Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Western Ghats yields a new species of Amaranthus

News

• A team of researchers have reported a new edible plant species belonging to the genus Amaranthus from the southern Western Ghats of 

Findings

• It was in February 2014 that the team came across the new species Amaranthus saradhiana on the outskirts of the Kulathupuzha forest range in Kollam district. Critical studies on the collected specimens revealed that the species is related to the widespread Amaranthus spinosus but differs in many characteristics.
• The researchers, carried out detailed taxonomic studies over the next five years to come up with the finding that the specimen is a new species.
• It is the first time that an Amaranthus species has been reported from Kerala. The local people at Kulathupuzha were found to be using the plant for food, though mistaking it to be another type of amaranthus more commonly seen.
• The species is endowed with high nutritional value, contributed by the rich presence of anthocyanin, a pigment which imparts the purple colour.
• Taxonomists generally consider Amaranthus a ‘difficult’ genus because of the very few distinguishing characters among the 60 to 70 species identified so far, the large number of hybrids and the broad geographical distribution, all of which act as factors making characterization difficult.
• An annual herb, Amaranthus saradhiana has been found to grow to a height of 80-100 cm and has profuse branches and spines arising from the leaf nodes.

The stem is hairy and purple in colour. The plant flowers and fruits during the period from June to December.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Chinese-built drones may steal data, warns U.S.

News

• Washington has warned that Chinese-made drones could be giving spy agencies in Beijing “unfettered access” to stolen data, according to a report.

Beyond News

• The Department of Homeland Security sent out an alert flagging drones built in China as a “potential risk to an organisation’s information”.
• The U.S. government has strong concerns about any technology product that takes American data into the territory of an authoritarian State that permits its intelligence services to have unfettered access to that data or otherwise abuses that access, quoting the DHS alert.
• The warning comes as China’s tech sector attracts unprecedented scrutiny amid China-US trade war.
• Washington has cranked up the heat on China’s Huawei by banning American companies from selling or transferring U.S. technology to the telecoms giant, though the U.S. Commerce Department has granted the firm a 90-day reprieve.
• S. intelligence believes Huawei is backed by the Chinese military and that its equipment could provide Beijing’s spy agencies with a backdoor into the communications networks of other countries.
• S. has also pushed its closest allies to reject Huawei technology. The DHS report did not name any specific Chinese manufacturers, but China-based DJI produces about 70% of the world’s commercial drones.
• The Pentagon has banned the military from using DJI drones for security reasons since 2017.

India cuts off UN panel after Jammu & Kashmir report

News

• Reacting angrily to a submission from the Geneva-based Human Rights Council (HRC) on the alleged violations in Jammu and Kashmir,India has informed the United Nations body that it will no longer entertain any communication with the HRC’s Special Rapporteurs on its report.

Beyond News

• The report from the UN body came at the same time a report from two NGOs in the State on the alleged cases of torture was released in Srinagar, which was endorsed by a former UN Special Rapporteur.
• The current Special Rapporteurs on Extrajudicial Executions, Torture, and Right to Health Agnes Callamard, Dainius Puras and Nils Melzer had referred to a report of the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) and written to the government in March 2019, asking about steps taken by New Delhi to address the alleged human rights violations listed in the report.
• In addition, the Special Rapporteurs had listed “13 cases of concern” from 2018 alone, in which “four children were among eight civilians killed by members of the security forces.”
• India had also rejected the OHCHR’s report on the ‘Situation of Human Rights in Kashmir’ the first-ever such report on Jammu and Kashmir that came out in June 2018 and accused the High Commissioner of Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein of “clear bias” in bringing it out.
• Ministry of External Affairs clarified that India’s stand on not engaging with the Special Rapporteurs was only for those wishing to refer to the OHCHR report.
• However, UN officials say that India is already in contravention of several Conventions it has committed to, including a “Standing Invitation” signed in 2011 to all special rapporteurs to visit India.
• According to the UN records, more than 20 such visit requests, including to Jammu and Kashmir, are pending at present. UN sources also said that between 2016-2018, the OHCHR Special Rapporteurs had sent as many as 58 communications, and had received no response other than the April 23 letter on Jammu and Kashmir.
• The UN submission on Jammu and Kashmir coincided with the release of an extensive 560-page report, prepared by the J&K based Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) and the J&K Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS).
• The report, entitled ‘Torture: Indian State’s Instrument of Control in J&K’, documented 432 cases of suspected human rights violations and brutality by security forces of which only 27 had been investigated by the State Human Rights Commission.
• The report claimed that nearly “70% of torture victims in Jammu and Kashmir were civilians (not militants) and 11% died during or as a result of torture”.
• The cases included incidents of electrocution, ‘water-boarding’ and sexual torture, which the government has repeatedly denied.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Shaheen Falcon nesting sites in the Nilgiris in need of protection

News

• The Shaheen Falcon, one of the fastest birds in the world, is thriving in the Nilgiris. However, lack of understanding of the population trend coupled with threats to the falcon’s nesting grounds could pose a serious threat to their survival in the district in the future, experts warn.
• The Shaheen Falcon, a non-migratory sub-species of the peregrine falcon, is known for reaching speeds in excess of 300 km an hour while diving to capture prey and are listed as being “vulnerable” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

        Findings

• In the Nilgiris, they seem to be thriving, with experts identifying at least eight nesting sites.
• The Shaheen Falcon can live in a variety of habitats, and they have seen them from the low altitude, arid landscapes of Thengumarahada to the upper slopes of the Nilgiris flying over Doddabetta Peak.
• The birds prefer to nest in rocky outcrops, and many of the nesting sites which they currently use are close to human habitations or tourist locations. They hope that the Forest Department can identify these areas and regulate tourism to ensure that the falcons’ breeding season is not disrupted.
• Another concern was that the nesting sites of the falcons were usually found in areas which fell outside areas protected by the Forest Department and on revenue lands.
• As these sites are found among rocky outcrops and even tea plantations, there is a chance that cattle herders could set these patches of land on fire to promote better growth of grasslands, destroying nesting areas of the falcons.

Pakistan boat with 200 kg of heroin seized off Gujarat

News

• The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) apprehended a Pakistani fishing vessel off Gujarat and seized 200 kg heroin, worth ₹600 crore in the international market.

Beyond News

• Received intelligence input from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and other agencies that a Pakistani fishing boat was to deliver narcotics off Gujarat and that it was to be received by an Indian boat.
• The ICG swiftly diverted its ships to effect interception of the boat. In the early hours of May 21, one of the Coast Guard ships intercepted the Pakistani fishing boat Al-Madinaoff Jakhau in the Arabian Sea.
• Despite evasive manoeuvres carried out by the crew of Al-Madinaand rough sea conditions, it was successfully intercepted within Indian waters. During the hot pursuit, the crew threw bags containing suspicious material into the sea. The Coast Guard team, upon boarding the vessel, took the crew into custody and retrieved the material.
• Preliminary testing of one of the seized packets using a drug-testing kit revealed that the substance was heroin.
• On initial checking 195 packets containing 200 kg of heroin has been found. The Pakistani vessel crew are being subjected to interrogation and rummaging is being carried out by various agencies.
• In March, the Indian Coast Guard had recovered 100 kg worth of heroin in a joint operation carried out along with the Anti-Terrorist Squad, Gujarat.

Stubble burning incidents down in Punjab this harvest season

News

• Farmers in Punjab, the key grain producing State, seem to have exercised restraint in burning the wheat crop residue during the ongoing harvesting season.
• The incidents of burning dipped compared to last year. Agriculture experts and officials believe that awareness of the ill-effects is one key reason for it.

Beyond News

• The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) data shows that the State had from April 15 to May 16 witnessed 5,981 incidents of stubble burning as against 9,900 cases reported during the corresponding period in 2018.
• Sangrur district topped the list with 553 incidents followed by Bathinda district (548) and Amritsar district (536). Rupnagar district recorded the lowest number 31 this season.
• It’s an indication that farmers are relatively more aware of the ill-effects on health and environment.
• Imposing penalties on farmers as there’s a ban on burning the residue. All the incidents are not deliberate as there are several cases of accidental fire too.
• Wheat, the main rabi (winter) crop, is sown from late October to December while the harvesting usually starts from mid-April onwards.
• Farmers use wheat residue as fodder for cattle and it’s only the stalk that is set on fire. The paddy residue is not used as fodder as it’s unfit and hence farmers burn both the paddy stalk and straw close to autumn every year which is a key contributing factor of pollution causing breathing problems in the northern region.

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