Prelims Factoids
Prani Mitra Awards

Relevance IN - Prelims (about Prani Mitra awards + about Vision Plan (2021-2031) for Indian zoos + about CZA role)
What's the NEWS

• Union Environment Minister gave away the Prani Mitra Awards constituted by Central Zoo Authority (CZA).
• These are given every year under 4 categories of - outstanding contribution by zoo director/ curator, biologist/ educationists, veterinarian and the animal keeper/ zoo frontline.

VISION PLAN (2021-2031) FOR INDIAN ZOOS

• Union Environment Minister released the Vision Plan (2021-2031) for Indian zoos by Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to upgrade them to global standards and strengthening of Central Zoo Authority.
• The vision document is committed to making CZA and Indian zoos a greater force for conservation by providing unparalleled animal care, cutting edge research, and immersive visitor experiences that strike meaningful chords with people of all ages.
• The exhaustive 10 years vision plan has been arrived at after a very stringent data mining and stakeholder consultive process and is expected to give a direction towards ex-situ conservation approaches in India.
• As on today there are more than 150 recognized zoos and rescue centers in the country that adhere to the guidelines and high standards of wild animal welfare.

Central Zoo Authority (CZA)

• It is the body of the government of India responsible for oversight of zoos.
• It is an affiliate member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).
• The CZA was formed to bring Indian zoos up to international standards.
• The Central Zoo Authority has been constituted under the section 38A of Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972.
• The Authority consists of a Chairman, ten members and a Member Secretary.
• The main objective of the authority is to complement the national effort in conservation of wild life.
• Standards and norms for housing, upkeep, health care and overall management of animals in zoos has been laid down under the Recognition of Zoo Rules, 1992.
• Every zoo in the country is required to obtain recognition from the Authority for its operation.
• The Authority's role is more of a facilitator than a regulator.
• It provides technical and financial assistance to such zoos which have the potential to attain the desired standard in animal management.
• The Central Zoo Authority also regulates the exchange of animals of endangered category Listed under Schedule-I and II of the Wildlife Protection Act among zoos.
• Exchange of animals between Indian and foreign zoos is also approved by the Authority before the requisite clearances under EXIM Policy and the CITES permits are issued by the competent authority.

Prelims Factoids
National Human Rights Commission Foundation Day - 12 October
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the role of NHRC)
Know! about NHRC

• It is an autonomous statutory body established on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
• It's purpose is to promote and protect human rights.
• It is the custodian of individual rights as defined by the Constitution and made in international treaties.
• First Chairman : Justice Ranganath Mishra / Current Chairman : Justice Arun Kumar Mishra
• The constitution of the Commission is in line with the Paris Principles (adopted in the first International Workshop on National Institutions for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in Paris in October 1991 and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1993)
• It is an advisory body, so it does not have the right to punish, although it enjoys the powers of Lok Nyayalaya.
• The NHRC is a multi-member body consisting of a chairman, four full-time members and four honorary members.
• The President and the members are appointed by the President on the basis of the recommendations of the High Level Committee headed by the Prime Minister.
• Apart from this, the commission also has five specialized departments (Law Department, Investigation Department, Policy Research and Program Department, Training Department and Administration Department).

Prelims Factoids
VYZOV

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about VYZOV)
What's the NEWS

• Actor Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko travelled to International Space Station (ISS) in a Soyuz MS-19 aircraft to film about 35 to 40 minutes of footage from the movie titled Vyzov, or The Challenge.
• Vyzov is about a cosmonaut who loses consciousness after being hit by space debris in the middle of a spaceflight.
• Vyzov - It is the first feature-length fiction film shot in outer space.
• Agency - Roscosmos Space Agency
• Aircraft - Soyuz-2.1a rocket booster with Soyuz MS-19 space ship
• Location - To the International Space Station, ISS, blasts off from the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

Science and Technology
FIRST PILOT PLANT TO CONVERT HIGH ASH COAL TO METHANOL DEVELOPED
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the indigenous technology + terminology - fluidized bed gasification technology)
What's the NEWS

• India has developed an indigenous technology to convert high ash Indian coal to methanol and established its first pilot plant in Hyderabad.

