Daily Prelims Notes 27 November 2022

Daily Prelims Notes

27 November 2022

Table Of Contents

1. Constitution day
2. President and Prime Minister lauds women’s role in drafting constitution
3. Recreating sacred groves in Tamil Nadu’s northern region
4. Himalayan yak gets food animal tag; milk and meat to be used
5. Scientists discover new species of black corals near the Great Barrier Reef
6. Industry urges govt. to establish ‘India Rare Earths Mission’ to reduce reliance on China
7. Mumbai national park gets Asiatic lions from Junagadh
8. Telangana scores double win at UNESCO heritage awards
9. How musth of a wild elephant hit tourism prospects in Athirappally-Vazhachal corridor
10. Why is the Darjeeling tea industry in crisis?
11. Draft bill to allow for updation of NPR
12. Chinar Trees

1. Constitution day

Subject: Polity

Constitution Day also known as ‘Samvidhan Divas’, is celebrated in our country on 26^th November every year to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India. On November 26, 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution of India, which came into effect on January 26, 1950.

Here are a few interesting facts about the Constitution of India:

• People of India are the ultimate custodians of the Constitution. It is in them that sovereignty vests and it is in their name that the Constitution was adopted.
• Over 53,000 citizens sat in the visitors’ gallery of the Constituent Assembly over a period close to three years and watched the debates held during the drafting of the Constitution.
• It is the world’s lengthiest written Constitution which had 395 Articles, 22 Parts and 8 Schedules at the time of its commencement.
• The Constitution of India was not typeset or printed but was handwritten and calligraphic in both English and Hindi. It had 90,000 words.
• It was entirely handcrafted by the artists of Shantiniketan under the guidance of Acharya Nandalal Bose, with the calligraphy texts done by Prem Behari Narain Raizada in Delhi.
• The original copies of the Constitution of India are kept in special helium-filled cases in the Library of the Parliament of India.
• Each part of the Constitution begins with a depiction of a phase or scene from India’s national history. At the beginning of each part of the Constitution, Nandalal Bose has depicted a phase or scene from India’s national experience and history.
• The artwork and illustrations (22 in all), rendered largely in the miniature style, represent vignettes from the different periods of history of the Indian subcontinent, ranging from Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus Valley, the Vedic period, the Gupta and Maurya empires and the Mughal era to the national freedom movement.
• 284 members of the Constituent Assembly signed the Indian Constitution at the Constitution Hall of Parliament in New Delhi on January 24, 1950.
• On 24th January, 1950, the Constituent Assembly met for the last time. It was during this sitting that Dr Rajendra Prasad’s name was announced as the first President of India.
• There were 15 women members in the Constituent Assembly. They included Sarojini Naidu, RajkumariAmritKaur, HansabenJivraj Mehta, SuchetaKripalani and G. Durgabai, who spoke of equal rights for one and all, when women in many parts of the world were denied basic rights.
• The National Flag of India was adopted in its present form during the meeting of Constituent Assembly held on July 22, 1947, a few days before India’s Independence from the British on August 15, 1947.
• The Constitution came into force on Januray 26, 1950. G.V. Mavlankar was the first Speaker of the LokSabha after India turned into a Republic.

2. President and Prime Minister lauds women’s role in drafting constitution

Subject : Governance

Context : President says the Constitution gave a map for good governance and one of its most crucial features is separation of powers; Prime Minister says it is open, futuristic and visionary at the constitution day celebrations.

Concept : 

• The Constitution Day celebration was organized by the Supreme Court of India.
• November 26 is observed as Constitution Day.
• It was the day on which the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution in the year 1949. 
• The day has been celebrated as Constitution day since 2015.
• Earlier it was observed as Law Day.
• President Droupadi Murmu urged the executive, judiciary, and legislature to evolve an effective dispute-resolution mechanism and mitigate the common man’s plight.
• During the event, the Chief Justice of India highlighted the significance of technology in justice administration. He further stressed the need to have more representation from marginalized communities in the legal profession.

Role of Women in drafting the constitution

• The Constituent Assembly had fifteen women members.
• Dakshayini Velayudhan belonged to a marginalized community and made important interventions for protecting the rights of the oppressed classes.
• Other Women members included Durgabai Deshmukh, Hansa Mehta, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur,Kamla Chaudhary, Leela Roy, Malati Choudhary, Purnima Bannerjee, Renuka Roy, Sarojini Naidu, Sucheta Kriplani, Vijaylakshmi Pandit, and Annie Mascaren etc.
• Hansaben Mehta, one of them, also made a critical contribution to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• Sarojini Naidu, Sucheta Kripalani, Durgabai Deshmukh are the other women members who were already seasoned human rights campaigners at the international and national level.

