GREEN TAX Subject: Environment Context: Green tax mooted for personal vehicles older than 15 years. Concept: Personal vehicles will be charged a tax at the time of renewal of Registration Certification after 15 years. The levy may differ depending on fuel (petrol/diesel) and type of vehicle. The proposal will now go to the […]
RHESUS MACAQUE Subject: Environment Context: The rhesus macaque, a monkey widely prevalent in India, is a promising model for vaccines against Covid-19, according to two independent studies. Concept: Scientists at Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed) and Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) evaluated three nonhuman primate species — Indian rhesus macaques, African […]
SUNDERBANS Subject : Environment Context : The Indian Sunderbans, which is part of the largest mangrove forest in the world, is home to 428 species of birds, a recent publication of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) states. Concept : The scientists said of the 428 birds listed, some, like the masked finfoot […]
US and CLIMATE ACTION Subject: Environment Context: Joe Biden assumed office as President of the United States on January 20, 2021, and among the first orders he signed was one to restore America’s participation in the United Nations Paris Agreement on climate change. Concept: US National Pledge To achieve an economy-wide reduction of […]
DRAGON FRUIT Subject: Environment Context: Government in Gujarat has initiated the process of patenting the name of the variety of dragon fruit grown in Gujarat as ‘kamalam’, which is also the name of the state party headquarters. Concept: Dragon fruit is the fruit of a species of wild cactus indigenous to South and […]
India is one of the biggest producers of e-waste in the world, The Global E-waste Monitor 2017. India collected just 10 per cent of the electronic waste (e-waste) estimated to have been generated in the country 2018-19 and 3.5 per cent of that in the generated in 2017-18, said a recent report by […]
MONSOON FORECAST MODEL Subject : Environment Context : The India Meteorological Department (IMD) may introduce new monsoon models this year to better forecast changes in rainfall. Concept : Dynamical Model: It is also called the Monsoon Mission Coupled Forecast System. It relies on the supercomputers, mathematically simulating the physics of the ocean and […]
INDIAN STAR TORTOISES Subject : Environment Context : Forest Department personnel on Monday seized as many as 414 live endangered Indian star tortoises. Concept : Indian star tortoise is found across the Indian sub-continent, more specifically, in the Central and Southern parts of India, in West Pakistan and in Sri Lanka. Star Tortoises […]
GEO ENGINEERING Subject : Environment Concept : Geoengineering is an umbrella term for human interventions that change the earth’s climate system . There are currently two main approaches under the geoengineering umbrella: carbon-dioxide removal (CDR) and solar radiation management (SRM). CDR tackles the root cause of global warming by removing greenhouse gases from […]