Important Facts for Prelims (7th February 2019) | 07 Feb 2019

The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for the establishment of Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog for Conservation protection and development of cows and their progeny in pursuance of the announcement in the Union Budget 2019-20.
Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog will lead to conservation, protection, and development of the cattle population in the country including the development and conservation of indigenous breeds.
It will result in increased growth of the livestock sector which is more inclusive, benefiting women, and small and marginal farmers.
The Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog will work in collaboration with Veterinary, Animal Sciences or Agriculture University or departments or organizations of the Central/State Government engaged in the task of research in the field of breeding and rearing of the cow, organic manure, biogas etc.

Sri Lanka has decided to end the country’s moratorium on capital punishment due to an upsurge in drug-related crimes.
Sri Lanka had imposed a moratorium on the capital punishment penalty in 1976.
Human rights groups have criticized the decision and said that there is no evidence that carrying out executions would serve as a deterrent to drug use or trafficking.
Global Trends
- As of October 2018, 170 States have either abolished the death penalty or introduced a moratorium on its use.
- However, 23 states including India, have carried out at least one execution in the past decade.

According to U.N.’s World Meteorological Organisation, report 2018 is set to be the fourth warmest year in recorded history, stressing the urgent need for action to rein in runaway planetary warming.
WMO concluded that average global surface temperature in 2018 was 1°C (1.8°F) above pre-industrial baseline levels.
2016, boosted by a strong El Nino remains the hottest year on record.
The WMO said that the 20 warmest years in history all occurred within the last 22 years.
The WMO said heightened temperatures also contributed to a number of extreme weather events such as hurricanes, droughts and flash flooding.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 192 Member States and Territories.
It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was established after the 1873 Vienna International Meteorological Congress.
Established by the ratification of the WMO Convention on 23 March 1950, WMO became the specialized agency of the United Nations for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences.
WMO is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.