Daily Prelims Notes 30 July 2022

July 30, 2022
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Daily Prelims Notes

30 July 2022

Table Of Contents

1. Assembly sittings

Subject: Polity

Section: State Legislature

Context: Kerala tops in holding Assembly sittings in 2021.

Content:

Kerala, which slipped to the eighth slot in holding Assembly sittings during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, returned to the top spot in 2021, with its House sitting for 61 days, the highest in the country.
In fact, between 2016 and 2019, Kerala remained at the top with an average of 53 days.
The PRS Legislative Research (PRS), a New Delhi-based think tank’s findings say that, Odisha followed Kerala with 43 sitting days; Karnataka 40, and Tamil Nadu 34 days.
Of the 28 State Assemblies and one Union Territory’s legislature, 17 met for less than 20 days. Of them, five — Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Delhi — met for less than 10 days.
As for the ordinance route, which should be, according to the Supreme Court, used under exceptional circumstances, 21 out of 28 States promulgated ordinances last year.
Kerala had promulgated 144 ordinances, the highest in the country which is followed by Andhra Pradesh with 20 ordinances and Maharashtra with 15.

Concept:

Article 170– Composition of the Legislative Assemblies.

Subject to the provisions of Article 333, the Legislative Assembly of each State shall consist of not more than five hundred, and not less than sixty, members chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the State.

However, an exception may be granted via an act of parliament in the states of Goa, Sikkim, Mizoram and UT of Puducherry.

Recommendations:

The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2000-02), headed by former Chief Justice of India M.N. Venkatachaliah, had prescribed that the Houses of State (/Union Territory) legislatures with less than 70 members, for example, Puducherry, should meet for at least 50 days a year and other Houses (Tamil Nadu), at least 90 days. (Ten fall under the first category; 20 under the second).

Ordinance making powers of the Governor

Just as the President of India is constitutionally mandated to issue Ordinances under Article 123, the Governor of a state can issue Ordinances under Article 213, when the state legislative assembly (or either of the two Houses in states with bicameral legislatures) is not in session.
The powers of the President and the Governor are broadly comparable with respect to Ordinance making.
However, the Governor cannot issue an Ordinance without instructions from the President in three cases where the assent of the President would have been required to pass a similar Bill:

(a) a Bill containing the same provisions would under this Constitution have required the previous sanction of the President for the introduction thereof into the Legislature; or

(b) he would have deemed it necessary to reserve a Bill containing the same provisions for the consideration of the President; or

(c) an Act of the Legislature of the State containing the same provisions would under this Constitution have been invalid unless, having been reserved for the consideration of the President, it had received the assent of the President

DC Wadhwa vs. State of Bihar (1987)

It was argued in the legislative power of the executive to promulgate Ordinances is to be used in exceptional circumstances and not as a substitute for the law making power of the legislature. Here, the court was examining a case where a state government (under the authority of the Governor) continued to re-promulgate ordinances, that is, it repeatedly issued new Ordinances to replace the old ones, instead of laying them before the state legislature. A total of 259 Ordinances were re-promulgated, some of them for as long as 14 years. The Supreme Court argued that if Ordinance making was made a usual practice, creating an ‘Ordinance raj’ the courts could strike down re-promulgated Ordinances.

2. Overcoming the Aryan-Dravidian divide

Subject: History

Section: Art and culture

Context: Many eminent scholars, both local and international, have written about the Dravidian movement’s colonial origins

The Dravidian movement

The Dravidian movement in British India started with the formation of the Justice Party on 20 November 1916 in Victoria Public Hall in Madras by NatesaMudaliar along with T. M. Nair and P. Theagaraya Chetty as a result of a series of non-Brahmin conferences and meetings in the presidency.
Communal division between Brahmins and non-Brahmins began in the presidency during the late-19th and early-20th century, mainly due to caste prejudices and disproportionate Brahminical representation in government jobs. The Justice Party’s foundation marked the culmination of several efforts to establish an organisation to represent the non-Brahmins in Madras Presidency

Self-Respect Movement

Self-Respect Movement was a dynamic social movement aimed at destroying the contemporary Hindu social order in its totality and creating a new, rational society without caste, religion and god.
Self-Respect Movement was started by V. Ramaswamy Naicker in Tamil Nadu in 1925. It was an egalitarian movement that propagated the ideologies of breaking down of the Brahminical hegemony, equal rights for the backward classes and women in the society and revitalization of the Dravidian languages like Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam.

Languages in India

Indo Aryan Group of Languages : It is a branch of the larger Indo European group of languages which came to India with the advent of Aryans. It is the largest language group of India and around 74% Indians speak those languages which belong to this group. This group is mainly divided into three groups :
Old Indo Aryan Group : This group had its development around 1500 BC and Sanskrit was born around this period. The ancient form of sanskrit which is found in vedas, puranas, upanishadsetc had emerged from this time. It is a scheduled classical language. One amongst 22 indian languages. It is also known as the mother of Indian languages. The understanding of the diversity and richness of our culture has been possible because of the development of sanskrit language during those time.
Middle Indo-Aryan Group (600 BC to 1000 AD):Prakrit was developed during this period. Prakrit was also the mother language for other languages such as Pali, Apabhramsha, ArdhaMagadhi. Pali was one of the main language used in Budhist scripts.
Modern Indo Aryan Group :The languages belonging to this group are Hindi, assamese, bengali, Guarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Odia, Urdu etc. The language developed under this group are mainly spoken in the northern, western and eastern parts of India.
Dravidian Group : Group comprises mainly of languages spoken during the southern part of India. Around 25% of Indian population are covered in this group. Proto dravidian gave rise to 21 dravidian language. These are classified into three categories. Telugu is numerically the largest of all dravidian languages, Malayalam is smallest and youngest of the dravidian group.
Northern :Brahui (Baluchisthan), malto (tribal areas of bengal and odisa) and kurukh (bengal, odisa, bihar, madhyapradesh) are the main languages.
Southern :Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Tulu, Kodagu, Toda and Kota. Tamil is the oldest amongst these.
Central : It consists of eleven languages i.e. gondi, Khond, Kui, Telugu. Only Telugu became a civilised language and is spoken in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Sino Tibetan group : Languages under this family belong to the Mongoloid family and stretch all over North Bihar, North Bengal, assam and in North These languages are considered older than Indo Aryan languages and are refered to in the oldest sanskrit literature as Kiratas.
TibetoBurman :Tibetan, North Assamese, Burman, Manipuri are the most common languages spoken in this category.
Siamese Chinese :Ahom is one of the languages spoken in this category but it has already become extinct.
Austric : These are the languages spoken by the Munda or Kol group and spoken in central, eastern and north eastern india. Santhali is an important language spoken by the group and common among the santhal tribals such as Jharkhand, Bihar and Bengal.

3. Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS)

Subject: International Relations

Section: International organization

Concept:

The Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS)is a network of 114 central banks and financial supervisors that aims to accelerate the scaling up of green finance and develop recommendations for central banks’ role for climate change.
The NGFS was announced at the Paris “One Planet Summit” in December 2017 and its secretariat is hosted by the Banque de France.
The network was launched by 8 founding central banks, under the leadership of Banque de France’s governor François Villeroy de Galhau, the Dutch Central Bank’s Frank Elderson and the Bank of England’s former governor Mark Carney. Hong Kong Monetary Authority is one of the founding member
Reserve bank of India became a member in 2021.
Notable observers: Asian development bank, Bank for International Settlement, Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Organization of Securities Commission (IOSCO), IDB (Inter-American Development Bank), International Association of Insurance Supervisors, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Sustainable Insurance
Its current chair is Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore

Initiatives:

The purpose of the NGFS is “to define, promote and contribute to the development of best practices to be implemented within and outside of the Membership of the NGFS and to conduct or commission analytical work on green finance.”
The NGFS organises events and research on climate change. In 2021, the NGFS identified 9 policy options that could.be chosen by central banks to align their monetary policy with climate objectives
The NGFS work is currently organised around 5 work streams: Micro prudential/Supervision, Macro financial, Scaling up green finance, Bridging the data gaps, Research.

4. Sea weed farming

Subject : Geography

Section: Economic Geography

Context: The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has done geo-referencing of 342 farming sites in the country over 24,167 hectares of seaweed cultivation.

Concept:

“Seaweed” is the common name for countless species of marine plants and algae that grow in the ocean as well as in rivers, lakes, and other water bodies.
Some seaweeds are microscopic, such as the phytoplankton that live suspended in the water column and provide the base for most marine food chains.
Some are enormous, like the giant kelp that grow in abundant “forests” and tower like underwater redwoods from their roots at the bottom of the sea.
Most are medium-sized, come in colors of red, green, brown, and black, and randomly wash up on beaches and shorelines just about everywhere.
They are the primitive, marine non-flowering marine algae without root, stem and leaves, play a major role in marine ecosystems.
Seaweeds, found mostly in the intertidal region, in shallow and deep waters of the sea and also in estuaries and backwaters.
The southern Gulf of Mannar’s rocky intertidal and lower intertidal regions have rich populations of several seaweed species.
Seaweeds exhibit highest photosynthesis efficiency due to moist conditions.
They contribute to about 50% of all photosynthesis in the world.
The global production of seaweed (comprises various marine plant species and algae) in 2022 was 35 million tonnes worth around USD 16.5 billion.

