Explanation:

Which exotic species are these new regulations talking about?
The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau is an organisation that is tasked with monitoring illegal trade.
The advisory says ‘exotic live species’ will cover animals under Appendices I, II and III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora.
It will not include species from the Schedules of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
What are the new rules?
Currently, it is the Directorate-General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce that oversees such trade.
Under the new rules, owners and possessors of such animals and birds must also register their stock with the Chief Wildlife Warden of their States.
Officials of the Wildlife Department will also prepare an inventory of such species and have the right to inspect the facilities of such traders to check if these plants and animals are being housed in inhumane conditions.
Additionally, stockists will have six months to declare their stock.

Explanation:

Characteristics of IOD:

IOD is the difference between the temperature of eastern (Bay of Bengal) and the western Indian Ocean (Arabian Sea).
This temperature difference results into pressure difference which results in flowing of winds between eastern and western parts of Indian Ocean.
IOD develops in the equatorial region of Indian Ocean from April to May peaking in October.
A ‘positive IOD’ — or simply ‘IOD’ — is associated with cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean and warmer than normal sea-surface temperatures in the western tropical Indian Ocean.
The opposite phenomenon is called a ‘negative IOD’, and is characterised by warmer than normal SSTs in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean and cooler than normal SSTs in the western tropical Indian Ocean
Although El Nino Southern Oscillation [ENSO] was statistically effective in explaining several past droughts in India, in the recent decades the ENSO-Monsoon relationship seemed to weaken in the Indian subcontinent.
For e.g. the 1997, strong ENSO failed to cause drought in India.
It was later discovered that just like ENSO was an event in the Pacific Ocean, a similar seesaw ocean-atmosphere system in the Indian Ocean was also at play which was IOD.
However, there is no established correlation between Indian summer monsoon rainfall and IOD.
But, studies have shown that a positive IOD year sees more than normal rainfall over central India.
It was demonstrated that a positive IOD index often negated the effect of ENSO, resulting in increased Monsoon rains in several ENSO years like the 1983, 1994 and 1997.
Further, it was shown that the two poles of the IOD – the eastern pole (around Indonesia) and the western pole (off the African coast) were independently and cumulatively affecting the quantity of rains for the Monsoon in the Indian subcontinent.
The indicated connection is between below-normal SST in the eastern Indian Ocean and above-normal rain over central India, and vice versa.
A negative IOD, on the other hands, complements El NiNo leading to severe drought.
At the same time, Positive IOD results in more cyclones than usual in Arabian Sea.
Negative IOD results in stronger than usual cyclogenesis (Formation of Tropical Cyclones) in Bay of Bengal. Cyclogenesis in Arabian Sea is suppressed during this time.
But there is some anomaly in the phenomenon of IOD and Monsoon.

Explanation:

Who was P.C. Mahalanobis?
Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis (29 June 1893 – 28 June 1972) was an Indian scientist and statistician.
He is best remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure, and for being one of the members of the first Planning Commission of free India.
He made pioneering studies in anthropometry (the science of obtaining systematic measurements of the human body) in India.
He founded the Indian Statistical Institute and contributed to the design of large-scale sample surveys.
For his contributions, Mahalanobis has been considered the father of modern statistics in India.

Explanation:

The EIA Process

EIA involves the steps mentioned below. However, the EIA process is cyclical with interaction between the various steps.

Screening: The project plan is screened for scale of investment, location and type of development and if the project needs statutory clearance.
Scoping: The project’s potential impacts, zone of impacts, mitigation possibilities and need for monitoring.
Collection of baseline data: Baseline data is the environmental status of study area.
Impact prediction: Positive and negative, reversible and irreversible and temporary and permanent impacts need to be predicted which presupposes a good understanding of the project by the assessment agency.
Mitigation measures and EIA report: The EIA report should include the actions and steps for preventing, minimizing or by passing the impacts or else the level of compensation for probable environmental damage or loss.
Public hearing: On completion of the EIA report, public and environmental groups living close to project site may be informed and consulted.
Decision making: Impact Assessment Authority along with the experts consult the project-in-charge along with consultant to take the final decision, keeping in mind EIA and EMP (Environment Management Plan).
Monitoring and implementation of environmental management plan: The various phases of implementation of the project are monitored.
Assessment of Alternatives, Delineation of Mitigation Measures and Environmental Impact Assessment Report: For every project, possible alternatives should be identified, and environmental attributes compared. Alternatives should cover both project location and process technologies.
Once alternatives have been reviewed, a mitigation plan should be drawn up for the selected option and is supplemented with an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) to guide the proponent towards environmental improvements.
Risk assessment: Inventory analysis and hazard probability and index also form part of EIA procedures.

About ASEAN:

Headquarters: Jakarta, Indonesia

Founded: 8 August 1967

Members: Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Laos, Brunei

FTA partners – Australia, New Zealand, India, Korea, Japan, and China.