3. Recreating sacred groves in Tamil Nadu’s northern region

Subject :Environment

Context-

• In Tamil Nadu’s arid northern Villupuram region, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) Department, which administers 1,500 temples in the Villupuram and Kallakurichi districts, has embarked on a project to protect these forest patches by recreating sacred groves.

What are sacred groves-

• Sacred groves are a tract of virgin forest that is protected traditionally by the local communities as a whole and a harbour rich in biodiversity. 
• The area of sacred groves ranges from a few square meters to several hectares.
• Sacred Groves are dedicated to local deities or tree spirits.
• People believe that any kind of disturbance will offend the local deity, causing diseases, natural calamities, or failure of crops.
• The degree of sanctity accorded to the sacred groves varies from one area to another. In some forests, even the dry foliage and fallen fruits are not touched.
• Sacred groves have been legally protected under ‘community reserves’ in the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002.
• Hunting and logging are usually strictly prohibited within these patches.

Sacred groves in North Tamilnadu-

• A lot of these forest patches are found in Villupuram, Cuddalore, Puducherry, and the Coromandel Coast.
• Ayyanar temples are very important vestiges and relics of Jainism.
• Ayyanar, Karuppusamy, and Muniandi were part of the Jain pattern of gods.
• Ayyanar was very important in the pantheon of Jains.
• A mapping exercise identified 115 plant species including medicinal plants in the sacred groves in Kilputhupattu.
• The temple has around 110 acres of land in which 35 acres are sacred groves, and the idea was to phase out invasive species like eucalyptus and replace them with native species found on the Coromandel coast.
• According to the Environmental Information System (ENVIS), Puducherry, there are 163 sacred groves on the Marakkanam-Puducherry-Cuddalore stretch.

Rich biodiversity of sacred groves–

• A study on 15 sample groves reported 252 plant species belonging to 176 genera, 62 families, 136 taxa and six lianas.
• Apart from the rich species diversity, the groves also host species of some of the last remaining repositories of critically endangered Tropical Dry Evergreen Forests (TDEFs).
• IBF has identified 88 rare, endemic and near-threatened plant species found in TDEFs for conservation.
• Some of the native species of trees found in the sacred grove in Kilputhupattu include Kaatu Pinnai ( Garceniaspicata), Karungali ( Diospyros ebenum), Sokkalai ( Aglaia elaeagnoidea), Vaalsura ( Walsura trifoliolata), Veera Maram ( Drypetes sepiaria), Kaatu Naarthai ( Pamburus missionis), Kaatu Elumichai ( Atalantia monophylla), Netti ( Polyalthia suberosa) and Kanu Pala ( Manilkara hexandra).

Threats-

• The disappearance of the traditional belief systems (as are now considered mere superstition) that were fundamental to the concept of sacred forests.
• Rapid urbanization and developmental activities such as roads, railways tracks, dams including commercial forestry have been destroying various sacred forests.
• Encroachment has led to the shrinkage of some of the large forests
• The transformation of the primitive forms of nature worship into formal temple worship
• Invasion by exotic weeds is a serious threat to some groves.
• Pressures due to increasing livestock and fuelwood collection.

Significance-

• Conservation of local forests.
• Help in the protection of a number of rare, endangered, and endemic species.
• Important repositories of flora and fauna diversity that have been conserved by local communities in a sustainable manner.
• The vegetation cover of the sacred groves improves the soil stability of the area and also prevents soil erosion.
• The sacred groves are often associated with ponds, streams or springs, which support the water requirements of the local people. Thus, the vegetative cover of sacred groves helps in recharging the aquifers.
• Among the largest sacred groves of India are the ones in Hariyali, near Gauchar in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand, and the Deodar grove in Shipin near Shimla in Himachal Pradesh.

4. Himalayan yak gets food animal tag; milk and meat to be used

Subject: Environment

In the news-

• The Himalayan yak has earned the food animal tag from the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI).

About the Yak-

• The domestic yak (Bos grunniens), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin State (Northern Myanmar), Yunnan, Sichuan, Gilgit-Baltistan (Kashmir), and as far north as Mongolia and Siberia.
• It is descended from the wild yak (Bos mutus).
• The yak plays a multidimensional socio-cultural-economic role for the pastoral nomads who rear it for their food and livelihood due to the lack of other agricultural activities in those regions.
• Yaks are traditionally reared under a transhumance system.

