Daily Prelims Booster 3rd March 2023

1) CEC and ECs appointment: The Supreme Court recently ruled that the appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (ECs) will be done by the President on the advice of a committee comprising the prime minister, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India.

• Under Article 324 (2), the President appoints the CEC and other EC on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.

2)  Space Weather: It describes the conditions in the region of space close to the earth, especially the presence of Solar wind, Coronal Mass ejections, Geomagnetic storms and charged particles emitted by the sun, which can affect human activity and technology.

• A new study has revealed that Bad space weather can cause safety issues during air travel and result in flight delays.

3) GLOBAL METHANE TRACKER: According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) annual Methane Global Tracker report, fossil fuel companies emitted 120 million metric tonnes of methane into the atmosphere in 2022, only slightly below the record highs seen in 2019.

• Energy sector accounts for around 40% of total average methane emissions.
• 80% of available options to curb methane emissions can be implemented at net zero cost.
• Implementing methane reduction measures would cost less than 3% of net income received by the oil and gas industry in 2022.
• Reduction of 75% of natural gas wastage could lower global temperature rise by nearly 0.1 degree Celsius by mid-century.
• Methane is a greenhouse gas responsible for 30% of warming since preindustrial times, second only to carbon dioxide. Over a 20-year period, methane is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide.

4) Ornamental Fish Aquaculture: National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR) under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is providing technical support to provide intensive training to islanders of Lakshadweep for Ornamental Fish Aquaculture.

• Ornamental fish culture is the culture of attractive, colourful fishes of various characteristics, which are reared in a confined aquatic system.
• Farmers and hobbyists mainly grow it and these fish are also known as living jewels.
• Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal mainly practice ornamental fish farming in India.

5) India ranks third globally in forest area gain from 2010-2020:  Economic Survey

• Forests covered 24% of India’s total geographical area, accounting for 2% of the world’s total forest area in 2020. Globally, the top 10 countries account for 66% of the world’s forest area. Of these, Brazil (59%), Peru (57%), Democratic Republic of Congo (56%) and Russia (50%) have half or more of their total geographical area under forests.
• Indian states with largest forest cover areas: Madhya Pradesh (11%) Arunachal Pradesh (9%), Chhattisgarh (8%), Odisha (7%) and Maharashtra (7%).
• Mizoram (85%), Arunachal Pradesh (79%), Meghalaya (76%), Manipur (74%) and Nagaland (74%): highest proportion of forest cover to the geographical area of the State in 2021.
• Much of India’s increase in forest cover from 2011-21 is attributed to enhancement in very dense forest cover, which rose by approximately 20% during the period.