05 August 2025
(Current Affairs Notes - Prelims)

Pollution Control Boards (PCBs)

• Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB):

  • • Set up in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.

    • Also functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.

    • Nodal body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

    • Advises the Centre on pollution matters, coordinates with State Boards, sets standards for water, air, and noise pollution, and monitors pollution levels.

• State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs):

  • • Established by states under the same Acts.

    • Enforces pollution control laws, grants consent to establish/operate to industries, monitors compliance, and conducts inspections.

• Recently, the Supreme Court ruled that PCBs can impose penalties for environmental compensation.

Bond Switching

• The process where an investor or government exchanges one bond for another to optimize returns, manage risks, or restructure debt.

• Used in public debt management by switching short-term bonds with long-term ones (or vice versa).

• Helps in reducing redemption pressure and extending debt maturity profile. Also ensures liquidity, risk diversification, and efficient debt management.

• A recent study showed that the Government has saved Rs. 560 crore in interest costs through bond switching amid rising debt maturity.

Agnishodh

• The Indian Army Research Cell at IIT Madras.

• Aimed at turning academic research into defence-ready technologies.

• The new research centre will focus on converting lab-scale innovations into deployable technologies.

• It will also help upskill military personnel in emerging domains, including additive manufacturing, cybersecurity, quantum computing and unmanned aerial systems.

Asian Giant Tortoise

• Scientific Name: Manouria emys

• Found in Northeast India (Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh), Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia.

• Critically Endangered (IUCN Red List), Appendix II (CITES), Schedule IV [Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972].

• Inhabits tropical forests; threatened by habitat loss, hunting for meat, and illegal wildlife trade.

• Recently, the Asian Giant Tortoise has been reintroduced into the Zeliang Community Reserve in Nagaland.

Isotope Tagging

The technique of using radioactive or stable isotopes as tracers to track movement, source, or transformation of substances.

• Applications:

  • • Hydrology: Tracing groundwater flow, river pollution sources.

    • Agriculture: Studying nutrient uptake in plants, fertilizer efficiency.

    • Medicine: Diagnostic imaging, cancer treatment (radioisotopes).

    • Environmental Studies: Tracking carbon cycle, ocean circulation, climate studies.

• Isotope Tagging to Prevent Poaching

  • • It uses stable isotope analysis to determine the geographic origin of animal parts (ivory, horns, skins).

    • For example, through a non-invasive procedure, rhino horns are injected with low doses of radioactive isotopes.

    • It provides for easy detection of tagged horns by radiation portal monitors deployed at borders, ports, and airports to identify unauthorised nuclear materials.

• Recently, a South African University launched Rhisotope Project in Waterberg Biosphere Reserve which adopts isotope tagging to prevent poaching of Rhinos.