Daily News Analysis – May 13, 2019

Source: The Hindu, Live Mint and Indian Express


SPECIAL CATEGORY STATUS

Context: Odisha chief minister has demanded special category status from Centre for his disaster-prone state, saying it faces natural calamities almost every year.

 Essentials

  • Odisha says it needs a special category status as it suffers massive infrastructure loss almost every year due to cyclones and massive floods, which otherwise may stall its growth.
  • The assistance Odisha gets from the Centre is mostly for temporary restoration of infrastructure.
  • Odisha has to spend a lot from her own funds to work for the long term.
  • In the last five years Odisha had Phailin, Hudhud, Titli and now Fani.

 What is Special Category Status?

  • The status granted to the historically disadvantaged States as compared to others by the erstwhile National Development Council (NDC).
  • The Constitution does not have any provision for categorisation of any State as a Special Category Status (SCS) State.
  • In the past, the NDC considered factors such as
  • difficult and hilly terrain;
  • low population density and/or a sizeable share of tribal population;
  • strategic location along borders;
  • economic and infrastructural backwardness, and;
  • non-viable nature of state finances. 
  • The NITI Aayog, which has replaced the Planning Commission, has no power to allocate funds  — therefore, the discretion that the ruling party at the Centre had to dole out special favours to states through the Plan panel, no longer exists.
  • The “special status” was restricted only to the north-eastern (including Sikkim) and three hilly states (J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand) by the 14th Finance Commission.
  • What assistance do states with Special Category Status get?
  • The Centre pays 90 per cent of the funds required in a centrally-sponsored scheme to special category status states as against 60 per cent in case of normal category states.

ORCHIDS IN INDIA

Context: An Assam forest officer’s chance discovery has given India one of its smallest orchids in terms of size and duration of bloom to be recorded botanically.

Essentials

  • Taxonomically, orchids represent the most highly evolved family among
  • Majority of the cultivated orchids are native of tropical countries and occur in their greatest diversity in humid tropical forest.
  • The optimum condition for good growth for orchids hovers around 250C which is the normal condition in the equatorial region with very little variation.

 High degree of endemism

  • They exhibit a high degree of endemism because:
  • Their existence in specific niches within the fragile ecosystem.
  • Insect pollination in most of the species, particularly needing specific vectors to visit different species.
  • Inability to achieve fertilization in maximum number of ovules for viable seeds due to the fact that each ovary of the orchid possesses millions of ovules.
  • Presence of an unorganized embryo in the seed, also without any food storage and hence needing infection of a specific strain/race of mycorrhiza as a food supplier before germination.
  • Absence of similar habitats for orchid seedlings/propagules to pass through similar niches for establishment and dispersal.

 Orchids In India

  • Orchids form 9% of our flora and are the largest family among higher plants in India. 
  • India has a very large variety of orchids.
  • In general terrestrial orchids are more common in Northwestern India;
  • epiphytic orchids in North-Eastern India; and
  • small flowered orchids in Western Ghats.
  • It is estimated that about 1,300 species of orchids are found in our country with Himalayas as their main home and others scattered in Eastern and Western Ghats.
  • Northeast India harbours the highest number of about 850 orchid species. About 300 species are found in the Western Ghats and 200 in the northwestern Himalayas.
  • The largest terrestrial genus is Habenaria and the largest epiphytic genus is 
  • Most of the Paphiopedilum (lady’s slipper) species are restricted to N.E Himalayas except for  druryi .
  • This species, which had been reported from Kerala was thought to be almost extinct from its original habitat and was recently rediscovered.
  • The Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES), ratified by India, places all species of Orchidaceae under Appendix II, meaning thereby that their trade will be only through export permits. 

NICHE PROFILE

  • The orchids occupying the highest canopies of the emergent trees are xerophytic and tolerate long periods of high intensity of light that provides steady state for their growth.
  • However between crown canopy and crown base in the understorey where rapid fluctuation of sun and shade often predominate, maximum numbers of orchids are found growing (Sciophytes).
  • The third category of orchids is truly shade tolerant and occupies the tree trunk or stump portions of the understorey (mesophytes).

