GOBARdhan 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-2-Important Policies 

Why in News?

· Unified Registration Portal for GOBARdhan witnesses Avid Enthusiasm from States/UTs and CBG/Biogas Operators/Investors

 · This portal is useful for assessing the investment and participation in the Biogas/CBG sector at the pan India level. 

 GOBARdhan Scheme: 

 · It stands for Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan. 

 · It is a crucial umbrella initiative under the Ministry of Jal Shakthi. 

 · It was launched in the year 2018. · It was launched under the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen-Phase II program.

 · It is a visionary initiative which can transform rural India by creating waste-to-wealth movement. 

 Objectives: 

 · It aims to support the villages to manage their cattle waste and agricultural waste.

 · It wants to support the communities to convert organic waste to wealth.

 · It promotes environmental sanitation. · It wants to curb the vector borne diseases.

 · It converts the organic waste to biogas and fertiliser for the use in rural areas.

 Advantages:

 · It reduces the GHG emissions 

 · It reduces the import of crude oil

 · It provides employment opportunities in local areas. 

 · It will boost entrepreneurship 

 · It promotes organic farming.

UDAN Scheme 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-2-Important Policies 

 Why in News? 

Unused routes of UDAN will be put up for bidding again. 

 UDAN: 

 · UDAN stands for Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik which is a part of the National Civil Aviation Policy 2016. 

 · Ministry-Ministry of Civil Aviation 

 · This scheme is applicable for a period of 10 years. 

 Objectives: 

 · To improve the air connectivity to regional areas in our country. 

 · To enable the common people to fly on the aeroplane with affordable rates. 

 · To develop the remote areas.

 · To promote trade and tourism 

 · To provide employment in the aviation sector. 

 Important Points: 

 · Under this scheme, the airlines should maintain the cap of airfares for 50% of the total seats at 2,500 rupees per hour of flight. 

 · It can be achieved through the Viability Gap Funding.

· VGF indicates the grant provided to the airlines by the Government.

 · It will bridge the gap between the cost of operations and expected revenue.

 · For this Regional Connectivity Fund was created to meet the Viability gap funding requirements. 

 · The partner State governments except the UTs and NER states will contribute a 20% share to this fund. 

 · Whereas the UTs and NER states will contribute 10% share to this fund. 

 · Currently UDAN 5.0 is implementing in the country.

Wildlife Institute of India 

 Syllabus: Prelims-Important Organizations 

 Why in News? 

· The tiger population in India has increased to 3,682 in 2022 from 2,967 in 2018.

 · 3,167 animals were estimated by the Wildlife Institute of India which coordinates the quadrennial tiger census.

 · The highest number of Tigers are found in the state of Madhya Pradesh with 785.

 · It is followed by Karnataka with 563.

· Uttarakhand and Maharashtra stood at 3^rd and 4^th places with 560 and 444 Tigers.

 Wildlife Institute of India: 

· It was established in the year 1982. 

 · It is an autonomous institute which works under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. 

 · It is located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

 · It offers: a) Training Programs b) Academic courses c) Wildlife research and management. 

 Tigers: 

 • IUCN: Endangered 

 • CITES: Appendix I 

 • WPA: Schedule I Government Initiatives: 

 • Establishment of National Tiger Conservation Authority. 

 • Launch of Project Tiger in 1973.

• India is among the 13 countries with Tiger Reserves which aimed to double the population of tigers by 2022. 

 • India has achieved the doubling of the Tiger population by the year 2018, 4 years ahead of the target.

Project Tiger and Project Elephant 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-3-Environment and Ecology

Why in News?

· The government of India has decided to merge the Project Tiger with Project Elephant.

 · But there is no clarity on how the finances would be split between these projects. 

 Project Elephant:

 · It was launched in the year 1992. 

 · It is a Centrally-sponsored scheme. 

 · Its main aim is to protect elephants and improve the habitat and corridors. 

 · It wants to reduce the human-elephant conflict and ensure the welfare of elephants. Asian Elephants:

· Asian elephants are considered as the largest living land animal in Asia. 

 · Asian Elephants are distributed throughout the Southeast Asia. 

 · They are distributed from India in the west, Nepal in the north, Sumatra in the south and Borneo in the east. 

 · Asian Elephants are further divided into 3 subspecies. They are: a) Indian Elephants b) Sumatran Elephants c) Sri Lankan Elephants

· Among them Indian Elephants accounts for the majority of elephants on the continent. 

 · The Protection status of Asian Elephants: a) IUCN Red List-Endangered b) Wildlife protection Act, 1972-Schedule-I c) CITES-Appendix I 

 Project Tiger: 

 • It was initiated in 1973 from the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand. 

 • It is a centrally sponsored scheme which works under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

 • National Tiger Conservation Authority is the implementing Authority.

Dengue 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-3-Science and Technology 

 Why in News?

· There is increase of dengue cases globally poses significant health changes

 · Every year about 400 people are infected with Dengue

 Dengue:

· It is a mosquito born viral infection.

 · It is found in the tropical and sub-tropical regions worldwide. 

 · It is mainly found in the urban and semi-urban areas 

 · Dengue Virus (DENV) is responsible for causing Dengue. 

 · It is an RNA Virus. 

 · The virus belongs to the Genus Flavivirus. 

 Transmission:

 · It is transmitted through the female mosquito with the genus Aedes or Aedes Aegypti. 

 · This mosquito breed in clean stagnant water 

 · This mosquito is also responsible for the transmission of diseases like Chikungunya, Yellow fever, Zika Infection etc.

