Also in News
Posted 27 Aug 2024
8 min read
New Districts in Ladakh
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced the creation of five new districts in Union Territory of Ladakh.
- These districts are Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra and Changthang.
- Currently, Ladakh has only two districts: Leh and Kargil.
How Are Districts Created?
- State government has the power to create new districts or alter or abolish existing ones in states.
- Changes can be made by passing an executive order or a law in state assembly.
- Tags :
- Ladakh
- Leh
- Zanskar
- Drass
- Kargil
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Leptospirosis (Rat Fever)
A surge in Leptospirosis cases has affected almost all districts in Kerala.
About Leptospirosis
- Infectious disease caused by pathogenic bacteria called Leptospires that are transmitted directly or indirectly from animals to humans. Thus, it is a Zoonotic Disease.
- Bacteria enter body through cuts or abrasions on skin.
- Human-to-human transmission occurs very rarely.
- Most common in tropical and subtropical areas with high rainfall.
- Initiative taken to control: Programme for Prevention and Control of leptospirosis by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- Tags :
- Leptospirosis
- Leptospires
- Zoonotic Disease
Mass Wasting
Environmental scientists raised concern in a new study on high frequency of mass wasting events in Sedongpu Gully of Tibetan Plateau since 2017.
About Mass wasting
- A geological event, mass wasting is the gravity-influenced movement of rock and soil down a slope.
- Rapid earth movements triggered by rain or seismic activity E.g., Rock falls, slumps, and debris flows.
About Sedongpu Gully
- Located in Tibetan Plateau near Arunachal Pradesh Border.
- It’s found in catchment of the Sedongpu glacier and its valley.
- It drains into Yarlung Zangbo or Tsangpo river.
- Tags :
- Mass Wasting
- Sedongpu Gully
- Tibetan Plateau
- Yarlung Zangbo
Unified Lending Interface
Reserve Bank of India to launch ULI.
About ULI
- It is a technology platform which would enable frictionless credit.
- It will facilitate a seamless and consent-based flow of digital information, including land records of various states, from multiple data service providers to lenders.
- It will have a common and standardised Application Programming Interface designed for a ‘plug and play’ approach.
Benefits of ULI
- Enables borrowers to get benefit of seamless delivery of credit, quicker turnaround time without requiring extensive documentation.
- Addresses credit demand gaps for agriculture and MSME sectors.
- Tags :
- Reserve Bank of India
- Unified Lending Interface
Hoolock Gibbon
Assam allows for oil and gas exploration in Hollongapar Gibbon wildlife sanctuary.
About Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary (Jorhat, Assam)
- Contains India’s only gibbons (hoolock gibbons), and North-eastern India’s only nocturnal primate (Bengal slow loris).
- Only sanctuary in India to be named after gibbons as it contains largest density of gibbons.
About Hoolock Gibbon
- Only ape found in India (in northeast).
- Western hoolock gibbon: Found in all states of north-east, restricted between south of Brahmaputra river and east of Dibang river; Eastern Bangladesh and north-west Myanmar.
- IUCN Status: Endangered.
- Schedule 1 of WPA, 1972.
- Eastern hoolock gibbon: Specific pockets of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India, and southern China and north-east Myanmar.
- IUCN Status: Vulnerable.
- Tags :
- Hoolock Gibbon
- Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary
- Bengal slow loris
Prime Minister’s Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI)
As per TRAI, there are 2,07,642 deployed PM-WANI Wi-Fi hotspots in country as on 22.07.2024, far short of 10 million public Wi-Fi hotspots by 2022 and 50 million by 2030.
About PM- WANI
- Launched by Department of Telecommunication in 2020.
- Aims to enhance the proliferation of public WiFi hotspots to create robust digital communications infrastructure in country, especially in rural areas.
- Encourages local shops and establishment to provide Wi-Fi for last-mile internet delivery which does not require a licence or charge a registration fee.
- Consists of four parts: Public Data Office, Public Data Office Aggregator, App Provider, and Central Registry.
- Tags :
- PM-WANI
- Department of Telecommunication
Wular Lake
Measures are being taken for cleaning siltation of critically silted Wular Lake.
About Wular Lake:
- Largest freshwater lake in India and second largest freshwater lake in Asia situated on foothills of Haramuk Mountain (J&K).
- Main source of water is River Jhelum.
- Zain Lank: Small island in lake constructed by King Zainul-Abi-Din.
- Ramsar Site: It was designated as Wetland of International Importance under Ramsar Convention.
- Site for migratory waterfowl species: Little Egzet , Cattle Egzet , Common Pochard etc.
- Major problems:
- Pollution from fertilizers, animals & human wastes, conversion of vast catchment into agriculture land and hunting pressure on waterfowl and migratory birds.
- Tags :
- Ramsar Site
- Wular Lake
- Zain Lank
Plea Bargaining
As per the Ministry of Law and Justice, only 0.11% of cases were resolved through plea bargaining in 2022.
About Plea Bargaining:
- It is an agreement between defense and prosecution where accused pleads guilty for a lesser offense or a reduced sentence.
- Introduced in 2006 as part of a set of amendments to CrPC.
- In section 290 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, plea bargaining has been made time bound and application can be made within 30 days from date of framing of charge.
- Application: Applies only to offenses punishable by up to seven years of imprisonment, with further restrictions excluding cases involving crimes against women, children, or socio-economic offenses.
- Tags :
- CrPC
- BNSS
- Plea Bargaining
News Today (Aug 27, 2024)