ‘Integrated Approach in S&T for Sustainable
Future’
National Science Day (NSD) highlights
• National Science Day (NSD) is celebrated every year on 28 February to
commemorate the discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’. Government of India
designated 28 February as National Science Day (NSD) in 1986.
• On this day Sir C.V. Raman announced the discovery of the 'Raman
Effect' for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930. On this
occasion, theme-based science communication activities are carried out
all over the country.
• Department of Science and Technology (DST) acts as a nodal agency to
support, catalyze and coordinate celebration of the National Science Day
throughout the country
• The DST instituted the National Awards for Science Popularization in
1987
• These awards are presented every year on National Science Day along
with the SERB Women Excellence Award by the Science and
Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body of the
Department of Science and Technology (DST) supporting basic research
in frontier areas of science and engineering.
 • It provides grants to women scientists below 40 years of age who have
received recognition from any one or more of the National Academies
such as Young Scientist Medal, Young Associateship and so on.
• AWSAR award, an initiative of Department of Science and Technology
(DST), Government of India to recognize the dissemination of Indian
research in Science, Technology & Innovation being pursued by PhD
Scholars and Post-Doctoral Fellows in popular science writing format, is
also presented on the day.

25th National Youth Festival

What’s the NEWS

• Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports unveiled the Logo and
Mascot of the 25th National Youth Festival to be held in Puducherry
from 12th -16th January 2022.

Know! about the fest

• Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports also unveiled the tag-line
of the National Youth Festival, Shaksham Yuva Shashakth Yuva
meaning Capable Youth- Forceful Youth, Able Youth- Strong Youth.

• National Youth Festival is organized by the Government of India every

year in collaboration with one of the States from January 12th to 16th to
commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda i.e. 12th
 January.

• The basic objective of the NYF is to bring the youth of the country
together in an attempt to showcase their talents in various activities to
cover almost all socio-cultural aspects of life, providing an opportunity to
amateur young artists to express themselves.

Over a Million Birds Flock to Chilika,

Largest Wintering Ground in Indian sub-
continent

What’s the NEWS

• Chilika Lake, Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon, witnessed over 10.74
lakh birds, including uncommon Mongolian gull, visiting the waterbody
in Odisha this winter, according to a census report released

Water Bird Status Survey-2022 highlights

• Spread over Puri, Ganjam and Khorda districts, Chilika Lake covers an
area of around 1,100 sq km. However, compared to around 11.40 lakh
birds of 190 species last year, 10,74,173 winged guests of 183 species to
the lake were counted during the exercise
 • As per the Water Bird Status Survey-2022 conducted in the Chilika,
10,74,173 water birds (107 species) and 37,953 individuals (76 wetland
dependent species) were counted in the entire lagoon.
• Last year, the count in the Chilika was over 12 lakh. Members who were
part of the census also reported sighting the Mongolian gull.
• The census was undertaken jointly by the Odisha State Wildlife
Organisation, the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) and the
Bombay Natural History Society.
• The increase in numbers for the greater flamingo at Nalabana mudflat
indicates that the restoration at Nalabana is effective.
• This year’s greater flamingo count was the highest in the last decade. It is
largely due to appropriate management of mudflats.

Know! about Chilika Lake

• Chilika Lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the Puri, Khurda and
Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India, at the mouth of
the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over
1,100 km2.
• It is the biggest lake of India. It is the largest salt water lake in India.
• Chilika Lake hosts birds migrating from thousands of miles away from
the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Aral Sea, remote parts of Russia,
Mongolia, Central and Southeast Asia, Ladakh and the Himalayas.

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