Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs)
- Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) or green energy certificates or tradable renewable certificates are proof that energy has been generated from renewable sources such as solar or wind power.
- Each REC represents the environmental benefits of 1MWh of renewable energy generation.
- When you purchase RECs, renewable energy is generated on your behalf.
- It is a market-based mechanism which will help the states meet their regulatory requirements (such as Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPOs)) by overcoming the geographical constraints on the existing renewable potential in different states.
- In India, RECs are being charged GST, while bundled power (RECs plus electricity, irrespective of source) or even just electricity are devoid of the same.
Hydroponics
- Plants grow through a process called photosynthesis, in which they use sunlight and a chemical inside their leaves called chlorophyll to convert carbon dioxide (a gas in the air) and water into glucose (a type of sugar) and oxygen.
- Thus technically plants don’t need soil to grow, this is the basic principle behind hydroponics.
- Hydroponics is a subset of hydroculture, which uses mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent instead of soil.
- The nutrients used in hydroponic systems can come from an array of different sources, these can include byproduct from fish waste, duck manure, or purchased chemical fertilizers.
Asian Tea Alliance
- Asian Tea Alliance (ATA) is a union of five tea-growing and consuming countries.
- The members of the alliance are the Indian Tea Association, China Tea Marketing Association, Indonesian Tea Marketing Association, Sri Lanka Tea Board and Japan Tea Association.
- ATA plans to work towards enhancing tea trade, cultural exchanges, technology exchanges as well as globally promoting tea.
- It will also work towards enhancing global consumption of tea while creating a sustainability agenda for the future of Asian tea.
World Press Freedom Index
- World Press Freedom Index is published annually by the Reporters without Borders.
- The World Press Freedom Index measures the level of media freedom in 180 countries.
- It is based on an evaluation of media freedom that measures pluralism, media independence, and the quality of the legal framework and the safety of journalists.
- It also includes indicators of the level of media freedom violations in each region.
- The 2019 index has been topped by Norway followed by Finland and Sweden at second and third positions, respectively.
- India’s rank dropped down to 140th from 138th in 2018, two points below the previous year.
- According to the index the Middle East and North Africa region continues to be the most difficult and dangerous for journalists.
Great Indian Bustard
- The great Indian Bustard is bird found in the western part of India subcontinent, the bird has habitat in Rajasthan, Gujarat and few parts of Western Ghats.
- It has a horizontal body and long bare legs, giving it an ostrich-like appearance, this bird is among the heaviest of the flying birds.
- The bird is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 of India.
- It is listed as Critically Endangered under the IUCN red list.
Source: The Hindu, Business Line, Down to Earth
