{"id":54093,"date":"2020-02-24T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?p=54093"},"modified":"2020-02-26T12:48:33","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T07:18:33","slug":"9-pm-current-affairs-brief-february-24th-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-february-24th-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 February 24th, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> The 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP13) concluded in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key takeaways:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Seven species added to Appendix I:<\/strong> Asian Elephant, Jaguar, Great Indian Bustard, Bengal Florican, Little Bustard, Antipodean Albatross, and the Oceanic White-tip Shark.<\/li><li><strong>3 species added to Appendix II<\/strong>: Urial, Smooth Hammerhead Shark, and the Tope Shark&nbsp;<\/li><li>A<strong>doption of Gandhinagar Declaration:<\/strong> It<strong> <\/strong>calls for migratory species and the concept of \u2018ecological connectivity\u2019 to be integrated and prioritized in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework which is expected to be adopted at the UN Biodiversity Conference in October 2020<\/li><li>The <strong>first-ever report on the Status of Migratory Species<\/strong>: It shows that despite some success stories, the populations of most migratory species covered by CMS are declining<\/li><li><br><ul><li>Integrate biodiversity and migratory species considerations into national energy and climate policy;<\/li><li>Strengthen initiatives to combat the illegal killing, taking and trade of migratory birds;<\/li><li>Mitigate the impacts of linear infrastructure such as roads and railways on migratory species;<\/li><li>Address the unsustainable use of aquatic wild meat;<\/li><li>Undertake a review of bycatch levels of sharks and rays, implement bycatch mitigation measures for marine mammals in national fishing operations;<\/li><li>Deepen understanding of the importance of animal culture and social complexity for the conservation of endangered species;<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional Information:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)<\/strong> <strong>or the Bonn Convention<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It is an intergovernmental treaty, concluded under the aegis of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). It acts as a framework convention and encourages its States Parties to conclude global or regional agreements.<\/li><li>It was signed in 1979 in Bonn, Germany, and entered into force in 1983<\/li><li><strong>Aim: <\/strong>conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats<\/li><li>It is the only global convention specializing in the conservation of migratory species, their habitats and migration routes.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Appendices of CMS:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Appendix I \u2013 Threatened Migratory Species<\/li><li>Appendix II \u2013 Migratory Species requiring international cooperation<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Parties to the Convention<\/strong>: 129 parties including India<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>CMS COP13 Theme:<\/strong> \u2018Migratory species connect the planet and together we welcome them home\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/yznZSAJG4xfDf6Fcc-QD6Rg04KrPYI-g6eqFVp0TTr50manbc2lYz8TSEQG_O2445aRG_C5M3pBArw5hp8SGjBGEyPu6m8UPp1v36oP2naXkx6kSV0VYbnHGyRMAABficjoAoN10\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-what-is-happiness-curriculum-6281103\/\"><strong>Explained:What is Happiness curriculum&nbsp;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The US President along with the US First Lady will be visiting a Delhi government school where they will attend a happiness curriculum class.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About Happiness Curriculum:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Happiness curriculum was launched by the Delhi government in 2018.<\/li><li>The curriculum aims at increasing mental health awareness among school children from classes nursery to eighth in all government schools<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Objectives of the curriculum:<\/strong>The objectives of this curriculum includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>developing self-awareness and mindfulness<\/li><li>inculcating skills of critical thinking and inquiry<\/li><li>enabling learners to communicate effectively and&nbsp;<\/li><li>helping learners to apply life skills to deal with stressful and conflicting situations around them.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Implementation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Under the curriculum,students will attend Happiness Classes where they will participate in exercises such as storytelling, meditation and question and answer sessions.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/govt-eyes-public-private-fund-to-give-rd-a-shot-in-the-arm\/article30891155.ece\"><strong>Research and Development(R&amp;D) Fund<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The Department of Science and Technology is planning a Research and Development(R&amp;D) fund to stimulate investment in R&amp;D.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the fund:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The fund will be coordinated through the department\u2019s Science and Engineering Research Board(SERB) which funds a variety of basic science projects in several universities.<\/li><li>It will receive contributions from a group of companies willing to invest in fundamental research and whatever is invested government will match the contributions.