The Hindu Editorial Analysis In English | Free PDF Download

Table of Contents

EC sets month-long poll schedule for 5 States

The Election Commission on Saturday announced that the Assembly elections.
November 12 to December 7.
Chhattisgarh
Madhya Pradesh
Mizoram
Rajasthan
Telangana
Results for all the 5: December 11
Model code of conduct comes into effect.

Picking out silent ghosts in the deep

It’s a lazy Sunday morning, but not for Suneha Jagannathan. With over 3 kg of diving gear, she is out on a mission — to collect ‘ghost nets’.
Diving to depths of 30-50 m, Ms. Jagannathan, CEO of Puducherry-based Temple Reef Foundation (TRF), helps contain a growing and insufficiently studied threat to marine ecosystems.
Ghost nets are classified under Abandoned, Lost or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG), which includes lines, traps, hooks, dredges and buoys.
Ghost nets can kill marine wildlife, including vulnerable species, and destroy the benthic ecosystems that exist at the lowest level of a body of water.
The problem has been worsening with the global expansion in fishing operations, and the availability of more durable gear.
High quality synthetic nets can last in the oceans for centuries, and lead to micro-plastic ingestion by aquatic life.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in a 2009 study titled ‘Abandoned, Lost or Otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear’, states that almost 6,40,000 tonnes of all fishing gear (approximately 10% of the total usage) is lost or discarded in our oceans annually, in bad weather or when nets get stuck to the rocky bottom.

Experts urge Centre to reverse stand on e-cigarettes

Experts have called on the Union Health Ministry to reverse its stand on electronic cigarettes and help lower tobacco risk and abuse.
“The Union Health Ministry has adopted a policy on vaping that will harm the health of millions of Indians and protect and entrench smoking,” said former president of the International Harm Reduction Association Alex Wodak.
He added that countries that aim to eradicate tobacco use usually get terrible results. It is much more effective to try and reduce the initiation and continuing use of tobacco products as well as encouraging less risky options.
“Countries generally welcome safer products that have a potential to save lives,” said Professor David Sweanor, chair of the advisory board at the Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, University of Ottawa, Canada

. • He explained that Canada was among the countries that initially tried to ban vaping products, based on the science, recently had changed its stance to actively encouraging smokers to switch.

Environment Ministry to act as nodal agency for NCZ: NGT

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) held that the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has to act as the nodal agency to ascertain whether the sub-regional plans for protection of National Conservation Zones (NCZ) prepared by the States are in consonance with the regional plans prepared by the National Capital Region Planning Board.
The green panel earlier dismissed a review petition moved by the Environment Ministry.
“The paramount consideration of doing so was for effective monitoring work of delineation of NCZ having regard to the fact that the primary consideration for the exercise is to ensure safeguard of the environment in respect of which the apex body is MoEF&CC,” the Bench held.

Prithvi-II missile night trial successful

India’s Strategic Forces Command on Saturday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile during night time as part of a user trial by the Army from a test range in Odisha, Defence sources said.
The surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, was launched from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near Balasore around 8.30 p.m., they said.
Prithvi-II was previously successfully test-fired during night time on February 21 this year from the ITR at Chandipur.
The missile is capable of carrying 500 to 1,000 kg of warheads.

A safe haven for rare dragonflies

The buffer zone of the Silent Valley National Park here is emerging as one of the largest havens of dragonflies and damselflies with a recent survey confirming the presence of 82 species, among which 14 are extremely rare.
Thudukki, Pathanthode, Thathengalam, and TK Colony in the buffer zone are providing them a conducive atmosphere for foraging, feeding, and breeding.
Proximity to the core areas of the national park, with high-altitude Shola grasslands and different types of forests, availability of water, and good habitat diversity, are also the contributing factors.
The rare species found include Indosticta deccanensis (Saffron Reedtail), Burmagomphus laidlawi (Plain Sinuate Clubtail), Macrogomphus souteri (Pigmy Clubtail), Onychogomphus nilgiriensis (Nilgiri Clawtail), Euphea dispar (Nilgiri Torrent Dart), Indionyx travancorensis (Travancore Daggerhead), Megalogomphus hannyngtoni (Giant Clubtail), and Lestes dorothea (Spreadwing).

India leaves out offset clause for S-400

The ₹40,300-crore deal between India and Russia for five S-400 air defence missile systems does not have any offset clause.
India has decided to drop it so as to advance deliveries, though it was Russia that initially did not want offsets.
“They [Russia] agreed for offsets later, but we decided not to include them as it would drive up the cost and delay the delivery schedule,” a defence source said.

Eastern Ghats face loss of forest cover, endemic plants

The Eastern Ghats spread across Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, has lost almost 16% of its forest area over a span of 100 years, a recently published study shows.
Researchers from the University of Hyderabad studied historical maps and satellite images from 1920 to 2015 to understand the changes in land use and land cover.
The forest cover, which was 43.4% of the total geographical area in 1920, has reduced drastically to 27.5% in 2015. Over the years, about 8% of forest area was converted into agricultural fields, while about 4% converted into scrub or grassland.
The Eastern Ghats are often ignored. Even stakeholders are interested only in the Western Ghats and Himalayan studies. But they need to understand that the Eastern Ghats are also ecologically important.
In 1920 there were about 1,379 patches which kept steadily increasing over the years reaching a whopping number of 9,457 in 2015.
Previous studies have shown that the Eastern Ghats is home to more than 2,600 plant species and this habitat fragmentation and destruction can pose a serious threat to the endemic plants.
Habitat reduction mainly occurred in the districts of Gajapati (Odisha), Mahbubnagar (Telangana), and also in Nallamalai and Kolli hill ranges.
While agriculture was the main reason for deforestation during the early years, post 1975, mining and other developmental activities such as the construction of dams, roads were the culprits. In 1920, the mining area was only 622 sq.km, and in 2015 it had increased to 962 sq.km.

Common ant pollinates rare wild jamun

Bees might be the most well-known pollinators, but researchers have found that common white-footed ants are the best pollinators of a rare evergreen tree in the southern Western Ghats.
Syzygium occidentale is a small, wild jamun tree that grows mostly along the banks of the River Periyar in Kerala. It is categorised as ‘vulnerable’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The survival of such a species is crucial, depending on the fruits it produces, which is only possible if pollinators fertilize its flowers first.
To find out which animals — birds, bats, wasps or bees — are its most important pollinators, researchers from institutes including Kerala’s Central University studied the flowering patterns and timings of around 50 trees that grow along the River Periyar.
After each experiment, the researchers dissected the fruit to confirm the presence of healthy, embryo-carrying seeds: proof that a particular animal group had successfully pollinated the flower.
Their results, published in Arthropod-Plant Interactions, shows that ants — especially white-footed ants, the most frequent visitors to the flowers day and night — were the most efficient pollinators of the tree.
This is an interesting finding because ants are usually depicted as poor pollinators.