History Quiz: Revision |2 May, 2021

E-waste (Management) Rules, 2016, enacted since October 1, 2017.

• Over 21 products (Schedule-I) were included under the purview of the rule.
• The rule also extended its purview to components or consumables or parts or spares of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE), along with their products.
• Currently, India’s e-waste rules have no laws mandating solar cell manufacturers to recycle or dispose waste from this sector.

Some of the 21 products of Schedule 1 are Centralized data processing: Mainframes, Minicomputers, Personal Computers (Central Processing Unit with input and output devices), Cellular telephones, Television sets (including sets based on (Liquid Crystal Display and Light Emitting Diode technology), Refrigerator, Washing Machine and Air-conditioners excluding centralized air conditioning plants.

Source: The Hindu

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an independent intergovernmental body established by States to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being and sustainable development.

• It was established in Panama City, on 21 April 2012 by 94 Governments.  It is not a United Nations body.
• However, at the request of the IPBES Plenary and with the authorization of the UNEP Governing Council in 2013, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) provides secretariat services to IPBES.

• A landmark new report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the summary of which was approved at the 7th session of the IPBES Plenary, meeting last week (29 April – 4 May) in Paris.
• The Report finds that around 1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, many within decades, more than ever before in human history.
• To increase the policy-relevance of the Report, the assessment’s authors have ranked, for the first time at this scale and based on a thorough analysis of the available evidence, the five direct drivers of change in nature with the largest relative global impacts so far. These culprits are, in descending order: (1) changes in land and sea use; (2) direct exploitation of organisms; (3) climate change; (4) pollution and (5) invasive alien species.

Source: Indian Express

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released (May 2019) a report, Sand and Sustainability: Finding new solutions for environmental governance of global sand resources, that highlights a problem that has largely stayed under the radar: sand consumption globally has been increasing and we are extracting it at rates exceeding natural replenishment rates.

Sand and gravel, the report says, are the second largest natural resources extracted and traded by volume after water, but among the least regulated.

The report notes that China and India head the list of critical hotspots for sand extraction impacts in rivers, lakes and on coastlines.

The report suggests better spatial planning and reducing unnecessary construction — including speculative projects or those being done mainly for prestige — thereby making more efficient use of aggregates, investing in in infrastructure maintenance and retrofitting rather than the demolish and rebuild cycle, embracing alternative design and construction methods, even avoiding use of cement and concrete where possible, and using green infrastructure.

Source: The Hindu

Severe Cyclone Fani rendered not only several thousand people homeless as it tore along India’s east coast last week, but also dealt a body blow to wildlife and forest resources in the region.

• The scenic stretch along the tree-lined Marine Drive that bisects the Balukhand Wildlife Sanctuary adjacent to the Bay of Bengal between Puri and Konark, is now a wasteland with hardly any tree left untouched.
• “As many as 20% of the trees were uprooted, while the rest were found snapped and broken. The devastation has left around 400 spotted deer homeless”.
• Apart from deer, the sanctuary, spread over an area of 87 sq km, was home to wild boar, jackals, striped hyenas, wolves and mongooses.

• In Bhubaneswar, the cyclone had uprooted decades-old trees inside the Nandankanan Zoological Park.
• Several animal enclosures too have been affected forcing authorities to shut down the zoo for an indefinite period.
• The Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary, which is close by, has also been impacted with thousands of trees uprooted. Authorities are attempting to assess the extent of damage.
• As a result, hundreds of displaced monkeys have now entered residential colonies in the periphery of Bhubaneswar. Residents have reported cases of the simians attacking people after loss of habitat and food sources.

Source: The Hindu

Jainism is a very ancient world religion with a history of over 3000 years, which originated in the Indian subcontinent, like Hinduism and Buddhism.

• Although it has some similarities with both traditions, Jainism is different from them with its own unique and distinguishing features.
• It is also older than Buddhism and is truly one of the most ancient and living religions of the world, besides Hinduism and Judaism.
• Jaina Dharma, as it is known popularly, is a truly ascetic religion which places heavy emphasis upon ethical conduct, personal purity for the liberation of the individual Souls. Jainism does not believe in a Creator God.
• It accepts the material universe as a self-existing system. Everything in it, including the individual Soul, is an aspect of matter.

