Daily Current Affairs: 23 Aug 2021

Malabar rebellion

(Topic- GS Paper I–History, Source-Indian Express)

Why in the news?

Recently, August 20, marks the centenary of the Malabar rebellion, which is also known as the Moplah (Muslim) riots.
It had been an uprising of Muslim tenants against British rulers and local Hindu landlords.

What are the issues?

Recently the book, Dictionary of Martyrs: India’s Freedom Struggle 1857-1947, was released by Prime Minister in 2019.
Indian Council of Historical Research has given the task to make a report on the Moplah leaders, whom some believe killed hundreds of Hindus and converted many to Islam, found a place on the list of freedom fighters.
An ICHR member had submitted the 2016 report to the council that describes Haji as the “notorious Moplah Riot leader” and a “hardcore criminal,” who “killed innumerable innocent Hindu men, women, and children during the 1921 Moplah Riot, and deposited their bodies in a well locally known as Thoovoor Kinar”.
Haji was arrested by the army, tried by an army court and shot dead on January 20, 1922.
The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) in 2016 had recommended the de-listing of Wagon Tragedy victims and Malabar Rebellion leaders.

About Malabar/Moplah Rebellion

The year 2021 will mark the 100th anniversary of the Malabar/Moplah uprising of 1921.
The Malabar rebellion, also known as the Moplah rebellion, was an armed revolt staged by the Mappila Muslims of Kerala in 1921.
The rebellion was mainly agitated against the Hindu landlords the British government.

Prominent Leader

The prominent leaders of the rebellion were Ali Musaliyar and Variyankunnath Kunjahammed Haji.

About Indian Council of Historical Research

It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Human Resource Development established by an Administrative Order of the then Ministry of Education.
The body has provided financial assistance to historians and scholars through fellowships, grants, and symposia.

Panjshir

(Topic- GS Paper I–Geography, Source-The Hindu)

Why in the news?

The Panjshir Valley is Afghanistan’s last remaining holdout where anti-Taliban forces seem to be working on forming a guerrilla movement to take on the Islamic fundamentalist group.
After the Taliban’s swift seizure of power in Afghanistan, the Panjshir Valley in the north is the last place that might offer any real resistance to the Islamist extremist group.

About Panjshir Province

Panjshir is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan.
It is located in the northeastern part of the country containing the Panjshir Valley.
Bazarak serves as the provincial capital.
Panjshir became an independent province from neighbouring Parwan Province in 2004.
It is bordered by Baghlan and Takhar in the north, Badakhshan and Nuristan in the east, Laghman and Kapisa in the south, and Parwan in the west.

Children's Climate Risk Index' (CCRI)

(Topic- GS Paper II– Issues for Vulnerable Section, Source-Liv mint)

Why in the news?

UNICEF has recently published a report called 'The Climate Crisis Is a Child Rights Crisis: Introducing the Children's Climate Risk Index'.

About the Report

The Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI) provides the first comprehensive view of children’s exposure and vulnerability to the impacts of climate change.
It ranks countries based on children's exposure to climate and environmental shocks, such as cyclones and heatwaves, as well as their vulnerability to those shocks, based on their access to essential services.
This report presents a conceptual framework, a tool and an initial assessment at a global level of children's exposure and vulnerability to climate and environmental hazards, shocks and stresses – to help prioritize action for those most at risk.

Key highlights

Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and India are the four South Asian countries where children are at extremely high risk.
Pakistan was ranked at 14th position, Bangladesh at 15th, Afghanistan at 25th while India at 26th.
India's neighbours Nepal is ranked 51st and Sri Lanka 61st.
Bhutan is ranked 111th, with children at relatively lower risk.

The UNICEF Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI) mentions the population of children highly exposed to specific risks:

Coastal flooding: 240 million children
Riverine flooding: 330 million children
Cyclones: 400 million children
Vector-borne diseases: 600 million children
Lead pollution: 815 million children
Heatwaves: 820 million children
Water scarcity: 920 million children
Exceedingly high levels of air pollution: 1 billion children

Herbal park

(Topic- GS Paper III–Environment, Source-The Hindu)

Why in the news?

Recently, India's highest herbal park has been inaugurated at Mana village close to the Indo-China border in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district near the Indo-China border.
It has been developed in three years under the central government's Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) scheme.

