Consider the following statements with respect to Whip

1. The office of ‘whip’ is based on the conventions of the parliamentary government.
2. Whip can direct a Member of Parliament (MP) or Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) on whom to vote during Presidential election.
3. If an MP violates his party’s whip, he faces expulsion from the House under the Anti-Defection Act.

Choose the incorrect statements:

a) 1 and 2
b) 1, 2 and 3
c) 2 only
d) None

 2. Consider the following statements regarding the CITES Agreement

1. The Conference of the Parties to the CITES is the supreme consensus-based decision-making body of the Convention
2. UNGA has declared March 3 as World Wildlife Day (WWD) to commemorate the signature of the CITES treaty 1973
3. The theme for WWD 2023, is ‘Recovering key species for ecosystem restoration’.

Choose the correct statements:

a) 1 and 2
b) 3 only
c) 1, 2 and 3
d) 2 only

March 3 was celebrated as World Wildlife Day by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013
The theme for WWD 2023, is ‘Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation’

3) Kermadec Islands, recently in news is located in?

a) Italy
b) Japan
c) New Zealand
d) Russia

They are volcanic island group in the South Pacific Ocean, 600 mi (1,000 km) northeast of Auckland, New Zealand.

· They are a dependency of New Zealand.

· The islands are a volcanic island arc, formed at the convergent boundarywhere the Pacific Plate subducts under the Indo-Australian Plate.

· They are the tiny emergent part of a chain of submarine volcanoes that define the Kermadec ridge.

· They are uninhabited, except for Raoul Island where a team of Department of Conservation staff carry out weed control work and make meteorological observations.

· The climate of the islands is subtropical.

· The islands are seismically active.

PRELIMS SPECIFIC NEWS ITEMS

The maiden Joint Military Exercise FRINJEX-23 between Indian Army and French Army will be conducted at Pangode Military Station, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on 07th and 08th March 2023.

2) Gopalasamudram Narayana Ramachandran (or simply GNR to those who knew him well) is one of those few scientists who have made India proud by their research. He had many lucrative assignments for doing research in the advanced western countries but like his mentor, C.V. Raman, he decided to work in India against all odds.

He made several important discoveries in molecular biophysics, especially in the study of protein structure. The discovery of triple helical structure of collagen was a fundamental advance in the understanding of peptide structure.

“The Ramachandran phi-psi plot” or simply the “Ramachandran Plot” has become a standard description of protein structures in text books. When Ramachandran was doing research in biophysics in India the subject was just taking shape in the advanced countries and undoubtedly he was a pioneer in this field.

He started two centres of molecular biophysics, first at the University of Madras, Chennai and second at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

He had a deep interest in philosophy and in classical Indian and western music. He interpreted the philosophical ideas of Syaad Nyaan, ‘the doctrine of may be’, an age-old system in Jain philosophy, in mathematical form which he called ‘Boolean Vector Matrix Formulation’.

He wrote poems on science, religion, philosophy and the Upanishads.

3. SIGHT Initiative

Under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT), two distinct financial incentive mechanisms – targeting domestic manufacturing of electrolysers and production of Green Hydrogen – will be provided under the Mission. 

The Mission will also support pilot projects in emerging end-use sectors and production pathways.  Regions capable of supporting large scale production and/or utilization of Hydrogen will be identified and developed as Green Hydrogen Hubs.

4. What are Salt Flats

Salt flats are large, flat areas of land covered with salt. They are usually found in desert regions where there is little rainfall. The salt flats are formed when water evaporates, leaving behind salt and other minerals. Over time, the salt accumulates and forms a crust on the surface of the ground, which can be several feet thick. The salt flats are often used for activities like racing cars or setting world speed records, because the flat surface provides ideal conditions for achieving high speeds.

However, the salt flats can be dangerous and difficult to navigate, so it’s important to take precautions when visiting them.

Also, Salt particles from the Salt flats can remain suspended in the air for a longer time and thus can cause many respiratory issues.

5. All about Olive Ridley Turtles

• The Olive ridley turtles are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world.
• These turtles are carnivores and get their name from their olive-coloured carapace.
• They are best known for their unique mass nesting called Arribada, where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs.

Habitat:

• They are found in warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
• The Odisha’s Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary is known as the world’s largest rookery (colony of breeding animals) of sea turtles.

Protection Status:

• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule 1
• IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
• CITES: Appendix I

Threats:

• Human Consumption: They are extensively poached for their meat, shell and leather, and eggs.
• Marine Pollution and Waste: An ever-increasing debris of plastics, fishing nets, discarded nets, polythene and other garbage dumped by tourists and fishing workers threaten all sea turtles and degrades their habitats.
• Fishing Trawlers: Overexploitation of marine resources by use of trawlers often violates the rule to not fish 20 kilometers within a marine sanctuary.
• There were injury marks on many dead turtles indicating they could have been trapped under trawls or gill nets.

Initiatives to Protect Olive Ridley Turtles:

Operation Olivia: Every year, the Indian Coast Guard’s “Operation Olivia”, initiated in the early 1980s, helps protect Olive Ridley turtles as they congregate along the Odisha coast for breeding and nesting from November to December.

It also intercepts unlawful trawling activities

6. About WMO

• Established in 1950, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) is an intergovernmental organisation that originated from the International Meteorological Organisation (IMO).
• The International Meteorological Organisation (IMO) had its roots from the Vienna International Meteorological Congress of 1873.
• It became a specialised agency of the UN in 1951.
• The United Nations Economic and Social Council is the parent organization of the UN’s WMO. 

WMO celebrated its 70th Anniversary in 2020.

The World Meteorological Congress is the supreme body of the WMO. It is headed by its Secretary-General.

7. About RTIS

Real-time Train Information System (RTIS) project is being executed by Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS), which is an Information Technology arm of the Ministry of Railways, in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It is primarily used for acquisition of train movement data, including that of arrival, departure, run-through timings at the stations in route.