PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 22-MAY-2018
Topic: Women
related issues.
INSV Tarini
Context: INSV
Tarini has completed a historic global Circumnavigation. This is the first-ever Indian
circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew.
Significance:
The
expedition titled ‘Navika Sagar
Parikrama’ is in consonance with the National
policy to empower women to attain their full potential. It has showcased ‘Nari Shakti’ on
the world platform and helped change societal attitudes and mindset towards
women in India by raising visibility of their participation in challenging
environs.
About the Journey:
§ During her 254 day long voyage, the
vessel has covered over 22,000 Nautical miles, visiting five countries –
Australia, New Zealand, Falkland Islands (UK), South Africa and Mauritius.
§ During the
course of her voyage, the vessel has met all criteria of circumnavigation, viz.
crossing the Equator twice, crossing all Longitudes, as also the three great
capes (Cape Leeuwin, Cape Horn and Cape of Good Hope).
§ The
expedition was covered in six legs, with halts at 5 ports: Fremantle
(Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands), Cape Town
(South Africa) and Port Louis (Mauritius).
INSV Tarini:
INSV
Tarini is a 56 foot sailing vessel built in India by M/s Aquarius Shipyard Pvt
Ltd, Goa. It was inducted into the Indian Navy recently in February 2017. It
has Raymarine navigation suite and an array of satellite communication systems
for perfect navigation anywhere in the world. It showcases the ‘Make in India’
initiative on the International forum.
What’s important?
For
Prelims: INSV Tarini, Navika Sagar Parikrama, Nari Shakti and Criteria of
circumnavigation.
Sources:
the hindu.
Paper 2:
Topic : Issues
related to health.
Nipah virus
Context: Kerala
health department is on high alert in the wake of deaths due to the ‘Nipah’
virus (NiV). The government has set up a task force to monitor the cases and
contain the spread of this fast spreading virus which has a reported mortality
rate of 70%.
What is Nipah Virus?
According
to WHO, the Nipah virus infection is a newly emerging zoonosis, that is, a
disease transmitted from animals to humans. The virus belongs to a new genus
termed Henipavirus (subfamily Paramyxovirinae).
The
natural host of the virus are fruit bats belonging to the family Pteropodidae.
In 2004, humans were affected after eating the date palm contaminated by
infected fruit bats. Pigs can also act as intermediate hosts.
When was it first reported?
It was first
identified in 1998 at Kampung Sungai Nipah village, Malaysia. The virus is
named after this village.
What are the symptoms in humans?
The
symptoms of Nipah are similar to that of influenza: fever, muscle pain, and
respiratory problems. Inflammation of the brain can also cause disorientation.
Late onset of Encephalitis can also occur. Sometimes a person can have an
asymptomatic infection, and be a carrier of Nipah and not show any symptoms.
Are there any vaccines?
Currently,
there are no vaccines for both humans and animals. Intensive supportive care is
given to humans infected by Nipah virus.
According
to WHO, ribavarin can reduce the symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and convulsions
associated with the disease. Individuals infected need to be hospitalised and
isolated. Special care should be taken to prevent human-to-human transmission.
Surveillance systems should be established to detect the virus quickly and to
initiate appropriate control measures.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: Nipah Virus Infection- causes, spread and symptoms.
§ For Mains:
Major outbreaks and government preparedness to tackle them.
Sources:
the hindu.
Topic:
e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential.
Common Service Centres (CSCs)
Context: The
network of Common Service Centres (CSCs), which act as access points for
delivery of various electronic services to villages in India, are set to be
expanded to 2.50 lakh gram panchayats by the year end.
What are CSCs?
Common
Services Centers (CSCs) are a strategic cornerstone of the Digital India
programme. They are the access points for delivery of various electronic
services to villages in India, thereby contributing to a digitally and
financially inclusive society.
CSCs enable the three vision areas of the
Digital India programme:
§ Digital
infrastructure as a core utility to every citizen.
§ Governance
and services on demand.
§ Digital
empowerment of citizens.
Significance of CSCs:
CSCs are
more than service delivery points in rural India. They are positioned as change
agents, promoting rural entrepreneurship and building rural capacities and
livelihoods. They are enablers of community participation and collective action
for engendering social change through a bottom-up approach with key focus on
the rural citizen.
Key facts:
§ The CSC
project, which forms a strategic component of the National eGovernance Plan was
approved by the Government in May 2006, as part of its commitment in the
National Common Minimum Programme to introduce e-governance on a massive scale.
§ It is also
one of the approved projects under the Integrated Mission Mode Projects of the
National eGovernance Plan.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: CSCs, NEP.
§ For Mains:
CSCs and their significance.
Sources:
pib.
Topic: India
and its neighbourhood- relations.
Kishanganga project
Context: The
330 MW Kishanganga Hydropower Project was recently inaugurated by the Prime
Minister in northern Kashmir’s Gurez. The PM also laid down the foundation
stone for Pakal Dul hydro power project.
The Kishanganga Hydroelectric project:
§ It is an
$864 million dam which is part of a run-of-the-river hydroelectric scheme that
is designed to divert water from the Kishanganga River to a power plant in the
Jhelum River basin.
§ It is
located 5 km north of Bandipore in Jammu and Kashmir. It also lies to the north
of Wular Lake.
§ The state
of Jammu and Kashmir would be provided with 12 percent of the power generated
by the project.
Opposition by Pakistan:
§ Pakistan
has raised several objections to the Kishanganga Project in the past. Pakistan
has complained that the Kishanganga Project affects its own Neelum Jhelum
Hydropower Plant. However, India maintains that the project would not have any
impact on rivers flowing into the neighbouring country.
§ Construction
on the dam was temporarily halted by the Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration
in October 2011 due to Pakistan’s protest of its effect on the flow of the
Kishanganga River (called the Neelum River in Pakistan). In February 2013, the
Hague ruled that India could divert a minimum amount of water for power
generation.
§ Pakistan
has been flagging concern over designs of India’s five hydroelectricity
projects – Pakal Dul (1000 MW), Ratle (850 MW), Kishanganga (330 MW), Miyar
(120 MW) and Lower Kalnai (48 MW) – being built/planned in the Indus river
basin, contending these violate the treaty.
Pakal Dul hydro power project:
The 1,000
megawatt Pakal Dul hydroelectric power project on Marusadar River, a tributary
of Chenab River, in Jammu and Kashmir will provide 12% free power to the state.
The project will not only be the largest hydroelectric power project in the
state but also the first storage unit.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: Kishanganga and Pakal Dul power projects.
§ For Mains:
Associated issues between India and Pakistan.
Sources:
pib.
Topic:
Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or
affecting India’s interests.
Mission Innovation
Context: The
Mission Innovation Ministerial is being held at Malmo-Sweden. India is also
taking part in the ministerial.
Mission Innovation:
§ Mission
Innovation is a global platform of 23 countries and European Union aimed at
accelerating clean energy innovations through enhanced Government funding,
greater public-private sector partnership and enhanced global cooperation.
§ Mission
Innovation is complemented by private sector-led investments of extraordinary
levels of private capital in clean energy, focusing on early-stage innovations.
§ As part of
the initiative, participating countries have committed to seek to double their
governments’ clean energy research and development (R&D) investments over
five years, while encouraging greater levels of private sector investment in
transformative clean energy technologies. These additional resources will
dramatically accelerate the availability of the advanced technologies that will
define a future global energy mix that is clean, affordable, and reliable.
§ Mission
Innovation was announced on November 30, 2015, as world leaders came together
in Paris to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change.
§ India is Founding Member of the Steering
Committee and also a Member of the two
sub-groups: Joint research and Capacity Building and Private Sector Engagement.
