PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 13-JANUARY-2018
Paper
1:
Topic: Indian culture will cover the
salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to
modern times.
Indian
harvest festivals
Context: The Harvest season is on
and festivities have gripped the nation from the north to down south.
Various
festivals across the nation:
§ Makar Sankranti: The festival of Makar
Sankranti is being celebrated today when the Sun enters the Makar zodiac and
the days begin to lengthen compared to nights.
§ Pongal: In South India and
particularly in Tamil Nadu, it’s the festival of Pongal which is being
celebrated over 4 days at harvest time.
§ Magha Bihu: In Assam and many parts
of the North East, the festival of Magha Bihu is celebrated. It sees the first
harvest of the season being offered to the gods along with prayers for peace
and prosperity. People in Assam celebrate this festival wearing colourful and
bright clothes.
§ Uttarayan: Gujarat celebrates it in
the form of the convivial kite festival of Uttarayan.
§ Maghi: In Punjab, Makar
Sankranti is celebrated as Maghi. Bathing in a river in the early hours on
Maghi is important.
§ Saaji: In Shimla District of
Himachal Pradesh, Makara Sankranti is known as Magha Saaji. Saaji is the Pahari
word for Sakranti, start of the new month. Hence this day marks the start of
the month of Magha.
§ Kicheri: The festival is known as
Kicheri in Uttar Pradesh and involves ritual bathing.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic: urbanization, their problems
and their remedies.
Urban
heat island
Context: Every winter, the whole
of north India is covered by dense fog. But a phenomenon called urban heat
island is burning holes in this grey shroud over New Delhi and other cities on
the Indo-Gangetic Plain, says a new study.
Impacts:
The urban heat island effect is
so strong in Delhi, the largest city in the region, that it saw 50% less fog
than surrounding areas. In Delhi, the heat island effect also appears to be
suppressing the very formation of fog. Scientists found that while areas
outside Delhi have seen a 20 per cent increase in fog in the period 2012-2016
compared with 2000-2004, Delhi itself did not see an increase.
Reasons
behind this:
The analysis found a
correlation between the size of the urban population and that of the fog hole.
Population size has been shown to be related to the intensity of urban heat
islands since they are an indicator of urban growth.
Way
ahead:
The findings from the study are
important since dense and polluted winter fog envelopes north India, Pakistan,
Nepal and Bangladesh every year from December to January severely affecting air
quality and disrupting air, rail and road traffic. The study will be very
useful in understanding the process of why fog occurs and ultimately to predict
its occurrence.
What
is urban heat island effect?
The urban heat island is a
phenomenon when the heat gets trapped near the earth’s surface as a result of a
decline in green cover, rapid urbanisation, energy-intensive activities, and
concrete structures.
Concerns:
Urban heat islands can have
worse air and water quality than their rural neighbours. UHIs often have lower
air quality because there are more pollutants (waste products from vehicles,
industry, and people) being pumped into the air. These pollutants are blocked
from scattering and becoming less toxic by the urban landscape: buildings,
roads, sidewalks, and parking lots. Water quality also suffers. When warm water
from the UHI ends up flowing into local streams, it stresses the native species
that have adapted to life in a cooler aquatic environment.
Sources: the hindu.
Paper
2:
Topic: Salient features of the Representation
of People’s Act.
Model
code
Context: The Election Commission
(EC) has set up a 14-member committee to suggest changes to Section 126 of the
Representation of the People (RP) Act, which prohibits poll campaign in the
last 48 hours leading to voting, in the wake of media expansion. The committee,
chaired by Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha, will submit its report
within three months.
Terms
of reference:
§ Apart from suggesting
modifications to the election law, the committee will also study the impact of
new media and social media during the “silence period” and its implication in
view of Section 126 and suggest changes to the model code of conduct (MCC)
accordingly.
§ It has also been tasked to
examine the difficulties faced in regulating media platforms during the
prohibitory 48 hours in a multi-phase election.
Need
for review:
Election Commission is of the
considered view that due to multifold expansion of digital and electronic
media, the extant Model Code of Conduct, Section 126 of the RP Act, 1951, and
other related provisions require revisiting to cater to the requirement and
challenges of the present and emerging situations.
Model
Code of Conduct(MCC):
What
is MCC? These are the guidelines issued by the Election Commission
of India for conduct of political parties and candidates during elections
mainly with respect to speeches, polling day, polling booths, election
manifestos, processions and general conduct.