Benefits of Seaweed:

Seaweed is full of vitamins, minerals, & fibre.
They contain anti-inflammatory&anti-microbial agents.
They are known to process significant medicinal effects.
They possess powerful cancer-fighting agents.
They are effective binding agents (emulsifiers) & are used commercial goods as toothpaste & fruit jelly, & popular softeners (emollients) in organic cosmetics & skin-care products.

Applications of seaweed:

Health risks:

Rotting seaweed is a potent source of hydrogen sulfide, a highly toxic gas, and has been implicated in some incidents of apparent hydrogen-sulphide poisoning. It can cause vomiting and diarrhea.
The so-called “stinging seaweed” Microcoleuslyngbyaceus is a filamentous cyanobacteria which contains toxins including lyngbyatoxin-a and debromoaplysiatoxin.
Direct skin contact can cause seaweed dermatitis characterized by painful, burning lesions that last for days.

Seaweed in India:

About CMFRI research and contributions in sea weed cultivation :

Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute was established by Government of India on February 3^rd1947 under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and later it joined the ICAR in 1967.
CMFRI has developed a unique method for estimation of fishery catch and effort data from the over 8000 km coastline called the “Stratified Multistage Random Sampling Method”. With this methodology the Institute is maintaining the National Marine Fisheries Data Centre (NMFDC).
The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has done geo-referencing of 342 farming sites in the country over 24,167 hectares of seaweed cultivation.
These sites have the potential to produce 7 million tonnes (wet weight) of seaweed per year., as against the paltry 34,000 tonnes it produced last year, according to the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI)
CMFRI’s recent success includes commercial production of seeds of green and brown mussels and cultchless spat production of edible oysters with a high survival rate at Vizhinjam.
The government has earmarked Rs 640 crore exclusively under the Pradhan Mantri MatsyaSampada Yojana (PMMSY) to promote seaweed culture with a targeted production of more than 11.2 lakh tonnes by 2025.

Bivalve Farming:

Marine bivalves include mussels, oysters and scallops. Bivalve farming is a non-conventional aquaculture practice.
India’s bivalve production in 2021 was 98,000 tonnes
More than 6,000 women self-help groups are engaging with bivalve farming under the guidance of the CMFRI
The CMFRI has successfully standardised the practice of Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) which enables cage farming or bivalve farming along with seaweed farming in coastal waters.

Onshore bivalve farming

Offshore bivalve farming

Traditionally, bivalve aquaculture had largely been established in inshore areas either on the seabed or on structures fixed or floating in shallow sheltered waters
In this environment there have been notable negative environmental impacts. For example, farming bivalves in sheltered, poorly flushed inshore waters can result in the accumulation of waste products that pollute the seabed and reduce local biodiversity

Relatively new offshore aquaculture industry such as cultivating rope-grown mussels, is perceived as a more space-efficient, has a potential especially in areas where planktonic food is plentiful, water conditions including depth are suitable and likelihood for conflicts over space use is low.
Offshore bivalve farming is one of the lowest environmental impact animal protein production methods available because the species feed naturally in the ocean and can be harvested with relatively low fuel requirements

5. Campaign on ‘Combating Child Trafficking’

Subject: Government Schemes

Section: Health

NCPCR while commemorating “World day against Human Trafficking” observed on 30^thJuly, 2022, commenced the Campaign on ‘’Combating Child Trafficking” with support of State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCRs) and District Administration is driving 25 days campaign from (1^st August to 25^th August, 2022) in 75 bordering Districts of India
The main objective of this campaign is to sensitize at the district level ( 75 districts ) the key stakeholders on basic indicators to identify children at risk, vulnerable children, and prevention for combating child trafficking in bordering districts of India

6. Scheme for Promotion of Menstrual Hygiene

Subject: Government Schemes

Section: Health

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare implements the Scheme for Promotion of Menstrual Hygiene among adolescent girls in the age group of 10-19 years since 2011.The scheme is supported by the National Health Mission through State Programme Implementation Plan (PIP).
The major objectives of the scheme are

(i) to increase awareness among adolescent girls on menstrual hygiene;

(ii) to increase access to and use of high quality sanitary napkins by adolescent girls, and

(iii) to ensure safe disposal of sanitary napkins in an environment friendly manner. Under the scheme, a pack of sanitary napkins are provided to adolescent girls by the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) at subsidized rate of Rs. 6 per pack.

