Prelim Snippets- 06.02.2020

1. Burhi Dihing river

Context:
  • Recently, the Burhi Dihing River in eastern Assam was on fire due to a leakage in the underwater oil pipeline.
About Burhi Dihing river:
  • It is a large tributary of the Brahmaputra River in Upper Assam.
  • It originates in the Eastern Himalayas of the Patkai Hills in Arunachal Pradesh and flows through Assam to its confluence with the Brahmaputra at Dihingmukh.
  • It creates of oxbow lakes in these areas.
  • Other Tributaries of the Brahmaputra River are Dibang River, Lohit River, Dhansiri River, Kolong River, Kameng River, Manas River, Beki River, Raidak River, Jaldhaka River, Teesta River, Subansiri River.
  • An Oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water.
  • A Meander form a snake-like pattern as the river flows across a fairly flat valley floor. It is formed in the middle and lower course of a river. This is because vertical erosion is replaced by a sideways form of erosion called lateral erosion, plus deposition within the Floodplain.

2. Amrabad Tiger Reserve

Why in News?
  • There was a forestfire at Amrabad Tiger Reserve, recently.
Amrabad Tiger Reserve:
  • It lies in Nallamala hills of Telangana.
  • It is India’s second-largest tiger reserve, next only to Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve which is present in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana).
  • Chenchu tribes are present here.
About Chenchu Tribe:
  • They are Scheduled Tribe in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Odisha.
  • They live in the dense Nallamala forest of Andhra Pradesh.
  • They have traditional way of life based on Hunting and Gathering.
  • They speak the Chenchu language, a member of the Dravidian language family.
  • Their relationship with non-tribal people has been Largely Symbiotic.

3. National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development

Why in News?
  • The Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has provided certain information in Parliament regarding the ongoing National Programme for Cattle and Buffalo Breeding.
  • The scheme is subsumed under Rashtriya Gokul Mission since December 2014.
National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development:
  • The NPBBDD has been formulated by merging four ongoing schemes of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries in the dairy sector.
  • It was launched in Feb 2014.
  • This merger has been done to integrate milk production and dairying activities in a scientific and holistic manner to meet the increasing demand for milk in the country.
Components of the Scheme:
  • NPBBDD has the following three components.
    • National Programme for Bovine Breeding (NPBB)
    • National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD) and
    • Rashtriya Gokul Mission.
Differences between all these Schemes:
  • National Programme for Bovine Breeding:
  • It aims-
    • To arrange quality Artificial Insemination services at farmers’ doorstep
    • To bring all Breedable females under organized breeding through Artificial Insemination or natural service using germplasm of high genetic merit
  • National Programme for Dairy Development
  • It aims-
    • To create and strengthen infrastructure for the production of quality milk including cold chain infrastructure linking the farmer to the consumer
    • To strengthen dairy cooperative societies/Producers Companies at the village level
    • To increase milk production by providing technical input services like cattle-feed, and mineral mixture etc.
  • Rashtriya Gokul Mission
  • It aims-
    • To undertake breed improvement programme for indigenous cattle breeds so as to improve the genetic makeup and increase the stock.
    • To enhance milk production and productivity of indigenous bovines.
    • To upgrade non-descript cattle using elite indigenous breeds like Gir, Sahiwal, Rathi, Deoni, Tharparkar, Red Sindhi.

4. Cabinet Approves Amendment to bring Cooperative Banks under Regulatory Control of RBI

Why in News?
  • The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved amendments to the Banking Regulation Act to empower the central bank to have greater control over cooperative banks, in order to prevent malpractices and ensure better regulation.
  • The cooperative banks will now be required to fulfil regulatory requirements that have been set for scheduled Commercial Banks.
Highlights:
  • Currently, cooperative banks are governed by dual control of cooperative societies as well as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). While the role of cooperative society includes incorporation, registration, management, recovery, audit, supersession of board of directors and liquidation, central bank’s role is responsible for regulatory functions.
  • These amendments will apply to urban co-operative banks and multi-state cooperative banks.
  • There are 1,540 cooperative banks with 8.6 crore depositors’ money, with around ₹5 lakh crore deposits in the country and the proposed amendment will protect the depositors.
  • The government’s move towards amending the banking regulation law to strengthen the cooperative banks comes months after Punjab Maharashtra Bank (PMC) collapsed.
  • In September, the Reserve Bank of India had superseded the lender’s board for six months after finding under-reporting of loans.
  • Cash withdrawals were capped at ₹1,000 per account for six months, but subsequently relaxed to ₹50,000 as panic spread among depositors.
  • Such banks will also be audited as per RBI’s norms, the minister said after the Cabinet meeting.
  • Following the amendments, the recruitment for the banks’ management will be based on certain qualifications and appointment of the chief executive officer will also require prior permission from the banking regulator, as in case of commercial banks.

5. DefExpo 2020

Why in News?
  • DefExpo, a flagship biennial eventof the Ministry of Defence, is being held for the first time in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) from 5th to 9th February 2020.
About:
  • This is the 11th edition of DefExpo – a mega defence exhibition. The 10th edition of the event was held at Chennai (Tamil Nadu) in 2018.
  • The main theme of the DefExpo India- 2020 is ‘India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub’and the focus will be on ‘Digital Transformation of Defence’.
  • DefExpo-2020 promises to bring new technologies, technological solutions, where defence manufacturing companies from India and abroad showcase their products and services in defence arena, on a single platform.
  • This provides Indian defence industry an opportunity to promote its export potential.
  • Defence Expo 2020 will showcase the comprehensive spectrum of India’s aerospace, defence and security interests.
  • The fifth India Russia Military Industry Conference will be held on the sidelines of the Event.
  • The Conference primarily aims at addressing issues related to life-cycle support and maintenance of major Russian-origin equipment/ platforms such as SU-30 MKI aircraft, Mi-17 Helicopters, MiG-29K aircraft, INS Vikramaditya and T-90 tanks.

6. Mukti Caravan

Why in News?
  • Mukti Caravan was recently flagged off in Rajasthan to mobilize people against Child trafficking.
About:
  • It is mobilising people against child trafficking with the focus on generating awareness about preventive procedures in place to combat forced labour, exploitation and sexual abuse of children.
  • It is led by the child labour survivors, the caravan will reach out to villages and towns prone to human trafficking.
  • The participants will distribute pamphlets and hold discussions with the people at public places and organise activities such as skits, poem recitation and screening of short films with an appeal to take action against trafficking.
  • The Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF)and Rajasthan Police have joined hands to run the campaign, which will be joined by the Superintendents of Police in the districts of their jurisdiction.
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