Important Facts For Prelims (1st April 2019)

• 01 Apr 2019

Earth Hour

• Recently the Earth Hour 2019 was observed on March 30 from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm local time with the theme #Connect2Earth.
• World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) Earth Hour is an annual global celebration in which people switch off their lights for one hour to show they care about the future of our planet.
• It began in Sydney, Australia in 2007, the number of countries taking part in Earth Hour has grown to over 180 countries and territories.
• Earth Hour is not about how much energy is saved during the hour. Rather, it is a chance to put the spotlight on the issues facing the planet, and to inspire millions across the world to live more sustainably.

World Wildlife Fund

• The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961, working in the field of wilderness preservation, and the reduction of humanity's footprint on the environment.
• It was formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States.
• Headquarters: Gland, Switzerland.
• The group's mission is "to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature".

Earth Day

• Earth Day is an annual event, celebrated on April 22. Worldwide events are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It was first celebrated in 1970, and is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network (EDN) and celebrated in more than 193 countries each year.
• Earth Day Network is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide.
• EDN main office is located in Washington DC, USA.

Kolam Tribe

• The Kolam tribe (or in their own language, Kolavar) is a scheduled tribe of Maharashtra. They also live in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh.
• They have a language of their own (Kolami) which belongs, like Gondi, to the intermediate group of Dravidian languages.
• They are monogamous and Hinduism is their religion.
• Recently in 2018, the Government has identified Katkaria (Kathodia), Kolam and Maria Gond as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in the State of Maharashtra.
  • The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is administering the scheme “Development of PVTGs” for overall development of PVTGs. This scheme is flexible and enables the States to focus on areas that they consider is relevant to PVTGs and their socio-cultural environment.

Arbitrage Funds

• Arbitrage funds are a type of mutual fund that are ideal for investors who want to profit from volatile markets without taking on too much risk.
• The arbitrage fund earns profits through the purchase and sale of securities on different exchanges.
• An arbitrage fund buys the stock in the cash market and sells the interest in the futures market, simultaneously.
  • While, in the regular equity trade, the stocks are purchased when the prices fall and are sold in the future when prices rise.

Statement of Guiding Principles

• India and the United States signed the amendments to the Statement of Guiding Principles (SGP) on Triangular Cooperation for Global Development.
• The SGP Agreement was signed in November 2014.
• It provides a framework for promoting cooperation between the two countries to meet the developmental aspirations of partner countries, particularly in Asia and Africa.
• The First Amendment to the SGP Agreement extends the validity of the SGP Agreement up-to 2021.
• Under the Agreement, India and U.S. will continue to offer capacity building assistance to partner countries in multiple sectors, focusing primarily on agriculture, regional connectivity, trade and investments, nutrition, health, clean and renewable energy, women empowerment, disaster preparedness, water, sanitation, education and institution building.

Northern Triangle

• The U.S. government has decided to cut aid to the countries of “Northern Triangle”.
• The US has blamed the Central American countries for sending migrants to the United States and threatened to shut the U.S.-Mexico border.

Northern Triangle

• The countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are known as Northern Triangle.
• These countries share a border tripoint at Trifinio biosphere reserve, and also aspects of classical cultures, history, society, and politics.

Phayeng Village

• Phayeng, a small village in Imphal West district of, Manipur has developed itself as India’s first carbon-positive settlement.
• A village is given the carbon-positive tag if it sequesters more carbon than it emits, slowing the accumulation of greenhouse gases and mitigating the effects of climate change.
• The transformation of the village from the dry and denuded village in the 1970s and 80s was funded under the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC).

National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC)

• The National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC) is a Central Sector Scheme which was set up in the year 2015-16.
• The overall aim of NAFCC is to support concrete adaptation activities which mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.
• The activities under this scheme are implemented in a project mode.
• The projects related to adaptation in sectors such as agriculture, animal husbandry, water, forestry, tourism, etc. are eligible for funding under NAFCC.
• National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is the National Implementing Entity (NIE).

Ahmad Sar Lake

• Several parts of Gujarat are facing severe water scarcity in the initial days of the summer season.
• Ahmad Sar Lake at Sarkhej Roza (Ahmedabad) has got dried.
• Sarkhej Roza is a 15th-century complex comprising a mosque and a tomb of Saint Ahmed Khattu Baksh.
  • Saint Ahmed Khattu Baksh was the spiritual advisor of the ruling dynasty of Gujarat during the 14^th and early 15^th centuries.