· There are four serotypes which cause dengue. They are: · DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, DEN-4. 

 · Among them DEN-2 and DEN-4 are considered to be dangerous. 

 Symptoms: 

 · High Fever · Severe Headache · Joint Pains · Drop in platelets · Pain behind the eyes etc. Treatment: 

 · At present, there is no specific medicine to treat dengue

H5N1 virus

Syllabus: GS Paper-3-Science & Technology 

 Why in News?

Norway and Germany have reported the detection of H5N1 virus in mammals.

 H5N1 Virus:

· H5N1 is a subtype of avian influenza. 

 · It infects the birds along with the mammals such as: a) Minks b) Seals c) Domestic Cats etc. 

 Transmission: 

 · It is transmitted through direct contact with the birds, their faeces or infected bird carcasses.

 Influenza Virus: 

 · Influenza viruses are of 4 types. They are: 

 · Influenza A, B, C, D. · Influenza A and B viruses cause epidemic seasonal infections every year. 

 · Influenza C occurs in humans, dogs and pigs

 · Influenza D occurs mainly in cattle and it does not affect humans.

 Avian Influenza:

· It is a disease caused by avian influenza Type A virus.

 · It is found naturally in world birds worldwide. 

 · This influenza viruses are classified based on two proteins. They are: 1) Hemagglutinin (HA) 2) Neuraminidase (NA) 

 · There are about 18 HA subtypes and 11 NA subtypes. 

 · Some of the combinations of these proteins are: · H5N1, H9N6, H17N10 etc. 

 · It affects birds, seals, domestic cats, pigs, ducks, chickens, turkeys etc. 

 Infection in Humans: 

 · There are some reports about avian influenza infections in humans.

 · It includes A (H1N1), A (H7N9), A (H1N2) etc. 

 · It has mortality rate of about 60%. 

 Transmission: 

 · It spreads to humans through direct contact. 

 · If a person comes in close contact with infected birds, either dead or alive then he will be affected.

 · A person will be affected if they came in contact with the contaminated surfaces near the infected poultry.

 Symptoms: 

 · Fever · Cough · Muscle Aches · Respiratory illness · Neurological changes etc.

PSLV-C56 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-3-Science & Technology

Why in News? 

ISRO has launched the PSLV-C56 on 30^th July. 

 PSLV-C56:

· It is configured in its core model similar to that of C55. 

 · It has launched the DS-SAR, a 360 kg satellite into a Near-equatorial orbit.

 · The DS-SAR will be launched at 5 degrees inclination and 535 km altitude. 

 · It carries 6 co-passengers. 

 DS-SAR:

· It is developed under a partnership between the DSTA (represents the Government of Singapore) and ST Engineering.

 · Once deployed and operation, it will be used to support the satellite imagery requirements of various agencies within the government of Singapore. 

 · ST engineering will use it for multi-modal and higher responsiveness imagery and geospatial services for their commercial customers.

 · DS-SAR carries a Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR) payload developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). 

 · It allows the DS-SAR to provide for all-weather day and night coverage. 

 · It is capable of imaging at 1m-resolution at full polarimetry. 

 Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle:

· PSLV is an expendable medium-lift launch vehicle.

 · It is a third generation launch vehicle of India.

 · It is known for being the first Indian launch vehicle to be equipped with liquid stages. 

 · It was developed to launch India to launch its Indian Remote Sensing satellites into the sun-synchronous orbit. 

 · Some of the important payloads launched by the PSLV are: 

 a. Chandrayaan-1 b. Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) c. Astrosat etc.

1.Consider the following statements regarding GOBARdhan Scheme: 

 1. It works under the Ministry of Agriculture

 2. It was launched in the year 2016 under the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen-Phase II program.

 Which of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Only 1 

 b) Only 2 

 c) Both 1&2 

 d) Neither 1 nor 2

2.Consider the following statements regarding UDAN Scheme: 

 1. UDAN is a part of National Civil Aviation Policy of 2017.

 2. It is applicable for a period of 15 years. 

 Which of the above statements are incorrect? 

 a. Only 1 

 b. Only 2 

 c. Both 1&2

 d. Neither 1 nor 2

3.Consider the following statements regarding Wildlife Institute of India:

 1.It works under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change 

 2. It is located in the state of Madhya Pradesh 

 Which of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Only 1 

 b) Only 2 

 c) Both 1&2

 d) Neither 1 nor 2

4.Consider the following statements regarding Project Elephant: 

 1. It is a central sector scheme with 100% funding from the central government 

 2. It was launched in the year 1995.

 3. Asian elephants are considered as the largest living land animal in Asia 

 How many of the above statements are incorrect? 

 a) Only One

 b) Only two 

 c) Only three

 d) None

5.Consider the following statements regarding Dengue: 

 Statement-I: It is a viral Disease 

 Statement-II: It is transmitted through the female mosquito of Anopheles 

 Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? 

 a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I.

 b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect 

 d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

6.Consider the following statements regarding Avian Influenza: 

 1. It is a disease caused by avian influenza Type B virus. 

 2. It infects only birds. 

 3. Influenza A and B viruses cause epidemic seasonal infections every year.

 How many of the above statements are correct?

 a) Only One

 b) Only two 

 c) Only three 

 d) None

7.Consider the following statements regarding PSLV C-56

 Statement-I: DS-SAR was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). 

 Statement-II: DS-SAR carries a synthetic Aperture radar which allows the DS-SAR to provide for all-weather day and night coverage. 

 Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? 

 a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I.

 c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect 

 d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct