Kaziranga National Park

Recently Prime Minimiser Narendra Modi enjoyed an elephant and jeep safari within the Kaziranga National Park and encouraged more and more people to come and visit the place.

• Kaziranga National Park was formed in 1908 by Mary Curzon, wife of Lord Curzon.
• The park is located in the edge of the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspots in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of Assam.
• In the year 1985, the park was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
• The park is the breeding ground for elephants, wild water buffalo and swamp deer.
• It was declared as a tiger reserve in 2006.
• The park is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International for the conservation of avifaunal species.
• Birds like lesser white-fronted goose, ferruginous duck, black-necked stork, and Asian Open bill stork specially migrate from the Central Asia during the winter season.
• The park has 4 types of vegetation that includes:
  1. Alluvial inundated grasslands
  2. Alluvial savannah woodlands
  3. Tropical moist mixed deciduous forests
  4. Tropical semi-evergreen forests
• Trees – Kumbhi, Indian gooseberry, the cotton tree and elephant Apple are amongst the famous trees that can be seen in the park.

• Kaziranga National Park is home to the following species:

• Snake haven – It is home to Reticulated Python and the Rock Python.
• The King Cobra, the longest venomous snake globally is also home to Kaziranga.
• Leopards and the majestic Royal Bengal Tigers tread silently through its dense forests.
• Great Indian One-horned Rhinoceros – It is home to world’s largest population of Indian Rhinoceros.
• The latest rhino census tallies their numbers at an impressive 2,413, approximately 2/3rd of their total world population.

Election Commissioners

Recently Arun Goel was resigned as the election commissioner and the selection committee will soon appoint the election commissioner.

• Articles (324-329) in Part XV of the Constitution deals with Election.
• The Election Commission of India is a three-member body, with one Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.
• The President of India appoints the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commissioners.
• The Selection Committee, chaired by the prime minister, leader of the opposition and a Union Minister nominated by the Prime Minister make recommendations to the President for appointment of CEC and other ECs.
• They are appointed with a majority vote of Prime Minister and a Minister chosen by him in the selection committee.
• The Constitution has not debarred the retiring election commissioners from any further appointment by the government.
• The Chief Election Commissioner and the two other Election Commissioners have equal powers and in any case of difference of opinion, the matter is decided by the Commission by majority.

SheRNI Portal

Recently the SheRNI Portal was launched by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to connect, support women scientists and faculty members across India.

• SheRNI - She Research Network in India.
• The objective of SheRNI is to create a national-level expert platform for women faculty members and facilitate the exchange of expertise, insights and experiences across diverse fields.
• The SheRNI platform will connect more than 81,000 profiles of Indian women in science and research across various domains.
• The platform was launched by the Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET) of the University Grants Commission (UGC).
• Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET) – Is an Autonomous Inter-University Centre (IUC) of University Grants Commission.
• It is a major National Programme initiated by the UGC on February 1991 as a project under the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA).
• It became an independent Inter-University Centre on 16th May 1996.
• It is involved in modernizing university libraries in India using the state-of-art technologies for the optimum utilisation of information.
• It is set out to be a major player in promoting scholarly communication among academicians and researchers in India.

NOTA (None Of The Above)

Recently experts from the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an NGO have stated that NOTA is a ‘toothless tiger’ with no implications on results.

• NOTA is one of the options available in the Electronic Voting Machine, for people who disagree with the political parties in the election contest.
• The option provides voters the power to reject all the candidates listed on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).
• NOTA was introduced in India through the Supreme Court's judgment in September 2013.
• NOTA was used for the first time in the 2013 Assembly elections in 5 states such as Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh
• It was also used in the 2014 General Elections.
• It has no electoral value in the Indian system.
• In 2018, the Supreme Court had ruled that NOTA option should not be given in the Rajya Sabha elections.
• The symbol for NOTA has been designed by the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad.

Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)

Recently Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) seized 45 consignments containing more than 2000 kg of Pseudoephedrine.

• The National Policy on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances is based Article 47 which direct the State to endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption, except for medicinal purposes, of intoxicating drugs injurious to health.
• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 mandates a Central Authority for the purpose of exercising the powers and functions of the Central Government under the Act.
• Through this power, the Government of India constituted the Narcotics Control Bureau in 1986.
• It is the Central Authority for exercising powers and functions of the Central Government under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act).
• It works under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• It is the apex coordinating agency and also functions as an enforcement agency through its zones and sun-zones.
• National Coordination – NCB is the Central Authority for exercising powers and functions of the Central Government under NDPS Act.
• NCB is the nodal agency for matters pertaining to drug law enforcement in India.
• NCB coordinates actions taken by various agencies of Central and State Governments related to drug law enforcement in the country and matters pertaining to drug abuse.
• International Coordination – NCB is signatory to all UN Drug Conventions and SAARC Convention.
• Bilateral Agreements with 24 countries and MoUs with 13 countries.
• Cooperation with 28 countries/regional groups through Joint Working Groups on Counter Terrorism and Anti Drug Trafficking.
• India is a signatory to:
  • The single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961, as amended by the 1972 Protocol,
  • The Conventions on Psychotropic Substances, 1971 and
  • The United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988.
• Pseudoephedrine – Pseudoephedrine is a precursor chemical that is used in the manufacturing of Methamphetamine, a dangerous and highly addictive synthetic drug.
• Even though it has some legal uses, it is classified as a controlled substance in India, bringing strict regulation on its production, possession, trade, export and use.
• Illegal possession and trade is punishable up to 10 years of imprisonment under the NDPS Act, 1985.
• Nachiket Mor Committee – Also known as the “Commission on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low-Income Households.
• It recommended to provide a universal bank account to all Indians above 18 years of age by January 2016 and not related wih the NCB.