DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

The Indian Vice President recently inaugurated the 12th General Assembly of the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace in New Delhi.

Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace (ABCP)

• It was founded in 1970 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, as a voluntary movement of followers of Buddhism with both monastic (monks) and lay members.
• Its aim is to bring together the efforts of Buddhists in support of consolidating universal peace, harmony, and cooperation among people in Asia.
• It is currently headquartered at the Gandanthegchenling Monastery in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and the Supreme Head of Mongolian Buddhists is the ABCP President.
• The aims of ABCP: Striving to disseminate and implement the teachings of the Lord Buddha, ABCP aims to:
  • Bring together the efforts of Buddhists in support of consolidating universal peace, harmony, and cooperation among the peoples of Asia.
  • Furthering their economic and social advancement and promoting respect for justice and human dignity.
  • Disseminating the Buddhist culture, tradition, and heritage.
• History:
  • The roots of founding of ABCP lay in the Cold War politics of peace movements, and consolidation of allies, and building popular outreach among the masses through various organizations.
  • Most Venerable Gabji Samaagiin Gombojav, Khambo Lama of Mongolia, Venerable J. Gomboyev from Buriat, Khambo Lama of the former Soviet Union, Venerable Kushok Bakula Rinpoche from India, and Buddhist leaders from Sri Lanka and Nepal came together and officially founded the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace (ABCP) in 1970 with a permanent headquarters in Ulaanbaatar.
• It drew active participation from Mongolia, Japan, India, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bhutan, Russian Far East, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and other regional countries.
• ABCP was registered as an observer to the UN’s Economic and Social Council in 1988 in recognition of its contribution to the well-being of humanity.

UN’s Economic and Social Council?

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), responsible for the direction and coordination of the economic, social, humanitarian, and cultural activities carried out by the UN. It is the UN’s largest and most complex subsidiary body.

A dying traditional game, given a fresh lease of life at the ongoing Karbi Youth Festival (KYF) in central Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, has fuelled a drive for conserving a creeper known as the African dream herb.

About African dream herb

• A perennial climbing vine that is used by African traditional healers to induce vivid dreams that enables them to communicate efficiently with their ancestors.
• Common names: Giant sea bean, African dream herb, snuff box and Entada rheedii
• Distribution and habitat: It is indigenous to Africa, Asia, Australia and Madagascar. It grows in tropical lowlands, along the coastline and river banks, in woodland, thickets and riverine rain forests.
• Uses
  • A paste made from the leaves, bark and roots is used to clean wounds, treat burns and heal jaundice in children.
  • Tea made from the whole plant is used to improve blood circulation to the brain and heal the after-effects of a stroke.
  • The bark is used to treat diarrhoea, dysentery and parasitic infections.
• This creeper yields a dark brown and spherical seed, almost the size of a human patella or kneecap, used to play ‘Hambi Kepathu’. Associated with the origin of the Karbi community.

Hambi Kepathu?

• It is also known as Simrit in some parts of Karbi Anglong, is played on three rectangular courts by two teams comprising three members each.
• Each member of a team has to place a ‘hambi’, or the glazed creeper seed, vertically on the midpoint of the boundary line of his court for a player of the rival team to hit with his ‘hambi’.
• Hambi Kepathu, whose name is derived from the first syllables of the names of a Karbi sister-brother duo, is a male-only game like other traditional Karbi games such as ‘Pholong’ (spinning top), ‘Thengtom Langvek’ (torch swimming), and ‘Kengdongdang’ (bamboo stilt race).

• It is a species of the legume family.
• It is native to South and Central America and is grown as an ornamental plant as it has bright yellow flowers.
• It was introduced as shade trees for coffee and firewood in the country; it soon became a threat to native tree species as its dense foliage prevented the growth of other indigenous trees and grass species.
• It is considered as Least Concern under the IUCN Red List.

The Forest Department of Tamil Nadu has cleared 356.50 hectares of invasive growth of Senna spectabilis that posed a threat to biodiversity conservation in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR).

Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve

• It is located at the junction of the Eastern and the Western Ghats in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, in the Erode District of Tamil Nadu.
• It is contiguous with the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Bandipur Tiger Reserve (Karnataka) and BR Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary(Karnataka).
• Together, these reserves — forming the Nilgiris biosphere landscape — have the biggest tiger population in the world, at over 280 tigers.
• Vegetation: It consists of southern tropical dry thorn forests, mixed deciduous forests, semi-evergreen forests, and Riparian forests.
• Rivers: Some of the prominent rivers in the region include the Bhavani, Moyar, and Noyyal rivers.
• Tribal Communities: It is home to several indigenous tribal communities, including the Irula and Kurumba tribes.
• Flora: Common Species of trees and shrubs found are Albizzia amara Chloroxylon swictenia, Gyrocarpus jacquini, Neem, Tamarind, Sandalwood, Randi dumetorum, Zizyphus and associates.
• Fauna: The major species are Elephant, Tiger, Panther, Sloth bear, Gaur, Black Buck, Spotted deer and Bonnet macaque.

Irulas?

Irulas are one of India’s oldest indigenous communities and they are a particularly vulnerable tribal group.They live primarily in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu, as well as in parts of Kerala and Karnataka. They speak Irula, which is related to Dravidian languages like Tamil and Kannada. Irulas have traditionally caught snakes and rats, but they also work as labourers.

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) recently announced that the Chang’e 6 sample return mission is on track to land on the surface of the Moon in the first half of 2024.

The Chang'e 6 mission is a planned lander designed to return samples from the lunar south pole.The mission aims to land on the Moon, collect samples from the lunar surface, and return them to Earth. This process will contribute crucial data to unravel the Moon's geological mysteries.

• Representing the first attempt to retrieve samples from the far side of the Moon, Chang'e 6 is set to bring back up to two kilograms of lunar samples, adopting a configuration similar to the successful Chang'e 5 mission.
• The mission involves international collaboration, with payloads from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the French space agency CNES.
  • ESA contributes a lunar surface ion tester, while CNES provides equipment for measuring radon gas and its decay products.
  • Additionally, an Italian laser corner reflector for radar instrument calibration and Pakistan's ICUBE-Q CubeSat will be part of the mission.
• Chang'e 6 will consist of both a lander and a rover.
  • The lander will touch down on the lunar surface, while the rover will explore specific regions, conduct experiments, and aid in the sample collection process.
• The returned samples will be made available to the global scientific community for study.

• The Chandubi Festival takes place near the Chandubi Lake in Kamrup district, Assam.
• The festival celebrates Assamese culture and traditions, and aims to promote and preserve the cultural heritage of the area's tribal communities.
• The Chandubi Festival is organized by the people of Rajapara village in the Kamrup district, under the Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council (RHAC).

The festival has been providing an opportunity to generate livelihood to different tribes like Rabhas, Garos, Gorkhas and tea tribes.

• PM congratulates Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh for victory for 4^th consecutive term recently.

Sheikh Hasina's Awami League won almost 75% (222 out of 300) Parliamentary seats of the seats in general election that was boycotted by the main opposition BNP and drew a low turnout.

• Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration 2023 restructed scheme & web portal launched recently.
• The award is to acknowledge, recognize and reward the extraordinary and innovative work done by Districts/ Organizations of the Central and State Governments.
• The Award Scheme restructured to recognize the performance of the District Collectors through targeted individual beneficiaries and implementation with a saturation approach.

The PM’s Awards, 2023 will consist of Trophy, Scroll and an incentive of Rs. 20 lakh to the awarded District/organization.