Context: India Post Payments Bank enter into MoU with Hindustan Zinc to offer financial inclusion services to its CSR beneficiaries.
Significance of the MOU:
About India Post Payments Bank
About Hindustan Zinc
Context: The Supreme Court Thursday asked the Centre to formulate a policy to phase out heavy-duty diesel vehicles and to replace them with BSVI vehicles.
News:
The Bharat Stage (BS) Emission Standards
BS-VI emission norms
Context: The Art Institute of Chicago is radiating with the spirit of enlightenment as it celebrates Vivekananda Jayanti 2024, also known as National Youth Day, transforming its historic staircase into a beacon of unity adorned with the immortal words of Swami Vivekananda’s iconic 1893 speech.
About Swami Vivekananda:
Early Life and Spiritual Awakening
Contributions:
Associated Organizations:
National Youth Day
Context: NITI Aayog organized a National Workshop on "Strengthening Mental Health Services and Care in India" at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore.
Objective:
The purpose of the workshop was to elicit the views of States and other stakeholders on existing gaps and challenges under the District Mental Health Program (DMHP) and also to learn from the States, their best practices, which can further be replicated in other States/UTs with their own contextualization.
Key highlights:
Status of mental healthcare in India:
Solutions:
Convergent Model of Mental Health:
Increased Mental Healthcare Infrastructure:
Integration with Primary Healthcare:
Inclusion of Mental Health in Education:
Mental Health Insurance Coverage:
The way forward is to develop an overarching and holistic vision for inclusive and efficient service delivery, adopt an integrative approach by converging aspects of traditional medicine, and augment the mental healthcare workforce by optimizing post-graduate seats in psychiatry, psychiatric social work, and clinical psychology.
Context: India and the US are set to take up a number of sticky trade issues at the trade policy forum meet that begins today (January 12).
Importance of Trade Policy Forum Meeting:
Restoration of GSP as a Key Demand:
US Concerns about India's Laptop Import Monitoring System:
Boosting Service Trade with the US:
Totalisation Agreement Demand:
Generalized System of Preferences
River dolphins are a group of freshwater cetaceans that inhabit various river systems across Asia and South America. The Six Surviving River Dolphin Species include: Amazon, Ganges, Indus, Irrawaddy, Tucuxi, and the Yangtze finless porpoise.The Chinese river dolphin was deemed 'probably extinct' in 2007.
As per the IUCN Red list, Yangtze finless porpoise are classified as Critically Endangered.Amazon, Ganges, Indus, Irrawaddy and Tucuxi are labeled as Endangered.
Note: The Yangtze finless porpoise is the world’s only freshwater porpoise but it is included with the other freshwater cetaceans under the umbrella name ‘river dolphins’.
The Amazon river dolphin also known as the pink river dolphin or boto is the largest river dolphin.
About Gangetic River dolphin
The Ganges river dolphin was officially discovered in 1801.They were declared as the National Aquatic Animal of India in 2009.
Freshwater species:The Gangetic river dolphin is one of the four freshwater dolphin species in the world.
The other three are the baiji, now likely extinct from the Yangtze River in China, the bhulan of the Indus in Pakistan and the boto of the Amazon River in Latin America.
Habitat:
Characteristics:
Different names:
They are also known as Susu, Hihu, Blind dolphin, Ganga river dolphin, side swimming dolphin and South Asian river dolphin.
They hunt by emitting ultrasonic sounds, which bounces off of fish and other prey, enabling them to see an image in their mind.
IUCN Status: Ganges river dolphins are listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List.
Environmental significance
Threats
Katarnia wildlife sanctuary
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Global Declaration for River Dolphins
Recently, 11 Asian and South American countries signed a landmark deal in Bogota, Colombia to save the world’s six surviving species of river dolphins from extinction.This landmark deal signifies a ray of hope in combating the severe decline of river dolphin populations, which have dwindled by a staggering 73% since the 1980s.
Global Declaration for River Dolphins?
The Global Declaration for River Dolphins aims to halt the decline of all river dolphin species and bolster the most vulnerable populations through concerted efforts.It outlines measures such as eradicating gillnets, reducing pollution, expanding research initiatives, and creating protected areas to safeguard the remaining river dolphin species.
Countries that adopted the declaration include: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, and Venezuela.
There was also a representative from the regional government in Indonesia that has responsibility for the Mahakam river.
Foundational Pillars:
Challenges Faced by River Dolphins:
River dolphins are threatened by diverse factors, including unsustainable fishing practices, hydropower dam construction, pollutionfrom various industries, agriculture, and mining, as well as habitat loss.Also, the recent tragic deaths of over 150 river dolphins in the drought-stricken Lake Tefe in the Amazon illustrate how climate change poses an increasingly severe threat to their survival.
Successful Conservation Efforts:
Conservation efforts in populated river basins like the Indus and Yangtze have seen success.
Moreover, the World Wildlife Fund's electronic pinger project saved 80 dolphins in Indonesia's Mahakam river from gill net entanglement.
In a first-of-its-kind model of convergence, Kanger Valley National Park is working with a coalition of various organizations and government departments to prepare a landscape-based ecological restoration plan for the national park.
About Kanger Valley National Park
Location:
The National Park derives its name from the Kanger River, which flows in its length.It got the status of a national park in 1982.
Topography: It is noted for its highly heterogeneous land formations, ranging from low, flat, and gentle areas to steep slopes, plateaus, valleys, and stream courses.
Flora: It is a typical mixed humid deciduous type of forest in which the Sal, Saugaun, teak, and bamboo trees are available in abundance.
Fauna:
A recent study has uncovered two potential new species of lamprey fish in California waters.
About Lamprey Fish
Recently, the meeting for review of progress of Atal Bhujal Yojna was held at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh.
Atal Bhujal Yojna
Atal Bhujal Yojana is a central sector scheme which was launched in 2019.
Duration: Period of 5 years (2020-21 to 2024-25), Increased by 2 years in May, 2023.
Objective: The major objective of the Scheme is to improve the management of groundwater resources in select water stressed areas in identified states.
Scheme components : It has two major components:
Implemented Ministry: Ministry of Jal Shakti.
The key results areas are:
The river's entire catchment area is formed by glaciers.
The Veerabhadra Swamy temple and the Nandi statue in Lepakshi, India were added to UNESCO's tentative list of world heritage sites in 2022.
PM will also launch the Boeing Sukanya Program that aims to support the entry of more girl children from across India into the country’s growing aviation sector.
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We provide offline, online and recorded lectures in the same amount.
Every aspirant is unique and the mentoring is customised according to the strengths and weaknesses of the aspirant.
In every Lecture. Director Sir will provide conceptual understanding with around 800 Mindmaps.
We provide you the best and Comprehensive content which comes directly or indirectly in UPSC Exam.