UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 18-07-2020

Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone

• Bhagirathi is the source stream of Ganga, It emanates from Gangotri glacier at Gaumukh at an elevation of 3,892 m.
• Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone extends from Gaumukh to Uttarakashi covering an area of 4179.59 sq. kilometer.
• The Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone notification was issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in 2012.
• The notification was subsequently amended on 16th April, 2018 in consultation with the

1. Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways.
2. Government of Uttarakhand
3. Indian Road Congress.

• The Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone notification mandated the State Government of Uttarakhand to prepare Zonal Master Plan (ZMP) to be implemented under the supervision of the Monitoring Committee.
• The ZMP is based on watershed approach and includes governance in the area of forest and wildlife, watershed management, irrigation, energy, tourism, public health and sanitation, road infrastructure, etc.

• It aims to safe guard local people without affecting their rights and privileges and also ensuring eco-friendly development for their livelihood security.
• Recently MoEF&CC has approved ZMP of Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone.

State of food security and nutrition in the world (SOFI)

• The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2020 report was released on the sidelines of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development.
• It is produced jointly by the

1. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
2. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD),
3. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF),
4. UN World Food Programme (WFP)
5. World Health Organization (WHO).

• Its first edition was brought out in 2017.
• Highlights of the report are as follows

1. The world is not on track to meet the goal of zero hunger by 2030 i.e. SDG2.
2. Between 8.3 crore and 13 crore people globally are likely to go hungry this year due to the economic recession triggered by COVID-19.
3. Hunger continues to be on the rise since 2014 and the global prevalence of undernourishment, or overall percentage of hungry people, is 8.9%.
4. Almost 69 crore people went hungry in 2019 up by 1 crore in 2018
5. Asia remains home to the greatest number of undernourished (38 crore).
6. Africa is second (25 crore), followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (4.8 crore).
7. A healthy diet costs more than Rs. 143 (or $1.90/ day), which is the international poverty threshold.
8. The number of people globally who can’t afford a healthy diet is at 300 crore people, or more than the combined population of China and India.

Noor-Wali Mehsud

• The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror group's leader Noor Wali Mehsud has been designated as a global terrorist by the UN.
• The decision was taken as he was participating in the financing, planning and perpetrating acts on behalf of and in support of entities associated with al-Qaida.
• The UN Security Council's 1267 ISIL and al-Qaida Sanctions Committee added Mehsud, to the ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaida Sanctions List, subjecting the Pakistani national to an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.
• Blacklisting by the Security Council entails that all states are required to freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities.
• They are also required to prevent the entry into or transit through their territories by the designated individuals.
• It also prevent the transfer from their territories of arms and all materials related to designated individuals and entities.

ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee

• It was initially established in 1999, pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1267.

• The Committee comprises all 15 members of the Security Council and makes its decision by consensus.
• It oversees the sanctions measures imposed by the Security Council.
• It is one of three Security Council committees dealing with counter-terrorism.
• The other two committees are

1. The Counter-Terrorism Committee established pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001),
2. The Security Council Committee established pursuant to Resolution 1540 (2004).

Trinity Nuclear Test

• Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear device.
• It was conducted by the United States Army on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project.
• The test was conducted in the Jornada del Muerto desert about 56 km southeast of Socorro, New Mexico.
• The test was planned and directed by Kenneth Bainbridge.
• The test was of an implosion-design plutonium device, informally nicknamed "The Gadget", of the same design as the Fat Man bomb later detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945.

Manhattan Project

• The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons.
• It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada.

SHUDH

• IIT Kanpur has developed an Ultraviolet (UV) sanitizing product named SHUDH.
• It is a smartphone operated Handy Ultraviolet Disinfection Helper (SHUDH).
• It has six UV lights of 15 Watts each that can be individually monitored from a distance.
• The device at its full operation can disinfect a 10x10 squared feet room in about 15 minutes.
• SHUDH can assist in killing the spread of corona virus at the highly prone places such as hospitals, hotels, malls, offices and schools.

Source: PIB, the Hindu, Indian Express, Times of India