24th Dec Daily current affairs for UPSC Civil Service Exam 2017

Tadoba Tiger Reserve

• Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is located in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra.
• It is Maharashtra’s oldest and largest National Park.
• It is one of India's 47 project tiger reserves existing in India.
• The word 'Tadoba' is derived from the name of God "Tadoba" or "Taru," which is praised by local tribal people of this region.
• "Andhari" is derived from the name of Andhari River that flows in this area.
• It is often referred to as “The Jewel of Vidarbha”.

CRISPR

• CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats.
• Researchers has recently used genome editing tool “CRISPR – Cas9” to partially treat the genetic deafness in mice.
• A single mistake in “Tmc1 gene” causes loss of inner ear hair cells leading to deafness.
• Scientists believe that the world could one day help treat certain forms of genetic hearing loss in humans.
• CRISPR - Cas9 is a most prominent genome editing technique by targeting specific stretches of genetic code to edit DNA at precise locations.
• The technique allows researchers to permanently modify genes in living cells and organisms and to correct mutations at precise locations in the human genome to treat genetic causes of disease.
• It can be used to target multiple genes simultaneously and can also activate gene expression instead of cutting the DNA.

Kaleswaram Project

• Central government has recently granted environmental clearance to the Kaleswaram Project.
• Pranahitha-Chevella Lift Irrigation Scheme was taken up in 2007 to utilise the water of Pranhita tributary of Godavari River.
• After the formation of Telangana, the project was redesigned into two sections.
• The original component serving the Adilabad area was called the Pranahitha project.
• The second part is called Kaleswaram Project serving the Karimnagar, Warangal, Nizamabad and Medak districts.
• Water from Godavari River after the confluence by the Pranahita tributary is lifted to provide lift irrigation facility.
• Lift Irrigation project - Pumps are used to lift the water from canals or rivers at lower level to the area at higher level for irrigation purpose.

Ganga Gram

• Ganga Gram is a project for sanitation based integrated development of all 4470 villages along the River Ganga.
• Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is the nodal agency for implementation of the Ganga Gram Project.

Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY)

• PMRPY Scheme has been designed to incentivise employers for generation of new employment.
• Government of India will be paying the 8.33% EPS contribution of the employer for the new employment.
• This scheme has a dual benefit, where, on the one hand, the employer is incentivised for increasing the employment base of workers in the establishment.
• On the other hand, a large number of workers will find jobs in such establishments.
• A direct benefit is that these workers will have access to social security benefits of the organized sector.

Source: The Hindu, PIB