IAS VIKRANT

Explanation:

✅Geoglyphs are a form of prehistoric rock art, created on the surface of laterite plateaus (Sada in Marathi). ✅They are made by removing a part of the rock surface through an incision, picking, carving or abrading. Hence, statement 1 is correct. ✅They can be in the form of rock paintings, etchings, cup marks and ring marks. Hence, statement 2 is not correct. ✅The listing by UNESCO mentions "Konkan geoglyphs." However, the term petroglyph (literally, "rock symbol/character") is also used elsewhere. ✅According to the UNESCO listing, petroglyphs and geoglyphs are similar in that both require the ability to remove parts or engrave a symbol on the rock surface. Hence, statement 4 is correct. ✅Ratnagiri district has more than 1,500 pieces of such art, also called "Katal shilpa" spread across 70 sites. ✅According to UNESCO, "rock art in India is one of oldest material evidence of the country's early human creativity." ✅Ratnagiri's rock art is evidence of the continued existence of human settlements from the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) to the early historic era. ✅However, the dense concentration of geoglyphs on the laterite plateaus (Sada) of the Konkan region (south western Maharashtra to Southern Karnataka) is the most remarkable open-air ensemble of prehistoric human expression of rock art in the Konkan region (south western Maharashtra to Southern Karnataka) from Mesolithic (10Kya) to Early Historic (1.7 Kya). Hence, statement 3 is not correct

Q) With reference to the geoglyphs, consider the following statements: 1. These are rock art produced on the surface of the earth either by positioning rocks or by reduction technique. 2. They can be present only in the form of cup marks and ring marks. 3. The central Indian region is known to have a dense concentration of geoglyphs. 4.These are comparable to petroglyphs in that they both require the capacity to remove pieces or etch symbols on the rock surface.

Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework?

👉The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was adopted during the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP)-15 of CBD following a four year consultation and negotiation process. 👉This historic Framework, which supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and builds on the Convention’s previous Strategic Plans, sets out an ambitious pathway to reach the global vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050.

30 by 30 Target:

👉The declaration made a reference to the '30 by 30' target which is a key proposal being debated at the COP15, that would afford 30% of the Earth’s land and oceans protected status by 2030.

Main Targets:

👉The framework consists of four goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030. 👉The four goals are: Conserve and restore biodiversity. 👉Ensure sustainable use of biodiversity. 👉Share benefits fairly and equitably. 👉Enable transformative change.

UNESCO's Memory of the World Regional Register:

👉Recently, three Indian literary works-

Ramcharitmanas, Panchatantra, and Sahrdayaloka-Locana-were added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register.

👉This recognition was announced during the tenth meeting of the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP), held earlier this week in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Ramcharitmanas:

👉This manuscript was authored by Goswami Tulsidas. 

Panchatantra:

👉Attributed to Vishnu Sharma, this is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in verse and prose. 

Sahrdayaloka-Locana:

👉Written by 15th-century Kashmiri scholars Acharya Anandvardhan and Abhinavagupta, it was chosen for its aesthetic significance. 💥UNESCO's Memory of the World (MoW) programme is an international cooperation strategy aimed at safeguarding, protecting, and facilitating access to and the use of documentary heritage, particularly rare and endangered heritage. 💥As of May 2023, there are 494 inscriptions on the International MoW Register, according to the UNESCO website.

Explanation: 👉Telangana's Department of Heritage has recently unearthed a coin hoard at Phanigiri, a renowned Buddhist heritage site located 110 km away from the state capital of Hyderabad. 👉In Telangana's Suryapet district, a team led by director N Sagar and co-excavator B Mallu found lead coins in an earthen pot during the ongoing excavations. 👉According to principal secretary Sailaja Ramaiyer and department's director Bharathi Hollikeri, the coins belong to the Ikshvaku period. 👉Many other valuable cultural antiquities and structural remains, including beads of stone and glass, shell bangle fragments, stucco motifs, broken limestone sculptures, toy cartwheels, iron nails, and pottery, were also unearthed during the excavation. 👉Phanigiri is believed to be one of the important Buddhist monasteries strategically located on the hilltop, on the ancient trade route (Dakshinapatha) connecting the west and the east coast of the Deccan.

Explanation :

💥The Centre is learnt to have decided to shrink the land under the jurisdiction of 10 key cantonment boards across five states, and put them under the state local bodies instead. 💥The affected areas, adding up to about 20,000 acres — almost half of the 10 cantonment boards' combined area of 45,000 acres - includes mostly private properties and land housing municipal amenities like water and sewerage pipelines. 💥Ramgarh Cantonment in Jharkhand (7,500 acres); Deolali Cantonment in Maharashtra (7,000 acres); Dehradun Cantonment (2,250 acres) and Clement Town Cantonment (1,000 acres) in Uttarakhand; Mathura Cantonment (1,000 acres), Shahjahanpur Cantonment (75 acres), Babina Cantonment (350 acres), and Fatehgarh Cantonment (50 acres) in Uttar Pradesh; and Nasirabad Cantonment (550 acres) and Ajmer Cantonment (40 acres) in Rajasthan. 💥Currently, cantonment boards provide civic services like as trade licences, birth and death certificates, water supplies, sewerage connections, and building plan permits to those who live in their authority. 💥However, unlike municipalities, cantonment boards are managed by Armed Forces soldiers, Defence Ministry officials, state government officials, and a few elected representatives-a civic administration system that dates back to the pre-independence era. 💥The cantonment boards are led by GOCs, Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) officers, state bureaucrats, and a few elected members, according to the source. 💥A cantonment board is a civic administration body established under the Cantonments Act of 2006 that acts similarly to a municipal board. Hence, statement 1 is correct. 💥A cantonment board is administratively controlled by the Ministry of Defence, it may comprise civilians. Hence, statement 2 and 3 are not correct. 💥Military stations are not subject to the Cantonment Act when administered by the Armed Forces.