Important Facts For Prelims (30th March 2019)

• 30 Mar 2019

Non-Convertible Debentures

• Debentures are long-term financial instruments that are issued by companies to borrow money.
• Some debentures have a feature of convertibility into shares after a certain point of time at the discretion of the debenture holder.
• The debentures which cannot be converted into shares are called non-convertible debentures (or NCDs).
• There are two types of NCDs-secured and unsecured.
• A secured NCD is backed by the assets of the company. If the company fails to pay the obligation, the investor holding the debenture can claim that through liquidation of those assets. Contrary to this, there is no backing in unsecured NCDs if company defaults.

Venezuela Humanitarian Aid Operation

• The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) will channel humanitarian aid to the crisis-hit Venezuela, potentially helping ease chronic hunger and disease.
• The first supplies would include medical equipment, surgical kits and power generators, following two major blackouts.
• The country’s hyperinflationary crisis has made food and medicine unaffordable for most citizens, fueling widespread malnutrition, especially among children, and a rise in preventable diseases.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies 

• The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is a global humanitarian organization, which coordinates and directs international assistance following natural and man-made disasters in non-conflict situations.
• It was founded in 1919 in Paris in the aftermath of World War I.
• It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It is the world's largest humanitarian network which is guided by seven Fundamental Principles: Humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, universality and unity.

Indian Red Cross Society

• Established in 1920 under the Indian Red Cross Society Act and incorporated under Parliament Act XV of 1920.
• President of India is designated the President of the Indian Red Cross Society and Union Health Minister is the Chairman of the Society.
• The Indian Red Cross is a voluntary humanitarian organization having a network of over 700 branches throughout the country, providing relief in times of disasters/ emergencies and promotes health & care of the vulnerable people

Fakim Wildlife Sanctuary

• Recently, a forest guard at the Fakim Wildlife Sanctuary in Nagaland, has been awarded Earth Day Network Star, for the protection of forests and wild animals in and around Fakim sanctuary.
• The award is given by a U.S.-based international environment organisation that engages with green groups in 195 countries.
• The Fakim Wildlife Sanctuary in located Kiphire district of Nagaland. It is spread over 642 hectares.
• It was established in the year 1983, and it lies along the international border with Myanmar.
• Many wildlife animals such as leopards, tigers, wild buffaloes, hoolock gibbons and mithun are found.
• Hornbill, the most popular bird in Nagaland (It can be noted that Blyth’s Tragopan is the State Bird of Nagaland) is also abundantly found in the Fakim Wildlife Sanctuary.

DRDO’s Bio-Digester

• The Bio-digester technology has been developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for resolving the problems of un-decomposed human waste.
• The bio-digester consists of a bio-toilet attached with bio-digester tanks that converts human faeces into biogas and reusable water.
• It uses anaerobic microbial inoculum (a material used for inoculation) to convert faeces into biogas and water that can be used for agriculture and gardening purposes.
• The tanks can be customised based on the requirements of the local conditions, and can operate in temperatures ranging from minus (-) 20 degrees to 50 degrees.
• The bio-digester tanks are maintenance-free for the lifetime, as the anaerobic microbial inoculum is fed only once. It feeds on the faecal matter and multiplies by itself.
• The technology is now being used in the Indian Railways and by the armed forces.

Defence Research and Development Organisation

• DRDO was established in 1958 after combining Technical Development Establishment (TDEs) of the Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development & Production (DTDP) with the Defence Science Organisation (DSO).
• DRDO works under the administrative control of Ministry of Defence, Government of India.
• Several major projects for the development of missiles, armaments, light combat aircrafts, radars, electronic warfare systems etc are on hand and significant achievements have already been made in several such technologies.