 Figure: Habenaria crenata (Mesophytes)

  • The terrestrial orchids forming the fourth ecological group are differentiated in their growth on soil either as an autophyte or saphrophyte.

Figure : Epipogeum roseum (Saphrophytes)

 Pseudoantagonism

  • The Oncidiums of South America, attract bees by a process called as
  • That is, parts of the plant resemble an enemy insect and the bee attacks it and try to drive it away. During the assault pollen adheres to the attacking bee!

PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TRIBAL GROUP

  • Context: The poor Kolam families of Kothapalli Kolamguda in Adilabad district are on the edge in the wake of three children dying of food poisoning on May 8. The Kolams, who are one among the tribes classified as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), fear that more ill-luck could be in store for them.

 Essentials

  • While some tribal communities have adopted a mainstream way of life, at the other end of the spectrum, there are certain Scheduled Tribes, 75 in number, known as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), who are characterised by:
  • pre-agriculture level of technology
  • stagnant or declining population
  • extremely low literacy
  • subsistence level of economy
  • PVTGs are more vulnerable among the tribal groups.
  • 75 tribal groups have been categorized by Ministry of Home Affairs as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
  • PVTGs reside in 18 States and UT of A&N Islands.
  • Among 75 listed PVTG’s the highest number are found in Odisha (13), followed by Andhra Pradesh (12).
  • The Ministry of Tribal Affairs implements the Scheme of “Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)” exclusively for them.

BT BRINJAL

Context: Prashant Bhushan sends notice to Centre on Bt Brinjal, a GM crop, being grown in a farmer’s field in Haryana.

Essentials

Bt brinjal

  • Brinjal has been genetically modified by inserting a protein gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis to give protection against certain pests especially the fruit and shoot borer (FSB).
  • Brinjal is prone to attack from insect pests and diseases, the most serious and destructive of which is the fruit and shoot borer (FSB) Leucinodes orbonalis.
  • FSB feeds predominantly on brinjal and is prevalent in all brinjal producing states.
  • Bt brinjal has been developed in India by Maharashtra-based seed company Mahyco.
  • It was on the verge of becoming India’s first GM food crop, when the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) cleared it for commercialisation in 2009, before doubts about the long-term impact on consumer health and plant biodiversity led then-Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh to slap an indefinite moratorium on the crop.

 Brinjal

  • India is the second largest producer of Brinjal after China.
  • Brinjal, being a hardy crop that yields well even under drought conditions, is grown in almost all parts of the country.
  • Major brinjal producing states include: West Bengal (30% production share), Orissa (20%), and Gujarat and Bihar (around 10% each).
  • ‘Matti or Mattu Gulla’ from Karnataka has been awarded a geographical indication (GI) tag. It is a type of brinjal, rich in iron.

ECO-SENSITIVE ZONE GUIDELINES

  • Context: The concept was in used in the article ‘Protecting Forest Fringes’, The Hindu

 Essentials

  • The National Wildlife Action Plan (2002–2016) stipulated that state governments should declare land falling within 10 km of the boundaries of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries as eco fragile zones or ESZs under the Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986.
  • The purpose of the ESZ was to provide more protection to the parks by acting as a shock absorber or transition zone.
  • The guidelines proposed that the boundary had to be site specific and importantly the ESZs are not anti-people and do not intend to hamper their everyday activities.
  • The protected areas are based on the core and buffer model of management.
  • The core area has the legal status of being a national park.
  • The buffer area, however, does not have legal status of being a national park and could be a reserved forest, wildlife sanctuary or tiger reserve.
  • Buffer areas act as an area of coexistence and multiple use for local populations.
  • ESZs lie outside the buffer area.
  • Some prominent national Parks and wildlife sanctuaries without operational ESZs include:
  • Pobitora Sanctuary of Assam
  • Hemis High Altitude National Park and Kishtewar National Park of Jammu and Kashmir
  • Jogimatti Sanctuary of Karnataka
  • Deolgaon Rehekuri Sanctuary of Maharashtra
  • Siroi National Park of Manipur
  • Baghmara Pitcher Plant Sanctuary of Meghalaya
  • Fakim Sanctuary of Nagaland and
  • Pilibhit Sanctuary of Uttar Pradesh
  • Some National Parks situated too close to the urban areas: Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai, Bannerghatta in Bengaluru, and the Guindy National Park in Chennai.

