Prelims Specific Facts

NEWS-1 Ahead of FATF visit, Pak. doubles efforts to ‘trace’ Masood.

NEWS-2 Tribal woman in M.P. dies of burns

• Sahariya tribe that has been categorised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG).
• The Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe ( Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
• The Saharia tribe, a particularly vulnerable tribal group.
• Tribal groups having features such as dependency on hunting, gathering for food, having pre-agriculture level of technology, zero or negative growth of population and extremely low level of literacy. These groups are called Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
• PVTGs are more vulnerable among the tribal groups.
• In this context, in 1975, the Government of India initiated to identify the most vulnerable tribal groups as a separate category called PVTGs and declared 52 such groups, while in 1993 an additional 23 groups were added to the category, making it a total of 75 PVTGs out of 705 Scheduled Tribes, spread over 17 states and one Union Territory (UT), in the country (2011 census).
• Government of India follows the following criteria for identifiaction of PVTGs.
• Pre-agricultural level of technology
• Low level of literacy
• Economic backwardness
• A declining or stagnant population.
• Saharia tribe are particularly from MP and Rajasthan.

NEWS-3 20 red pandas to make a home in the forests

• The Singalila National Park, the highest protected area in West Bengal, will soon get new denizens. A zoo in the picturesque Darjeeling Hills has started an ambitious programme to augment the wild red panda population.
• In the first rewilding programme of red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) in India, the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park will release 20 of these furry endangered mammals in about five years to the forests.
• The Singalila and Neora Valley National Parks:-
  The Neora Valley National Park (NVNP), covers a total area of 88 km². NVNP is a compact patch of virgin forest, rich in biodiversity located in the Eastern Himalayas, a global ‘biodiversity hotspot’. It was notified as a National Park based on the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 in the year 1992. It is contiguous with Sikkim and Bhutan at its northern and north-eastern boundaries respectively and links the Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary in Sikkim and the Toorsa Strict Reserve of Bhutan.
• Categorised as an endangered species as per IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, red pandas are shy, solitary and arboreal animals and considered an indicator species for ecological change.

NEWS-4 Ancient buddhist site finally in focus

• Left almost unattended to for 20 years after it came to light through the excavation by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) between 1994 and 2001, the ancient Buddhist site on the bank of Bhima river near Kanagana halli (forming part of Sannati site) in Kalaburagi district, has finally got some attention.
• Sannati and Kanaganahalli were small and ordinary villages on the bank of the Bhima till 1986 when the Kali temple at the Chandralamba temple complex in Sannati collapsed.

NEWS-5 Artificial diet, feeding device for mosquitoes

• The ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre (VCRC), Puducherry, has filed patent applications for two of its unique products – an artificial diet and a feeding device for mosquitoes reared in laboratory – with the Indian Patent Office recently.
• The team has also planned to approach to pa tent it at the global level.
• The two products allow efficient and cost-effective mass-rearing of mosquitoes in laboratory as it is important to keep these mosquitoes healthy to investigate basic facets of their biology and to study vector-borne disease and measures to control it.
• She further explains, “These four diets prepared for female mosquitoes are like a baby formula food and have all the essential nutrients, which are present in the blood”.

NEWS-6 Glaciers in Drass are receding fast

• The decadal pace at which glaciers are receding in the Drass region, a key battle ground in Ladakh during the 1999 Kargil war, points to a grave threat to Himalayan glaciers. A recent study attributes this to the growing vehicular traffic in the region, which has been witnessing a massive military build-up on both the sides of Line of Actual Control (LAC) since 2020.

NEWS-7 Ancient jawbone dug up in Spain’s Burgos city

• Archaeologists in Spain said on Friday that they had dug up an ancient jawbone that could help them look into the face of some of the earliest human ancestors in Europe.
• The surprise find, which could be about 1.4 million years old, could also give vital clues to the evolution of the human face over the millennia, the team from the Atapuerca Foundation said in a statement.

NEWS-8 Altering green laws

• The EPA currently says that violators face imprisonment up to five years or a fine up to Rs. 1 lakh or both. If the violations continue, and additional fine of up to Rs 5,000 for every day during which such failure or contravention continues after the conviction may be be levied. There’s also a provision for the jail term to extend to seven years.
• The changes proposed include the appointment of an ‘adjudication officer’ who will decide on the penalty in cases of environmental violations such as reports not being submitted or information not provided when demanded. Funds collected as penalties would be accrued in an “Environmental Protection Fund.” In case of contraventions of the Act, the penalties could extend to anywhere from five lakh to five crore, the proposal notes, but the clause on provision of a jail term for the first default has been sought to be removed.