Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI)

Supreme Court directs Animal Welfare Board to decide the issue of feral dogs in Wildlife and Protected Areas.

• AWBI is a statutory advisory body set up under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
• It works under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
• Shrimati Rukmini Devi Arundale pioneered the setting up of the Board, with its Headquaters at Chennai.
• Chair - A senior Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) official.
• The Board consists of 28 Members.
• The term of office of Members is for a period of 3 years.
• Functions performed by AWBI -
  1. To advice the Central Government on the matters relating to the medical care provided in animal hospitals.
  2. To advice the Government related to the design of slaughter houses and vehicles to lessen the burden on draught animals.
  3. To give financial assistance to animal welfare organizations, rescue establishments and animal hospitals

• The Central Government shall nominate one of the Members of the Committee to be its Chairman.

Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana (AVYAY)

Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment provides grants to 639 projects under Integrated Programme for Senior Citizens scheme.

• The scheme aims to take care of various needs of Senior Citizens including shelter, food, healthcare and human interaction/life of dignity.
• The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment is the nodal implementation agency.
• The components of the AVYAY Scheme are as under -
  1. Integrated Programme for Senior Citizens (IPSrC)
  2. State Action Plan for Senior Citizens (SAPSrC)
  3. Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY)
  4. Elderline - National Helpline for Senior Citizens
  5. Senior-care Ageing Growth Engine (SAGE)
  6. Geriatric Caregivers Training
• IPSrC - Grant in aid is provided to Non-Governmental/ Voluntary Organizations for running and maintenance of Senior Citizens' Homes (old age homes), continuous care homes, etc.
• SAPSrC - Grant in aid is released to States/ UTs for creation of a pool of trained Geriatric Caregivers for senior citizens.
• RVY - The scheme aims to provide senior citizens, suffering from any of the age-related disability/infirmity, with assisted living devices.
• Elderline (14567) - The Ministry has set up the National Helpline for Senior Citizen to provide free information, Guidance, Emotional Support and field intervention in cases of abuse and rescues.
• SAGE - Promote innovative solutions to start-ups that are identified and encouraged for developing products, processes and services for the welfare of the elderly under this initiative.
• Geriatric Caregivers Training - To bridge the gap in supply and increasing demand in the field of geriatric caregivers and also to create a cadre of professional care givers in the field of geriatrics.

Places in news

• Rafah - Rafah is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip.
• It is the capital of the Rafah Governorate.
• Sinai - Sinai/Sinai Peninsula is located in Egypt.
• It is the only part of the country that is located in Asia.
• It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Africa.
• Belgorod - It is a city that is the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia.
• It is located on the Seversky Donets River, north of the border with Ukraine.
• Angostura - The current name of the city is Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela.
• It along with St. Thomas de Guyana is the capital of Venezuela’s southeastern Bolivar State.
• It lies at the spot where the Orinoco River narrows to about 1 mile.

Rhodamine B (RhB)

The Government of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry has recently banned the production and sale of cotton candy due to the presence of Rhodamine B in it.

• It is a chemical which is commonly used for dyeing.
• It is used in the textile, paper, leathers and paints industry as a colouring agent that helps in attaining colours that fall under the red and pink spectrum.
• Although in powdered form the chemical is green in colour, upon being added to water, it turns pink.
• Cotton candy, which is often spotted in the shades of pink, seems to borrow it from the usage of Rhodamine B

Super Pollutants

The Climate and Clean Air Conference 2024 began with a call for international collaboration to phase-out short-lived climate pollutants, or super pollutants.

• Super pollutants, also sometimes referred to as short-lived climate pollutants (SCLPs), derive their name from their relatively short life in the atmosphere as compared to carbon dioxide.
• Potent climate pollutants, such as methane and black carbon, have significant harmful effects on both human health and the environment.
• Common super pollutants - Black Carbon, Methane. Hydrofluorocarbons, and Ground-level ozone.