Declining population of yak-

• The yak population in the country has been decreasing at an alarming rate.
• According to a census carried out in 2019, India has some 58,000 yaks – a drop of about 25% from the last livestock census conducted in 2012.
• The drastic decline in the yak population could be attributed to less remuneration from the bovid, discouraging the younger generations from continuing with nomadic yak rearing.
• It is mainly because yak milk and meat are not a part of the conventional dairy and meat industry, their sale is limited to local consumers.
• The categorisation is expected to help check the decline in the population of the high-altitude bovine animal by making them a part of the conventional milk and meat industry.

Nutrient-loaded-

• Yak milk is highly nutritious, rich in fat, contains essential minerals and has medicinal values.
• According to the nutritional analysis, yak milk contains 78-82% water, 7.5-8.5% fat, 4.9-5.3% protein, 4.5-5.0% lactose and 12.3-13.4% solids-not-fat.
• The products which are traditionally produced from yak milk are churkum, churpi, ghee and paneer.
• Mostly consumed locally, yak meat is known to be lean.
• The meat contains 74.8% moisture, 21.7% protein, 1.5% crude fat and 1.2% ash.

5. Scientists discover new species of black corals near the Great Barrier Reef

Subject :Environment

New species of Black corals-

• Using a remote-controlled submarine, researchers at Smithsonian Institution, Washington, discovered five new species of black corals living as deep as 2,500 feet (760 metres) below the surface in the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea off the coast of Australia.
• In the past, corals from the deep parts of this region were collected using dredging and trawling methods that would often destroy the corals.

About Black corals-

• Antipatharians, also known as black corals or thorn corals, are an order of soft deep-water corals.
• These corals can be recognized by their jet-black or dark brown chitin skeletons, surrounded by the polyps (part of coral that is alive).
• Antipatharians are a cosmopolitan order, existing at nearly every location and depth, with the sole exception of brackish waters.
• However, they are most frequently found on continental slopes under 50 m (164 ft) deep.
• Though they have historically been used by Pacific Islanders for medical treatment and in rituals, their only modern use is making jewellery.

Difference between corals and black coral-

• Black corals differ from stony corals, another order of hexacoral, by having a flexible skeletons made of protein and chitin, a fibrous substance that makes up a majority of exoskeletons of arthropods and fungi cell walls.
• This compound allows them to move in the current, unlike stony skeletons with their rigid frames.
• The compound of black coral skeleton serves another function, as a record keeper.
• Their skeletons grow, similar to tree rings, cataloguing changes in their environments and allowing us to see how oceans of the past may have been composed.

Characteristics of black corals-

• Black corals can be found growing both in shallow waters and down to depths of over 26,000 feet (8,000 metres), and some individual corals can live for over 4,000 years.
• Many of these corals are branched and look like feathers, fans or bushes, while others are straight like a whip.
• Black corals are filter feeders and eat tiny zooplankton that are abundant in deep waters.
• A black coral reproduces both sexually and asexually throughout its lifetime.
• Black corals act as important habitats where fish and invertebrates feed and hide from predators in what is otherwise a mostly barren sea floor.
• Among the many interesting specimens were five new species – including one that was found growing on the shell of a nautilus more than 2,500 feet (760 metres) below the ocean’s surface.

Threats-

• They are not listed in the IUCN Red List.
• Black corals have been declining in numbers and are expected to continue declining due to the effects of poaching, ocean acidification and climate change.

6. Industry urges govt. to establish ‘India Rare Earths Mission’ to reduce reliance on China

Subject :Geography

In the news-

• To counter India’s reliance on China for imports of critical rare earth minerals, industry has urged the government to encourage private sector mining in the sector and diversify sources of supply for these strategic raw materials.

India Rare Earths Mission-

• CII has suggested to set up an ‘India Rare Earths Mission’, manned by professionals, like the India Semiconductor Mission and make their exploration a critical component of the Deep Ocean Mission plan of the government.
• Though India has 6% of the world’s rare earth reserves, it only produces 1% of global output, and meets most of its requirements of such minerals from China.

‘Broad-base supply’

• In 2018-19, for instance, 92% of rare earth metal imports by value and 97% by quantity were sourced from China.
• CII has recommended the public sector firm Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL), administered by the Department of Atomic Energy, should be split into two entities.
• While IREL primarily focuses on Thorium mining, the second entity could pursue other minerals.

