Daily Current Capsules 18^th May 2022
Environment
Himalayan Bird Count (HBC)
What's the NEWS

• As part of a global effort, scientists and birdwatchers in the Himalayan regions of India, Nepal and Bhutan came together and documented as many birds of the mountain range as possible.
• Uttarakhand reported the highest number of bird species, at 293, while the highest number of checklists (lists of birds seen and heard by birdwatchers), at 192, was uploaded from Jammu & Kashmir, according to the primary report from birdwatchers in the Himalayan regions of India, Nepal and Bhutan.
• Birdwatchers from Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, North Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, as well as Nepal and Bhutan, took part in the initiative
• From the westernmost Ladakh to the easternmost Arunachal Pradesh, this is the first edition of the Himalayan Bird Count (HBC) which aims to celebrate the incredible bird diversity and bring attention to the threatened habitats of the region.
• The event is organised by Bird Count India, Bird Conservation Nepal and Bhutan's Royal Society for Protection of Nature working together to bring the Himalayan birding fraternity together for a common good.
• The organisations have collectively decided to do this event on "Endemic Bird Day" to spread awareness about Himalaya's bird biodiversity.
• The exercise was undertaken on May 14 and a total of 607 species were documented in just one day.
• A checklist includes birds seen and heard.
• Bird Count India is an informal partnership of organisations and groups interested in documenting and monitoring India's birds.
• The initiative encourages birdwatchers to upload their bird lists to eBird a global platform for bird observations.

Education
MALVIYA MISSION

What's the NEWS

• Union Minister of Education pitched in with an idea of a "Malviya Mission" to develop enabling ecosystem across the country for teacher education/faculty development.

Know! about Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya

• He was an Indian educationist and a Freedom Fighter.
• He was conferred the title of ‘Mahamana' by Mahatma Gandhi.
• He founded Banaras Hindu University (BHU) at Varanasi in 1916, which was created under the B.H.U. Act, 1915. He was Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University from 1919-1938.
• He started writing poems under the pen name ‘Makarand' which were published in journals and magazines.
• He was a moderate leader.
• He was elected as the president of Indian National Congress four times in 1909, 1918, 1932 and 1933
• Owing to his arrest by the Government of India, he could not preside over the 1932 and 1933 sessions which had been banned.
• He started the 'Abhyudaya' as a Hindi weekly in 1907 and made it a daily in 1915.
• He also started the 'Maryada' a Hindi monthly in 1910.
• He started the 'Leader' an English daily in 1909.
• He was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the 'Hindustan Times' from 1924 to 1946.

Governance
NATIONAL STARTUP ADVISORY COUNCIL (NSAC)
What's the NEWS

• The Minister of Commerce and Industry, chaired the 4th meeting of National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC) in New Delhi.

Know! about NSAC

 

• Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had constituted the National Startup Advisory Council to advise the Government on measures needed to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country.
• Besides the ex-officio members, the council has non-official members, representing various stakeholders such as founders of successful startups.
• It is a one of its kind congregation wherein the policy making process is driven as part of collaboration between all the key stakeholders of the Startup ecosystem.
• NavIC Grand Challenge
• The Minister also launched NavIC Grand Challenge which aims at promoting adoption of NavIC as geo-positioning solution, a key proponent for digital Aatmanirbharta.
• The applications for the grand challenge are open on Startup India's website (www.startupindia.gov.in) and it aims to identify and handhold solutions of startups which are engaged in developing NavIC enabled drones.

 

Geographical Facts
Urban Heat Island

What's the NEWS

• Several parts of the country are reeling under heat wave conditions.
• Cities, especially, are a lot hotter than rural areas. This is due to a phenomenon called an "urban heat island".

Know! about urban heat island

• An urban heat island is a local and temporary phenomenon experienced when certain pockets within a city experience higher heat load than surrounding or neighbouring areas on the same day.
• These are not the typical islands around water bodies, but urban heat islands that record higher day temperatures than other localities.
• The temperature variation can range between 3 to 5 degrees Celsius.
• For example, a greener locality like Pashan in Pune often records cooler temperatures than urban areas like Shivajinagar, Chinchwad or Magarpatta.
• The variations are mainly due to heat remaining trapped within locations that often resemble concrete jungles.
• Rural areas have relatively larger green cover in the form of plantations, farmlands, forests and trees as compared to urban spaces. This green cover plays a major role in regulating heat in its surroundings.
• Cities usually have buildings constructed with glass, bricks, cement and concrete - all of which are dark-coloured materials, meaning they attract and absorb higher heat content.

Factoids
Cannes Film Festival

 

What's the NEWS

• A 11-member Indian delegation walked the red carpet at the inauguration of the Cannes Film Festival in France, where India has been named as the ‘country of honour' at the Marche du Film, the business counterpart of the Cannes Film Festival.
• Largest ever official Indian Delegation led by I&B Minister Anurag Thakur walks together at Cannes Red Carpet.

Mame Khan

• Mame Khan, a traditional Manganiyar singer from Rajasthan, became the first folk artiste to open the red carpet event for the Indian contingent. He will also perform at the festival.
• He belongs to the Manganiyar community, a Muslim community found in the desert of Rajasthan, mostly in the districts of Barmer and Jaisalmer.
• Manganiyars along with the, Langha community, are known for their folk music.
• Their songs are passed on from generation to generation as a form of oral history of the desert.
• Their key Instruments are Kamaicha, Khartaal and Dholak.

Places in NEWS
Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary

 

What's the NEWS

• Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary was notified as a tiger reserve May 16, 2022, after a nod by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in July 2021.
• It is now India's 52nd tiger reserve and Rajasthan's fourth, after Ranthambore, Sariska and Mukundra.
• There were an estimated 2,967 tigers in India in 2019, according to the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
• The newly notified tiger reserve includes the tiger habitat between Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in the northeast and Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve on the southern side and facilitates dispersal of tigers from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.

KEEP Learning KEEP Evolving
TEAM CL