Aim: To ensure free and fair
elections.
When
it comes into force? The Model Code of Conduct comes into force immediately on
announcement of the election schedule by the commission. The Code remains in
force till the end of the electoral process.
Status: The need for such code is
in the interest of free and fair elections. However, the code does not have any
specific statutory basis. It has only a persuasive effect. It contains what is
known as “rules of electoral morality”. But this lack of statutory backing does
not prevent the Commission from enforcing it.
Evolution: The Commission issued the
code for the first time in 1971 (5th Election) and revised it from time to
time. This set of norms has been evolved with the consensus of political
parties who have consented to abide by the principles embodied in the said code
and also binds them to respect and observe it in its letter and spirit.
What
it contains? The salient features of the Model Code of Conduct lay down
how political parties, contesting candidates and party(s) in power should
conduct themselves during the process of elections i.e. on their general
conduct during electioneering, holding meetings and processions, poll day
activities and functioning of the party in power etc.
Sources: ie.
Topic: Government policies and
interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of
their design and implementation.
North
Koel Reservoir Project
Context: A Memorandum of
Understanding has been signed between Ministry of Water Resources, River
Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India, State of Bihar and
State of Jharkhand for completion of balance works of North Koel reservoir
project at an estimated cost of Rs. 1622.27 crore.
A supplementary Memorandum of
Agreement has also been signed between Ministry of Water Resources, River Development
and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India, National Water Development Agency,
NABARD with State Governments of Bihar and Jharkhand for funding of the state
share under Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF) for North Koel reservoir project.
About
the North Koel Reservoir Project:
The project is situated on
North Koel river which is a tributary of Sone river finally joining the river
Ganga. The North Koel Reservoir is located in the most backward tribal areas in
Palamau and Garhwa districts of Jharkhand State.
§ The construction was originally
started in the year 1972 and continued till 1993 when it was stopped by the
Forest Department, Govt. of Bihar. Since then, the work on dam is at a
standstill.
§ The project aims to provide
irrigation to 111,521 hectares of land annually in the most backward and
drought prone areas of Palamu & Garhwa districts in Jharkhand and
Aurangabad & Gaya districts in Bihar.
Background:
LTIF was announced in the Union
Budget 2016-17 with an initial corpus of Rs 20,000 crore for funding and fast
tracking the implementation of incomplete major and medium irrigation projects.
LTIF has instituted in NABARD as a part of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee
Yojana (PMKSY).
Key
facts for Prelims:
§ North Koel river rises on
Ranchi plateau and flows through Jharkhand. It joins the Sone a few miles
north-west of Haidarnagar.
§ The North Koel, along with its
tributaries, meanders through the northern part of Betla National Park.
§ The principal tributaries are
the Auranga and the Amanat.
Sources: pib.
Topic: India and its
neighbourhood- relations.
Nepal
ends India’s monopoly on internet access with new Chinese link
By opening a new optical fibre
link across the Himalayan mountains to China, Nepal has ended India’s monopoly
on internet access. The Chinese optical fibre link enters Nepal at Rasuwa, 175
km north of the capital Kathmandu.
Significance
of this move:
Till recently, landlocked Nepal
was totally dependent on India for access to the worldwide web through
connections at Biratnagar, Bhairahawa and Birgunj, for which it pays a
substantial sum as fees and royalties. Besides state-run Indian firms, Nepal
has been acquiring bandwidth from private players such as Tata and Airtel and
BSNL. The opening of new line shows China’s growing engagement in a region seen
as India’s backyard.
Background:
The internet was first
introduced to Nepal in 1993 by a venture between the Royal Nepal Academy of
Science and Technology (RONAST) and a private firm, the Mercantile Office
Systems. The Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai had a UNDP-funded
internet connection and RONAST set up a system whereby it could connect to
Mumbai to transfer email messages. The first optical fibre link to India was
built four years later.
Data use in Nepal has been
increasing constantly with more people using social media platforms such as
Facebook and Twitter and communication platforms such as Viber, Messenger,
WhatsApp and WeChat, especially to communicate with family members abroad.
Sources: the hindu.
Paper
3:
Topic: Awareness in the fields of
IT, Space.
Chandrayaan-2
Context: To prepare for landing on
the moon, the Indian Space Research Organisation is planning to conduct landing
simulation tests for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft at Mahendragiri in coming weeks.
