09.04.19 Uttarakhand (UKPCS) Current Affairs

UTTARAKHAND

 

  • Uttarakhand History : Chipko Movement

 

  • The Chipko movement took birth on March 27, 1973 in Gopeswar in Chamoli district of Garhwal division, when one Satvodaya worker, Chandi Prasad Bhatt organised the people to oppose commercialisation of forests. People of the region were deprived to use ash tree for agricultural implements. These trees were sold by U .P. Government to Simon Company of Allahabad to make sporting goods. The people reasserted their rights over the forest products. The movement was initiated for the first time in the forest of Rampur Fata. The method of Chipko was simple – villagers would hug the tree when the lumberjacks of forest contractors were approaching to fell them down. The event of Rampur Fata was followed by Chipko in the forest of Reni in Chamoli district. This event was marked by the leadership of Gaura Devi – a village women who led the women folk to save the trees. The initial objective of this unique movement was to save the hill forest from exploitation by the outsiders, and the organisation for achieving this objective then came to be known as ‘Uttarakhand’ Sangharsh Vahini (UKSV)’.

 

  • In 1977, within the movement a division appeared when protagonist of Chipko movement, Sunder Lal Bahuguna started proposing total ban in felling. His contention was that deforestation had caused ecological problem, thus dependency of locals on forests for their needs and total ban on felling due to ecological reasons; these two contradictory objectives came on the surface. In 1977, the issue of denudation came under wide discussion and it covered various shades of opinions. The issue was debated and publicized in the local and national press extensively. Thereafter Sunder Lal Bahuguna took the lead of the movement and it became a movement for ecology. The government of U.P. resorted to force in leasing out forests to contractors for commercial purpose. In Hewal Ghati and Salhet forest areas in December 1977, Chipko was introduced.INTERNATIONAL
    • WHO raises alarm over 300% increase in case of measles globally

     

    • World Health Organization (WHO)raised alarm over a 300 per cent increase in the case of measles globally in the first quarter of 2019 compared with last year.
      The UN body agreed the provisional data indicated a clear trend, with all regions of the world seeing outbreaks.
    • The WHO had an early trend for 2019 likely underestimated the severity of the outbreaks since only about one in 10 actual measles cases was reported.
      Around 170 countries have reported 112,163 measles cases to WHO.
      Africa has witnessed the most dramatic rise – up 700% which has weaker vaccination coverage than other regions.
      At this time in 2018, 163 countries had reported 28,124 cases.

     

    • China makes world’s 1st armored amphibious drone boat

     

    • China has successfully tested the world’s first armed amphibious drone boat.

     

    • It is capable of forming a combat triad with aerial drones and other drone ships.

     

    • Built by Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group under China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, the drone ship is named asMarine Lizard.

     

    • Having a maximum operation range of 1,200 kms, the Marine Lizard can be remotely controlled via satellites.

     

    NATIONAL

     

    • Different harvest festivals being celebrated in several parts of the country

     

    • The list of the various new year and harvest festivals with their associated states is as follows:

    Vishu: Kerala

    Rongali Bihu: Assam

    Puthandu Pirappu: Tamil Nadu

    Poila Baisakh: West Bengal

    Maha Vishuba Sankranti: Odisha

    • CMFRI joins hands with ISRO to protect coastal wetlands

     

    • The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have joined hands to map, validate and protect smaller wetlands in the coastal belt of the country.

     

    • A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the CMFRI and the Space Applications Centre (SAC) of the ISRO to develop a mobile app and a centralised web portal with a complete database of wetlands smaller than 2.25 hectares in the country.

     

    • As per the MoU, the two scientific institutes will identify and demarcate wetlands, and restore the degraded wetlands through suitable livelihood options like coastal aquaculture.

     

    • Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) Headquarters at Kochi.

     

     

    • India turns to net steel importer in Fiscal year 2018-2019

     

    • India became a net importer of steel in the fiscal year 2018-2019 that ended on 31 March for the first time in 3 years, as the 25% import duty on steel products imposed by the US diverted supplementary supplies to India.
      India’s steel imports increased by 4.7% to 7.84 million tonnes in 2018-19 from 7.48 million tonnes a year earlier.
    • Exports fell by 34% to 6.36 million tonnes from 9.62 million tonnes over.

     

    • The iron and steel industry is one of the most important industries in India.
      During 2014 through 2016, India was the third largest producer of raw steel and the largest producer of sponge iron in the world.

     

    • The industry produced 91.46 million tons of total finished steel and 9.7 million tons of raw iron. Most iron and steel in India is produced from iron ore.

     

    • Health Ministry to frame law to ban manufacture and sale of e cigarettes

     

    • The Ministry of Commerceand Industries instructed the Health Ministry to frame law banning manufacture and sale of e-cigarettes in the country as in the absence of the domestic legislation, it would not be possible to put a blanket ban on its imports.
    • The Commerce Ministry stated that without banning domestic sale and manufacturing of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS)through the law, it will be an infringement of global trade norms to put an import ban.

     

    • Electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes are devices that do not burn or use tobacco leaves but insteadvaporise a solution, which a user then inhales

     

    • The main constituents of the solution, in addition to nicotine, arepropylene glycol
      As per the World Health Organization report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2017, governments of 30 countries which includes Mauritius, Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, have already banned the Electronic cigarettes.

     

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