About CCTNS

• The Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) is a centralized online platform conceptualized under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Launched in 2009 with a budget of ₹2,000 crore, it is part of India’s National e-Governance Plan.
• It aims to establish a comprehensive and integrated system to enhance the efficiency and transparency of police operations at the police station level.
• Classified as a Mission Mode Project (MMP), the system provides law enforcement with tools for investigation, data analytics, policymaking, and delivering citizen-centric services.

Key Features of CCTNS

• Nationwide integration: It connects all 17,130 police stations across 28 states and 8 Union Territories. Recently achieved 100% deployment, including in remote areas like Manipur, Nagaland, and Lakshadweep.
• Comprehensive crime database: Stores records of accused persons, habitual offenders, proclaimed offenders, and crime-related data such as missing persons and stolen vehicles.
• Analytical tools: Generates crime statistics and detailed reports for analysis at the police station level.
• Citizen services: Enables tracking of complaints, verification requests, and case updates, making police processes more accessible.
• Enhanced scope: Integrated with the Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS), connecting police data with courts, prisons, prosecution, forensics, and fingerprint databases.

Key Modifications Under New Criminal Laws

CCTNS plays a pivotal role in implementing the new criminal laws introduced on July 1, 2024:

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (replaces Indian Penal Code, 1860).
• Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (replaces Indian Evidence Act, 1872).
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (replaces Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898).

Key updates include:

• Mandatory videography: Crime scene videography and forensic evidence collection in cases punishable by over seven years.
• Forensic investigations: Biological samples collected upon request of investigating officers.
• Arrest transparency:
  • Senior officer approval required for arrests in specific cases.
  • Arrest information communicated to relatives and displayed publicly.
• Case monitoring: Victims updated on investigation progress within 90 days.
• Digital reporting: Daily diaries sent to magistrates fortnightly.

About National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)

• Established: 1986, under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
• Purpose: Acts as the central repository for crime and criminal data in India.
• Headquarters: New Delhi.
• Responsible for:
  • Collecting and analyzing crime statistics.
  • Managing the Central Finger Print Bureau, which maintains a national database of fingerprints.
  • Publishing key reports like Crime in India, Accidental Deaths & Suicides, and Prison Statistics.
  • Providing technical support in areas like Digital Forensics and Network Security.

Q1: What is a First Information Report (FIR)?

A First Information Report (FIR) is a written document provided to a police officer under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). For the informant, the primary purpose of filing an FIR is to initiate the process of criminal law enforcement. For the police, it serves as a means to gather information about the alleged criminal activity and take the necessary actions to apprehend the perpetrator(s) and present them before a court.

News: All 17,130 police stations in the country linked through centralised online platform - The Hindu

About Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary

• Location: It is situated in northwestern Madhya Pradesh, along the Madhya Pradesh-Rajasthan border and lies within the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.
• Key features:
  • Declared a sanctuary in 1974, covering an area of 368 sq. km.
  • The Chambal River flows through the sanctuary, dividing it into two parts.
  • It is a designated Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA).
• Topography and Vegetation: The sanctuary includes hills, plateaus, and the catchment area of the Gandhi Sagar Dam. Vegetation types:
  • Northern tropical dry deciduous forest.
  • Northern tropical dry mixed deciduous forest.
  • Dry deciduous scrub.
  • Principal tree species: Khair, Salai, Kardhai, Dhawda, Tendu, and Palash.
• Fauna:
  • Herbivores: Chinkara, Nilgai, and Spotted Deer.
  • Carnivores: Indian Leopard, Striped Hyena, and Jackal.
  • Aquatic species include crocodiles, fish, otters, and turtles.
• Historical and Cultural Importance: The sanctuary houses sites of historical and archaeological significance, such as Chaurasigarh, Chaturbhujnath Temple, Bhadkaji rock paintings, Hinglajgarh Fort,and Taxakeshwar Temple.