Rare earth elements:

• The 17 rare earth elements (REE) include the 15 Lanthanides (atomic numbers 57 — which is Lanthanum — to 71 in the periodic table) plus Scandium (atomic number 21) and Yttrium (39). REEs are classified as light RE elements (LREE) and heavy RE elements (HREE).
• Some REEs are available in India — such as Lanthanum, Cerium, Neodymium, Praseodymium and Samarium, etc.
• Others such as Dysprosium, Terbium, and Europium, which are classified as HREEs, are not available in Indian deposits in extractable quantities.
• Hence, there is a dependence on countries such as China for HREEs, which is one of the leading producers of REEs, with an estimated 70 per cent share of the global production.

Why are these minerals important?

• Minerals like Cobalt, Nickel, and Lithium are required for batteries used in electric vehicles.
• REEs are an essential — although often tiny — component of more than 200 consumer products, including mobile phones, computer hard drives, electric and hybrid vehicles, semiconductors, flatscreen TVs and monitors, and high-end electronics.
• India is seen as a late mover in attempts to enter the lithium value chain, coming at a time when EVs are predicted to be a sector ripe for disruption.
• According to the plan, 80 percent of the country’s two- and three-wheeler fleet, 40 percent of buses, and 30 to 70 per cent of cars will be EVs by 2030.

7. Mumbai national park gets Asiatic lions from Junagadh

Subject :Environment

In news-

• A pair of three-year-old Asiatic lions has been brought to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park here from Sakkarbaug Zoo, Gujarat in exchange for a pair of tigers.

Asiatic lions-

• The Asiatic Lion (also known as the Persian Lion or Indian Lion) is a member of the Panthera Leo Leo subspecies that is restricted to India.
• Its previous habitats consisted of West Asia and the Middle East before it became extinct in these regions.
• Today their range is restricted to the Gir National Park in Gujarat.
• The Asiatic Lion is one of the five pantherine cats native to India.
• The others being: the Bengal Tiger, the Indian Leopard, Snow Leopard and the Clouded Leopard.

Characteristics of the Asiatic Lion

• The colour of the Asiatic Lion ranges from sandy or buffish grey to silvery sheen in certain lightings.
• The males have a moderate mane growth at the top, compared to their African counterparts, as such their ears are visible.
• The mane is scarcely present around the cheeks and throat.
• It has a larger tail buff compared to the African lion.
• The most striking characteristic character of the Indian lion is a longitudinal fold of skin along its belly.

About the Gir National Park-

• The Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Junagadh district of Gujarat.
• The Gir Forests is the only natural habitat of Asiatic lions.
• It was declared as a sanctuary in 1965 and a national park in 1975.
• The Gir Forests is the largest compact tract of dry deciduous forests in the semi-arid western part of India.
• The Gir Forests forms a unique habitat for many mammals, reptiles, birds and insect species along with a rich variety of flora.
• Gir is often linked with “Maldharis” who have survived through the ages by having symbiotic relationship with the lion.
• Maldharis are religious pastoral communities living in Gir. Their settlements are called “nesses”.
• Other National Parks in Gujarat
  • Black buck National Park
  • Vansda National park
  • Marine National Park

8. Telangana scores double win at UNESCO heritage awards

Subject :Art and Culture

Context:

• Telangana scored a double win at the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation with a Distinction of Merit for the restoration of the 17th century stepwells inside the Qutb Shahi Tombs Complex in Hyderabad and an Award of Merit for the conservation work on the Domakonda Fort, built in the 18th century in Kamareddy district.

About the Qutb Shahi Tombs Complex-

• Located in the Ibrahim Bagh (garden precinct), close to the famous Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, India.
• Qutb Shahi Tombs are built in Persian, Hindu and Pathani styles of architecture.
• They contain the tombs and mosques built by the various kings of the Qutub Shahi dynasty ruled during 18th century.
• The galleries of the smaller tombs are of a single storey while the larger ones are two storied.
• In the centre of each tomb is a sarcophagus which overlies the actual burial vault in a crypt below.
• The domes were originally overlaid with blue and green tiles, of which only a few pieces now remain.
• The complex was put by UNESCO on its “tentative list” to become a World Heritage Site in 2014, with others in the region, under the name Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate (despite there being a number of different sultanates).
• Seven Qutub Shahi Tombs

1. Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk
2. Jamsheed Quli Qutb Shah srival Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah Wali (1550-1580)
3. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (1580-1612)
4. Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah (1612-1626)
5. Abdullah Qutb Shah (1626-1672)
6. Hayat Bakshi Begum (Died: 1667) She was the only daughter of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah.

