CORPAT & EX-BONGOSAGAR

• BONGOSAGAR-23 is the 4th edition of Bilateral Exercise between Indian Navy and Bangladesh Navy.
• The 5th edition of Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) by the two navies of India and Bangladesh was conducted alongside the BONGOSAGAR-23.
• BONGOSAGAR-23 was conducted in the Northern Bay of Bengal.
• CORPAT-23 also included the maiden Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) drills conducted between the two navies wherein a Search and Rescue scenario at sea was exercised.
• Indian Navy Ships Kuthar, Kiltan and Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) Dornier participated in the exercise along with Bangladesh Navy Ships Abu Bakr, Abu Ubaidah and MPA.
• INS Kuthar is an indigenously built guided-missile Corvette, whereas INS Kiltan is an indigenously built anti-submarine Corvette.

Galapagos Tortoises

• There are 13 living species of Galapagos tortoises, which are also as called giant tortoises.
• These reptiles are among the longest-lived of all land vertebrates, averaging more than a hundred years.
• They are also the world's largest tortoises, with some specimens exceeding five feet in length and reaching more than 500 pounds.
• Tortoises don’t have teeth, so they use the bony outer edges of the mouth to bite off and mash food.
• There are 2 main types of Galapagos tortoises that includes:
  1. Domed tortoises – Live in the cooler regions of the archipelago.
  2. Saddle-backed tortoises – Live in dry, coastal environments.
• The Galapagos archipelago, around 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) off the coast of Ecuador, has flora and fauna found nowhere else in the world.
• These 19 islands and the surrounding marine reserve have been called a unique ‘living museum and showcase of evolution’.

Mount Etna, Fagradalsfjall, Kilauea & Dukono

• Volcanoes are openings, or vents where lava, tephra (small rocks), and steam erupt onto the Earth’s surface.
• Volcanoes can be on land and in the ocean and formed through the movement and collision of tectonic plates.
• There are 4 main types of volcanoes that includes:
  1. Cinder cones.
  2. Composite or stratovolcanoes.
  3. Shield volcanoes.
  4. Lava domes.
• Some of the most active volcanoes are located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, which includes New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Japan and the western coast of the Americas.
• About 90% of all earthquakes worldwide strike within Pacific Ring of Fire.
• Italy’s Mount Etna – Is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, was causing public concern as it started erupting the year before.
• It is the Europe’s most active volcano and one of the largest in the world.
• Its recorded volcanic activity dates back to 1500 B.C.
• The current eruptions at Etna have led to flight cancellations at nearby Catania airport.
• Fagradalsfjall – Located in the Iceland.
• Kilauea – It is located in Hawaii.
• Dukono – Located in Indonesia started erupting in August 1933 and is still continuing.

Red Sanders

In the recently concluded CITES Standing Committee meeting, India was removed from the Review of Significant Trade process for Red Sanders.

• Red sanders is also known as red sandalwood, is a tree species with the scientific name Pterocarpus santalinus.
• It is endemic to few districts in Andhra Pradesh.
• The species is listed as Appendix II under Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) since 1994.
• The species has been subjected to threats of illegal harvesting and smuggling leading to their depletion from natural forest.
• Red sanders wood sourced from artificially propagation (plantations) comprise a major part of legal export.
• The Red sanders species was listed for Review of Significant Trade (RST) process of CITES since 2004.
• India was recently removed from the Review of Significant Trade process of CITES for Red Sanders.
• The CITES RST process enables disciplinary action in the form of trade suspensions directed at countries that do not meet their obligations.
• This is a process through which the CITES Standing Committee places increased scrutiny on the exports of a species from a country to determine if the Convention is being properly implemented.
• In the past, it has even led to a recommendation to suspend trade with India.
• CITES – Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments.
• Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species.
• CITES was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of IUCN (The World Conservation Union).
• India is a Party to the CITES since 1976.

Electoral Trusts

• An Electoral Trust is a trust set up by companies to distribute contributions received from other companies and individuals to political parties.
• The Electoral Trusts Scheme was introduced by the UPA government in 2013.
• The scheme was meant to facilitate donations to political parties by corporates and individuals.
• Any company registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956, can form an electoral trust.
• Under the Income-tax Act, 1961, any citizen of India, a company registered in India, or a firm or Hindu Undivided Family or association of persons living in India, can donate to an electoral trust.
• Under the Income-tax Act, 1961 the donation to the electoral trust can be provided by the following:
  • Any citizen of India,
  • A company registered in India or a firm,
  • Hindu Undivided Family and
  • Association of persons living in India.
• The electoral trusts have to apply for renewal every 3 financial years.
• They must donate 95% of contributions received in a financial year to political parties registered under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
• The contributors’ PAN (in case of a resident) or passport number (in case of an NRI) is required at the time of making contributions.
• The electoral trusts route is transparent on contributors and beneficiaries.
• Only one contributor and one beneficiary of a particular trust is known to the public.
• Electoral bonds, on the other hand, are exempt from disclosure requirements.
• The key difference between the Trusts and Bonds is in the degrees of transparency they offer and the Bonds Scheme's focus on the anonymity of donors.