Know! about the indigenous technology

• This technology will help the country move towards the adoption of clean technology and promote the use of methanol as a transportation fuel (blending with petrol), thus reducing crude oil imports.
• The broad process of converting coal into methanol consists of conversion of coal to synthesis (syngas) gas, syngas cleaning and conditioning, syngas to methanol conversion, and methanol purification. Coal to methanol plants in most countries are operated with low ash coals.
• Handling of high ash and heat required to melt this high amount of ash is a challenge in the case of Indian coal, which generally has high ask content.
• In order to overcome this challenge, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has developed the fluidized bed gasification technology suitable for high ash Indian coals to produce syngas and then convert syngas to methanol with 99% purity.
• This pilot-scale project with a methanol generation capacity of 0.25 metric tons per day has been initiated by NITI Aayog and funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under Clean Energy Research Initiative.

Prelims Factoids
Rooppur nuclear power plant
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about nuclear power plants of Bangladesh)
What's the NEWS

• The government of Bangladesh is planning to set up its second nuclear power plant in the southern region of the country.

Know! about nuclear power plants of Bangladesh

• Rooppur is the first nuclear power plant of Bangladesh being built with financial and technological support from Russia.
• The 2400 megawatt Rooppur nuclear power plant is expected to become functional by 2024.
• India is assisting Bangladesh through a concessional line of credit worth about USD 1 billion in the construction of transmission line and power evacuation facility from the Rooppur nuclear power plant.

Prelims Factoids
Sindhudurg Airport or Chipi Airport.

Relevance IN - Prelims (about Sindhudurg airport - location)
What's the NEWS

• Civil Aviation Minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia inaugurated the Greenfield Sindhudurg airport in Maharasthra under the UDAN scheme.
• The first flight connecting Sindhudurg with Mumbai under the RCS-UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme-Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) was also flagged off on the occasion.
• Sindhudurg airport in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra is popularly also known as Chipi Airport.
• Sindhudurg, Maharashtra lies in the southern part of ‘Konkan'.
• The district is named after the fort of Sindhudurg meaning "fort in the sea", which lies on a rocky island just off the coast of Malvan.

Know! about Konkan Region

• The Konkan region consists of numerous riverine islands, river valleys, and the hilly slopes of the Western Ghats.
• Geographically, Konkan is bound by the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the east.
• The Konkan coast proceeds from the north at Damaon in the Gulf of Cambay and extends southwards along with the western seaside areas of Maharashtra and Goa.
• It meets the Canara coast at the northern edge of Karwar district in Karnataka.

Space Awareness
Indian meteorite helped study Earth's formation

Relevance IN - Prelims (about bridgmanite.)
What's the NEWS

• On May 22, 2012, a large meteor shower occurred near the town of Katol in Nagpur
• Researchers from the Geological Survey of India collected about 30 meteorite fragments with the largest weighing around a kilogram.

Know! about the findings after studying the meteorite

• Initial studies revealed that the host rock was mainly composed of olivine, an olive-green mineral.
• Olivine is the most abundant phase in our Earth's upper mantle.
• Earth is composed of different layers including the outer crust, followed by the mantle and then the inner core. You can reach the upper mantle if you drill for about 410 kilometers.
• B y studying the composition of these meteorite fragments, researchers have unravelled the composition expected to be present in the Earth's lower mantle which is at about 660 km deep.
• Studying the meteorite could also tell us more about how our Earth evolved from being a magma ocean to a rocky planet.
• The researchers took a small sample of the meteorite and examined it using special microscopy techniques. The mineralogy was determined using a laser micro-Raman spectrometer.
• These techniques helped the team identify, characterise the crystal structure of the meteorite and determine its chemical composition and texture.
• The research paper published reports the first natural occurrence of a mineral called bridgmanite. The mineral was named in 2014 after Prof. Percy W. Bridgman, recipient of the 1946 Nobel Prize in Physics.Various computational and experimental studies have shown that about 80% of the Earth's lower mantle is made up of bridgmanite.
• By studying this meteorite sample, scientists can decode how bridgmanite crystallized during the final stages of our Earth's formation.

