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  • Biju Patnaik: The flying ace who helped Indian and foreign freedom movements 

     

     

    Recently, 104th birth anniversary of former Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik was celebrated. He was a decorated freedom fighter. PM tweeted an Intelligence Bureau document from 1945 to show how Patnaik bravely lent his flying skills to rescue freedom fighters like Ram Manohar Lohia.

    Biju Pattnaik

    • Bijayananda Patnaik (1916-1997), popularly known as Biju Patnaik, was an Indian politician, aviator and businessman. As politician, he served twice as the Chief Minister of the State of Odisha.
    • It is well known that Biju Patnaik actively helped freedom fighters in the 1940s.
    • His daring was evident as he actively joined the Quit India movement in 1942 and collaborated with the underground leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Aruna Asif Ali and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, even while in the British service.
    • Patnaik was imprisoned by the British Government for three years later.

    Role in foreign freedom struggles

    • As an officer in the Royal Indian Air Force in the early 1940s, Patnaik flew innumerable sorties to rescue British families fleeing the Japanese advance on Rangoon, the capital of Burma.
    • He also dropped arms and supplies to Chinese troops fighting the Japanese and later to the Soviet army struggling against Hitler’s onslaught near Stalingrad.
    • On the 50th anniversary of the end of the war, Patnaik was honoured by the Russians for his help,” the obit noted.
    • Interestingly, Nehru entrusted Patnaik with rescuing Indonesian resistance fighters who were fighting their Dutch colonisers.
    • Accompanied by wife Gyanwati, “the lanky pilot flew an old Dakota aircraft to Singapore en route to Jakarta where the rebels were entrenched” in 1948.
    • Dodging the Dutch guns, he entered Indonesian airspace and landed on an improvised airstrip near Jakarta.
    • Using left-over fuel from abandoned Japanese military dumps, Patnaik took off with prominent rebels, including Sultan Shariyar and Achmad Sukarno, for a secret meeting with Nehru at New Delhi.

  • The Central Sanskrit Universities Bill, 2019

     

     

    The Union Minister of HRD has introduced The Central Sanskrit Universities Bill, 2019 in Rajya Sabha.

    Central Sanskrit Universities Bill, 2019

    The Bill is intended to convert India’s three deemed-to-be Sanskrit universities — (i) Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, New Delhi, (ii) Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, New Delhi, and (iii) Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, Tirupati — into Central Sanskrit Universities.

    The following are the salient features of the Bill:

    What the universities will do

    The proposed central universities will:

    1. disseminate and advance knowledge for the promotion of Sanskrit,
    2. make special provisions for integrated courses in humanities, social sciences, and science, and
    3. train manpower for the overall development and preservation of Sanskrit and allied subjects.

    Powers and functions

    These include:

    1. prescribing courses of study and conducting training programmes,
    2. granting degrees, diplomas, and certificates,
    3. providing facilities through a distance education system,
    4. conferring autonomous status on a college or an institution,
    5. providing instructions for education in Sanskrit and allied subjects.

    University authorities

    Some of the authorities that the universities will have:

    • A court, which will review the policies of the university and suggest measures for its development.
    • An Executive Council, which will be the principal executive body. The 15-member council will include the Vice-Chancellor appointed by the Centre, who will be the chairperson; a joint secretary of the Ministry of HRD, and two eminent academics from the field of Sanskrit or allied subjects.
    • The council will, among other functions, create teaching and academic posts and their appointment, and manage the revenue and property of the university.
    • An Academic and Activity Council, which will supervise academic policies.
    • A Board of Studies, which will approve the subjects for research and recommend measures to improve standards of teaching.

    Visitor of the universities

    • Like at all central universities, the President of India will be the Visitor of the central Sanskrit universities.
    • He may appoint persons to review and inspect the functioning of the University.
    • The Executive Council may take action based on the findings of the inspection.

  • [pib] Various schemes implemented by Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs)

    The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has informed about its various schemes in the Lok Sabha.

    Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs)

    • To preserve & promote various forms of folk art and culture of the tribals throughout the country including West Bengal, the govt. has set up seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs).
    • These are headquartered at Patiala, Nagpur, Udaipur, Prayagraj, Kolkata, Dimapur and Thanjavur.
    • These ZCCs organize various cultural activities and programmes all over the country on regular basis.

    These ZCCs under Ministry of Culture are also implementing a number of schemes for promoting the folk/tribal art and culture, details of which are as below –

    1) Award to Young Talented Artists:

    • The Scheme “Young Talented Artists” is carried out to encourage and recognize the young talents especially in the field of rare art forms.
    • Talented youngsters of the age group of 18-30 years are selected and given a one-time  cash award of Rs. 10,000/-.

    2) Guru Shishya Parampara:

    • This scheme envisages transmitting our valued traditions to the coming generations. Disciples are trained under veterans in art forms which are rare and vanishing.
    • Rare and vanishing art forms of the region are identified and eminent exponents are selected to carry out the training programmes in ‘Gurukula’ tradition.
    • The monthly remuneration for Guru – Rs. 7,500/-, Accompanist – Rs. 3,750/- and        Pupils – Rs. 1,500/- each for the period of six month to maximum 1 year for one scheme.
    • The names of the Gurus are recommended by the State Cultural Affairs Departments.

    3) National Cultural Exchange Programme (NCEP):

    • It can be termed as the lifeline of the Zonal Cultural Centers. Under this scheme, various festivals of performing arts, exhibitions, yatras etc are organized in member States.
    • Artists from other zones/states are invited to participate in these programmes. Participation of artists from the Zone in festivals held in other parts of the country are also facilitated.
    • Zonal centres also participate in Major festivals happening in member States by arranging performances during these festivals where large number of audience get chance to enjoy and understand art forms of other regions.
    • These festivals provide opportunity to taste and understand various cultures of our country.

    4) Preservation of Languages

    • Sahitya Akademi, an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, encourages the preservation and promotion of languages, especially the unrecognized and tribal languages.
    • The Akademi periodically organizes language conventions throughout the country in this regard.

    5) Theatre Rejuvenation:

    • To promote theatre activities including stage shows and Production oriented workshops, etc. Honorarium Up to Rs. 30,000/- per show excluding TA & DA is paid.
    • The groups finalized on the basis their credentials as well as the merit of project submitted by them.

    6) Research & Documentation:

    • To preserve promote and propagate vanishing visual and performing art forms including folk, tribal and classical in the field of music, dance, theatre, literature, fine arts etc. in print/ audio – visual media.
    • The art form is finalized in consultation with state Cultural Department.

    7) Shilpgram:  To promote folk and tribal art and crafts of the zone by organizing seminar, workshops, exhibitions, craft fairs, design development and marketing support to the artisans living in the rural areas.

    8) Octave:  To promote and propagate the rich cultural heritage of North East region comprising of eight States namely Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura to the rest of India.

  • [pib] India’s nominations for 2020 World Heritage List

    Government of India has submitted two nomination dossiers namely ‘Dholavira: A Harappan City’ and ‘Monuments and Forts of Deccan Sultanate’ for inclusion in the World Heritage List for the year 2020.  Govt. of Madhya Pradesh has submitted the proposal of ‘Group of Monuments at Mandu’ in the year 2019.

    What are World Heritage Sites?

    • A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area, selected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for having cultural, historical, scientific or other forms of significance, which is legally protected by international treaties.
    • The sites are judged to be important for the collective and preservative interests of humanity.
    • To be selected, a WHS must be an already-classified landmark, unique in some respect as a geographically and historically identifiable place having special cultural or physical significance (such as an ancient ruin or historical structure, building, city, complex, desert, forest, island, lake, monument, mountain, or wilderness area).
    • It may signify a remarkable accomplishment of humanity, and serve as evidence of our intellectual history on the planet.
    • The sites are intended for practical conservation for posterity, which otherwise would be subject to risk from human or animal trespassing, unmonitored/uncontrolled/unrestricted access, or threat from local administrative negligence.
    • The list is maintained by the international World Heritage Program administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 “states parties” that are elected by their General Assembly.

    UNESCO World Heritage Committee

    • The World Heritage Committee selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger.
    • It monitors the state of conservation of the World Heritage properties, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties.
    • It is composed of 21 states parties that are elected by the General Assembly of States Parties for a four-year term.
    • India is NOT a member of this Committee.
    • Recently, its 42nd meeting in 2018 was held in Manama Bahrain.

    Also read:

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/pib-india-gets-its-37th-unesco-world-heritage-site/

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/jaipur-gets-unesco-world-heritage-tag/

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/orchha-on-unesco-world-heritage-sites-tentative-list/

     

    Read more about the Tentative lists from India at:

    http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/IN

  • Explained: Marine Heatwave (MHW)

     

     

    Scientists have observed unusually high sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the Pacific Ocean around the western coast of the United States.  This marine heatwave (MHW), covering an area of roughly 6.5 million square kilometres, can affect marine life and lead to droughts in the surrounding regions.

    What are MHWs?

    • We know that heatwaves occur in the atmosphere. We are all familiar with these extended periods of excessively hot weather.
    • However, heatwaves can also occur in the ocean and these are known as marine heatwaves, or MHWs.
    • These marine heatwaves, when ocean temperatures are extremely warm for an extended period of time can have significant impacts on marine ecosystems and industries.

    When do they occur?

    • Heatwaves can happen in summer and also in winter, where they are known as “winter warm-spells”.
    • These winter events can have important impacts, such as in the southeast of Australia where the spiny sea urchin can only colonize further south when winter temperatures are above 12 °C.