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About India\u2019s investment in R&amp;D:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>According to a 2019 report by the Economic Advisory Council (EAC), India\u2019s investment in R&amp;D has shown a consistent increasing trend over the years.<\/li><li>However, it is still fraction of India\u2019s GDP as it has remained constant at around 0.6% to 0.7% of India\u2019s GDP.&nbsp;<\/li><li>This is below the expenditure of countries like the US (2.8), China (2.1), Israel (4.3) and Korea (4.2).<\/li><li>The report has also said that the public expenditure is the driving force of R&amp;D in India which is in contrast to the advanced countries where the private sector is the dominant and driving force of R&amp;D spend.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-jalyukta-shivar-maharashtra-villages-drought-free-scrapped-6282236\/\"><strong>Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The Maharashtra Government has officially stopped the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan due to substandard work being carried out under the mission.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Launched in 2014 by the Maharashtra Government.<\/li><li><strong>Aim:<\/strong>To make 5,000 villages drought free by the year 2019.<\/li><li>The scheme targets drought-prone areas by improving water conservation measures in order to make them more water sustainable.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Under the scheme, decentralised water bodies are being installed at various locations within villages to enhance the groundwater recharge.<\/li><li>It also proposes to strengthen and rejuvenate water storage capacity and percolation of tanks and other sources of storage.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/highway-threatens-tiger-territory-in-arunachal-pradesh\/article30896798.ece\"><strong>Pakke Tiger Reserve(PTR)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Recently, the Arunachal Pradesh Government has cleared the 692.7 km highway through the Pakke Tiger Reserve(PTR) to build the East-West Industrial Corridor.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About Pakke Tiger Reserve:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Pakke Tiger Reserve also known as Pakhui Tiger Reserve is a Project Tiger reserve located in the East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.<\/li><li>The tiger reserve is surrounded by the Nameri National Park of Assam in the south and south-east, Pakke River to the east and Bhareli or Kameng River to the west.<\/li><li><strong>Vegetation:<\/strong>It includes semi-evergreen, evergreen forest and Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests.<\/li><li>This Reserve has won India Biodiversity Award 2016 in the category of \u2018Conservation of threatened species\u2019 for its Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional information:<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About Project Tiger:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 by the Government of India.<\/li><li>The project aims at ensuring a viable population of Bengal tigers in their natural habitats, protecting them from extinction and preserving areas of biological importance.<\/li><li>The project is administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About East West Industrial Corridor:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The East-West Industrial Corridor Highway is a 692 kms long road proposed to be built in the foothills of Arunachal Pradesh.<\/li><li>It aims to connect Bhairabkunda in West Kameng district and Manmao in Changlang district along Arunachal Pradesh&#8217;s border with Assam.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/us-becomes-indias-top-trading-partner-6282438\/\"><strong>US becomes India\u2019s top trading partner<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>According to the 2018-19 data from the Commerce Ministry, the United States has become India\u2019s top trading partner surpassing China.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>In 2018-19,the bilateral trade between the US and India stands at USD 87.95 billion as compared to USD 87.07 billion with China.<\/li><li>India has a trade surplus of USD 16.85 billion with the USA while it has a deficit of USD 53.56 billion with China.<\/li><li>Currently,the top five trading partners of India are US, China, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional information:<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Economic Survey on India\u2019s External Trade:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Largest export items of India:Petroleum products, precious stones, drug formulations &amp; biologicals, gold and other precious metals.<\/li><li>Largest export destinations in 2019-20: United States of America (USA), followed by United Arab Emirates (UAE), China and Hong Kong.<\/li><li>Largest import items: Crude petroleum, gold, petroleum products, coal, coke &amp; briquettes.<\/li><li>India\u2019s imports continue to be largest from China, followed by USA, UAE and Saudi Arabia.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: The 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP13) concluded in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Facts:&nbsp; Key takeaways: Seven species added to Appendix I: Asian Elephant, Jaguar, Great Indian Bustard, Bengal Florican, Little Bustard, Antipodean Albatross, and the Oceanic White-tip Shark. 3&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-february-24th-2020\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 February 24th, 2020<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":48116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-9-pm-brief","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/9-PM-Brief.png?fit=1000%2C500&ssl=1","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704940988},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}