• Each Soul is eternal but it has states, shapes and sizes. In the bound state (bandha) it is subject to karma and rebirth. It attains liberation only when it is able to completely get rid of karma.
• Jainism was founded by 24 Perfect Beings, known as Tirthankaras, who appeared upon earth in the past and laid the foundation for its doctrine.
• Mahavira was the last and the most popular of the Tirthankaras. Since it is a difficult and austere religion, from the earliest times, Jainism enjoyed popularity only among certain sections of Indian society, especially merchant communities.
• It is a predominantly Indian religion, with some following abroad. In this section we included information on the history, beliefs, practices, philosophy, and ethics of Jainism, and comparison with other faiths.

Source: Poonam Dahiya

The word ‘Veda’ signifies knowledge and the texts are actually about providing humans about knowledge to conduct their entire life on earth and beyond.

• It is written in highly stylised poetic style and the language is full of symbols and myths.
• The Vedas were initially handed down orally by generations of Brahmin families but it is estimated by historians that they were compiled around 1500 BC-1000 BC.

Source: Poonam Dahiaya

The Arayankas are also texts attached to the Vedas and they describe the rituals and sacrifices involved in the Vedas from various perspectives.

• They are said to be compilations of ritualistic information on the birth and death cycles as well as the complexity of the soul.
• It is argued that holy and learned men, called Munis, who preferred to dwell within the limits of the forests, taught them.

Source: Poonam Dahiaya

There has been a sharp decline in the population of vultures in the country which has come down from 40 million to 19,000 in a span of over three decades, the Environment Ministry told the Parliament.

• Responding to a query on the status of vultures in the country, Union Environment Minister said there are three species of critically endangered resident Gyp’s vultures – white-backed vulture, long-billed vulture and slender-billed vulture – whose population as per the latest figures is 6,000, 12,000 and 1,000, respectively.
• The Minister said nationwide vulture surveys are being carried out by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) every four years sponsored by the Ministry of Environment and Forest Departments of various States since 1990.
• The major cause of mortality of vultures was found to be the veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ‘Diclofenac’, given to cattle in pain and inflammation.

• It said that for protection and conservation of vultures in the country, the government has also upgraded the status of White-backed, Long-billed and Slender-billed vultures from Schedule IV to Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

Indian Griffon vulture – Least Concerned and Bearded vulture – Near Threatened.

Source: The Hindu

Ahead of the upcoming 2019 Climate Action Summit, the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and Climate and Clean Air Coalition announced today the “Clean Air Initiative”, calling on governments at all levels to join the Initiative.

• The “Clean Air Initiative” calls on national and sub national governments to commit to achieving air quality that is safe for citizens, and to align climate change and air pollution policies by 2030.

• According to WHO, each year, air pollution causes 7 million premature deaths, of which 600,000 are children.
• According to the World Bank, air pollution costs the global economy an estimated US$5.11 trillion in welfare losses and in the 15 countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions, health impacts of air pollution are estimated to cost more than 4 per cent of GDP.
• Meeting the Paris Agreement on climate change, however, could save over 1 million lives a year by 2050 and yield health benefits worth an estimated US$54.1 trillion – about twice the costs of mitigation – through reduced air pollution alone.

Source: The Hindu

Assam has added to India’s botanical wealth a plant that yields dragon’s blood — a bright red resin used since ancient times as medicine, body oil, varnish, incense and dye.

• A trio of researchers led by Assam Forest officials has discovered Dracaena cambodiana, a dragon tree species in the Dongka Sarpo area of West Karbi Anglong.
• This is for the first time that a dragon tree species has been reported from India.
• Dracaena cambodiana is an important medicinal plant as well as an ornamental tree.
• It is a major source of dragon’s blood, a precious traditional medicine in China.

• Several antifungal and antibacterial compounds, antioxidants, flavonoids, etc., have been extracted from various parts of the plant.

Source: The Hindu