    What causes marine heatwaves?

    • Marine heatwaves can be caused by a whole range of factors, and not all factors are important for each event.
    • The most common drivers of marine heatwaves include ocean currents which can build up areas of warm water and air-sea heat flux, or warming through the ocean surface from the atmosphere.
    • Winds can enhance or suppress the warming in a marine heatwave, and climate modes like El Niño can change the likelihood of events occurring in certain regions.
    • MHWs can be caused due to large-scale drivers of the Earth’s climate like the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

    Impacts of the MHWs

    • Marine heatwaves affect ecosystem structure, by supporting certain species and suppressing others.
    • For example, after the 2011 marine heatwave in Western Australia the fish communities had a much more “tropical” nature than previously and switched from kelp forests to seaweed turfs.
    • Marine heatwaves can cause economic losses through impacts on fisheries and aquaculture.
    • Temperature-sensitive species such as corals are especially vulnerable to MHWs. In 2016, marine heatwaves across northern Australia led to severe bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef.

    How do we measure marine heatwaves?

    • A marine heatwave occurs when seawater temperatures exceed a seasonally-varying threshold (usually the 90th percentile) for at least 5 consecutive days.
    • Successive heatwaves with gaps of 2 days or less are considered part of the same event.

    Why study MHWs?

    • MHWs are increasing in frequency due to climate change. MHWs increased by 54 per cent in the last 30 years.
    • Despite their potential impact on the health of marine ecosystems, MHWs remain one of the least studied consequences of global warming.

    Way Forward

    • Marine heatwaves clearly have the potential to devastate marine ecosystems and cause economic losses in fisheries, aquaculture, and ecotourism industries.
    • However, their effects are often hidden from view under the waves until it is too late.
    • By raising general awareness of these phenomena, and by improving our scientific understanding of their physical properties and ecological impacts, we can better predict future conditions and protect vulnerable marine habitats and resources.

  • Red Snow in Antarctica

     

     

    Over the last few weeks, photographs of “red snow” off the coast of Antarctica’s northernmost peninsula, have gone viral. “Red snow” or “watermelon” is a phenomenon that has been known since ancient times. Now, it raises concerns about climate change.

    Red snow in Antarctica: Why it happens 

    • Aristotle is believed to be one of the first to give a written account of red snow, over 2,000 years ago.
    • What Aristotle described as worms and grub, the scientific world today calls algae.
    • This alga species, Chlamydomonas Chlamydomonas nivalis, exists in the snow in the polar and glacial regions and carries a red pigment to keep itself warm.

    Signs of faster melting 

    • In turn, the red snow causes the surrounding ice to melt faster. The more the algae packed together, the redder the snow.
    • And the darker the tinge, the more the heat absorbed by the snow. Subsequently, the ice melts faster.
    • While the melt is good for the microbes that need the liquid water to survive and thrive, it’s bad for glaciers that are already melting from a myriad of other causes, the study said.
    • These algae change the snow’s albedo — which refers to the amount of light or radiation the snow surface is able to reflect back. Changes in albedo lead to more melting.

  • [pib] Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)

     

     

    The INCOIS Hyderabad has launched a trio of products for users in the marine realm.

    About INCOIS

    • The institute is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
    • INCOIS prioritises requests for specific services from its diverse user community that ranges right from fishermen to offshore oil exploration industries.

    Products launched:

    Small Vessel Advisory and Forecast Services System (SVAS)  

    The SVAS is an innovative impact-based advisory and forecast service system for small vessels operating in Indian coastal waters.

    • The SVA system warns users about potential zones where vessel overturning can take place, ten days in advance.
    • The advisories are valid for small vessels of beam width up to 7 m.
    • This limit covers the entire range of beam widths of the fishing vessels used in all the 9 coastal states and union territories of India.
    • The warning system is based on the  ‘Boat Safety Index’ (BSI) derived from wave model forecast outputs such as significant wave height, wave steepness, directional spread and the rapid development of wind at sea which is boat-specific.

    Swell Surge Forecast System (SSFS)

    SSFS is an innovative system designed for the prediction of Kallakkadal/Swell Surge that occurs along the Indian coast, particularly the west coast.

    • Kallakadal/Swell surge are flash-flood events that take place without any noticeable advance change in local winds or any other apparent signature in the coastal environment.
    • Hence the local population remains totally unaware of these flooding events until they actually occur. Such events are intermittent throughout the year.
    • Kallakkadal is a colloquial term used by Kerala fishermen to refer to the freaky flooding episodes and in 2012 UNESCO formally accepted this term for scientific use.
    • Kallakkadal are caused by meteorological conditions in the Southern Ocean, south of 30°S.
    • These swells once generated, travel northward and reach the Indian coasts in 3-5 days time, creating havoc in the coastal areas.
    • The system will now predict Kallakkadal and warnings will be given to concerned authorities at least 2-3 days in advance, which will help the local authorities for contingency plans and to reduce damage.

