Current Affairs

• The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India is a statutory organisation under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Mo.E.F.C). It was established in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of pollution) Act, 1974.
• The CPCB is also entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
• It serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• It Co-ordinates the activities of the State Pollution Control Boards by providing technical assistance and guidance and also resolves disputes among them. It is the apex organization in country in the field of pollution control, as a technical wing of MoEFC.
• The board is led by its Chairperson, who is generally a career civil servant from the Indian Administrative Service appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet of the Government of India. The current acting chairman is S. P. Singh Parihar and the Member Secretary is Prashant Gargava.
• CPCB has its head office in New Delhi, with seven zonal offices and 5 laboratories.
• The board conducts environmental assessments and research.
• It is responsible for maintaining national standards under a variety of environmental laws, in consultation with zonal offices, tribal, and local governments.
• It has responsibilities to conduct monitoring of water and air quality, and maintains monitoring data.
• The agency also works with industries and all levels of government in a wide variety of voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts.
• It advises the central government to prevent and control water and air pollution.
• It also advises the Governments of Union Territories on industrial and other sources of water and air pollution.
• CPCB along with its counterparts the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) are responsible for implementation of legislation relating to prevention and control of environmental pollution
• The Environment Protection Act (EPA) was passed in 1986 to close the gaps in the Water and Air Act, by adding some more functions to the CPCB. CPCB plays role in abatement and control of pollution in the country by generating relevant data, providing scientific information, rendering technical inputs for formation of national policies and programs, training and development of manpower and organizing activities for promoting awareness at different levels of the Government and public
• Air quality/ pollution : CPCB runs nationwide programs of ambient air quality monitoring known as National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP). The network consists of 621 operating stations covering 262 cities/towns in 29 states and 5 Union Territories of the country.
• Under N.A.M.P., four air pollutants viz., Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Oxides of Nitrogen as NO2, Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM/ PM10) have been identified for regular monitoring at all the locations.
• The monitoring of meteorological parameters such as wind speed and wind direction, relative humidity (RH) and temperature were also integrated with the monitoring of air quality. This information on Air Quality at ITO is updated every week

MCQ

1. The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE)is a statutory organization under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. Headquartered in Dehradun
2. ICFRE established a National Bureau of Forest Genetic Resources (NBFGR)
3. It is one of the institute among 9 Premier forest research institutions in India

• Choose correct

(A) 1 & 2

(B) 1 & 3

(C) 2 only

(D) 1 only

• The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) is an autonomous organisation or governmental agency under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. Headquartered in Dehradun, its functions are to conduct forestry research; transfer the technologies developed to the states of India and other user agencies; and to impart forestry education.
• The council has 9 research institutes and 4 advanced centres to cater to the research needs of different bio-geographical regions.
• These are located at Dehradun, Shimla, Ranchi, Jorhat, Jabalpur, Jodhpur, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Allahabad, Chhindwara, Aizawl, Hyderabad and Agartala
• ICFRE is the largest organization responsible for forestry research in India.
• ICFRE was created in 1987, under the Central Ministry of Environment and Forests (India), to direct and manage research and education in forestry sector in India.
• ICFRE is headed by a Director General with headquarters at Dehradun.
• ICFRE became an autonomous council under the Ministry in 1991
• The mandate of the ICFRE is to organise, direct and manage research and education in the forestry sector, including in cooperation with FORTIP (UNDP/FAO Regional Forest Tree Improvement Project), UNDP and World Bank on economically important species. ICFRE established a National Bureau of Forest Genetic Resources (NBFGR)

FORTIP

• The FAO Regional Project entitled “Improved Productivity of Man-Made Forest through Application of Technological Advances in Tree Breeding and Propagation” (RAS/91/004), “FORTIP”, is funded by UNDP and executed by FAO in collaboration with 10 countries in the South East Asian region.
• The project became operational in December 1991, and is programmed for a period of five years. The project is based in the Philippines and the following countries are participating: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
• The major thrusts of the project include:
• To identify and promote the use of superior sources of germplasm and to further develop their genetic improvement through advanced technology.
• To assist participating countries to establish expanded facilities for the production of sufficient quality seed and improved planting stock to support the development of large-scale reforestation and rural tree planting programmes.
• To promote the exchange of information, technical know-how and genetic materials within and between collaborating countries.
• In keeping with the above mandate the project is vigorously pursuing research and development programmes in the region, with the active cooperation of both governmental and non-governmental organizations; the main aim is to help member countries become self-reliant in the production of good quality planting material in the future.
• Through twinning operations, carried out within the framework of the project, transfer of technology from “Centres of Excellence” to selected institutions in the member countries is pursued. It is hoped that this will lead to continuing, lateral transfers of technology among member countries.
• The project publishes a semi-annual newsletter entitled, “Tree Breeding and Propagation News”

MCQ

• Which are the mid latitude deserts in the world ?

