UN releases World Happiness Report 2020
Context :
United Nations released the World Happiness Report 2020.
Highlights :
- The World Happiness Report ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves.
- The report is a landmark survey of the state of global happiness. This is the 8th edition of the World Happiness Report.
- The special focus of the World Happiness Report 2020 was on environments for happiness, which emphasizes more specifically on social environments for happiness, as reflected by the quality of personal social connections and social institutions.
World Happiness Report 2020 covers the period of 2017-2019 and analyses the countries on the following six variables:
- GDP per capita
- Social support
- Healthy life expectancy
- Freedom to make life choices
- Generosity
- Perceptions of corruption
Ranking of countries as per the World Happiness Report 2020 :
1. Finland
2. Denmark
3. Switzerland
4. Iceland
5. Norway
6. Netherlands
7. Sweden
8. New Zealand
9. Austria
10. Luxembourg
144. India
Whiteflies(pest) -resistant cotton variety
Context :
The National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow has developed a whiteflies-resistant variety of cotton.
- Whiteflies are one of the top ten devastating pests in the world that damage more than 2000 plant species and also function as vectors for some 200-plant viruses.
- Cotton is one of the worst hit crops by these, in 2015 two third of the cotton crop was destroyed by the pest in Punjab.
Key Points :
- Need for Development :
- Even though Bt cotton is also genetically-modified cotton and present in the market for farmers usage, it is resistant to two pests only and not resistant to whiteflies.
- Constituents :
- The leaf extract of an edible fern Tectaria Macrodonta causes toxicity to the whitefly.
- It works against whiteflies but is safe for application on the crop plants and provides protection from them.
- Process:
- When whiteflies feed on doses of insecticidal protein of Tectaria Macrodonta, it interferes with the life cycle of insects.
- The whiteflies suffer from very poor egg-laying, abnormal eggs, nymph and larval development, and the poor overall growth of the fly.
- Target and Non-target Insects:
- The Tectaria Macrodonta is found to be in-effective on non-target insects.
- Thus, it clearly shows that the protein is specifically toxic to whitefly and does not cause any harmful effect on other beneficial insects like butterflies and honeybees.
Tech For Tribals
Context :
TRIFED Launches transformational “Tech For Tribals” program in partnership with Institutes of National Importance (INIs) to develop Tribal entrepreneurship.
Key features of the program :
- Aim : To transform 5 crore Tribal Entrepreneurs.
- It is supported by Ministry of MSME.
- It also aims at capacity building and imparting entrepreneurship skills to tribal forest produce gatherers enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri VanDhan Yojana (PMVDY).
- The trainees will undergo a 30 days program over six weeks comprising 120 sessions.
- The Partners will develop course contents relevant to Entrepreneurship in Value Addition and Processing of Forest Produces.
- The course curriculum will include Achievement Motivation and positive psychology, Entrepreneurial Competencies, Identification of locally available NTFP based Business Opportunities.
Significance of the program :
It will ensure higher success rate of the Tribal Entrepreneurs by enabling and empowering them to run their business with marketable products with quality certifications.
What are Van Dhan Kendras :
- TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs is establishing 1,200 “Van Dhan Vikas Kendra (VDVK)”, across 28 States engaging 3.6 Lakhs Tribal Forest Produce gatherers.
- One typical VDVK comprises of 15 Self Help Groups, each consisting of 20 Tribal gatherers.
About Van Dhan Vikas Kendras initiative :
- The initiative aims to promote MFPs-centric livelihood development of tribal gatherers and artisans.
- It mainstreams the tribal community by promoting primary level value addition to MFP at grassroots level.
- Significance : Through this initiative, the share of tribals in the value chain of Non-Timber Forest Produce is expected to rise from the present 20% to around 60%.
Implementation :
- The scheme will be implemented through Ministry of Tribal Affairs as Nodal Department at the Central Level and TRIFED as Nodal Agency at the National Level.
- At State level, the State Nodal Agency for MFPs and the District collectors are envisaged to play a pivot role in scheme implementation at grassroot level.
- Locally the Kendras are proposed to be managed by a Managing Committee (an SHG) consisting of representatives of Van Dhan SHGs in the cluster.
Source : pib
International Nowruz Day
Context :
Affairs:International Nowruz Day celebrated globally on 21 March every year.
What is Nowruz and why do we celebrate it :
The word Nowruz (Novruz, Navruz, Nooruz, Nevruz, Nauryz), means new day; its spelling and pronunciation may vary by country.
Nowruz marks the first day of spring and is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, which usually occurs on 21 March. It is celebrated as the beginning of the new year by more than 300 million people all around the world and has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and other regions.
Nowruz is an ancestral festivity marking the first day of spring and the renewal of nature. It promotes values of peace and solidarity between generations and within families as well as reconciliation and neighbourliness, thus contributing to cultural diversity and friendship among peoples and different communities.
Background :
International Nowruz Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/64/253 of 2010, at the initiative of several countries that share this holiday. Under the agenda item of “culture of peace”, the member states of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan prepared and introduced a draft resolution (A/64/L.30) entitled “International Day of Nowruz” to the ongoing 64th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations for its consideration and adoption.
Huntington disease (HD)
Context :
A team of scientists from the National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune studied the HTT gene in fruit flies.
- Mutations in the HTT gene (also called Huntington or HD gene) cause Huntington Disease (HD).
Huntington Disease :
- Huntington Disease (HD) is a progressive genetic disorder which affects the brain.
- It causes uncontrolled movements, impaired coordination of balance and movement, a decline in cognitive abilities, difficulty in concentrating and memory lapses, mood swings and personality changes.
- The HTT genes are involved in the production of a protein called huntingtin. They provide the instruction for making the protein.
- Mutated genes provide faulty instructions leading to production of abnormal huntingtin proteins and formation of clumps.
- These clumps disrupt the normal functioning of the brain cells, which eventually leads to death of neurons in the brain, resulting in Huntington disease.
- No cure exists, but drugs, physiotherapy and talk therapy can help manage some symptoms.
Key Findings :
- In the study on fruit flies, it was observed that the pathogenic Huntingtin protein causes a decrease in the overall protein production in cells.
- The Huntingtin clumps collect together (sequester) molecules of another protein called Orb2, which is also involved in the process of protein formation.
- Orb2 protein is crucial for maintenance of memory in fruit flies.
- In humans, a family of proteins called CPEB is equivalent to the Orb2 protein in fruit flies.
- Further studies found that the CPEB proteins are also sequestered by the pathogenic Huntingtin clumps, similar to the Orb2 protein molecules.
- The study, thus, becomes relevant to and valuable in understanding HD in humans.
International Day of Forests observed on 21 March
Context :
United Nations celebrates International Day of Forest on March 21. The Day is celebrated since 2012.
Aim :
To increase awareness and importance of forests
Theme :
Forests and Biodiversity
March 21 has chosen to mark the international day of forests as it is the Vernal Equinox in the northern hemisphere and autumnal equinox. The organizers are the United Nations Forum on Forests and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with Governments, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and other relevant organizations in the field.
Forests
The Day celebrates and raises awareness of the importance of all types of forests. On each International Day of Forests, countries are encouraged to undertake local, national and international efforts to organize activities involving forests and trees, such as tree planting campaigns. The theme for each International Day of Forests is chosen by the Collaborative Partnership on Forests.Forests are the most biologically-diverse ecosystems on land, home to more than 80% of the terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects.