PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 30-APRIL-2018
Topic: Indian culture will cover the salient
aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Krishna Circuit
Context: The PHD Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (PHDCCI) and the Indian Yoga Association (IYA) have signed a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate interaction and cooperation
between the two organisations to promote wellness, spiritual and cultural tourism
in the Krishna Circuit.
Krishna Circuit:
§ Krishna Circuit is among the thirteen
thematic circuits identified for development under Swadesh Darshan Scheme.
§ Twelve destinations have been
identified for development under Krishna circuit namely Dwarka (Gujarat), Nathdwara,
Jaipur & Sikar (Rajasthan), Kurukshetra (Haryana), Mathura, Vrindavan,
Nandgaon, Gokul, Barsana, & Govardhan (Uttar Pradesh) and Puri (Odisha).
About Swadesh Darshan Scheme:
The Tourism Ministry had launched ‘Swadesh Darshan’
scheme with an objective to develop theme-based tourist circuits in the
country. These tourist circuits will be developed on the principles of high
tourist value, competitiveness and sustainability in an integrated manner.
Features of Swadesh Darshan Scheme:
§ The scheme is 100% centrally funded for the
project components undertaken for public funding.
§ To leverage the voluntary funding available
for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives of Central Public Sector
Undertakings and corporate sector.
§ Funding of individual project will vary from
state to state and will be finalised on the basis of detailed project reports
prepared by PMC (Programme Management Consultant).
§ A National Steering Committee (NSC) will be
constituted with Minister in charge of M/O Tourism as Chairman, to steer the
mission objectives and vision of the scheme.
§ A Mission Directorate headed by the Member
Secretary, NSC as a nodal officer will help in identification of projects in
consultation with the States/ UTs governments and other stake holders.
§ PMC will be a national level consultant to be
appointed by the Mission Directorate.
What’s important?
For Prelims and Mains: Krishna Circuit and
Swadesh Darshan Scheme.
Sources: the hindu.
Paper 2:
Topic: Bilateral, regional and global groupings
and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
Peace Mission 2018
What is it? It is a multi-nation counter-terror
exercise that will take place under the framework of Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation. The main aim of the exercise will be to enhance counter-terror
cooperation among the eight SCO member countries.
§ Peace Mission exercises are held once in two
years. This year’s exercises will be the 10th edition. The last time, it was
held in 2016 in Kyrgyztan.
Where is it being held? The 2018 edition will be held in the
Ural mountains of Russia.
Significance of this edition: In a first, India and Pakistan will be
part of this exercise. It will be for the first time since Independence that
India and Pakistan will both be part of a military exercise, though the armies
of the two nations have worked together in UN peace keeping missions.
SCO:
§ The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai
in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
§ India and Pakistan were admitted as observers
of the grouping in 2005. Both the countries were admitted as full members of
the bloc last year.
What’s important?
§ For Prelims: SCO and Peace mission.
§ For Mains: Significance of counter terror
exercises and the need for international cooperation.
Sources: the hindu.
Paper 3:
Topic: Infrastructure- energy.
Leisang in Manipur
Context: Leisang in Manipur has become the last
village to be added to the national power grid under the Rural Electrification
Scheme.
Definition:
The government considers a village
electrified if it has basic electrical infrastructure and 10% of its households
and public places including schools, local administrative offices and health
centres have power.
Background:
The government had allocated Rs75,893 crore
for the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana with the aim of providing
electricity access to all villages.
About DDUGJY:
§ Government of India has launched the scheme
“Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana” for rural electrification.
§ The erstwhile Rajiv Gandhi Grameen
Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) scheme for village electrification and providing
electricity distribution infrastructure in the rural areas has been subsumed in
the DDUGJY scheme.
§ Rural Electrification Corporation is the
Nodal Agency for implementation of DDUGJY.
The Yojana also includes the
components:
§ To separate agriculture and non agriculture
feeders facilitating judicious rostering of supply to agricultural and
non-agricultural consumers in rural areas and
§ Strengthening and augmentation of sub
transmission and distribution infrastructure in rural areas, including metering
of distribution transformers/feeders/consumers.
What’s important?
§ For Prelims: DDUGJY.
§ For Mains: Significance of rural electrification
and electricity for all.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic: Awareness in space.
Interior Exploration using Seismic
Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight)
Context: NASA is set to launch Interior
Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight)
on May 5, the first-ever mission to study the heart of Mars.
About InSight Mission:
§ InSight is part of NASA’s Discovery Program,
managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
§ It will be the first mission to peer deep
beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet’s interior by measuring its
heat output and listening for marsquakes, which are seismic events similar to
earthquakes on Earth.
§ It will use the seismic waves generated by
marsquakes to develop a map of the planet’s deep interior.
Significance of the mission:
§ The findings of Mars’ formation will help
better understand how other rocky planets, including Earth, were and are
created. But InSight is more than a Mars mission – it is a terrestrial planet
explorer that would address one of the most fundamental issues of planetary and
solar system science – understanding the processes that shaped the rocky
planets of the inner solar system (including Earth) more than four billion
years ago.
§ By using sophisticated geophysical
instruments, InSight would delve deep beneath the surface of Mars, detecting
the fingerprints of the processes of terrestrial planet formation, as well as
measuring the planet’s “vital signs”: Its “pulse” (seismology), “temperature”
(heat flow probe), and “reflexes” (precision tracking).