Way ahead:
The power
of innovation – driven by sustained public investment in research and
development (R&D) coupled with business leadership – can push down costs
further and bring fledgling ideas into the mainstream. Further reducing the
cost of tomorrow’s clean energy technologies, along with adoption of today’s
clean energy solutions, underpin global strategies to enhance global energy
security, drive economic growth, bring life-changing energy services to the
poor, and increase ambition in combatting climate change.
Sources:
pib.
Topic:
Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure,
mandate.
World Health Assembly
Context: Plenary
Meeting of the 71st World Health Assembly is being held at Geneva.
In
addition to its three main themes of celebrating the 70th anniversary of the
Organization, the 40th Anniversary of Alma-Ata and WHO’s top priority,
universal health coverage, it will cover many topics on health throughout the
life-course including sexual and reproductive health; early childhood
development; maternal, infant and young child nutrition; poliomyelitis and the
Global Vaccine Action Plan.
World Health Assembly (WHA):
§ The World
Health Assembly (WHA) is the forum through which the World Health Organization
(WHO) is governed by its 194 member states. It is the world’s highest health
policy setting body and is composed of health ministers from member states.
§ The
members of the World Health Assembly generally meet every year in May in
Geneva, the location of WHO Headquarters.
§ The main
functions of the World Health Assembly are to determine the policies of the
Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and
review and approve the proposed programme budget.
What’s important?
For
Prelims and Mains: WHA and its role.
Sources:
the hindu.
Paper 3:
Topic:
Conservation of environment.
Asita project
Context: National
Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has asked DDA to expedite “Asita”, its Yamuna
River Front Development Project.
About Asita:
Asita,
also known as Yamuna River Front Development (RFD) project, aims to restore,
revive and rejuvenate the river’s floodplains and make them accessible to the
people of Delhi. “Asita” is another name of river Yamuna.
Key features of the project:
§ A special
focus of the project is on reviving the river’s bio-diversity in the National
Capital.
§ River
Front “walks”, a major component of the project, will enable people to develop
a relationship with river Yamuna.
§ The
project envisages creating a green buffer area approx. 300mts wide along the
river edge with species of riverine ecology. Besides, a wide belt of 150mts
along the peripheral roads will be developed as greenways for public amenities
that will include a continuous trail of pathways and cycle tracks.
§ To revive
the ecosystem of the floodplains, wetlands will be created to store the flood
waters and also to improve the groundwater recharge which will eventually
result in flourishing of biodiversity in the floodplains.
§ An
environmentally conscious approach for integration of the river into the urban
fabric of the city has been adopted. A people-friendly bio-diversity zone will
be created for people to interact freely with the river’s eco-system.
Concerns:
The Yamuna
was declared a dead river. The dissolved oxygen level, which are crucial to
life in the water, is negligible. The river usually flows with heavy toxic foam
on its surface and often parts of the river actually catch fire. Ostensibly, in
the last 22 years, over Rs. 2,000 crore has been spent on the clean-up of the
Yamuna.
Yamuna River:
The Yamuna
is the tributary of river Ganga. It originates from the Yamunotri Glacier at a
height of 6,387 metres on the south western slopes of Banderpooch peaks in the
uppermost region of the Lower Himalayas in Uttarakhand. It merges with the
Ganges at Triveni Sangam, Allahabad, the site for the Kumbha Mela.
Yamuna Action Plan:
Government
of India has sanctioned Yamuna Action Plant (YAP)-I and YAP-II schemes for
river Yamuna in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and YAP-III in Delhi under
financial assistance from Japan International Coorperation Agency (JICA) for
taking up works for sewerage/interception and diversion of drains, Sewage
Treatment Plants (STPs), low cost sanitation/community toilet complexes,
electric/ improved wood crematoria, etc.
Sources:
pib.
Facts for Prelims:
First Commercial Flight Lands In Arunachal
Pradesh:
Arunachal
Pradesh has been put on the aviation map of the country with the state’s first
commercial flight landing at Pasighat in the north-east state’s East Siang
district, 305 kilometres from state capital Itanagar.
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