PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 19-MARCH-2018
Topic: Indian
art and culture.
Nabakalebar festival
Context: Commemorative coins in denominations of
₹10 and
₹1000 have been released on Lord Jagannath’s Nabakalebar festival.
About Nabakalebar festival:
§ The
Nabakalebara is an ancient ritual
associated with most of the Jagannath Templeswhen the
Idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshan are replaced by a
new set of Idols.
§ A year
with an extra Ashadha masa/month as per Hindu Calendar is considered auspicious
for conducting the ceremony. This usually occurs every twelve to nineteen
years.
§ The
Deities are made from a special type of Neem wood known as Daru Bramha.
§ The most
recent ceremony was in 2015, following the 1996 ceremony.
§ This
festival is celebrated at the Jagannath Temple in Puri, Orissa.
What’s
important?
For
Prelims: Nabakalebar festival, Daru Bramha.
Sources:
the hindu.
Paper 2:
Topic: Issues
relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to
Health, Education, Human Resources.
Festival Of Innovation And Entrepreneurship
Context: The Festival of Innovation and
Entrepreneurship was recently inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind. It is
being organised by Rashtrapati
Bhavan in association with the Department of Science and Technology and the
National Innovation Foundation-India.
About the Festival Of Innovation And Entrepreneurship:
It is a
celebration of country’s Innovation potential, particularly those ideas which
stem from grassroots level including the citizen at the last mile and also a
reflection of power of children’s creativity. It is an initiative to recognise,
respect, showcase, reward innovations and to foster a supportive ecosystem for
innovators.
Significance of the Festival:
§ FINE would
provide an excellent platform to the innovators for building the linkages with
potential stakeholders whose support can improve their prospects in coming
years for the larger social good.
§ It will
also help in promoting lateral learning and linkages among the innovators to
enrich the ecosystem for new India.
§ It would
also be a great opportunity to create awareness about the importance of various
Ministries of Government of India attaches to their effort and participation in
the FINE.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: FINE.
§ For Mains:
Need for innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
Sources:
pib.
Topic:
Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure,
mandate.
International Competition Network 2018
Context: India is hosting the 17th Annual
Conference of International Competition Network 2018 (ICN2018) in New Delhi.
About the 2018 ICN conference:
§ The ICN holds an Annual Conference which is
hosted by a member competition agency. The last
such Conference was hosted by Portuguese Competition Authority in 2017 at
Porto, Portugal.
§ This is the first time India is hosting the
ICN2018 Annual Conference since
it joined International Competition Network (ICN) in 2009.
§ The conference
will provide an opportunity to exchange ideas and strategies for effective
enforcement of competition law and for strengthening cooperation amongst the
competition authorities as they strive to promote and sustain competition in
rapidly changing markets.
About ICN:
ICN is an
international body comprising 132 members from 120 competition jurisdictions
exclusively devoted to international competition enforcement. The ICN’s main
goal is to improve and advocate for sound competition policy and its enforcement
across the global antitrust community.
§ The ICN is a voluntary, consensus-based
organisation. The ICN is not a rule-making organisation and
its work products are not legally binding instruments.
§ ICN
provides competition authorities with a specialised yet informal platform for
addressing practical competition concerns, sharing experiences and adopting
international best practices.
§ Members: Its
members are national competition authorities and NGA (Non-governmental
Advisers) which include reputed law firms, eminent persons, and think tanks of
international repute.
Why have the ICN?
Economic
globalisation has resulted in an increasing number of investigations and
reviews of mergers, cartels and unilateral conduct that transcend
jurisdictional boundaries. Agencies need to cooperate with each other on
cross-border cases in order to reduce the risk of: (i) sub-optimal enforcement
if an agency only has a partial picture of the situation; and (ii) inconsistent
outcomes if different jurisdictions reach different conclusions about the same
practice. The ICN helps facilitate cooperation and convergence, where
appropriate. This is good for competition agencies, governments, businesses,
and ultimately consumers.
What’s
important?
For
Prelims: ICN, CCI.
For Mains:
ICN- need and significance.
Sources:
pib.
Paper 3:
Topic: Science
and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday
life Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of
technology and developing new technology.
Indian Science Congress In Manipur
Context: 105th Indian Science Congress was recently held in Manipur. It
focussed on translational science for promoting affordable sustainable
innovation.
§ Indian
Science Congress was organized by the Indian Science Congress Association.
§ Theme: “Reaching
the Unreached Through Science & Technology”.
Women Science Congress:
7th Women Science Congress was also held at the 105th session of Indian
Science Congress in Imphal. The first Women Science
Congress was held in 2012.
About Indian Science Congress Association:
Indian
Science Congress Association (ISCA) is a premier scientific organisation
started in the year 1914 in Kolkata. It has a membership of more than 30,000
scientists.
Origin: It owes its origin to the foresight and
initiative of two British chemists, namely, Professor J. L. Simonsen and
Professor P. S. MacMahon. It occurred to them that scientific research in India
might be stimulated if an annual meeting of research workers somewhat on the
lines of the British Association for the Advancement of Science could be
arranged.
Objectives:
§ To advance
and promote the cause of science in India.
§ To hold an
annual congress at a suitable place in India.
§ To publish
such proceedings, journals, transactions and other publications as may be
considered desirable.
§ To secure
and manage funds and endowments for the promotion of Science including the
rights of disposing of or selling all or any portion of the properties of the
Association.
§ To do and
perform any or all other acts, matters and things as are conductive to, or
incidental to, or necessary for, the above objects.
Sources:
pib.