§ InSight seeks to answer one of science’s most
fundamental questions: How did the terrestrial planets form?
MarCo:
§ The rocket that will loft InSight beyond
Earth will also launch a separate NASA technology experiment: two
mini-spacecraft called Mars Cube One, or MarCO. These briefcase-sized CubeSats
will fly on their own path to Mars behind InSight.
§ Their goal is to test new miniaturized deep
space communication equipment. This will be a first test of miniaturized
CubeSat technology at another planet, which researchers hope can offer new
capabilities to future missions.
§ If successful, the MarCOs could represent a
new kind of communication capability to Earth. InSight’s success is independent
of its CubeSat tag-alongs.
Why Mars?
Previous missions to Mars have investigated
the surface history of the Red Planet by examining features like canyons,
volcanoes, rocks and soil. However, signatures of the planet’s formation can
only be found by sensing and studying its “vital signs” far below the surface.
In comparison to the other terrestrial
planets, Mars is neither too big nor too small. This means that it preserves
the record of its formation and can give us insight into how the terrestrial
planets formed. It is the perfect laboratory from which to study the formation
and evolution of rocky planets. Scientists know that Mars has low levels of
geological activity. But a lander like InSight can also reveal just how active
Mars really is.
What’s important?
For Prelims and Mains: InSights mission and
its significance, MarCo.
Sources: et.
Topic: Awareness in space.
Sentinel-3B satellite
Context: The European Union has successfully
managed to launch its new, highly-advanced Sentinel Earth observation satellite
into space. The earth observing satellite is called Sentinel-3B and it flew to
space atop a Russian Rockot launcher.
Key facts:
§ The main aim of the Sentinel-3B satellite is
to monitor the Earth’s ocean. Along with that it will map the vegetation growth
on the earth surface and will measure the thinning ice sheets.
§ The Sentinel-3B was the seventh rocket that
was launched by the European Union for its ambitious Copernicus mission.
About Copernicus programme:
§ Copernicus is the most ambitious Earth
observation programme to date. It will provide accurate, timely and easily
accessible information to improve the management of the environment, understand
and mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure civil security.
§ Copernicus is the new name for the Global
Monitoring for Environment and Security programme, previously known as GMES.
§ This initiative is headed by the European
Commission (EC) in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA).
§ ESA coordinates the delivery of data from
upwards of 30 satellites. The EC, acting on behalf of the European Union, is
responsible for the overall initiative, setting requirements and managing the
services.
§ Services provided by Copernicus: land
management, the marine environment, atmosphere, emergency response, security
and climate change.
§ Sentinel: ESA is developing a new family of
satellites, called Sentinels, specifically for the operational needs of the
Copernicus programme. The Sentinels will provide a unique set of observations,
starting with the all-weather, day and night radar images.
What’s important?
For Prelims and Mains: Copernicus programme
and its significance.
Sources: et.
Topic: conservation.
Great Barrier Reef
Context: Australia has pledged Aus $500 million
($379 million) in new funding to restore and protect the Great Barrier Reef.
The reef is a critical national asset, contributing Aus$6.4 billion a year to
the Australian economy.
Threats to the great barrier reef:
§ It is reeling from significant bouts of coral
bleaching due to warming sea temperatures linked to climate change.
§ It is also under threat from the coral-eating
crown-of-thorns starfish, which has proliferated due to pollution and
agricultural run-off. The predator starfish feeds on corals by spreading its
stomach over them and using digestive enzymes to liquefy tissue.
§ With its heavy use of coal-fired power and
relatively small population, Australia is considered one of the world’s worst
per-capita greenhouse gas polluters.
About the Great barrier reef:
§ The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest
coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands
stretching for over 2,300 kilometres over an area of approximately 344,400
square kilometres.
§ The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the
coast of Queensland, Australia.
§ The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer
space and is the world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms.
§ This reef structure is composed of and built
by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps.
§ It was selected as a World Heritage Site in
1981.
What’s important?
For Prelims and Mains: Great barrier reef and
its significance.
Sources: the hindu.
Facts for Prelims:
International Buddhist Conference:
Context: As part of 2562nd Buddha Jayanti
celebrations, International Buddhist Conference was held in Lumbini, the birth
place of Gautama Buddha.
The basic objective of the conference was to
disseminate teachings of Gautam Buddha and spread the messages of nonviolence,
brotherhood, co-existence, love and peace to the international community.
Trapdoor matriarch:
What is it? It is the world’s oldest known
spider which died recently at the ripe old age of 43 after being monitored for
years during a long-term population study in Australia.
Key facts:
The trapdoor matriarch comfortably outlived
the previous record holder, a 28-year-old tarantula found in Mexico.
What is underwriting rule?
Context: The Securities Appellate Tribunal
(SAT) has asked the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to review the
regulations for underwriting of a public issue, the model agreement for which
was framed back in 1993 and has since been in operation.
What is underwriting? Underwriting is the
mechanism by which a merchant banker gives an undertaking that in the event of
an initial public offer (IPO) remaining undersubscribed, the banker would
subscribe to unsold shares. The underwriting clause, mandatory in all SME IPOs,
ensures the issue does not fail due to low demand from investors.
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