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RaghukulCS
February 19, 2021

Daily Prelims Newsletter For UPSC
| RaghukulCS

19 FEB 2021

Environment………………………………………………………………………..1

Gangetic Dolphin…………………………1

Polity and Governance………………………………………………………..2

Office of Governor ………………………2
Delimitation Commiss…………………2

Governmental Schemes……………………………………………………..3

PM WANI……………………………………..3

International Relations………………………………………………………3

Quadrilateral Dialogue (QUAD)..3

Places in News…………………………………………………………………..4

Puducherry…………………………………………………4
Canary Islands…………………………………………..4

News in Short……………………………………………………………………4

Initial Public Offering ………………………………4

Environment

Gangetic Dolphin

Why in News?

Recently, an unfortunate event of locals beating Gangetic river Dolphin to death was reported from Uttar Pradesh.

About Gangetic Dolphin: Gangetic river dolphins are found in the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.

The Gangetic river dolphin is a freshwater dolphin.
These are essentially blind.
Echolocation: They hunt by emitting ultrasonic sounds, which bounces off the fish and other prey, thereby enabling them to visualize an image in their mind.
They are also called susu, as their sounds are like sounds of whistle.
Dolphins are mammal.
They cannot breathe in the water, thus resurface above the water every 30-40 seconds to breathe.
In 2009, It was recognized as the National Aquatic Animal.
They are at the apex of the aquatic food chain, and thus are a reliable indicator of the health of the entire river ecosystem.
Threats:
- Bycatch: Accidentally caught in fishing nets.
- Pollution leading to habitat degradation.
- Dams alter their habitat structure, presence of prey and restrict their movements, etc.
Conservation Status:
- Wildlife (Protection), Act 1972: Schedule I.
- International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN): Endangered.

Related Information:

Recently, Vikramshila Ganges Dolphin Sanctuary has been established in Bihar.
The population of Ganges River Dolphin is less than 1800, as quoted by World Wildlife Fund-India.

Polity and Governance

Office of Governor

Recently, Dr. Kiran Bedi was removed as Puducherry Lieutenant Governor.

Related Information about office of Governor:

Governor is the nominal executive head of the state.
The President of India appoints Governor for each state by warrant under his hand and seal. Govt. of India is responsible to nominate the governor for each state.
According to a Supreme Court ruling, the office of governor is not part of the union executive and it is an independent constitutional office.
Thus, the governor neither serves the union government, and nor is subordinate to it.
This mode of appointment of state governor by the centre is inspired from the Canadian model of government.
The governor holds office for a term of 5 years, subject to pleasure of the president.
Thus practically, his office has no fixed term.
The grounds on which a governor can be removed from office are not laid down in the constitution.
Governor can also be reappointed.
Constitutional qualifications to be a Governor:
- Citizen of India
- 35 years or older.
Governor has immunity from any criminal proceedings, even with respect to his personal acts.
He cannot be arrested or imprisoned.
Only civil proceedings can be initiated against him for his personal acts that too after giving two months of prior notice.

Delimitation Commission

Why in News?

Discussions by the Delimitation Commission are underway to redraw assembly and parliamentary seats in the newly carved out Union Territory of J&K.

About Delimitation Process:

Delimitation means the process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies to represent changes in population.
The body that does this delimitation exercise is called the Delimitation Commission.
As per Article 72 and 170, theParliament will enact Delimitation Actafter every census to delimit territorial constituencies for Parliament and state legislature respectively.
The first delimitation exercise in post-independence India was carried out by the President (with the help of the Election Commission) in 1950-51.
Further, the Delimitation Commission Act was enacted in 1952.
Till now, Delimitation Commissions have been set up four times —
- 1952,
- 1963,
- 1973

About Delimitation Commission:

The Delimitation Commission is appointed by the President of India
It works in collaboration with the Election Commission of India or ECI.
Composition of the Commission:
- Retired Supreme Court judge
- Chief Election Commissioner
- Respective State Election Commissioners
Functions of Delimitation Commission:
- Determine the number and boundaries of constituencies to make population of all constituencies nearly equal.
- To identify seats reserved for SCs and STs wherever their population is relatively large.
The orders of Delimitation Commission have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court.

Governmental Schemes

PM WANI

To boost internet connectivity, planning in underway to setup broadband and Wi-Fi services under the PM WANI (Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface) scheme.

About PM WANI:

Public Wi-Fi plan PM Wani got cabinet approval in December 2020.
It aims to accelerate the uptake of broadband Internet services.
Under the project, Public WiFi hotspots across the country would be setup called public data offices or PDOs
A person, who wants to use public Wi-Fi, can do so via an app and will make
It will not require any a license, fee, or registration payments as per usage.

International Relations

Quadrilateral Dialogue (QUAD)

Why in News?

Recently, there was ministerial meeting of quad member countriesafter which they called for restoration of rule of law in Myanmar.

About Quad:

The QUAD Group is an informal strategic dialogue mechanism with four members:
- India,
- Japan,
- Australia,
The shared objective is to ensure and sustain a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.
The idea for the QUAD Group is attributed to former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe who, formally, mooted it in 2007.
However, it was in 2017, that the first official talks under the QUAD took place, in Manila, the Philippines.

Places in News

Puducherry

The territory of Puducherry comprises of the former French establishment i.e.,
- Puducherry,
- Karaikal,
- Mahe
- Yanam, as indicated in the image.
Puducherry, the capital of the territory.
It merged with the Indian Union on 1st November 1954.

Canary Islands

On one of the Canary Islands, the Silbo Gomero language or the traditional Whistle language is still in use.
The Canary Islands are Spanish archipelago.
The Island is located in east Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Morocco.

News in Short

Initial Public Offering

Government of India and SEBI are laying the ground for smooth listing of India’s largest financial institution,LIC.
IPO is selling of securities by an unlisted company to the public in the primary market.
Primary market deals with new securities being issued for the first time by the company. It is also known as the new issues market.

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Daily Prelims Newsletter For UPSC
| RaghukulCS

19 FEB 2021

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