theIASHub | 10 Apr, 2025 | 5
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Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI): Recently, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has launched the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI).
o Performance Grading of Panchayats based on PAI Scores: Achiever → Front Runner → Performer → Aspirant → Beginner
o State-wise Front Runners: Gujarat & Telangana
o States with high number of Performers: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh & Uttar Pradesh
o States with significant share of Aspirants: Bihar, Chhattisgarh & Andhra Pradesh
Arctic Boreal Zone (ABZ): As wildfires become more frequent and intense across the globe — from the U.S. and Japan to India — they are not only causing destruction to lives and property but also disrupting the earth’s carbon balance.
o Its coniferous forest is the world’s largest land-based biome.
o Key Findings from the Study in Nature Climate Change: Over 30% of ABZ has stopped capturing carbon and is now releasing it due to increasing wildfires.
o Alaska accounts for 44% of the new emissions, northern Europe for 25%, and Siberia for 13%.
o The 2024 Arctic Report Card by NOAA confirmed this trend: Arctic tundra is turning into a carbon source, absorbing more pollution due to fossil fuel burning.
o Arctic’s vital signs are consistently showing record-high or record-low values, indicating long-term persistent changes, not short-term variability, per NOAA scientist Gerald Frost.
Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB): A recent elephant poaching case in Pennagaram taluk, Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu, has raised fresh concerns about the illegal trade in wildlife products, the WCCB recently highlighted.
o Constituted through an amendment to the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
o Mandate under Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972: Collect and disseminate intelligence on organized wildlife crime to enforcement agencies.
o Assist foreign authorities and international organizations for coordinated global action against wildlife crime.
o Build capacity of wildlife crime enforcement agencies for scientific and professional investigation.
o Assist State Governments in ensuring successful prosecutions in wildlife crime cases.
o Advise Government of India on national/international wildlife crime issues, laws, and policies.
o Enabled successful operations like Operation SAVE KURMA, THUNDERBIRD, WILDNET, LESKNOW, BIRBIL, THUNDERSTORM, LESKNOW-II.
Assist Customs authorities in inspection of consignments of flora and fauna under Wild Life Act, CITES, and EXIM Policy.
Repo Rate: Recently, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6%.
o The reverse repo rate is the interest rate the RBI pays to commercial banks when they park excess cash with it.
Command Area Development and Water Management (M-CADWM): Recently the Union Cabinet chaired by PM approved M-CADWM as a sub-scheme of PMKSY for 2025–2026.
o Objective: Aims to modernize irrigation water supply network in designated clusters.
o Infrastructure Support: Ensures backend infrastructure for micro-irrigation up to 1 hectare using underground pressurized piped irrigation.
o Technology Integration: Use of SCADA and IoT for water accounting and management.
o Efficiency: Aims to improve Water Use Efficiency (WUE) at farm level.
o Agricultural Impact: Increases agricultural production and productivity.
o Income Generation: Contributes to higher farmer income.
o Sustainability: Promotes Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) to Water User Societies (WUS).
o Support to WUS: Provides handholding support for 5 years, linking WUS with FPOs or PACS.
o Youth Engagement: Encourages youth participation in farming through modern irrigation.
o Pilot Projects: Scheme to begin with pilot projects across agroclimatic zones via challenge funding to states.
Technical Committee of ISO and IEC: Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) recently hosted the 15th plenary meeting of the Technical Committee of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for developing international standards on Artificial Intelligence.
o Founded in 1947 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
o Besides standards, ISO publishes technical reports, technical specifications, publicly available specifications, technical corrigenda, and guides.
o ISO facilitates world trade by providing common standards across countries. It standards cover all fields, including healthcare, technology, manufacturing, security, and the environment.
o It is a global, not-for-profit membership organization with 173 member countries and coordinates the work of 20,000 experts worldwide.
o Founded in London, the IEC held its first meeting on 26–27 June 1906.
o IEC Standards offer instructions, guidelines, rules, or definitions used in the design, manufacture, installation, testing, certification, maintenance, and repair of electrical and electronic systems.
Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS): Recently, the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report for January–December 2024 has been released, presenting key employment-unemployment indicators across rural and urban areas in both Usual Status (ps+ss) and Current Weekly Status (CWS).
o Objective: Estimate key indicators (LFPR, WPR, UR) in a short time interval of 3 months for urban areas using Current Weekly Status (CWS).
o Estimate employment and unemployment indicators in both rural and urban areas annually in Usual Status (ps+ss) and CWS.
o Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): % of persons in labour force in the population.
o Worker Population Ratio (WPR): % of employed persons in the population.
o Unemployment Rate (UR): % of unemployed persons among labour force.
High-Altitude Climate Research Station: The India’s first-ever High-Altitude Climate Research Station at Nathatop, Jammu & Kashmir was recently inaugurated, coinciding with the launch of the Indo-Swiss Joint Research Project ICE-CRUNCH.
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