    Algal Bloom Information Service (ABIS)

    • The increasing frequency of algal blooms is a major concern due to its ill effects on the fishery, marine life and water quality.
    • INCOIS has developed a service for “Detection and Monitoring of Bloom in the Indian Seas”.
    • The target users are fishermen, marine fishery resource managers, researchers, ecologists and environmentalists.
    • The service also complements INCOIS’ marine fishing advisories i.e. Potential Fishing Zone advisories.
    • INCOIS-ABIS will provide near-real-time information on spatio-temporal occurrence and spread of phytoplankton blooms over the North Indian Ocean.
    • In addition, four regions have been identified as bloom hotspots viz.

    a) North Eastern Arabian Sea

    b) coastal waters off Kerala

    c) Gulf of Mannar and

    d) coastal waters of Gopalpur

  • Solar Storms

     

    According to a research, sudden releases of high-energy particles from the sun, called solar storms, can mess with the navigational ability of gray whales, causing them to strand on land.

    Solar storms

    • Solar storms are a variety of eruptions of mass and energy from the solar surface.
    • Flares, prominences, sunspots, coronal mass ejections are the common harbingers of solar activity, as are plages and other related phenomena seen at other wavelengths.

    Impact on Whales

    • Solar storms have the potential to modify geomagnetic field and disrupt magnetic orientation behaviour of animals, hampering their navigation during long periods of migration.
    • They disrupt earth’s magnetic field — and the whales’ navigational sense.
    • The radio frequency noise created by the solar outburst affects the whales’ senses in a way that prevents them from navigating at all.

  • Yongle Blue Hole (YBH)

     

    Carbon more than 8,000 years old has been found inside the world’s deepest blue hole — the Yongle Blue Hole (YBH).

    Yongle Blue Hole (YBH)

    • The deepest known marine cavern is the Yongle blue hole, which measures roughly 300 metres from top to bottom.
    • Blue holes are marine caverns filled with water and are formed following dissolution of carbonate rocks, usually under the influence of global sea level rise or fall.
    • Its waters are mostly isolated from the surrounding ocean and receive little fresh water from rainfall, making it a rare spot to study the chemistry of oxygen-deprived marine ecosystems.
    • What distinguishes them from other aquatic caverns is that they are isolated from the ocean and don’t receive fresh rainwater.
    • They are generally circular, steep-walled and open to surface.

    Significance of YBH

    • YBH has a depth of 300 metres, far deeper than the previously recorded deepest blue hole, Dean’s Blue Hole in Bahamas, which had a depth of 202 metres.
    • However, like most blue holes, it is anoxic i.e. depleted of dissolved oxygen below a certain depth. This anaerobic environment is unfavorable for most sea life.
    • Such anoxic ecosystems are considered a critical environmental and ecological issue as they have led to several mass extinctions.
    • Concentrations of carbon, usually found in deep marine holes like YBH, provide a natural laboratory to study carbon cycling and potential mechanisms controlling it in the marine ecosystem.
    • The transition from aerobic to anaerobic environment adversely affects the biogeo-chemistry of the ocean.

  • Taj Mahal Complex

    The Taj Mahal complex has been spruced up for the visit of US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

    About Taj

    • The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the city of Agra.
    • It was commissioned in 1632 by Shah Jahan (reigned from 1628 to 1658) to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself.
    • The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.
    • The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million rupees, which in 2015 would be approximately 52.8 billion rupees (U.S. $827 million).
    • The construction project employed some 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by the court architect to the emperor, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.
    • The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”.

    Various threats to Taj

    • The Supreme Court had earlier expressed concern over the marble of the Taj changing colour, and asked how the white marble, which had first become yellowish, was now turning brownish and greenish.
    • Firstly, the polluting industries and the vehicular emissions in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) area are a major source of pollution.
    • The second reason is that the Yamuna River, which flows behind the Taj, has become highly polluted.
    • There is no aquatic life in it, and has caused insect and algae infestation on the Taj Mahal and other monuments situated on its banks.

    Use of mud packs

    • Increasing pollution in the air over the Gangetic Valley affecting the Taj has been a reason for concern for archaeologists and conservationists for long now.
    • Mud packs were applied on the surface of the monument first in 1994, and then again in 2001, 2008, and, most recently, beginning 2014.
    • Mud packs have been one of the ASI’s favoured ways to remove the yellow stains that have appeared over the years on the Taj Mahal’s white marble facade.
    • The clay is applied in the form of a thick paste that absorbs the grime, grease and bird droppings on the marble, before being washed off using distilled water.
    • The process is slow and tortuous, but is believed to leave the marble cleaner and shinier.
    • The intricate parts are applied with special “multani mitti’ (Fuller’s clay) treatment.