ATAL PENSION YOJANA

Context: Scheme aimed at providing financial security to people in the unorganised sector.

Essentials

Atal Pension Yojana

  • It is a pension scheme for citizens of India focussed on the unorganised sector workers. However, any citizen of India with a savings bank or post office account can invest in the APY. 
  • Under the APY, guaranteed minimum pension of Rs. 1,000/-, 2,000/-, 3,000/-, 4,000 and 5,000/- per month will be given at the age of 60 years depending on the contributions by the subscribers.
  • The monthly contribution to APY is modest — from a low of ₹42 a month for an 18-year-old desiring a pension of ₹1,000, to a maximum of ₹1,454 a month for a 40-year-old seeking ₹5,000 as monthly payout.

 Who can subscribe to APY?

  • Any Citizen of India can join APY scheme.
  • The following are the eligibility criteria:
  • The age of the subscriber should be between 18 – 40 years.
  • He / She should have a savings bank account/ open a savings bank account.
  • The prospective applicant should be in possession of mobile number and its details are to be furnished to the bank during registration.
  • The subscribers can opt to decrease or increase pension amount as per the available monthly pension amounts.
  • However, the switching option shall be provided once in year during the month of April.
  • In case of death of subscriber pension would be available to the spouse and on the death of both of them (subscriber and spouse), the pension corpus would be returned to his nominee.
  • The Exit before age 60 would be permitted only in exceptional circumstances, i.e., in the event of the death of beneficiary or terminal disease.
  • All the registered subscribers under Swavalamban Yojana aged between 18-40 years will be automatically migrated to APY with an option to opt out.
  • The government has ‘co-contributed’ up to 50% of the premium for five years for those who joined the scheme between June 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016 and were not beneficiaries of any social security schemes, besides not being income-tax payers.
  • On death of the subscriber before attaining 60, the spouse will be given the option either to withdraw fully or to continue paying premium for the balance period (original subscriber’s 60th birthday) and then avail of the pension benefit.
  • Contributions to APY are eligible for the same tax benefits that the National Pension System (NPS) enjoys.
  • However, the pension receivable is taxed as per the income tax slab of the subscribers.
  • The government guarantees returns under the APY at 8%, which is higher than the prevailing CPI inflation in recent years.
  • UTI, SBI and LIC manage the APY corpus and invest the APY corpus in equity, government securities and corporate debt instruments. 
  • The People First campaign is a series of campaigns conducted at various states across the country to increase APY outreach. 
  • A similar scheme — the ‘Pradhan Mantri Shram-Yogi Maan-dhan’ (PMSYM) — was announced in the Budget 2019 to provide an assured monthly pension of ₹3,000 only to workers in the unorganised sector who earn up to ₹15,000 per month.
  • The premium under the PMSYM is relatively lower than the APY’s.

PLACES IN NEWS

  • Mukuthang Valley
  • At least 300 yaks starved to death in a remote Himalayan valley after a bout of unusually harsh winter weather.

Yaks

  • IUCN Status: Vulnerable

Geographic Range

  • Fount in China and India (Laadakh)
  • Presence Uncertain: Nepal
  • Extinct: Bhutan
  • UPPER ELEVATION LIMIT: 6,100 metres
  • LOWER ELEVATION LIMIT: 4,000 metres
  • This species is listed on CITES Appendix I. In India, the species receives total protection under The Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. 

Do you know: The year 1500 is the cut-off date for recording extinctions on the IUCN Red List.


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