NGT bans mining activities within 10 km of Sariska tiger reserve - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

NGT bans mining activities within 10 km of Sariska tiger reserve.

The National Green Tribunal has directed all mining activities within 10-km radius of Sariska tiger reserve be stopped immediately. The order was issued when it was hearing an appeal challenging environmental clearance to 24 mining projects with 10 km radius of the reserve’s boundary.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed all mining activities within 10 km radius of the Sariska Tiger Reserve be stopped immediately.
The order was issued when the tribunal was hearing an appeal challenging environmental clearance granted to 24 mining projects with 10 km radius of the reserve’s boundary.
“We direct that all mining activities of any mineral will be stopped within 10 kms of the boundary of Sariska Tiger Reserve till mining leases are cleared by the standing committee of the National Board of Wildlife (NBWL),” the NGT bench said in its order issued on December 20.
The Supreme Court had in 2006, prohibited any mining activity within 1 km of national parks and sanctuaries.
Following the apex court order, the Union environment ministry had also stipulated in their memorandum dated December 2, 2009 that all cases where environmental clearance had been given to mining projects around national parks be placed before the Standing Committee of the NBWL for evaluation.
Moreover, Rajasthan is yet declare an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) for Sariska Tiger Reserve.
The lawyer representing Rajasthan government had submitted to NGT that Rajasthan’s ESZ proposal is still pending with the environment ministry.
“In case MoEFCC issues final notification on eco-sensitive zone (ESZ), the mining lease which fall within the Eco-Sensitive Zone will have to have clearance of the standing committee of the NBWL,” the National Green Tribunal bench added.
The state-level environment impact assessment authority (SEAC), Rajasthan and district-level environment impact assessment authority (DEIAA), Alwar had together issued 70 mining clearances in 2016 out of which 24 were in the 10 km radius of Sariska reserve.
“Mining activities in proximity of wildlife habitats have negative impacts on the wild animals. Those activities fragment habitats and movement corridors. Therefore, it is important to add adequate buffer to the wildlife habitats which can be in the form of ESZ,” said Dipankar Ghose, director, species and landscape at WWF, India.


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NGT bans mining activities within 10 km of Sariska tiger reserve.

What is bitcoin mining? How to get started - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

What is bitcoin mining? How to get started.

Bitcoin mining was initially conducted on the CPUs of individual computers. Now, mining activity is dominated by advanced hardware Bitcoins or cryptocurrencies, in general, are like digital currencies and act like a tender or an asset class. However, bitcoins are mined like gold. If mined properly and taken the right investment risk, you could be successful in mining your own bitcoins. Bitcoin was first introduced in 2009, when the algorithm was created under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. He also set a finite limit of 21 million bitcoins that would ever exist, of which close to 16.95 million are in circulation. That means that a little less than 4 million bitcoins are waiting to be discovered.
What exactly is mining?
One can obtain bitcoins in three ways–directly buying it from any cryptocurrency exchange, accepting bitcoins as a mode of payment for goods and services and by mining new bitcoins. Bitcoin mining is the processing of transactions in the digital currency system, in which the records of current bitcoin transactions, known as blocks, are added to the record of past transactions, known as the blockchain. In other words, it’s simply the verification of bitcoin transactions.
Originally, bitcoin mining was conducted on the CPUs of individual computers, with more cores and greater speed resulting in more profitability.
However, over the years, the system is dominated by multi-graphics card systems, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). This constant elevation in technology has made it more difficult for prospective new miners to start. To get around that problem, individuals often work in mining pools.
What is blockchain?
In simple terms, blockchain is a digital ledger that forms the backbone of bitcoin. The blockchain (database) is extremely different from other conventional databases. Blockchain tends to distribute its data among a network of bitcoin softwares rather saving everything in a central location.
A complete history of every bitcoin transaction is stored on the blockchain, and all of these recorded transactions are open to public scrutiny. Before a bitcoin transaction is approved and processed by the network, it is verified using a cryptographic algorithm that checks the transaction against the histories stored on every computer in the network.
This process is complex, but it has one big advantage: it makes the blockchain very difficult to hack. Blockchain allows two parties to execute a transaction without any intermediary. Blockchain allows financial institutions to execute and verify transactions discretely without any human intervention.
What are nodes?
A node is an authoritative computer that runs the bitcoin software and helps to keep bitcoin running by participating in the relay of information. In a distributed network, the simplest way to define a node would be to say it is a point of intersection or connection with the network. It can act as both a redistribution point and a communication endpoint. Nodes spread bitcoin transactions around the network.
However, bitcoin doesn’t just need nodes, it requires lots of fully functioning nodes — nodes that have the bitcoin core client on a machine with the complete blockchain. The more nodes, the more secure the network is.
How does it work?
By solving a complex mathematical puzzle that is part of the bitcoin program and including the answer in the block. The puzzle that needs solving is to find a number that, when combined with the data in the block and passed through a hash function, produces a result that is within a certain range.
The end result
Once the miners solve the puzzle, the block pops open and the transactions are verified. Miners used to get awarded 25 bitcoins for finding this key, but in 2017 this has been reduced to 12.5 bitcoins and will continue doing so every four years. (Source: Livemint)


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What is bitcoin mining? How to get started.