About
Chandrayaan-2:
Chandrayaan-2 includes
soft-landing on Moon and moving a rover on its surface. It is an advanced
version of the previous Chandrayaan-1 mission. It consists of an orbiter,
lander and rover configuration.
§ The Orbiter spacecraft when
launched from Sriharikota will travel to the Moon and release the Lander, which
will in turn deploy a tiny Rover to roam the lunar surface — all three sending
data and pictures to Earth.
§ It is planned to be launched as
a composite stack into the earth parking orbit (EPO) of 170 X 18,500 km by
GSLV-Mk II.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic: Awareness in the fields of
IT, Space.
Station
Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology
Context: NASA has invented a new
type of autonomous space navigation that could see human-made spacecraft
heading into the far reaches of the Solar System, and even farther – by using
pulsars as guide stars. It’s called Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation
Technology, or SEXTANT (named after an 18th century nautical navigation
instrument).
About
Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology:
What is it? SEXTANT works like
a GPS receiver getting signals from at least three GPS satellites, all of which
are equipped with atomic clocks. The receiver measures the time delay from each
satellite and converts this into spatial coordinates.
How it works? The technology
uses X-ray technology to see millisecond pulsars, using them much like a GPS
uses satellites. The electromagnetic radiation beaming from pulsars is most
visible in the X-ray spectrum, which is why NASA’s engineers chose to employ
X-ray detection in SEXTANT. To do so, they used a washing machine-sized
observatory attached to the International Space Station. Called Neutron-star
Interior Composition Explorer, or NICER, it contains 52 X-ray telescopes and
silicon-drift detectors for studying neutron stars, including pulsars.
Applications: SEXTANT could be
used to calculate the location of planetary satellites far from the range of
Earth’s GPS satellites, and assist on human spaceflight missions, such as the
space agency’s planned Mars mission.
What
are pulsars?
Pulsars are highly magnetised,
rapidly rotating neutron stars – the result of a massive star’s core collapsing
and subsequently exploding. As they spin, they emit electromagnetic radiation.
If an observer is in the right position, they can appear as sweeping beams,
like a cosmic lighthouse. They’re also extraordinarily regular – in the case of
some millisecond pulsars, which can spin hundreds of times a second, their
regularity can rival that of atomic clocks.
Sources: et.
Facts
for Prelims:
Saksham-2018:
What is it? Saksham (Sanrakshan
Kshamta Mahotsav) is an annual flagship event of Petroleum Conservation
Research Association (PCRA) under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum &
Natural Gas, Govt. of India , with active involvement of the Oil & Gas PSUs
along with other stakeholders like State Governments, for creating focused
attention on fuel conservation through people centric activities and to sensitize
the masses about the conservation and efficient use of petroleum products
leading to better health and environment.
Giant
extinct bat burrowing bat fossil discovered in New Zealand:
Fossilized remains of a giant
burrowing bat, which lived on New Zealand between 16 and 19-million-years ago,
have been found. It is “the first new bat genus to be added to New Zealand’s
fauna in more than 150 years.” It has been given the name Vulcanops
jennyworthyae, after team member Jenny Worthy who found the fossils.
Key facts: The ancient bat
would have hunted by air and by land, and its specialized teeth and large size
would have helped it burrow under flora to satisfy its broad diet. The omnivore
ate invertebrates like insects and spiders, as well as fruit, flowers, and
nectar. Compared with other short-tailed New Zealand bats, this species shows a
shift in diet, which is more similar to that of its South American relatives.
They are of particular interest because they can fly, as well as walk on all of
its limbs along the forest floor.
INS
Nirbhik, Nirghat decommissioned:
Context: The Indian Naval Ships
Nirbhik and Nirghat have been decommissioned at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, after a
glorious 30 and 28 years respectively in the service of the nation.
Nirbhik and Nirghat in their
new avatars were commissioned at Poti, erstwhile USSR on 21 Dec 1987 and 15 Dec
1989 respectively. During their service over almost three decades, these ships
have participated in numerous operations including Operations Parakram and
Vijay.
Rizhao:
What is it? It is a new missile
frigate commissioned recently by the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
Key facts: Rizhao is a
140-metre-long and 16-metre-wide missile frigate designed and made by China.
the missile frigate is equipped with an advanced weapons systems and can attack
enemy ships and submarines alone or in coordination with other naval forces.
The frigate was named after the city of Rizhao in Shandong Province.
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