Q1: Which are the main tributaries of the Chambal River?

The tributaries of the Chambal include KShipra, Choti Kalisindh, Sivanna, Retam, Ansar, Kalisindh, Banas, Parbati, Seep, Kuwari, Kuno, Alnia, Mej, Chakan, Parwati, Chamla, Gambhir, Lakhunder, Khan, Bangeri, Kedel and Teelar.

News: Madhya Pradesh plans a new home for cheetahs, but leopards will have to move out first | India News - The Indian Express

Key Legal and Environmental Implications

• Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: The Grey Junglefowl is listed under Schedule I, providing it with the highest level of legal protection.
  • Hunting or consuming this species is a criminal offence, punishable under the Act.
• Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS):
  • Section 353(2): Pertains to spreading false information that promotes hatred.
  • Section 356: Addresses defamation or intentional harm to reputation.
• Cultural Sensitivities: The incident highlights the need to preserve local traditions while ensuring adherence to environmental laws.

About the Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus)

• Significance: The Red Junglefowl is a tropical pheasant species and the wild ancestor of the domestic chicken, making it vital for understanding avian domestication.
  • It is native to India, Indo-China, Malaysia, and surrounding regions.
• Habitat: It is found in diverse habitats like primeval forests, dry scrublands, and secondary growth woodlands.
  • Despite being listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List, the species faces threats from habitat loss and hybridization with domestic chickens.
• Threats:
  • Hybridization: Feral domestic chickens and intermediate subspecies threaten the genetic purity of wild populations.
  • Lack of Awareness: Insufficient education on the importance of preserving pure populations of the Red Junglefowl.
• Role in human history:
  • Domesticated around 5,000 years ago in Southeast Asia, the Red Junglefowl became a crucial food source for early human societies.
  • It was later introduced to Africa, South America, and Pacific Islands.

IUCN Status

• Category: Least Concern
• Reasons:
  • Wide distribution: Found across a large geographical range.
  • Stable population: Declines are not rapid enough to meet the criteria for vulnerability.
  • Population size and trends, while not fully quantified, are believed to be sufficient to avoid vulnerable status.

Q1. What is the IUCN status?

The IUCN status refers to the conservation status of species as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) through its Red List of Threatened Species. This list categorises species into several statuses, including Extinct (EX), Extinct in the Wild (EW), Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VU), Near Threatened (NT), Least Concern (LC), Data Deficient (DD) and Not Evaluated (NE).

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About Kisan kavach:

• It is a first-of-its-kind anti-pesticide bodysuit designed to protect farmers from the harmful effects of pesticide exposure.
• The suit is intended to protect farm labourers from imbibing the pesticides they spray. Several of the common pesticides are potential neurotoxins and detrimental to health.
• It is developed by the Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council (BRIC-inStem), Bangalore, in collaboration with Sepio Health Pvt. Ltd.
• Features
  • The kit consists of a trouser, pullover, and a face-cover made of ‘oxime fabric’ that can chemically breakdown any of the common pesticides that get sprayed onto cloth or body during spraying operations.
  • This prevents chemicals from leaching into the skin. The price per kit is ₹4,000. 
  • Working: This Kisan Kavach fabric can deactivate pesticides upon contact through nucleophilic mediated hydrolysis, thereby preventing pesticide-induced toxicity and lethality. 
  • The kit retained its potency in a wide temperature range, under UV-light exposure and was protective even after a 150 washes

Q1: What is Hydrolysis?

It is a chemical reaction in which a chemical compound is broken down by reaction with water. 

