Current Affairs for UPSC IAS Exam – 18 February 2020

Contents:

1. Women Army officers eligible for permanent commission
2. Over 50% inmates in Tihar jail from backward classes in 2018
3. India’s bird population suffers long­ term decline
4. Govt. plans research on ‘indigenous’ cows 

WOMEN ARMY OFFICERS ELIGIBLE FOR PERMANENT COMMISSION

Why in news?

• The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the Union government’s submissions that women are physiologically weaker than men as a “sex stereotype” and declared that Short Service Commission (SSC) women officers are eligible for permanent commission and command posts in the Army irrespective of their years of service

OVER 50% INMATES IN TIHAR JAIL FROM BACKWARD CLASSES IN 2018 

Why in news?

• Over 50% inmates in Tihar prison belong to Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribe and from Other Backward Classes (OBC), as per Prison Statistics 2018.
• The data was recently shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs

INDIA’S BIRD POPULATION SUFFERS LONG-TERM DECLINE

Why in news?

• The State of India’s Birds 2020 (SoIB) assessment raises the alarm that several spectacular birds, many of them endemic to the subcontinent, face a growing threat from loss of habitat due to human activity, widespread presence of toxins, including pesticides; hunting and trapping for the pet trade

More about the report

• Over a fifth of India’s bird diversity, ranging from the Short toed Snake Eagle to the Sirkeer Malkoha, has suffered strong long term declines over a 25­year period, while more recent annual trends point to a drastic 80% loss among several common birds

GOVT. PLANS RESEARCH ON ‘INDIGENOUS’ COWS

Why in news?

• The government has unveiled a programme to research on ‘indigenous’ cows.
• To be funded by multiple scientific ministries, the initiative, SUTRA PIC  [Scientific Utilization Through Research Augmentation ­Prime Products from Indigenous Cows], is led by the Department of Science and Technology (DST)

More about SUTRA PIC 

• It has the Department of Biotechnology, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Ministry for AYUSH (Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Homoeopathy) among others and the Indian Council of Medical Research as partners. 

• The proposals under this theme should aim to perform scientific research on complete characterization of milk and milk products derived from Indian indigenous cows