1. Atacama
2. Patagonia
3. Mojave
4. Gobi

(A) 1 & 2

(B) 2 & 4

(C) 1 & 3

(D) 2,3,4

• The temperate deserts are rainless because of either continentiality or rain-shadow effect. [Gobi desert is formed due to continentiality and Patagonian desert due to rain-shadow effect]
• Amongst the mid-latitude deserts, many are found on plateau and are at a considerable distance from the sea. These are Ladakh, The Kyzyl Kum, Turkestan, Taklimakan and Gobi deserts of Central Asia, drier portions of the Great Basin Desert of the western United States and Patagonian Deserts of Argentina etc..
• The Patagonian Desert is more due to its rain-shadow position on the leeward side of the lofty Andes than to continentiality.

MCQ

• High tides aid in

1. navigation
2. fishing
3. power generation

(A) 1 only

(B) 1 & 3

(C) 2 & 3

(D) all

• Tides move water, bringing water in and taking water out. Understanding the cycles and effects of tides on fish helps in better fishing. The full and new moons normally create better fishing conditions because of the spring tides. The reason behind this is that fish are easier to catch when they are feeding and it’s the tide and currents that dictate this.
• When the water begins to move, smaller fishes are at the mercy of the current and get confused in the turbulent water. Larger fishes have an advantage because they are equipped to feed in this turbulent water. These larger fishes get more easily trapped when there are tides.
• When the sun and the moon are in a direct line with the earth their gravities combine and the tides are higher than when they are at right angles to the earth. When that happens the sun's gravity counteracts some of the moon's gravity and the tides are not as high. At night tides are usually higher because the moon is out.

MCQ

• Regarding IFAD choose correct :

1. Its headquarters is in Rome, Italy, and is a member of the United Nations Development Group
2. is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of least developed countries only.

(A) Only 1

(B) Only 2

(C) Both

(D) none

• The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. It was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. Seventy-five percent of the world's poor live in rural areas in developing countries, yet only 4% of official development assistance goes to agriculture
• Through loans and grants, IFAD works with governments to develop and finance programmes and projects that enable rural poor people to overcome poverty themselves
• The strategic policy of IFAD is detailed in Strategic Framework for IFAD 2011–2015: Enabling the Rural Poor to Overcome Poverty. Its headquarters is in Rome, Italy, and is a member of the United Nations Development Group. The President of the IFAD is Gilbert F. Houngbo from Togo, who was elected for a four-year term in 2017.

MCQ

• Regarding WHO choose correct :

1. Its predecessor, the Health Organization, was an agency of the League of Nations made after world war II
2. World Health Organization (WHO) has launched comprehensive plan “REPLACE” to eliminate naturally-produced artificial trans-fats from global food supply by 2023

(A) Only 1

(B) Only 2

(C) both

(D) none

• The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health. It was established on 7 April 1948 headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The WHO is a member of the United Nations Development Group.
• When the League of Nations was formed in 1920, they established the Health Organization of the League of Nations. After World War II, the United Nations absorbed all the other health organizations, to form the WHO.

MCQ

• Choose correct regarding BIMSTEC

1. is an international organisation of 8 nations of South Asia and South East Asia
2. Leadership is rotated in alphabetical order of country names. The permanent secretariat is in Dhaka.
3. BIMSTEC Free Trade Area Framework Agreement (BFTAFA) has been signed by all member nations except only one member Pakistan

(A) 1 & 2

(B) 2 & 3

(C) 2 only

(D) 3 only

 

• The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation of seven nations of South Asia and South East Asia, housing 1.5 billion people and having a combined gross domestic product of $2.5 trillion (2014). The BIMSTEC member states— Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal—are among the countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal.
• BIMSTEC was established on 6 June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration...
• Fourteen priority sectors of cooperation have been identified and several
• BIMSTEC centres have been established to focus on those sectors. A BIMSTEC free trade agreement is under negotiation
• Nepal is going to host 2018 Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit.

MCQ

1. SCO is political and security grouping headquartered in shanghai
2. India is a founding member
3. Recently india hosted the first meeting of SCO tourism ministers since the organization was established in 2001.

• Choose correct options :

(A) 1 only

(B) 1 & 3

(C) 2 & 3

(D) none

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, and security organisation, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Charter was signed in June 2002 and entered into force on 19 September 2003. These countries, except for Uzbekistan, had been members of the Shanghai Five group, founded on 26 April 1996 in Shanghai. India and Pakistan joined SCO as full members on 9 June 2017 at a summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.