Daily Prelims Newsletter|25 Jun 2021|RaghukulCS

Daily Prelims Newsletter For UPSC
| RaghukulCS

25 June 2021-Friday

Table Of Contents

Environment 

  • Pygmy Hog 
  • Manas National Park, Assam  

Polity and Governance 

  • Competition Commission of India (CCI)
  • Anti-Defection Law

International Relations 

  • UN Peacekeeping Force

Places in News 

  • Suez Canal

Environment

Pygmy Hog

Why in News?

Eight pygmy hogs released in Manas National Park of Assam under the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme (PHCP).

About PHCP:

  • In 1995, PHCP was started in association with:
    • Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust,
    • Forest Department, Government of Assam,
    • IUCN,
    • Wild Pig Specialist Group, and
    • Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, GoI.
  • PHCP aims to to release 60 pygmy hogs in Manas NP by 2025.
  • PHCP is being implemented by the Aaranyak and EcoSystems India.

About Pygmy Hogs:

  • They are the world’s smallest wild pigs, and also the rarest to be found.
  • These arenative to dense alluvial grasslands in the southern foothills of the Himalayas.
  • These are endemic to India andare restricted to very few locations around Manas National Park.
  • Hardly 250 Pygmy Hogsremain in the wild, making it one of the world’s most threatened mammals.
  • Conservation Status:
    • IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
    • WPA, 1972: Schedule I

Manas National Park, Assam

  • It is remarked as
    • a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site,
    • a Project Tiger reserve,
    • an elephant reserve,
    • a biosphere reserve in Assam, India.
  • It is contiguous with the Royal Manas National Park of Bhutan.
  • River: Manasriver flows through the park
    • It is a major tributary of Brahmaputra
    • The Manas river serves as an international border between India and Bhutan.
  • Key Fauna:Elephants, Rhinoceros, Gaurs, Asian water buffaloes, barasingha, Tigers, Asian golden cats, dholes, golden langurs, Assamese macaques, slow loris, hoolock gibbons, smooth-coated otters, sloth bears, barking deers, hog deers, black panthers, sambar deers ,chitals,
  • Endemic Species: Assam roofed turtle, hispid hare, golden langur and pygmy hog.

Polity and Governance

Competition Commission of India (CCI)

Why in News?

CCI has ordered a detailed probe against Google for alleged anti-competitive practices in the smart television operating systems’ market in India.

About CCI:

  • It is a Statutory Bodyresponsible for enforcing the objectives of the Competition Act, 2002.
  • It was established by GoI in 2003, but it became fully functional only in 2009.
  • Composition: A Chairperson and 6 Members appointed by the GoI.

Functions of CCI:

  • Eliminate practices having adverse effects on competition,
  • Promote and sustain competition,

Anti-Defection Law

Why in News?

In an interview Lok Sabha speaker has pointed out that powers of speaker need to be re-defined.

About Anti Defection Law:

  • The Tenth Schedule or Anti Defection Law was inserted in the Constitution in 1985 by the 52nd Amendment Act.
  • It lays down the process by which legislators are to be disqualified on grounds of defection.
  • The disqualification is done by the Presiding Officer of the legislature based on a petition by any member of the House.
  • The law is equally applicable to both Parliament and state assemblies.

Grounds for disqualification:

  • If a member belonging to a political party:
  • Voluntarily gives up the membership of his political party, or
  • Votes, or does not vote in the house, contrary to the directions of his political party. (If the member is condoned by the party within 15 days from such voting or abstention, the member shall not be disqualified on this ground.
  • If an inyndependent candidate joins a political party after the election.
  • If a nominated member joins a political party six months prior to becomingthe member of the house.

However, thelegislators may change their political party without the risk of disqualification in some circumstances like:

  • A political party is allowed to merge with or into another party provided that at least two-thirds of its legislators are in favour of the merger.

According to a judgement of Supreme Court:

  • The decision of the Presiding Officer is subject to judicial review.
  • There may not be any judicial intervention until the Presiding Officer gives his order.

AboutNominated members in Rajya Sabha:

  • Rajya Sabha has 12 nominated members from different walks of life.
  • The general criterion for their nomination is that they should have distinguished themselves in fields ofliterature, science, art, and social service.
  • These are nominated by the President as recommended by the Centre.
  • Nominated members have the same rights and privileges as that of elected members, with the key difference that they cannot vote in the election of the President.

International Relations

UN Peacekeeping Force:

Why in News?

Recently, Indian peacekeepers in Sudan were awarded UN medals for outstanding performance.

About UN Peacekeeping Force:

  • UN Peacekeeping Force helps countries totransit on the difficult path from conflict to peace.
  • It deploys troops and police from around the world and integrate them with civilian peacekeepers to address a range of mandates as set by the UN Security Counciland the General Assembly.
  • Currently, there are more than 6 thousand troops and police forces from India deployed in UN peacekeeping missions.
  • India has also been hailed for its long tradition of sending women on UN peacekeeping missions.
  • For example, in 2007, India became the first country to deploy an all-women contingent to a UN peacekeeping mission.
  • Finances areCollective responsibility of UN Member States.
  • According to UN Charter every Member State is legally obligated to pay their respective share for peacekeeping.
  • Peacekeeping forces are contributed by the member states on a voluntary basis.
  • Civilian staff of peace operations are international civil servants, recruited and deployed by the UN Secretariat.
  • UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles:
    • Consent of the parties.
    • Impartiality
    • Non-use of force except in self-defence and in defence of the mandate.

Places in News

Suez Canal

Why in News?

The owners and insurers of the Evergiven ship which blocked Suez Canal, 2 months ago, have reached initial agreement with the Canal authorities.

About Suez Canal:

  • It is an artificial sea-level waterway running across the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt.
  • It connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
  • The canal also separates AfricanandAsian
  • It is the shortest maritime routeconnecting Europe and the lands lying around the India and other western Pacific countries.
  • It is also one of the world’s most heavily used shipping lanes, carrying over 12% of the world’s trade by volume.
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