Restoration

• The Telangana State Archaeology and Museums Department, in collaboration with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, has restored the tombs.
• The restoration of the stepwells within the complex was funded by the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.

Domakonda Fort-

• Built in the 18th century in Kamareddy district, Telangana.
• It has an elevated compound of granite rocks that forms the fort wall, followed by a wooden door on an entrance door to the beautiful two-storied fort structure, which consists of great stuccowork.
• This fort is also called “Gadi Domakonda” or “Killa Domakonda” as it houses a palatial mahal inside and popularly called “Addhala Meda” (Glass house).

9. How musth of a wild elephant hit tourism prospects in Athirappally-Vazhachal corridor

Subject :Environment

Context:

• A wild elephant in musth has literally paralysed the tourism prospects of the Athirappilly-Vazhachal-Malakkappara sector, a popular tourist corridor in central Kerala.
• Kabali, otherwise a reasonably calm elephant, is behaving violently as it is at the peak of its musth (a periodic state of the bull elephant characterized especially by aggressive behavior and usually connected with the rutting season).
• The elephant has been spotted in the Parambikulam, Vazhachal, Sholayar and Malayattur forest areas.

Chalakudy River-

• It originates in the Anamalai region of Tamil Nadu and is joined by its major tributaries Parambikulam, Kuriyarkutti, Sholayar, Karapara and Anakayam in Kerala.
• The river flows through Palakkad, Thrissur and Ernakulam districts of Kerala.
• It is the 4th longest river in Kerala and one of very few rivers of Kerala, which is having relics of riparian vegetation in substantial level.
• A riparian zone is the interface between land and a river or stream. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by hydrophilic plants.
• It is the richest river in fish diversity perhaps in India as it contains 85 species of freshwater fishes out of the 152 species known from Kerala only.
• The famous waterfalls, Athirappilly Falls and Vazhachal Falls, are situated on this river.
• It merges with the Periyar River near Puthenvelikkara in Ernakulam district.

10. Why is the Darjeeling tea industry in crisis?

Subject: Geography

Context-

• One of the key brands of the Tea Board, ‘Darjeeling Tea’, is under acute stress.
• During the annual general meeting of the Indian Tea Association (ITA) in Kolkata, the Tea Board of India had sought a special financial package of ₹1,000 crore from the Centre for the tea Industry over five years.

Why is it important to save Darjeeling Tea?

• Darjeeling Tea, called the ‘Champagne of Teas’, was the first Indian product to get the GI (Geographical Identification) tag in 2004 for its distinctive aroma and flavour.
• 7 million kg of darjeeling tea is produced from 87 gardens and most of them were exported.
• During the past few months the owners of these gardens have been changed several times due to financial problems and seeking government support.

What is the threat from Nepal’s gardens?

• Nepal, which shares similar climatic conditions and terrain, produces tea at a lower price because of less input costs, particularly labour, and fewer quality checks.
• The inferior quality of tea from Nepal was being imported and then sold and re-exported as premium Darjeeling tea.
• Under the Revised Treaty of Trade between the Governments of India and Nepal in October 2009, both parties had agreed to exempt from basic customs duty, as well as from quantitative restrictions, the import of mutually agreed primary products.
• Data from the Tea Association of India show that the total tea imported from Nepal in 2020-21 was 10.74 million kg; during the same period, the total tea import of India was pegged at 27.75 million kg.
• This influx of cheap tea from Nepal is started from 2017.
• In 2017, the production of Darjeeling Tea hit a low of 3.21 million kg.

Is climate change impacting production?

• The reduction in production and rise of input costs is another worry.
• Tea production in Darjeeling which used to be around 10-12 million kg a decade back now stands at 6.87 mkg (2021).
• Decline in production is due to multiple factors-
  • climate change,
  • declining yields
  • high absenteeism among workers.
  • Because of the hilly terrain of Darjeeling there is no land left for expansion of tea gardens.
  • The tea bushes are older than other parts of the country.
  • Uprooting and planting them is both time and cost intensive.
  • stagnant prices of auction of Darjeeling Tea
  • CAGR (cumulative annual growth rate) fof the last six year is only 1.7% against an increasing cost of input between 10% and 12% CAGR
  • The decline in demand from European markets
  • The per capita tea consumption in the country remains at 850 grams and is less than neighbouring countries.