News: Scientists develop ‘kisan kavach’ to shield farmers from pesticide sprays

About Himalayan Birch Tree:

• It is a deciduous broadleaved species that dominates the Himalayan region.
• Distribution: It is widely distributed in the altitudinal range from 3100 - 3800 m in North-western Himalaya.
• It is native to the Western Himalayas and grows at elevations of up to 4,500 metres
• Features
  • It has a high freezing tolerance potential, allowing it to form a treeline in the Himalayan region.
  • It is a long-lived species which can survive up to 400 years and the only angiosperm in the Himalaya which dominates an extensive area at sub - alpine altitudes.
• Ecological significance: It contributes to the preservation of the Himalayan ecosystem by reducing soil erosion and creating a bio-shield for the remaining forests and sub-alpine meadows below the treeline.

Highlights of the research

• Birch trees are struggling to grow due to stress from increased temperatures and lack of moisture.
• Birch tree which need more moisture, are growing less due to heat-related dryness. 
• Fir and birch compete for space, sunlight, water and nutrients, making it even harder for birch to grow.
• Climate change-driven disturbances such as early snowmelt, snow fungi, avalanches, landslides, insect outbreaks, hotter droughts and fires will further hinder the recruitment of less resilient species like birch.
• Impact on environment: The shift of dominant plant functional types from deciduous to evergreen may also alter ecological functions such as the rate of litter decomposition, carbon and nitrogen cycling, water-use efficiency, interactions with animals and fungi and energy fluxes, with further impacts on the composition of alpine plant communities

Q1: What is a characteristic of Deciduous Tree?

A deciduous tree loses its broad, flat leaves at the end of the growing season. Deciduous trees shed their leaves in fall to get ready for winter. Shedding leaves allows them to conserve energy during shorter days with less sunlight. 

News: Climate change is altering Himalayan tree landscape — drought-resistant fir trees are replacing birch

About Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics:

• It is the premier organization of Government of India for collection, compilation and dissemination of India’s trade statistics and commercial information.
• History
  • The Organization traces its origin to a statistical branch established in the Finance Department of the Government of India way back in 1862.
  • Sir William W. Hunter was the first DG of the DGCI & S or the Director General of Statistics as he was designated, back in 1871. 
• Functions
  • It is entrusted with the work of collecting, compiling and publishing/disseminating trade statistics and various types of commercial information required by the policy makers, researchers, importers, exporters, traders as well as overseas buyers.
  • It is the first large scale data processing organization functioning as a nodal agency for Export & Import data in the country.
  • It also compiles and publishes the inland Trade Statistics covering inter-state movements of goods by rail, river and air on yearly basis.
• It is headed by the Director General, an Additional Secretary level officer of Indian Statistical Services (ISS).
• Nodal Ministry: It works under the Ministry of Commerce.
• Headquarter: Kolkata.

Q1: What are statistics?

It is the science of collecting, analyzing, presenting, and interpreting data. Governmental needs for census data as well as information about a variety of economic activities provided much of the early impetus for the field of statistics. 

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About Milkweed fiber:

• It is the seed fiber obtained from milkweed plant.
  • Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L) plant belongs to the genus Asclepias of the family Asclepiadaceae and is also known as stubborn weed.
  • In India, it is found as a wild plant in the states of Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
  • Milkweed contains an abundance of milk sap in its leaves, stems and pods.
• Properties of Milkweed fibre: It contains oily material and lignin, a woody plant substance, which makes them too brittle for spinning. It has a hydrophobic–oleophobic surface due to the natural waxes found on the surface of the fiber.
• Applications:
  • It is used in paper industries.
  • In addition, it is also used as an insulative filling material.
  • It is used in such water-safety equipment as life jackets and belts.
  • Researchers discovered that it readily absorbs oil while simultaneously repelling water, thus making it an effective fiber to help clean up oil spills.

Q1: What is lignin?

It is a complex oxygen-containing organic polymer that, with cellulose, forms the chief constituent of wood. It is second to cellulose as the most abundant organic material on Earth, though relatively few industrial uses other than as a fuel have been found.

News: Milkweed fiber is the buzz word coming to sustainability and Textile Ministry marching along with the symphony of sustainability & traceability: Giriraj Singh