7. PM CARES for Children scheme

Subject: Government Schemes

Section: Health

The Prime Minister has announced PM CARES for Children scheme to support children who have lost both parents or surviving parent or legal guardian or adoptive parents due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The objective of the Scheme is to ensure comprehensive care and protection of Children in a sustained manner, and enable their well-being through health insurance, empower them through education and equip them for self-sufficient existence with financial support till 23 years of age.
Children are entitled to receive monthly stipend between the age of 18 and 23 years, by investing the corpus of Rs.10 lakhs into Monthly Income Scheme of Post Office.
They will receive the amount of 10 lakh on attaining the age of 23 years.
Under the scheme, provision has been made for admission in the nearest Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan/Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya or Private Schools. Further, scholarship of 20,000/- are provided to all school going children of class 1-12.
Children are also assisted in obtaining education loan for Professional courses / Higher Education in India for which interest would be borne by PM CARES Fund.
All children have been enrolled under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya Yojna (AB PM-JAY) with a health insurance cover of 5 lakh. The coverage of health insurance would be provided till they attain the age of 23 years.
Under the PM CARES for Children Scheme, the children have been given assistance for self-sustenance, self-belief and motivation.

8. One Stop Centre (OSC)

Subject: Government Schemes

Section: Women

The Government of India has launched “Mission Shakti”- integrated women empowerment programme, as umbrella scheme for safety, security and empowerment of women for implementation during the 15^thFinance Commission period 2021-22 to 2025-26.
The One Stop Centre (OSC) is a component of ‘Sambal’ sub-scheme under umbrella scheme of “Mission Shakti. The One Stop Centre has been designated as the mainstay of the Sambal sub-scheme at District level.
The objective is to provide integrated support and assistance to women affected by violence and in distress, both in private and public spaces under one roof and provide an integrated range of services including medical aid, legal aid and advice, temporary shelter, police assistance, psycho-social counselling to needy women.

9. Wheat based Nutrition Programme

Subject: Government Schemes

Section: Food security

Wheat based Nutrition Programme of Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (erstwhile Integrated Child Development scheme), from the third quarter onwards of FY 2021-22, 100 percent fortified Rice is being distributed to all the States/UTs across the country which includes aspirational and heavy burdened districts.
Government of India has approved scheme on Fortification of Rice & its Distribution under Public Distribution System for a period ofthree years beginning 2019-20.
M/o Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution is the Nodal Ministry in the matter.
DoSE&L issued instructions to all the States/UTs to use fortified rice wherever supplied by Food Corporation of India (FCI).
The fortified rice is distributed/consumed in all districts across the country subject to availability of fortified rice.

Under the Wheat Based Nutrition Programme (WBNP),foodgrains, viz., wheat, rice and other coarse grains are allocated at subsidized rates under NFSA to the States/UTs through the Department of Food & Public Distribution (Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution), for preparation of supplementary food under Anganwadi Services. Demand under the scheme projected by States based on the number of beneficiaries, number of feeding days and the recipe for nutrition is taken up by this Ministry for processing and approval of proposals from States/UTs for allocation of food grains in coordination with the D/o F&PD.

10. Poshan Tracker

Subject: Government Schemes

Section: Food security

Context

The “Poshan Tracker” management application has been launched which provides a view of the activities at the Anganwadi Centre (AWC), service deliveries of Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and beneficiary management for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children.
The application aims to improve governance with regard to real time monitoring and provisioning of supplementary nutrition for prompt supervisions and management of services.
To promote regular growth monitoring, Growth Monitoring Devices (Infantometer, Stadiometer, Weighing Scale for Infants and Weighing Scale for Mother and Child) have been procured by States/UTs under the Poshan Abhiyaan.

11. Nyaya Mitra (NM)

Subject: Government Schemes

Section: Judiciary

Nyaya Mitra (NM) aims to facilitate expeditious disposal of 10-15 years old pending cases in High court and assisting the district judiciary in reduction of decade old pending court case.
Districts selected based on highest pendency of court cases over 10 years of period sourced from National Judiciary Data Grid (NJDG) database.
A Nyaya mitra (NM) is a retired judicial officer/executive officer, having legal degree/background who is located at High Courts/District Courts.