About the Herbal Park

Aims

The main aim of this high altitude herbal park is to conserve various medicinally and culturally important alpine species and to do research on their propagation and habitat ecology.
The herbal park has around 40 species found in high altitude alpine areas in the Indian Himalayan region.
Many of these species are endangered and threatened as per International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list as well as by the State Biodiversity Board.

About Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA)

Background

Supreme Court of India ordered for establishment of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund and Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) in 2001.
In 2006, adhoc CAMPA was established for the management of the Compensatory afforestation fund.

About CAMPA Act

To compensate for the loss of forest area and to maintain sustainability, the Government of India came up with a well-defined Act, known as CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority).
The law establishes the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of India and a State Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of each state.
These Funds will receive payments for:

compensatory afforestation,
the net present value of forest (NPV),
Other project-specific payments.

The National Fund will receive 10% of these funds, and the State Funds will receive the remaining 90%.
According to the Act’s provision, a company diverting forest land must provide alternative land to take up compensatory afforestation.
For afforestation, the company should pay to plant new trees in the alternative land provided to the state.

Drawbacks of CAMPA

There are many reasons for forest growth not aligning with the increased fund.
The law says that land selected for afforestation should preferably be contiguous to the forest being diverted so that it is easier for forest officials to manage it.
But if no suitable non-forest land is found, degraded forests can be chosen for afforestation.
In several states like Chattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand where the intensity of mining is very high, finding non-forest land for afforestation to compensate for the loss of forest is a big task.

Ubharte Sitaare scheme

(Topic- GS Paper III–Economics, Source-The Hindu)

Why in the news?

Union Finance minister has recently launched the “Ubharte Sitaare" scheme to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) which could be future champions with good export potential
It also launched Ubharte Sitaare Fund (USF) for export-oriented small and mid-sized companies and startups in Lucknow.

About the Ubharte Sitaare Fund

The fund has been jointly sponsored by Exim Bank and SIDBI.
It has a size of Rs 250 crore with a greenshoe option of Rs 250 crore.
The fund will invest by way of equity, and equity-like products, in export-oriented units, both in the manufacturing and services sectors.

About Ubharte Sitaare scheme

The scheme was announced in the FY21 budget.
Under the scheme, an identified company is supported even if it is currently underperforming or may be unable to tap its latent potential to grow.
The programme diagnoses such challenges and provides support through a mix of structured support covering equity, debt and technical assistance.

Objectives

The objectives of the programme are to enhance India’s competitiveness in select sectors through

finance and extensive handholding support;
identify and nurture companies having differentiated technology,
products or processes, and enhance their export business;
assist units with export potential, which are unable to scale up their operations for want of finance;
identify and mitigate challenges faced by successful companies which hinder their exports; and
assist existing exporters in widening their basket of products and target new markets through a strategic and structured export market development initiative.

Eligible companies can be supported by both financial and advisory services by way of equity / equity-like instruments, term loans for modernisation, technology or capacity up-gradation; and technical assistance for product adaptation, market development activities and viability studies.

Significance

It would make investments in export-oriented small and mid-sized companies by way of equity and equity-like products, and thereby help script a new paradigm of growth in exports.
The initiative would play a catalytic role in contributing to the growth of the identified companies and would also have downstream benefits such as growth and diversification of India's exports, the impetus to brand India, and employment generation.

Adi Cascade Frog

(Topic- GS Paper III–Environment, Source-The Hindu)

Why in the news?

A team of researchers from Delhi University (DU) has recently discovered a new species of cascade frog called Adi Cascade Frog in Arunachal Pradesh.

About Adi Cascade Frog

It is a predominantly brown colour frog, with a size ranging roughly between 4 cm to 7 cm.
It has been named after the indigenous Adi tribe and the hills they inhabit.

Cascade Frog

The Cascades frog (Rana cascadae) is a species of frog in the family Ranidae found in the Pacific Northwest, mainly in the Cascade Range and the Olympic Mountains.
It belongs to the genus Amolops.
The genus Amolops is one of the largest groups of ranid frogs (family Ranidae) with currently 73 known species that are widely distributed across Northeast and North India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, through Indochina, to the Malay Peninsula.

Related Information

About Adi Tribe