CRIIIO 4 GOOD modules to advance gender equality (GS paper 2, Social Justice)
Why in news?
- Recently, the Union Minister for Education launched ‘CRIIIO 4 GOOD’, a new online, life skills learning modules, to promote gender equality among girls and boys.
- The programme was launched in association with the International Cricket Council, UNICEF, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
Key Highlights:
- ‘CRIIIO 4 GOOD’ is a series of 8 cricket-based animation films to promote gender parity, equip girls with life skills and encourage their participation in sports.
- Using the popularity and passion of cricket young audiences, ICC and UNICEF released these modules to inspire children and youth to adopt critical life skills and appreciate the importance of gender equality.
- The programme can be accessed free of cost in three languages: English, Hindi and Gujarati.
- The themes of the eight modules are: leadership, problem-solving, confidence, decision-making, negotiation, empathy, teamwork and goal setting and are visualized through state-of-the-art animation using cricketing examples. In-depth research into local nuances has made these films real and relatable.
Way Forward:
- Through CRIIIO 4 GOOD, the power of sports and the popularity of cricket can be used as a medium to empower the girl child and spread awareness about gender equity.
Ministry of I&B introduces key amendments to Cable Television Network Rules, 1994
(GS paper 2, Governance)
Why in news?
- Recently, The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a notification amending the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994, thereby introducing a procedure for the renewal of Multi-System Operator (MSO) Registrations.
- In addition, an enabling provision has been inserted in the Rules for the sharing of infrastructure by the Cable Operators with Broadband Service providers to promote internet penetration to the last mile.
Salient features:
- MSOs shall apply for the registration or renewal of registration online at the Broadcast Seva Portal of MIB.
- MSO registrations shall be granted or renewed for a period of ten years;
- The processing fee of Rs. One lakh is kept for the renewal of registration also;
- The application for renewal of registration shall be within a window of seven to two months before the expiry of the registration.
Renewal procedure:
- The renewal procedure is in line with the Government's commitment to ease of doing business as it will provide certainty to cable operators to continue their services without interruption and therefore make the sector attractive for foreign investment.
- The MSOs whose registration is expiring within 7 months are required to apply online through the BroadcastSeva Portal.
- Earlier, only fresh MSO registrations were granted under the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994.
Way Forward:
- The inclusion of a provision related to the sharing of infrastructure by Cable Operators with broadband service providers will provide the twin benefit of enhanced internet penetration and efficient utilization of resources.
- It will also reduce the need for additional infrastructure for broadband services.
A dictionary to prevent a language from vanishing
(GS paper 1, Culture)
Why in news?
- A language spoken by barely 1,600 people living in parts of West Bengal bordering Bhutan is to get a dictionary, due to the efforts of a professor at the University of Calcutta.
- Toto is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the tribal Toto people and is written in the Bengali script.
Details:
- Even though prominent community member Dhaniram Toto developed a script as recently as in 2015, most people either write it in Bengali script or write in Bengali language.
- A book by the Padma Shri-decorated Dhaniram Toto, titled ‘Dhanua Totor Kathamala’, was written in Bengali.
Composition:
- The dictionary is a step in the direction of preserving the language, alive so far only orally, by putting its vocabulary in print.
- Toto words, to be translated into Bengali and English, will be composed in the Bengali script, considering that the Toto script is still in a nascent stage and members of the tribe are more familiar with the Bengali script.
What’s next?
- The trilingual dictionary, Toto Shabda Sangraha, will be released in Kolkata on October 7.
Gujarat bans Conocarpus plants
(GS paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- The Gujarat government has banned the planting of ornamental Conocarpus trees “in forest or non-forest areas”, citing their “adverse impacts on environment and human health”.
- Conocarpus, a fast-growing exotic mangrove species, had been a popular choice for increasing the green cover in Gujarat in recent years.
- Earlier, Telangana too had banned the plant species.
What happened in Gujarat?
- Research reports have highlighted adverse impacts/ disadvantages of this species on environment and human health.
- Trees of this species flower in winter and spread pollen in nearby areas. It is causing diseases like cold, cough, asthma, allergy etc.
- Roots of this species go deep inside the soil and develop extensively, damaging telecommunication lines, drainage lines and freshwater systems.
- Also, the leaves of Conocarpus are unpalatable to plant-eating animals.
What happened in Delhi with Vilayati Kikar?
- In 2018, the Delhi government agreed to clear the capital’s green lungs, the Central Ridge, of the Vilayati Kikar after years of appeals and court cases by activists.
- The Vilayati Kikar ( Prosopis juliflora) is not native to Delhi, and was brought to the city in the 1930s by the British.
- As the tree grows fast even in arid conditions, it can quickly increase the green cover of an area, and be used as firewood. However, it also kills off competition. Thus, within a decade, it had taken over the Ridge, killing the native trees like acacia, dhak, kadamb, amaltas, flame-of-the-forest, etc.
- Along with the trees disappeared the fauna — birds, butterflies, leopards, porcupines and jackals.
- The tree also depletes the water table of the area it is planted in.
- In Delhi, the canopy of the trees is being shortened, so it uses less water and allows sunlight to reach the ground. More native trees are being planted, so they can suppress the growth of the Kikar.
What was Kerala’s experience with Eucalyptus?
- In Kerala’s case too, it was the British who introduced the Eucalyptus tree to Munnar, so its wood could be used as fuel in tea plantation boilers.
- The state forest department stopped the cultivation of acacia and eucalyptus in forest tracts in 2018.
- A study by The Wildlife Institute of India-Dehradun and Periyar Tiger Conservation Foundation in Kerala on man-animal conflict had found that foreign invasive plants had reduced the availability of fodder in forests, forcing animals to foray into settlements and farmlands.
- The quality of forest habitats had been lost due to the cultivation of alien plants such as acacia, mangium and eucalyptus in forest tracts for commercial purposes.
