UPSC Quiz – 2024 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 23rd October 2024

·       Significance of common lands – They act as a resource base for non-cash, non-market economies that provides fodder, fuelwood, water, oils, fish and medicinal herbs.

·       A wide variety of fruits and vegetables to the local communities.

·       Various studies estimate that common lands contribute between 12 and 23% to rural household incomes.

·       They also capture carbon, act as repositories of biodiversity, and relics of indigenous knowledge.

·       Issues – India’s common lands have been steadily declining.

·       Grazing lands alone faced a 31% loss in total area between 2005 and 2015.

·       To ensure dignity, security and livelihoods for millions of rural people.

·       Since the state courts have been inundated with public interest litigations over their encroachments.

·       In Jagpal Singh judgement, the Rajasthan High Court in 2019 and the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2021 directed the respective state governments to establish permanent institutions known as public land protection cells (PLPCs).

·       Public Land Protection Cell (PLPC) – These cells receive complaints on encroachments of rural common lands, follow the due process of law to resolve such disputes and restore the resources to the gram sabha or gram panchayat.

·       These institutions are a welcome intervention when more than two-thirds of India’s court litigations relate to land or property and most land conflicts relate to common lands.

·       At a PLPC, communities can defend their common lands by making a direct representation and avoid navigating through the complex land legislations.

·       This reduces the need to engage professional legal assistance or pay court fees and thus allows a larger section of the population to access legal recourse at a much cheaper cost.

·       By institutionalising an alternative mechanism for dispute resolution, lengthy and costly court battles can be avoided and the judicial workload can be lowered.

·       These planktons emit light on the ocean surface at night.

·       Bioluminescence is widespread among deep sea animals in general.

·       Many marine creatures like sponges, jellyfish, worms, species of fish, anthropods, echinoderms and unicellular alga exhibit bioluminescence to either evade predators, attract prey or during mating.

·       This is widespread in lagoons and sometimes breakwaters and is particularly visible during warm weather conditions.

·       The dinoflagellates follow a circadian cycle (24-hour cycle) and as a result this phenomenon occurs during the night which is visible in low light conditions.

·       This unique phenomenon has been visible in some other beaches in India including Havelock Island in the Andamans, Thiruvanmiyur beach in Chennai, Mattu beach in Karnataka and Bangaram Island in Lakshadweep.

·       About India’s fourth nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN):

·       The fourth SSBN is codenamed S4*.

·       It boasts nearly 75 percent indigenous content and is equipped with K-4 ballistic missiles, which have a range of 3,500 km and are fired through vertical launching systems.

·       While the first of its class, INS Arihantcarries750 km range K-15 nuclear missiles, its successors, INS Arighaat and INS Aridhaman, are all upgrades of the previous ones and carry only K-4 ballistic missiles.

·       The launch of S4* follows the commissioning of INS Arighaat in August 2024, and the INS Aridhaman is set for commissioning next year. Both INS Arihant and INS Arighaat are already on deep sea patrols.

·       Naming: Since national security planners named India’s first leased nuclear attack submarine INS Chakra as S1, INS Arihant was named S2, INS Arighaat S3, INS Aridhaman S4 and hence the newly launched one is the last of its class, S4* with the formal name yet to be given.

·       It is a European Union (EU) law to tackle the triple crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation.

·       It is the first continent-wide, comprehensive law of its kind.

·       It is a key element of the EU Biodiversity Strategy, which sets binding targetsto restore degraded ecosystems, in particular those with the most potential to capture and store carbon and to prevent and reduce the impact of natural disasters.

·       Under the NRL, Member States will have to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea by 2030, including terrestrial, coastal, and freshwater, forest, agricultural, and urban areas.

·       By 2050, the measures should extend to all ecosystems “requiring restoration”.

·       The EU NRL also targets an obligation to improve urban green spaces, contribute to free-flowing rivers by removing artificial barriers, increase pollinator populations, and contribute to the target of 3 billion additional trees throughout the EU.

·       Member States must adopt “restoration plans” detailing how they intend to achieve these targets and ensure that the restored areas do not significantly deteriorate.

·       While drafting these Nature Restoration Plans, Member States also need to consider socio-economic impacts and benefits and estimate the financial needs for its implementation.

·       The award focuses on the good work and efforts made by individuals and the organizations across the country in attaining the government’s vision of a ‘Jal Samridh Bharat’.

·       The awards are for creating awareness among the people about the importance of water and motivating them to adopt best water usage practices.

·       In the category of Best State, the first prize has been conferred upon Odisha, with Uttar Pradesh securing the second position, and Gujarat and Puducherry jointly securing the third position.

·       Each award winner will be conferred with a citation and a trophy as well as cash prizes in certain categories.