Daily Current Affairs | 03 March 2020

General Studies-III-Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

1. NGO Tiger Watch Report

News

NGO Tiger Watch report shows three tigers disappear every year from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.

Highlights

Earlier, a government report was leaked. As per the leaked report, 26 tigers disappeared from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve between 2010 and 2017. But, the data from NGO Tiger Watch report was for time period between 2009 and 2019.

Other important points about tigers in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve as per NGO Tiger Watch are given below:

• Tigers in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve increased from 18 in 2005 to nearly 65 in 2020.
• Since 2005, base population of tigers in the reserve has increased to 138.
• Total 74 tigers were lost due to reasons like fights, poisoning and poaching.

Prelims Facts

Ranthambore Tiger Reserve: It is located in Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan, which is about 130 km from Jaipur.

 

General Studies-I-Geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

2. Sukhna Lake declared as legal person

News

Punjab and Haryana High Court declares Sukhna Lake as legal person and imposes fine of Rs 100 crore each on governments of Punjab and Haryana.

Highlights

• HC has imposed fine because two governments allowed construction in catchment area of the lake in their respective jurisdictions.
• HC has ordered governments to give penalty to Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change within three months.
• Eco-sensitive zone of the lake will be restored with the help of penalty imposed on governments. For this purpose, as scheme will be formed by Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under Environment Protection Act within three months.
• HC has also decided maximum time for completion of restoration work in one year. It also ordered demolition of constructions in catchment areas of lake lying in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh within three months.
• HC has also said that all citizens of Chandigarh are loco parentis to protect the lake from extinction. It said that the lake is a “legal entity/legal person”. 

Prelims Facts

Sukhna Lake: It an artificial lake located in Chandigarh at the foothills of Shivalik. It has been declared as a protected national wetland by the government. The lake is surrounded by Nek Chand's famous Rock Garden of Chandigarh to its west.

 

General Studies-II-Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation

3. In-flight connectivity

News

The government has paved the way for airlines operating in India to provide Wi-Fi services in flight to passengers.

Highlights

• Two kinds of technologies that enable In-flight connectivity are onboard antenna for signals from tower located on ground and satellites for connecting to ground stations.
• Onboard antenna does not provide continuous connection as aircraft may fly over the area without towers like a water body. The use of satellites for connecting to ground stations is similar to transmission of satellite TV signals.
• Router onboard the aircraft is connected to antenna of plane. The router transmits data to personal electronic device. Signals are transmitted by antenna to ground station.
• The ground station redirects signal to billing server. The billing server calculates data consumption. The traffic is relayed to intercepting servers and World Wide Web.
• After activation of flight mode, internet is provided through terrestrial Internet services.  When aircraft reaches to 3,000 m, the antenna switches to satellite-based services.
• WiFi on a plane is generally slower than on the ground.WiFi on a plane can be used to make calls from aircraft if allowed by airlines.

 

General Studies-III-Challenges to Internal Security through Communication Networks, Role of Media and Social Networking Sites in Internal Security Challenges

4. Curfew relaxed in some areas of Shillong

News

Curfew has been relaxed in some areas of Shillong. It still remains in some areas. Earlier, one person belonging to Khasi and two Muslim persons have died. Organization of meeting for campaigning against CAA and demanding implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya led to violence in the region.

Prelims Fact

Inner Line Permit: It is a travel document that is issued by the government to the outsiders (including people from other states) to enter into the specific region included under this regime. States that are brought under this regime are Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur.