20 Oct CA

1.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has approved India’s self-declaration of freedom from Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in specific poultry compartments.

This is a significant development for India’s poultry industry and reflects the country’s commitment to maintaining high animal health and biosecurity standards.
Compartmentalization, a strategy used to establish and maintain groups of animals with specific health statuses, played a key role in this achievement.

2.

B. Borooah College, Guwahati, has been awarded the prestigious NAAC A++ rating, securing the highest CGPA of 3.62. This milestone makes B. Borooah College the first government sector college in the entire northeastern region to attain such an outstanding recognition.

Established in 1943, B. Borooah College, named in honor of the illustrious businessman Bholanath Borooah from Nagaon

Note:

The ratings of institutions range from A++ to C. If an institution is graded D, it means it is not accredited.

Among the states, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of accredited colleges followed by Karnataka

Tamil Nadu has the most accredited universities

Only higher education institutions that are at least six years old, or from where at least two batches of students have graduated, can apply.
The accreditation is valid for five years

3.

Installing LED bulbs is one of the three strategies being employed in Assam to mitigate human-elephant conflict (HEC) and facilitate coexistence in the Baksa and Tamulpur districts. The initiatives have been supported by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the SBI Foundation.

Note:

These LED bulbs illuminate a particular area in a rhythmic sequence, blinking continuously in the darkness around. The movement of elephants around human settlements can be restricted as the trunked animals are known to avoid these lights

4.

Second strategy to mitigate human elephant conflict in Assam

Alternative crops

to shift from conventional paddy to commercially viable crops that wild elephants find less palatable. Some of these alternative crops can be used as bio-fences to deter elephant herds besides supplementing the income of HEC-affected people

Crops such as Assam lemon, ginger, turmeric, and mustard are less likely to be foraged by elephants. These crops also command good prices in the market

Govt focus is also on sensitising the farmers about the importance of crop quality and variety, seed treatment, land preparation, nutrient management, sowing methods, disease control, and the economic advantages associated with these crops

5.

Third strategy is Watch towers

construction of six permanent watchtowers in HEC-affected areas of the Baksa district to facilitate community crop guarding for raising an alarm when elephants approach paddy fields.

Community crop-guarding has been found to be effective and has been tried and tested in other areas of the landscape

6.

Some important statistics regarding human elephant conflict

Assam is home to more than 5,700 elephants, the second-highest after Karnataka. According to data provided in the 126-member State Assembly in March, HECs kill an average of 70 people and 80 elephants annually.

The data also revealed that 1,300 elephants died between 2001 and 2022. While 509 of these died of natural causes, 261 succumbed to unknown reasons, 202 were electrocuted, 102 died in train accidents, 65 due to poisoning, 40 were poached, and 18 died in a bolt of lightning.

7.

SEBA to introduce Artificial Intelligence as a new subject

SEBA has decided to introduce the subject for Class IX in the academic session 2024-25 and as an elective subject for Class IX in the academic session 2025-26.

It should be mentioned here that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has already introduced AI as a subject from classes IX to XII. From the next academic session, CBSE will start offering the subject from Classes VI to VIII.

A free textbook published by CBSE on their website under the title ‘Artificial Intelligence’ will be the textbook for SEBA students in Class 9.

The PDF version of the book can be downloaded from the official SEBA website, http://www.sebaonline.org, in the textbooks section

8.

Artisans in Churu, Rajasthan, have spent three months crafting a Durga idol adorned with 125,000 American diamonds.

What are American diamonds?

An American Diamond is not a genuine diamond. It is another term for Cubic Zirconia, an artificial diamond substitute. In contrast to CZ, which is comprised of synthetic zirconium dioxide, diamond contains carbons.

9.

DBP controversy in Assam in news

Background:

Allegations implicate Assam Co-operative Apex bank in the disbursal of over Rs 20 crore to controversial business tycoon Rajesh Bajaj via the Demand Bill Purchase (DBP) route

What is DBP ?

This method allows banks to purchase a customer’s cheques in times of urgent financial need. The bank, based on the customer’s transaction history, then releases the funds to the customer. This practice was discontinued by the RBI once net banking became prevalent as customers can now quickly access funds through cheque clearance, regardless of their location.

Note: Rajesh Bajaj ‘s name figured in the Sharada chit fund scam

10.

Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu announced that the transfer of a total of 2112 teachers has been approved for single and mutual transfers

Teachers suffering from cancer and other critical diseases have been approved, irrespective of the PTR, and the remaining applications will be scrutinized by the authorities after the Durga Puja holidays.

What is PTR?

Student-Teacher Ratio also referred to as Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) is the average number of pupils per teacher at a specific level of education in a given school- year

Right to Education Act, 2009, stipulates that the requisite pupil-teacher ratio in lower primary schools is 30:1

On the other hand, in upper primary schools, the ideal ratio is 35:1.

Note:

The pupil-teacher ratio non-compliance is found to be highest in lower primary schools in Assam. Udalguri tops the list with 300 single-teacher lower primary schools, followed by 240 such schools in Kokrajhar and 200 in Golaghat

11.

Privatisation of Jails ( A recent topic shown in the Kannada movie Ghost that released yesterday)

In India, the government is solely responsible to look after and maintain all jails in the country. But, in the US, the government enters into contracts with private companies that build and manage prisons privately. Since these companies are listed on the stock exchange, their stocks are called ‘prison stocks’ and this is how these companies work.

The business model of private prison stocks includes:

Building and managing buildings
Securing government contracts
Charging a daily fee for each bed filled

The Supreme Court of India last year expressed concern over the conditions of jails in the country and suggested the idea of building private jails involving big corporates.

Note: In Europe as well, there is a concept of private jails along with corporate social responsibility.

12.

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, renowned for its population of one-horned rhinoceros, welcomed tourists once again as it officially reopened its gates on Friday.

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary proudly boasts a thriving ecosystem, featuring 107 one-horned rhinoceros, over 500 wild buffaloes, more than a hundred wild boars, and an impressive array of approximately 385 bird species, representing both local and foreign origins.

Approximately 72% of the sanctuary is covered by wet savannah dominated by Arundo donax and Saccharum, while the rest consists of water bodies.

13.

What is Arundo donax used for?
Arundo has been used for walking sticks, fishing poles, musical instruments, and recently it is being investigated as a biofuel source. Arundo was first planted in California in the 1820’s to provide roofing materials and for erosion control in the Los Angeles Basin area.

14.

Permanent Shelters In Vulnerable Areas For Flood-Resilient Community in Morigaon

Morigaon district administration in Assam has initiated a collaborative effort with NGOs to create secure and permanent shelters in the vulnerable areas along the Brahmaputra river to develop a flood-resilient community

The district administration, however, is striving to fortify safety measures for future challenges and the recent completion of one such shelter in Baralimari Char under the Bhuragaon Revenue Circle was a step towards this direction

The shelter at Baralimari Char was constructed at a cost of approximately Rs 40 lakh and features a well-equipped kitchen and storage facilities

Construction of similar shelters will start in the Laharighat area next month, offering accommodation and a safe haven for flood victims, including facilities for their domestic animals

15.

The Supreme Court recently granted interim relief to a candidate who was not allowed to appear for an Interview by the Union Public Service Commission which did not accept his Economically Weaker Section(EWS) category certificate and rejected his candidature. The Court issued notice to UPSC and directed it to allow the petitioner to appear for the personality test of UPSC ESE(Engineering Services Examination),2022. Meanwhile, his results shall be kept in a sealed cover till the next date of hearing, November 20.

Article 32 of the Indian Constitution gives the right to individuals to move to the Supreme Court to seek justice when they feel that their right has been ‘unduly deprived’

16.

A five-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court of India unanimously ruled against the legalisation of same-sex marriages on Tuesday, 17 October.

While Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice SK Kaul were in favour of recognising civil unions of non-heterosexual couples, Justices SR Bhat, Hima Kohli, and PS Narasimha said it would not be “constitutionally permissible to recognise a right to civil union mirroring a marriage.”

It further declined to bestow adoption rights to same-sex couples

Note: The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and Special Marriage Act, 1954, recognise heterosexual marriages. But a girl can live with another girl as the Supreme Court scrapped Section 377 in 2018 and police cannot take any legal action against them

17.

Assam police has activated the Integrated Traffic Management System (ITMS) cameras in Guwahati. With this, the physical involvement of police personnel on the roads of Guwahati will cease and instead traffic violators will receive an SMS showing their e-challans in their mobile phones within a span of 24 hours.

What are the objectives of ITMS?

ITMS services emphasis on four key areas of traffic management & road safety: Develop a sense of order on the roads by efficiently prosecution of traffic violators and traffic law enforcement. Enhance Situational Awareness of existing traffic conditions on real time basis.

18.

Well fluid release incident at OIL in Duliajan

An act of vandalism at an Oil India Limited (OIL) well in the Duliajan region has resulted in an uncontrolled release of well fluids, primarily water, after miscreants allegedly cut and stole critical components from the wellhead

the miscreants targeted well no. NHK-67, located at Gazal Basti near Duliajan, where they completely dismantled the Christmas tree assembly above the adapter.

A Christmas tree is a piece of equipment that provides flow control on an oil or gas well. Christmas trees are a vertical assembly of valves with gauges and chokes that allow for adjustments in flow control as well as injections to stimulate production.