- World Bamboo Day
The issue in new s
Every year on 18 September World Bamboo Day is celebrated. 2020 theme: Bamboo Now
Main points
- World Bamboo Day was established by the World Bamboo organization in Bangkok in 2009.
- World Bamboo Organization was set up at the 1992 International Bamboo Congress in Japan.
- Bamboo is also called ‘poor man’s timber’. It can be planted to reclaim severely degraded sites and wastelands.
- Bamboo is a good soil binder . it also releases 35% more oxygen than trees.
- Bamboo shoots are nutraceutical in nature . ‘nutraceutical’ means medicinally or nutritionally functional foods.
- Currently the global market of bamboo shoots is around 1,700 million USD.
- in terms of bamboo diversity with 136 specie, s India is second richest country after China.
- National Bamboo Mission: for actualizing the goal of Vocal for Local, It supports local artisans through locally grown bamboo species, which will to remove bamboo for the category of trees, Indian Forest Act 1927 was amended in 2017.
- Arsenic-affected Habitations Increased
The issue in news
Recently from the date presented in the parliament it was realized that the number of arsenic-affected habitations in India has increased by 145% in the last five years (2015-20).
Main points
- Most of these habitations lie in the Ganga and Brahmaputra alluvial plains. e in Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh (UP).
- Among such habitations, Assam had the highest share (1,853), followed by West Bengal (1,383). Jharkhand, did not have any such habitation in 2015, but now in 2020 it has two habitations. Karnataka which had nine habitations in 2015, now it has no such habitation in 2020.
Fluoride Habitations:
- The total number of fluoride affected habitations has drastically decreased from 12,727 in 2015 to 5,485 as of September 2020 Rajasthan had the highest number of such habitations (2,956), followed by Bihar (861).
- Under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM),the aim is to provide piped water supply to every household by 2024 to fluoride affected habitations through Community Water Purification Plants (CWPP) to meet drinking and cooking needs
- to address the urgent need for providing clean drinking water in about 28000 Arsenic & Fluoride affected habitations, A new Sub-programme under National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) National Water Quality Sub-Mission (NWQSM) was started by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (now merged with Ministry of Jal Shakti) in 2017
- NRDWP is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with 50:50 fund sharing between the Centre and the States.
Arsenic Poisoning
- It can cause cancer, skin disease, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
- It can impact on cognitive development of children and increased deaths in young adults. As per WHO’s guidelines for drinking water quality (2011), the permissible limit of Arsenic in groundwater is 0.01 mg per litre.
Fluoride Toxicity
- It leads to dental fluorosis (tooth decay) or crippling skeletal fluorosis, which is associated with bone deformities.
- Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
The issue in news
the Union Minister of Rural Development recently provided information on implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), in Rajya Sabha.
Main points
- The objevtive of this yojana is to To provide an all-weather road to unconnected places..
- Only Unconnected habitations of selected population size (500+ in plain areas and 250+ in North-Eastern States, Himalayan States, Deserts and Tribal Areas as per 2001 census) are eligible for this yojana
- An Unconnected Habitation is one with a population of selected size located at a distance of at least 500 metres or more (1.5 km of path distance in case of Hills) from an All-weather road or a connected Habitation.
- IN North-Eastern and Himalayan States 90% of the project cost is bearded by The Union Government. whereas for other states the Union Government bears 60% of the cost.
PMGSY – Phase I
- PMGSY – launched in December, 2000 as a 100 % centrally sponsored scheme.
PMGSY – Phase II
- Upgrading of 50,000 Kms of existing rural road network to improve its overall efficiency. under PMGSY phase II, the roads already built for village connectivity was to be upgraded to enhance rural infrastructure.
PMGSY – Phase III
- approved by the Cabinet during July 2019 and it gave priorities to facilities like: Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs), Higher Secondary Schools and Hospitals.
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