Empowered Committee for Animal Health (ECAH)

Empowered Committee for Animal Health has recently reviewed the Advancements Made in India’s Animal Health Sector.

• Empowered Committee for Animal Health (ECAH) was established in 2021 that serves as think tank of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD).
• It provides evidence-based insights and policy recommendations on national health programs, emerging disease threats, One Health initiatives, and regulatory frameworks for veterinary vaccines, drugs and biological.
• ECAH is focused on creating resilient, farmer-centric animal health systems in India and bring forth changes to ensure the long-term success of India’s livestock sector by:
  • Acting as a think tank to provide inputs on animal health programmes of national importance.
  • Streamlining and improving the process of regulatory approval to protect public, animal health, and the environment by examining the safety, efficacy, and quality of veterinary products.
  • Overseeing and supporting programmes/initiatives to drive uptake of innovative practices in the Indian animal health sector.
  • Assessing the threat of and offering guidance on emerging animal diseases that have epidemic/pandemic potential.
• ECAH works under the aegis of the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India.
• ECAH is chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA), Government of India. (Statement 2 is incorrect)
• It is vice-chaired by the Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD).

NAMO Drone Didi

• NAMO Drone Didi aims to provide drones to 14500 selected Women SHGs during the period from 2024-25 to 2025-2026 for providing rental services to farmers for agriculture purpose.
• It is a central sector scheme to provide drones to the Women Self Help Groups (SHGs) under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).
• The Scheme will be governed at the Central level by:
  • Empowered Committee of the Secretaries of Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare,
  • Department of Rural Development,
  • Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Civil Aviation and
  • Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• The Implementation and Monitoring Committee headed by the Additional Secretary, Department of Rural Development will be  responsible for effective planning, implementation and monitoring of the scheme.
• The Lead Fertilizer Companies (LFCs) responsible for the States will be the implementing agencies of the scheme at the State level.
• LFCs will establish necessary coordination with the State Departments, Drone manufacturers, Cluster Level Federations of SHGs/SHGs and the farmers/beneficiaries and so on.
• The drones will be procured by the LFCs through a fair and transparent process and the ownership of drones will be placed with the CLF of SHGs or SHGs.
• Features – It will provide overall advice and guidance to all technical matters related to the implementation of the scheme.
• Under the scheme, a Central Financial Assistance at 80% of the cost of drone and accessories/ancillary charges up to a maximum of 8 lakhs rupees will be provided to the women SHGs for purchase of drones as a package.
• Under the scheme, not only the drones but, drones as a package will be supplied.
• The package will consists of:
  • Basic drone with spray assembly for spraying liquid fertilizers and pesticides,
  • Drone carrying box and standard battery set,
  • Downward facing camera and dual-channel fast battery charger,
  • Battery charger hub, anemometer, pH meter and 1 year onsite warranty on all items.

Chicxulub

• The Chicxulub crater is an impact crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.
• The Chicxulub impact event occurred approximately 66 million years ago.
• Impact site – Off the coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
• It is created a crater roughly 150 kilometres (93 miles) in diameter.
• Immediate Effects – Released energy equivalent to about 10 billion Hiroshima atomic bombs.
• Created a global tsunami hundreds of meters high.
• Vaporized rock that was ejected into the atmosphere.
• Triggered worldwide earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
• Generated intense heat that caused global wildfires.
• Environmental Consequences – Dust and aerosols blocked sunlight for months or years.
• Global temperatures dropped significantly ("impact winter").
• Acid rain from sulfur-rich rocks.
• Massive die-offs of vegetation due to lack of sunlight.
• Disruption of photosynthesis worldwide.
• Mass Extinction – Caused the extinction of approximately 75% of plant and animal species.
• Most famously, led to the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs.
• Wiped out marine reptiles like plesiosaurs and mosasaurs.
• Eliminated flying reptiles (pterosaurs) and Many marine organisms, including ammonites, went extinct.

PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme

The Cabinet has recently approved PM-Vidyalaxmi scheme to provide financial support to meritorious students.

• PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme aims to make higher education more accessible in India.
• Key Features – It is a Central Sector scheme targeting meritorious students.
• It focuses on removing financial barriers to higher education.
• Implements recommendations from National Education Policy 2020.
• The scheme will be administered through a simple, transparent and student-friendly system that will be inter-operable and entirely digital.
• Eligibility – Any student who gets admission in quality Higher Education Institution (QHEIs) will be eligible to get collateral free, guarantor free loan from banks and financial institutions.
• The loan can cover full amount of tuition fees and other expenses related to the course.
• The scheme will be applicable to the top quality higher educational institutions of the nation, as determined by the National Institutional Ranking Framework rankings (NIRF).
• It includes all HEIs, government and private that are ranked within the top 100 in NIRF in overall, category-specific and domain specific rankings.
• Loan Features – Collateral-free and guarantor-free education loans.
• 75% credit guarantee by government for loans up to rupees 7.5 lakhs.
• Priority for government institution students and technical/professional courses.

Permafrost

• Permafrost is ground that stays frozen. It may contain soil, peat, rocks and ice. (Statement 1 is incorrect)
• Often, remnants of ancient plants and animals such as the now extinct woolly mamooth can also be seen.
• In such cold conditions, plants mainly grow during summer.
• Impacts of climate change – Usually, the top “active” layer of soil may thaw naturally in the warmer months, the lower layers typically stay frozen.
• But now that human-induced climate change is making soils warmer, the thawed season is growing longer and the permanently frozen carbon is thawing too.
• In thawed soil, microbes get to work decomposing dead plants and other decaying organic matter.
• When this process happens in the presence of oxygen, carbon dioxide (CO2) is released. In the absence of oxygen (such as in lakes and water-saturated soils), methane (CH4) is released.

Methane is a more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2 as it holds more heat in the atmosphere.

• The melting of ice in permafrost is making more of the land wet with low oxygen levels, so more methane is being released.

The only way to keep permafrost carbon in the ground is to quickly reduce and ultimately eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.

• Global Carbon Project – Is a Global Research Project of Future Earth and a research partner of the World Climate Research Programme. (Statement 3 is incorrect)
• It was formed to work with the international science community to establish a common and mutually agreed knowledge base to support policy debate and action to slow down and ultimately stop the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.