11. Draft bill to allow for updation of NPR

Subject : Governance

Context : Government of India may bring Bill to allow NPR updation via birth and death database.

Concept : 

• According to the proposed bill, the the Registrar General of India to maintain a database on births and deaths and use that to update the National Population Register (NPR) will likely be introduced in the Winter Session of Parliament.
• The data will also be used for updating electoral rolls, the Aadhar database, ration cards, passports and driving licenses.

Proposed amendments

• It also proposed amendments to the Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act1969 that will enable the Registrar General of India (RGI) to “maintain the database of registered births and deaths at the national level.
• It is proposed that the Chief Registrar (appointed by the States) would maintain a unified database at the State level and integrate it with the data at the “national level,” maintained by the Registrar General of India (RGI). The amendments will imply that the Centre will be a parallel repository of data.
• It is mandatory for medical institutions to provide “a certificate as to the cause of death to the Registrar and a copy to the nearest relative in such form as may be prescribed”.

Civil Registration System

• Civil Registration System (CRS) in India is the unified process of continuous, permanent, compulsory and universal recording of the vital events (births, deaths, stillbirths) and characteristics thereof.
• The data generated through a complete and up-to-date CRS is essential for socio-economic planning.

National Population Register

• NPR is a database containing a list of all usual residents of the country
• A usual resident for the purposes of NPR is a person who has resided in a place for six months or more and intends to reside there for another six months or more.
• Its objective is to have a comprehensive identity database of people residing in the country.
• It is generated through house-to-house enumeration during the “house-listing” phase of the
• The NPR was first collected in 2010 and then updated in 2015.
• The NPR is prepared under the provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.
• It is mandatory for every “usual resident of India” to register in the NPR.

NPR and NRC

• According to Citizenship Rules 2003, NPR is the first step towards compilation of a National Register of Citizens (NRC). After a list of residents is created (i.e., NPR), a nationwide NRC could go about verifying the citizens from that list.
• However, unlike the NRC, the NPR is not a citizenship enumeration drive as it records even a foreigner staying in a locality for more than six months.

Census and NPR

• The census involves a detailed questionnaire – there were 29 items to be filled up in the 2011 census – aimed at eliciting the particulars of every person, including age, sex, marital status, children, occupation, birthplace, mother tongue, religion, disability and whether they belonged to any Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.
• On the other hand, the NPR collects basic demographic data and biometric particulars.
• The census is legally backed by the Census Act, 1948.
• The NPR is a mechanism outlined in a set of rules framed under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

12. Chinar Trees

Subject: Geography

• It is a deciduous tree that belongs to the cold regions of the world, mainly in the Kashmir valley of India. Their real beauty unfurls in fall when the foliage turns to a blood-red and mauve color. The leaves eventually turn yellow and amber. The name ‘Chinar ‘comes from the Persian word, which means- “What a fire” 
• Chinar trees characteristically grow in Eastern Himalayas. Their botanical name is Platanus orientalis.
• Type: It is a large, deciduous tree known for its longevity and spreading crown.
• These trees have survived for ages because Chinar is basically a long-living tree. It spreads wide across a region of cool climate with sufficient water. In autumn, its deep green leaves may change to blood red, amber, and yellow.

History of Chinar

• In fact, the oldest Chinar in Kashmir is said to have been planted in 1374 and is almost 600 years old.
• It is 14.78 meters tall and is located in Kashmir’s Budgam district. The tree was adored by Mughal Emperors such as Akbar, Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Jahangir, and even Aurangzeb.
• It has even been dubbed the “royal tree.” Following his conquest of Kashmir in 1586, the great Emperor Akbar is supposed to have planted over 1,200 Chinar trees. On Dal Lake, there is a small Chinar Island called ‘Char Chinar’. The island’s name comes from the fact that it has four Chinar trees planted on it. Emperor Jahangir erected these four trees in such a way that they will always cast a shadow on the island. They are among Kashmir’s most popular tourist destinations.
• The Chinar tree is locally known as ‘Bouin’ in Kashmir. The name comes from the Sanskrit term ‘Bhawani,’ which means Goddess. The Chinar trees, a religious emblem, can be found in the Kheer Bhawani temple as well as at other Goddess Bhawani shrines throughout Kashmir. These lovely trees can also be seen at Kashmir’s most famous mosques and shrines, such as Sultan-ul-Arifeen and Hazratbal.

Application of Chinar tree:

• Leaves and bark– medicine
• Wood– It is known as lacewood and used for delicate furniture
• Twigs and roots– used for making dyes