Role of Nyaya Mitra

Nyaya Mitra provides assistance to the judiciary in reduction of decade old pending court case, liaising with the different departments to fast disposal of cases, referring cases to Lok Adalat. etc.
Nyaya Mitra’s responsibilities would include among others-
- Assistance to litigants who are suffering due to delay in investigations or trial, by actively identifying such cases through the National Judicial Data Grid,
- Providing legal advice and connecting litigants to DLSA, CSC Tele Law, other government agencies and civil society organisations.
Nyaya Mitra also-
- Refers the marginalized applicants to Lok Adalats for dispute resolution and
- Render assistance towards prison reforms within the district, in coordination with the district judiciary and other stakeholders.
- The Nyaya Mitras engaged so far have assisted the Court concerned in disposal of old cases which includes matrimonial cases, accident claim and also criminal cases.

12. Study suggests habitat loss is leading to inbreeding of Indian tigers

Subject: Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context: Inbreeding in tiger population

Concept :

Tigers when kept in one location can only mate with the other tigers in their own population. Over time, this will result in inbreeding, they will end up mating with their relatives
Whether this inbreeding compromises their fitness, their ability to survive, we do not yet know
While genetic diversity across a population improves their chances of survival in the future, the study said population fragmentation of tigers can decrease this variation, and endanger them further.
With 70% of the world’s tigers living in India, the researchers said understanding the genetic diversity of tigers in the country is critical to the feline’s conservation worldwide.
Conservation Status of Tiger:
- Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
- International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List: Endangered.
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): Appendix I.
Steps taken for Conservation:
- Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards (CA|TS):
  - 14 Tiger Reserves in India have already been awarded with international CA|TS accreditation and efforts are on to bring in more Tiger Reserves under CA|TS accreditation.
- Project Tiger:
  - It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched in 1973. It provides havens for tigers in the country’s national parks.
- Petersburg declaration:
  - With 2,967 tigers, India, four years in advance, has achieved the target set in the 2010 St Petersburg Declaration of doubling tiger population by 2022. India had around 1,400 tigers in 2006.
  - The Heads of the Governments of Tiger Range countries at Petersburg, Russia, had resolved to double tiger numbers across their global range by 2022 by signing the St. Petersburg declaration on tiger conservation.
  - During the same meeting it was also decided to celebrate 29th July as Global Tiger Day across the world, which is since being celebrated to spread and generate awareness on tiger conservation.
  - There are currently 13 tiger range countries – India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.

13. India’s organic certification procedures under cloud as APEDA penalises 3 more agencies

Subject: Agriculture

Section

Context :All is not well with the certification process of Indian organic products with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) penalising three certifying agencies, including termination, for irregularities they committed in violation of the process.

The ban was imposed after organic products certified by them for exports were found violating ethylene oxide norms of the European Commission.

APEDA

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) was established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act passed by the Parliament in December, 1985.
It functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The Authority has its headquarters in New Delhi.
The Authority replaced the Processed Food Export Promotion Council (PFEPC).

Functions

APEDA is mandated with the responsibility of export promotion and development of the scheduled products viz. fruits, vegetables and their products, meat and meat products, poultry and poultry products, dairy products, confectionery, biscuits and bakery products, honey, jaggery and sugar products, cocoa and its products, chocolates of all kinds, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, cereal and cereal products, groundnuts, peanuts and walnuts, pickles, papads and chutneys, guar gum, floriculture and floriculture products, herbal and medicinal plants.
APEDA has been entrusted with the responsibility to monitor import of sugar.
It looks after the development of industries relating to the scheduled products for export by way of providing financial assistance or otherwise for undertaking surveys and feasibility studies, participating through subsidy schemes.
Registration of persons as exporters of the scheduled products and fixing of standards and specifications for the scheduled products for the purpose of exports.
Carrying out inspection of meat and meat products in slaughterhouses, processing plants, storage premises and improving packaging of the scheduled products.
APEDA also functions as the Secretariat to the National Accreditation Board (NAB) for implementation of accreditation of the Certification Bodies under National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) for organic exports. “Organic Products” for export are to be certified only if Produced, Processed and Packed as per the standards laid down in the document – “National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP).”
The APEDA Chairman appointed by the Central Government

National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP)

NPOP grants organic farming certification through a process of third party certification.
It involves the accreditation programme for Certification Bodies, standards for organic production, promotion of organic farming etc.
It is implemented by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The NPOP standards for production and accreditation system have been recognized by the European Commission, Switzerland and USA as equivalent to their respective accreditation systems.

Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS)

PGS is another process of certifying organic products.
The certification is in the form of a documented logo or a statement.
It is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
The organic farmers have full control over the certification process. PGS certification is only for farmers or communities that can organise and perform as a group. Individual farmers or groups of farmers smaller than five members are not covered under PGS.
PGS is applicable on on-farm activities comprising of crop production, processing and livestock rearing, etc.
Off-farm processing activities such as storage, transport and value addition activities by persons/agencies other than PGS farmers away from the group are not covered under PGS.
Organic foods are also required to comply with the requirements of labelling of FSSAI in addition to that of NPOP or PGS-India.

14. UN declares access to clean and healthy environment as universal human right

Subject: Environment

Section: Climate Change

Context:

India voted for the resolution and pointed out that the resolutions do not create binding obligations
Every person on the planet has the right to live in a clean, healthy environment, declared United Nations (UN) in a historic resolution.
The landmark development demonstrates that the member states can unite in the collective fight against the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
This right was not included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. So, this is a historic resolution that will change the very nature of international human rights law

United Nations Conference on the Human Environment: Stockholm 1972

It was first declaration of international protection of the environment
Held in Stockholm, Sweden from June 5–16 in 1972.
The meeting agreed upon a Declaration containing 26 principles concerning the environment and development;
One of the seminal issue that emerged from the conference is the recognition for poverty alleviation for protecting the environment.
Indira Gandhi attended it
The conference let to increased interest and research collaboration which paved the way for further understanding of global warming, which has led to such agreements as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, and has given a foundation of modern environmentalism.
The United Nations Environment Programme has been established by the United Nations General Assembly in pursuance of the Stockholm Conference

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA):

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN).
It serving as the main deliberative, policy-making, and representative organ of the UN. Its powers, composition, functions, and procedures are set out in Chapter IV of the United Nations Charter.
The UNGA is responsible for the UN budget, appointing the non-permanent members to the Security Council, appointing the Secretary-General of the United Nations, receiving reports from other parts of the UN system, and making recommendations through resolutions.
It also establishes numerous subsidiary organs to advance or assist in its broad mandate.
The UNGA is the only UN organ wherein all member states have equal representation.
It has 193 members (all the UN member countries).
The resolutions passed by the General Assembly do not have the binding forces over the member nations.
The General Assembly meets under its president or the UN Secretary-General in annual sessions at UN headquarters in New York City
The first session was convened on 10 January 1946 in the Methodist Central Hall in London and included representatives of the 51 founding nations.
The Assembly may also take action if the Security Council fails to act, owing to the negative vote of a permanent member, in a case where there appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression. The Assembly can consider the matter immediately with a view to making recommendations to Members for collective measures to maintain or restore international peace and security.

15. The Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam has 2.4 tigresses for every tiger, the annual wildlife monitoring results of the trans-boundary wildlife preserve has revealed

Subject: Environment

Section: Biosphere reserve

Details:

According to the latest camera trapping assessment stipulated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the 2,837.31 sq. km reserve with a critical tiger habitat area of 536.22 sq. km has 52 adult tigers along with eight cubs

Manas Tiger Reserve (MTR) spans across the districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Buxa and Udalguri in north-west Assam.
To the north, it is separated from the Royal Manas National Park of Bhutan by the River Manas and its tributaries- Beki and Hakua; while to the west, it is separated from the Buxa Tiger Reserve of West Bengal by the River Sankosh.
The area has a unique distinction of being a Natural World Heritage Site, a Tiger Reserve, an Elephant Reserve, a Biosphere Reserve and an Important Bird Area.
Evolutionarily, it is the entry point of tigers into India. It forms part of a large tiger conservation landscape which includes Buxa-Nameri-Pakke-Namdapha tiger reserves and protected areas of Bhutan and Myanmar.

Critical Tiger Habitats

Critical ‘tiger’ habitats (CTHs), also known as core areas of tiger reserves—are identified under the Wild Life Protection Act (WLPA), 1972 based on scientific evidence that “such areas are required to be kept as inviolate for the purpose of tiger conservation, without affecting the rights of the Scheduled Tribes or such other forest dwellers”.
The notification of CTH is done by the state government in consultation with the expert committee constituted for the purpose.
‘Inviolate’ is a general term used to indicate no human settlement and usage. This inevitably implies that establishing CTHs as inviolate areas requires relocation of people living in such areas.