Evolution of Earth

• The inner planets or terrestrial planets or rocky planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are formed by accretion or by rocky pieces coming together and forming a planet by increased pressure and high temperature caused by radioactive elements and gravitational forces
• Earth was an ocean of magma before the elements crystallised and stabilised and the different layers such as core, mantle were formed.
• The heavier elements like iron went to the core while the lighter silicates stayed in the mantle.

Social Issues
Green Ribbon Initiative.

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about World Mental Health Day) + Mains ( GS II Social issues)
What's the NEWS

• To commemorate World Mental Health Day, the Ministry of Health launched a Green Ribbon Initiative.
• The initiative intends to raise awareness on Mental Health as part of the activities being taken up during ongoing Mental Health Awareness Week, 5^th-10^th October.

Know! about Mental Health Services in India (steps taken by the government)

• The Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry provides a 24/7 toll-free helpline to give support to people facing anxiety, stress, depression, suicidal thoughts and other mental health concerns.
• The mental health rehabilitation helpline, KIRAN, can be called from landline and mobile phones across the country at the number 1800-599-0019.
• The helpline KIRAN was launched in collaboration with state-run telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) that provides the department with telecom infrastructure.
• The Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India launched the "MANAS" App to promote wellbeing across age groups on 14 April 2021.
• It has been endorsed as a national program by the Prime Minister's Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).
• As per Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, mental healthcare services of India have been integrated into general healthcare services like National Health Mission, PMSSY, Rashtriya Kishore Swasthya Karyakram, AYUSHMAN Bharat, PMJAY, etc.
• The Ministry of Education under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan also runs the "Manodarpan" initiative, aimed to provide psychosocial support to students, family members and teachers for their mental health and well-being during the times of Covid-19.
• The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) runs a "NIMHANS RAAH app" that provides free information to the public on mental health care professionals and mental healthcare centres in the form of a one-stop source of data on mental health centres and professionals.

World Mental Health Day

• World Mental Health Day is celebrated every year on October 10 wherein countries, governments and people speak about this very important aspect of the overall health of individuals.
• World Mental Health Day was first observed on October 10, 1992, as an annual activity of the World Federation for Mental Health.
• Initially, the day was celebrated without any prior set theme or curated agenda other than to talk about Mental Health in general.
• In 1994 for the first time, a theme for the day was used which was "Improving the Quality of Mental Health Services throughout the World."
• The theme of this year's World Mental Health Day is ‘Mental health in an unequal world'.

International Organisations
Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA)

Relevance IN - Prelims (about CICA)
What's the NEWS

• External Affairs Minister arrived in Nur Sultan in Kazakhstan on the second leg of visit to Central Asia.
• He will attend the 6th Ministerial meeting of the Conference of Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Nur-Sultan.
• Kazakhstan is the current Chair and initiator of the CICA Forum.

Know! about CICA forum

• It is an inter-governmental forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.
• CICA was established at the initiative of President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan outlined at the 47^th UNGA in 1992.
• First Ministerial Meeting was held in September 1999 and First Summit was held in June 2002.
• The highest decision making organ of CICA is the Meeting of the CICA Heads of State and Government (Summit)
• The CICA Summit is convened every four years. The Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs is required to be held every two years.
• The CICA Secretariat - administrative body of CICA - is located in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
• To be a member of CICA, a state must have at least a part of its territory in Asia
• Presently CICA has twenty-seven Member States.
• India has been associated with the CICA process and its activities since the Beginning.
• Nine countries and five multi-national organizations, including the United Nations, have observer status.
• The two founding documents of CICA are Declaration on the Principles Guiding Relations between the CICA Member States adopted at the First Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in Almaty on 14 September 1999 and the Almaty Act, charter of CICA, adopted at the First Summit held in Almaty on 4 June 2002.

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