PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 10-JANUARY-2018
Paper 1:
Topic: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms,
Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times
Madhubani paintings
Context: The folk painting of
Madhubani will soon be seen decorating the walls of various government
buildings in Bihar, the eastern Indian state where the art hails from. The idea
behind painting the town in Madhubani is to give visitors a firsthand
experience of how the paintings are blended with the region’s culture.
About Madhubani paintings:
Madhubani, which means ‘forest
of honey’, is a style of folk painting old enough to find mention in some of
the ancient Indian texts like the holy Ramayana. It is also known as
Mithila, for its origin is said to be the Mithila region in Bihar.
§ Traditionally, the Madhubani
paintings are created using fingers and twigs, and items like matchsticks have
come to be used in their creation in recent times.
§ Their various styles include
Bharni, Katchni, Tantrik, Godna, and Kohbar, which would historically be
painted only by women from the upper strata in the caste system, who would make them on mud
walls on special occasions.
§ The norms have now changed and
the paintings can be enjoyed by anyone and in various forms. Madhubani is now
found on apparel, paper, canvas, and other products, which boast of designs
inspired by Hindu deities such as Krishna, Rama, Lakshmi, Shiva, Durga,
Saraswati, all of whom have been painted in Madhubani since ancient times.
Other subjects of Madhubani paintings include peacocks, fish and human
connection with nature.
Sources: toi.
Topic: Role of women and women’s
organization, population and associated issues.
Haryana becomes first state to
launch High Risk Pregnancy portal
Haryana has achieved the
distinction of becoming the first state in the country to launch High Risk
Pregnancy (HRP) Portal. The Union ministry of health and family welfare and Niti Ayog
have acknowledged the portal as a good practice to be implemented.
About the HRP portal:
What is it? This innovative web
application has been designed to track every high risk pregnant woman till 42
days after delivery, so that she receives adequate treatment during the
ante-natal period for healthy outcome of pregnancy. This portal not only helps
in early identification of high-risk pregnant cases up to the grass-roots level
but also ensures their timely referral to the civil hospitals for further
management and delivery by specialists.
Background: The High Risk
Pregnancy Policy has been implemented across the state since November, 2017,
for identifying 100 per cent name-based high-risk pregnancy cases, and ensuring
their delivery by specialists at civil hospitals. This initiative is aimed at
increasing the pace of decline in Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Infant
Mortality Rate (IMR) and Still Birth Incidence as morbidity and mortality is
quite high in high risk pregnant cases.
Facts for Prelims:
Birth companion strategy: Haryana is also
implementing birth companion strategy under which one female attendant would be
allowed during delivery in the labour room. The presence of a female birth
companion during delivery is a step towards improving the quality of care in
labour rooms for improving the maternal and neo-natal outcome and for
respectful maternity care.
Sources: toi.
Paper 2:
Topic: Statutory, regulatory and
various quasi-judicial bodies.
The Committee for the Purpose
of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA)
Context: A one-day National
Conference on Welfare of Laboratory Animals was recently organised by CPCSEA,
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, with the theme of
“Implementation of 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) while using
animals in academic research and regulatory testing in India.
The conference laid emphasis on
the issue of ethical use of animals in academics and regulatory testing in
India. The discussions were focussed on evaluating the possibilities of
exemption of animal experiments in academics and regulatory testing.
About CPCSEA:
What is it? The Committee for
the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals(CPCSEA) is a
statutory Committee, which is established under Section 15(1) of the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960. All establishments engaged in research and
education involving animals, are required to comply with the various
guidelines, norms and stipulations set out by CPCSEA.
Background: India is one of the
pioneering countries to institute Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act in 1960
whereas such Act was instituted in France in 1963 and in USA in 1966. The
detailed rules for experimentation on animals were first enacted by the
Ministry of Agriculture in 1968 and were implemented by CPCSEA.
The main functions of CPCSEA
are:
§ Registration of establishments
conducting animal experimentation or breeding of animals for this purpose.
§ Selection and appointment of
nominees in the Institutional Animal Ethics Committees of registered
establishments.
§ Approval of Animal House
Facilities on the basis of reports of inspections conducted by CPCSEA.
§ Permission for conducting
experiments involving use of animals.
§ Recommendation for import of
animals for use in experiments.
§ Action against establishments
in case of violation of any legal norm/stipulation.
Sources: pib.
Topic: Indian Constitution-
historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant
provisions and basic structure.
No viable alternative to
hanging, Centre tells court
Context: Considering the “dynamic
progress” made in modern science to adopt painless methods of causing death,
the court had asked the government to explore viable methods other than hanging
to execute condemned prisoners.
Centre’s response:
The centre has said that there
is no viable method at present other than hanging to execute condemned
prisoners.
Need for review:
The court has favoured a
re-look at the practice of hanging to death as “the Constitution of India is an
organic and compassionate document which recognises the sanctity of flexibility
of law as situations change with the flux of time”. The court notes that a
condemned convict should die in peace and not in pain. A human being is
entitled to dignity even in death.
Also, execution was not only
“barbaric, inhuman and cruel”, but also against the resolutions adopted by the
United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Background:
The court is hearing a writ
petition which has sought the court’s intervention to reduce the suffering of
condemned prisoners at the time of death. The petitioner notes that a convict
should not be compelled to suffer at the time of termination of his or her
life. When a man is hanged to death, his dignity is destroyed, the petition
says.
The petitioner has also referred
to Article 21 (Right to Life) of the Constitution and said it also included the
right of a condemned prisoner to have a dignified mode of execution so that
death becomes less painful.
Constitutionality of death
penalty:
Constitutionality of death penalty
has been well-settled by the apex court, including in Deena versus Union of
India and earlier in the Bachan Singh case reported in 1980. Section 354 (5),
which mandates death by hanging, of the Code of Criminal Procedure has already
been upheld.
Law commission’s observations:
The Law Commission in its 187th
Report had noted that there was a significant increase in the number of
countries where hanging has been abolished and substituted by electrocution, shooting
or lethal injection as the method of execution. It had categorically opined
that hanging is undoubtedly accompanied by intense physical torture and pain.
Alternatives:
The present procedure can be
replaced with intravenous lethal injection, shooting, electrocution or gas
chamber in which death is just a matter of minutes. While in hanging, the
entire execution process takes over 40 minutes to declare prisoner to be dead,
the shooting process involves not more than few minutes. In case of intravenous
lethal injection, it is all over in 5 minutes.
Sources: the hindu.
Paper 3:
Topic: Conservation, environmental
pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Microbeads ban takes effect
Context: A UK-wide ban on the
manufacture of products containing microbeads has come into force on 9 January.
Manufacturers can no longer add tiny pieces of plastic to wash-off cosmetic and
personal care products (such as exfoliating scrubs, shower gels and
toothpaste).
Exemption: However, this isn’t a
complete ban – ‘leave-on’ products (such as sunscreen and makeup) will still be
allowed to contain microbeads following the cosmetic industry’s resistance.
What are microbeads?
In a nutshell, microbeads are
tiny pieces of plastic found in many beauty products, such as exfoliating
scrubs, toothpastes and more.
Why are microbeads bad for the
environment?
Evidence has shown that
microbeads can find their way from your bathroom to the sea. Trillions of tiny
pieces of plastic are accumulating in the world’s oceans, lakes and estuaries,
harming marine life and entering the food chain.
Where else are they banned?
The United States passed the
Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, which required companies to stop using
microbeads in beauty and health products by July 2017, and Canada’s ban on
manufacturing the pellets took effect at the beginning of this year. New Zealand’s
ban on microbeads is to take effect in June. Several countries in the European
Union have campaigned for a similar ban.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic: Awareness in the fields of
IT, Space.
What happens to the human body
in space?
Context: Space is a dangerous and
unforgiving place, and spending time away from gravity takes its toll on the
human body, as many astronauts have found out after returning to Earth.
Recently, Japanese astronaut
Norishige Kanai announced that he had stretched a staggering 9cm (3.5in) in
just three weeks onboard the International Space Station (ISS). However, he
later admitted he had miscalculated the figure and it was actually just 2cm (0.9in),
but significant height changes are actually normal for astronauts spending time
in space.
Why do they stretch?
The effect happens as the
astronauts’ spines stretch out, because of the reduced gravity on board the
floating lab. Because the vertebrae aren’t being pushed together as much as
they are on Earth, they are able to float apart and lead to the strange
stretching phenomenon. They shrink back down to their usual size once back on
Earth and affected by its gravity.
Health issues for astronauts to
overcome:
§ The rapid change of gravity in
space can cause a loss of bone density of up to 1% a month. This could lead to
osteoporosis-related fractures and long-term health problems.
§ Lack of gravity can also cause
body fluids to shift upwards, which may cause swelling, high-blood pressure and
vision and organ problems. Nutrition and exercise become very important, and
special measures like medications and body cuffs aim to reduce the risk of
long-term medical problems associated with muscle and bone wastage.
§ Living in isolation and
confinement can cause behavioural and psychological issues. Without a natural
body clock, depression and sleep disorders can develop. The space station uses
LED technology to imitate light on Earth to improve body rhythms.
§ A closed environment also means
microbes in the body can transfer more easily. The environment can weaken the
immune system, so urine, saliva and blood samples are carefully monitored to
make sure dormant viruses have not been reactivated.
§ Radiation exposure is far
higher in space than it is on Earth. Without the shielding of Earth, you could
be more at risk of cancer and damage to the nervous system. Space radiation can
also cause sickness and fatigue. The ISS sits just within the protective field
on Earth to reduce risks, but missions further afield will need to overcome
this.
Sources: et.
Facts for Prelims:
Ancient Rock Art in India Is
Oldest Depiction of Supernova:
Scientists in India have
discovered rock art that appears to depict a supernova and the surrounding
stars, buried inside the wall of an ancient dwelling place. Thought to date
from 3,600 BC, the carving would be the oldest-known depiction of such a cosmic
event.
Where was it found? The carving
was found in the Burzahama region in Kashmir, India.
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