26-05-23 Daily-Gujarat-GPSC Current Affairs

Despite laws to prevent discrimination on the basis of gender, the girl child continues to be under threat inGujarat.

The state registered the third most skewed sex ratio at birth in the country with 909 girls per 1,000 boys, according to the Centre’s report, ‘Vital statistics of India based on the Civil Registration System 2020.’
Sex ratio is defined as the number of females per 1,000 males. According to the report, Gujarat only fared better than Manipur at 880 and and Daman and Diu at 898. The neighbouring states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh fared better than Gujarat with sex ratios of 952 and 921 respectively.

In the 2019 report, Gujarat registered the lowest sex ratio at birth (901), followed by Assam (903), Madhya Pradesh (905) and Jammu and Kashmir (909). In 2018, the state recorded the fifth most skewed SRB at 897.

The data reveals that the SRB in rural areas of Gujarat was 929 while the same in the urban areas was 901. The data further reveals that in the state’s rural areas, the SRB was the lowest in Botad at 870, followed by Devbhumi Dwarka at 889, and Mehsana and Gir Somnath at 898 each.
In the urban areas, Mehsana registered the most skewed SRB at 858, followed by Surat at 865 and Botad at 867. The officials said that the sex ratio at birth was most skewed in Mehsana and areas of Saurashtra.

Gujarat had shot to national infamy with a skewed child sex ratio (0-6 years) of 886 girls per 1,000 boys in Census 2001 while it was 890 in Census 2011.

A national campaign for updation and verification of Peoples Register was launched in Goa, marking a significant step towards the documentation and preservation of India’s rich biological diversity.

The Peoples Biodiversity Register (PBR) serves as a comprehensive record of various aspects of biodiversity, including the conservation of habitats, preservation of land races, domesticated stocks and breeds of animals, micro-organisms, and the accumulation of knowledge related to the area’s biological diversity.

So far, 2,67,608 PBRs have been prepared by Biodiversity Management Committees in different states. There is a plan to set up PBR in every village across the country under Mission LiFE (lifestyle for Environment) which is conceived to conserve the planet earth through mindful utilisation of <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/natural-Resources“>Natural Resources and various other actions at individual and community levels in the country.

As per the Biological Diversity Act 2002, Biodiversity Management Committees (BMC) are created for promoting conservation, sustainable use and documentation of biological diversity by local bodies across the country. BMCs have been constituted by the local bodies in the States and Union Territories and are entrusted with preparation of the PBRs in consultation with local communities.

PBR is designed as a tool for formal recording and maintenance of comprehensive information on availability and knowledge of local biological resources, their medicinal or any other use. It’s also a record of knowledge, perception and Attitude of people about natural resources, Plants and animals, their utilization and conservation in a village.
PBR is considered as the first step towards bridging the gap between Intellectual Property Rights of local people and benefits derived from genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge and enabling them to share those benefits.

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the US next month, a Congressional committee has recommended the addition of India to the list of five non-European nations that comprise NATO Plus.

The House Select Committee, also called the China committee, has reasoned that winning the strategic competition with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and ensuring the security of Taiwan demands the US strengthen ties to our allies and security partners, including India. Including India in NATO Plus security arrangements would build upon the US and Indias close PARTNERSHIP to strengthen global security and deter the aggression of the CCP across the Indo-Pacific region.

Bringing India on board will facilitate seamless intelligence sharing among these countries and India would access the latest military technology without a time lag

India has always been at the forefront in supporting its neighbors during such disasters, highlighting its commitment to ensuring security and Growth for all in the region.

Cyclone Mocha, which recently hit Myanmar, has been classified as an extremely severe cyclonic storm by the IMD and a Super Cyclone by the global weather website Zoom Earth.