Topic:
Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology,
bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Cold fusion
Context: India is taking tentative steps towards
restarting research into Cold fusion, some 25 years after it was shut down at
the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) following global criticism heaped on
the idea. Three research groups have taken up the theme.
What is cold fusion?
Cold fusion describes a form of energy generated when hydrogen interacts
with various metals like nickel and palladium.
§ Cold fusion is a field of condensed matter
nuclear science CMNS, and is also called low-energy nuclear
reactions LENR, lattice-assisted nuclear reactions LANR, low energy nanoscale
reactions LENR, among others.
§ Cold
fusion is also referred to as the Anomalous Heat Effect AHE, reflecting the fact
that there is no definitive theory of the elusive reaction.
How it works?
When
hydrogen, the main element of water, is introduced to a small piece of the
metal nickel or palladium, a reaction occurs that can create excess heat and
transmutation products. Excess heat means more heat comes out of the system
than went in to the system. The excess heat can make hot water and useful steam
to turn a turbine and produce electricity.
Advantages of cold fusion:
No
radioactive materials are used in cold fusion. It occurs as the tiny protons,
neutrons and electrons of hydrogen interact, releasing energy slowly, through
heat and photons, without the dangerous radiation associated with conventional
nuclear reactions, and cold fusion makes no radioactive waste.
Criticism:
Cold
fusion seeks to produce nuclear energy without harmful radiation, complex
equipment and the application of very high temperatures and pressures. But it
has no conclusive theory explaining it and flies in the face of a
well-established physics law that goes against easy fusion of nuclei. There is
no guarantee that every time a cold fusion or LENR experiment is done, energy
will be produced, say critics.
Way ahead:
Research
is underway in the U.S., Japan, China, Russia, Italy, France and Ukraine too.
Given the challenge posed by the science behind LENR and its potential payoffs,
the Indian government should fund academic institutions that are willing to
enter the fray.
What’s
important?
For
Prelims: Cold fusion.
For Mains:
All about cold fusion and criticisms.
Sources:
the hindu.
Topic:
Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology,
bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
GI tag
Context: The Geographical Indication (GI)
Registry has issued a notice to the West Bengal State Food Processing and
Horticulture Development Corporation, asking why the GI recognition given to
‘Banglar Rosogolla’ not be withdrawn.
Background:
A petition
was recently filed objecting to the GI status procured by West Bengal for
‘Banglar Rosogolla’ four months ago. The petitioner questioned the data and
documents provided by West Bengal for getting GI tag for this famous sweet. He
had also pointed out that Odisha was not given a chance to explain its stance
when the West Bengal State Food Processing & Horticulture Development
Corporation applied for GI status.
Evidences on the origin:
According
to one of the documents submitted by West Bengal citing historical evidence,
Rasogollas invented in the Nadia district of West Bengal are 60 years old
(lower end time frame). Haradhan, a confectioner of village Phulia is named as
the inventor. West Bengal has given half-a-dozen historical evidences to back
its claim.
While
Odisha says the famous sweet was part of the offering in Sri Jagannath Temple
of Puri at least five centuries ago.
About GI tag:
What is
it?
A GI is
primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicrafts and
industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory.
Significance
of a GI tag:
Typically,
such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is
essentially attributable to the place of its origin.
Security:
Once the
GI protection is granted, no other producer can misuse the name to market
similar products. It also provides comfort to customers about the authenticity
of that product.
Sources:
the hindu.
Facts for Prelims:
ICGS C-437:
What is
it? It is the Indian Coast Guard ship commissioned recently at Porbandar.
About: The
boat is capable of undertaking multifarious task such as surveillance,
interdiction, search and rescue and rendering assistance to boats and craft in
distress at sea. The boat has advanced navigational and communication equipment
with capability to respond to any maritime situation.
Jackfruit to be Kerala’s state fruit:
Context:
Jackfruit is set to be declared as the official fruit of Kerala. The core
objective of the government was to give a fillip to the production and sale of
jackfruit and its value-added products.
Facts:
Elephant is the state animal of Kerala, while ‘great hornbill’ is the state
bird and ‘kanikkonna’, the official flower. The state had also recently
declared pearl spot, popularly known as ‘karimeen’, as its official fish.
In news- Loktak lake:
Context: A
floating laboratory has been introduced to save the Loktak lake. Researchers in
a custom motorboat monitor levels of pollution in the 300 sq km water body.
Concerns:
Rising urbanisation and land-use change over the years has seen the Loktak
Lake, the largest in the northeast, become a dump-yard for the city’s municipal
waste, ranging from plastic refuse to chemical runoff from farming. This
worsens during years of floods.
About
Loktak lake: Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India, and
is famous for the phumdis (heterogeneous mass of vegetation, soil, and organic
matter at various stages of decomposition) floating over it. It has first of
its kind loktak floating elementary school.
Located on
this phumdi, Keibul Lamjao National Park is the only floating national park in
the world. The park is the last natural refuge of the endangered Sangai (state
animal).
Hindu New Year:
Hindu New
Year was welcomed in different parts of the country with traditional
festivities and celebrations. The Chaitra Sukladi, Ugadi, Gudi Padava, Navareh,
Navroz and Chetti Chand are the same festivals in different names, marking the
occasion.
§ Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana: Ugadi.
§ Karnataka:
Yugadi /Ugadi.
§ Maharashtra:
Gudi Padwa.
§ Sindhis:
Cheti Chand.
§ Manipuris:
Sajibu Cheiraoba.
§ Hindus of
Bali and Indonesia also celebrate their new year on the same day as Nyepi.
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