British environmentalist and conservationist Norman Myers coined the term “biodiversity hotspot”.
It refers to an area with a vast array of life-forms found nowhere else in the world and is threatened by various factors.
To classify a region as a biodiversity hotspot two criteria must be met:
It should have a minimum of 1,500 species of vascular plants found solely in that region
It should have lost at least 70 % of its native vegetation.
Around the world, 36 areas qualify as hotspots and they represent just 2.4% of Earth’s land surface.
India is one of the world’s 17 mega-diverse countries.
It has biodiversity hotspots in the Western Ghats, the Himalayas, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Focusing on biodiversity hotspots is the way to save the most species with the least use of time, money and effort.
SWAYATT
It is an initiative launched by the Ministry of Commerce and Industries.
It is to promote Start-ups, Women and Youth Advantage Through e-transactions on Government e Marketplace (GeM).
This will bring together the key stakeholders within the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem to GeM.
GeM Start-up Runway, an initiative of GeM in association with Start -up India, was also launched.
It is to facilitate Start-ups registered with Start -up India.
It will be an aid to access the public procurement market and sell innovative products and services to government buyers.
Both these initiatives will reach out and empower the diverse groups in our country.
Tele-Law and Nyaya Bandhu
Tele-Law (mobile application and dashboard) and Nyaya Bandhu (mobile application) were launched recently by Department of Justice (DoJ), Ministry of Law and Justice.
Tele-Law is about mainstreaming Legal Aid through Common Service Centers while Nyaya Bandhu is about Pro Bono Legal Services (Free Legal Services).
The tele-law services across the country provide every litigant access to free legal aid services.
The Nyaya bandhu app service was developed to accelerate and facilitate practicing advocates to register and connect with the registered eligible beneficiaries.
Both the programs are aimed at fulfilling the State's constitutional obligation of providing "free legal aid" for all (Article 39A).
Operation Digital Board (ODB)
It was launched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
It has been launched on the lines of Operation Blackboard to provide better digital education in schools.
It aims to set up one digital and interactive board per classroom in government and government-aided schools
7 lakh classrooms of 9th, 10th and 11th standards and 2 lakh classrooms of colleges and Universities will be covered in the next 3 years.
University Grants Commission will be the implementing agency for ODB in Higher Education Institutions.
Graveyard Orbits
It is a higher orbit where the satellites are transferred to, after they reach the end of their mission.
It is mostly used for the disposal of geostationary satellites that orbit directly above Earth’s equator at a height of 35,786 kilometers.
It usually lies 300km above the geostationary orbit.
This is done to prevent collisions with other operational satellites and also to make space for new satellites in the geostationary orbit.
All India Citizens Survey of Police Services
Ministry of Home Affairs has commissioned the Bureau of Police Research and Development to conduct a pan-India survey called “All India Citizens Survey of Police Services”.
The survey will be conducted through the National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi.
The survey is aimed
To understand public perceptions about Police
To gauge the level of non-reporting of crimes or incidents to Police
To assess the position on ground relating to crime reporting & recording, timeliness and quality of police response and action,
To assess citizens' perception and experience about women and children’s safety
