Prelim Bits 09-03-2019

India Cooling Action Plan

It was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
The thrust of the ICAP is to look for synergies in actions for securing both environmental and socio-economic benefits.
It seeks to

reduce cooling demand across sectors by 20% to 25% by 2037-38,
reduce refrigerant demand by 25% to 30% by 2037-38
reduce cooling energy requirements by 25% to 40% by 2037-38,
recognize “cooling and related areas” as a thrust area of research under national S&T Program
training and certification of 100,000 servicing sector technicians by 2022-23, synergizing with Skill India Mission

Cooling is linked to human health and productivity.
Linkages of cooling with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are well acknowledged.

Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) 2019 Global Report

It is prepared by the Organization for economic cooperation and development (OECD).
Sweden tops the chart by having low gender discrimination.
According to it, gender-based discrimination, including female genital mutilation, reproductive rights, pay gaps, and gender violence, were estimated to cost $6 trillion, or 7.5 percent of the global economy.
Women also occupy less than a third of senior positions in the civil service on average.
But they make up 75% of part time workers in the public sector.

Purple frog

It is endemic to the Western Ghats of India.
It has been evolving independently for around 100 million years.
It is listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List.
It is threatened by deforestation from expanding cultivation, in addition to consumption and harvesting by local communities.
The tadpoles of this species are rheophilic, which means they thrive in running water.

It was found that the speed with which water flows down the streams is one of the main factors that determine the presence and aggregation of these tadpoles.
The damming effect is also slowing down the streams feeding water to the river.

Flood Management and Border Areas Program

The Union Cabinet has approved the Flood Management and Border Areas Program (FMBAP) recently.
It will be implemented throughout the country for effective flood management, erosion control and anti-sea erosion.
The catchment area treatment works will help in reduction of sediment load into rivers.
It is framed by merging the components of two continuing XII Plan schemes titled "Flood Management Program (FMP)" and "River Management Activities and Works related to Border Areas (RMBA)"

Bolo App

It is an app launched by Google
It aims to help children in primary school learn to read in Hindi and English.
It uses Google’s speech recognition and text-to-speech technology.
It features an animated character Diya, who encourages children to read stories aloud and helps if the child is unable to pronounce a word.
It was piloted in about 200 villages in Uttar Pradesh.
The early results are very encouraging with 64 per cent of children showing an improvement in reading proficiency in just 3 months.

Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)

The 50th Raising Day of Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) was celebrated recently.
It is one of the Central Armed Police Forces of the country.
It was raised under an Act of Parliament namely Central Industrial Security Force Act, 1968.
It provides security to various Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and other critical infrastructure installations both in public and private sectors across the country.
For instance it provides security to nuclear installations, airports, seaports, power plants, government buildings, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation etc.,
It is under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

It was the first deep space precision orbit determination by laser ranging from Earth.

Source: PIB, The Hindu, Down to Earth