Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sharang
Mains level: Modernisation measures of the Indian Army
The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has handed over Sharang, the first 130mm M-46 artillery gun upgraded to 155mm to the Indian Army.
About Sharang
- Sharang is the 130mm artillery gun ‘up-gunned’ to 155mm, 45 calibre up-gunning based on the Army’s tender.
- The gun’s range has now gone from 27km to over 36km with the upgrade.
- It also has more explosive capability and hence and more damage potential.
- This step will reduce the logistic trail of the Army as it does away with the need to carry 130mm shells and support equipment as the mainstay of the Army’s long range artillery is 155mm guns.
Other artilleries of Indian Army
- After close to three decades, the Army inducted its first modern artillery guns system in November 2018.
- These include M-777 Ultra Light Howitzers (ULH) from the U.S. and K9 Vajra-T self-propelled artillery guns from South Korea.
- The Army has the older, battle-proven Bofors 155mm guns in service. The 155mm Dhanush towed gun system, developed based on the Bofors guns by OFB, is under induction.
- In October last year, the Army procured and inducted 155mm Excalibur precision guided ammunition from the U.S. which gives its 155mm artillery guns extended range and also the ability to hit targets with very high accuracy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Euthermia
Mains level: Not Much
Euthermia refers to normal body temperature. The thermometer reading of 98.6°F has been a gold standard for a century and a half, ever since a German doctor laid it down as the “normal” body temperature. A new research has found that body temperatures have, in fact, been declining over the last two centuries.
Why we follow 98.6°F?
- In 1851, Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich pioneered the use of the clinical thermometer.
- It was a rod a foot long, which he would stick under the armpits of patients at the hospital attached with Leipzig University, and then wait for 15 minutes (some accounts say 20 minutes) for the temperature to register.
- He took over a million measurements of 25,000 patients, and published his findings in a book in 1868, in which he concluded that the average human body temperature is 98.6°F.
- Most modern scientists feel Wunderlich’s experiments were flawed, and his equipment inaccurate.
- Another study concluded that the average human body temperature is closer to 98.2°F, and suggested that the 98.6°F benchmark be discarded.
The body is cooler
- The Stanford University the researchers confirmed some known trends — body temperature is higher in younger people, in women, in larger bodies and at later times of the day.
- Additionally, they found that the bodies of men born in the early to mid-1990s is on average 1.06°F cooler than those of men born in the early 1800s.
- And the body temperature of women born in the early to mid-1990s is on average 0.58°F lower than that of women born in the 1890s.
- The calculations from the research correspond to a decrease in body temperature of 0.05°F every decade.
Why there’s decrease in body temperature?
- The researchers have proposed that the decrease in body temperature is the result of changes in the environment over the past 200 years, which have in turn driven physiological changes.
- The decrease in average body temperature in the US, they said, could be explained by a reduction in metabolic rate, or the amount of energy being used.
- The environment that we’re living in has changed, including the temperature in our homes, our contact with microorganisms and the food that we have access to.
- Actually the human body is changing physiologically.
So what’s the normal temperature?
- The strong influences of age, time of day, and genders determine the healthy body temperature.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Brahadeeswarar Temple
Mains level: Temple Architecture
- Tens of thousands of pilgrims thronged Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu’s Cauvery delta to witness the Kumbhabishegam (consecration) ceremony at the Sri Brahadeeswarar Temple.
- This enormously significant event was held after 23 years — and after the Madras High Court had settled an old argument over the ritual purification process only five days previously.
- The judgment delivered by the Madurai Bench of the court addressed the struggle for supremacy between the Sanskrit and Tamil traditions.
Sri Brahadeeswarar Temple and Kumbhabishegam ceremony
- The Sri Brahadeeswarar Temple (also spelt Brihadisvara, and called Peruvudaiyar Koyil, which translates simply to ‘Big Temple’) is the most famous of the many temples in Thanjavur.
- The temple, one of the world’s largest and grandest, was built between 1003 AD and 1010 AD by the great Chola emperor Raja Raja I (c. 985-1014 AD).
Before the High Court
- The court, in a dispute over which language should be used in the slokas at the kumbhabishegam, agreed with the state government’s affidavit that the ceremony should be in both Sanskrit and Tamil.
- The Temple committee had demanded that the Kumbhabishegam should be held only in Tamil.
- The court ruled the choice to be vested with the devotees to seek for their archanas to be performed at their wishes by chanting the manthras either in Tamil or in Sanskrit.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UNU-INWEH
Mains level: Need for wastewater management
The world generates about 380 trillion litres (tl) wastewater every year. These stores vast amounts of energy, nutrients for fertilizers besides, of course, water, according to recent study by the UN Institute for Water Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH).
Energy in wastewater
- In principle, nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium recovered from wastewater produced annually can offset 13.4 per cent of global demand to produce fertilizers.
- Assuming full-energy recovery, the study estimated, current wastewater volume could provide enough methane fuel to power 196 million households by 2030 and 239 million households by 2050.
- Usable water reclaimed from wastewater can irrigate up to 31 million hectares (mha) of land, the study claimed.
- The volume of wastewater being generated is projected to rise roughly 24 per cent by 2030 to 470 tl and 51 per cent by 2050 to 574 tl.
- Treating wastewater efficiently can go a long way in achieving the UN-mandated sustainable development goals (SDG).
About UNU-INWEH
- UNU-INWEH acts as the “UN Think Tank on Water” and contributes to the resolution of the global water challenge through a unique programme of applied research and education.
- It conceives, develops, and manages water initiatives that help developing countries build their capacity for lasting improvements in human and ecosystem health, and overall reduction in poverty.
- The University is not a traditional university in the sense of having a faculty, campus, or students.
- They respond directly to the regional and global water crisis and facilitate efforts to meet UN Development goals by providing a scientific evidence base.
- UNU-INWEH carries out its work in cooperation with other research institutions, international organizations, individual scholars, and scientists throughout the world.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PTA and its uses
Mains level: Not Much
- During her Budget speech, FM Mrs. Sitharaman said that the government was abolishing in “public interest” an anti-dumping duty that was levied on imports of a chemical called PTA.
- Domestic manufacturers of polyester have called the move a huge relief for the industry, claiming they had been fighting to remove the duty for four-and-a-half years.
What is PTA?
- Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) is a crucial raw material used to make various products, including polyester fabrics.
- PTA makes up for around 70-80% of a polyester product and is, therefore, important to those involved in the manufacture of man-made fabrics or their components, according to industry executives.
- This includes products like polyester staple fibre and spun yarn.
- Our cushions and sofas may have polyester staple fibre fillings. Some sportswear, swimsuits, dresses, trousers, curtains, sofa covers, jackets, car seat covers and bed sheets have a certain proportion of polyester in them.
What led to the government decision?
- There has been persistent demand that they should be allowed to source that particular product at an affordable rate, even if it means importing it.
- She had said easy availability of this “critical input” at competitive prices was desirable to unlock “immense” potential in the textile sector, seen as a “significant” employment generator.
- The duty had meant importers were paying an extra $27-$160 for every 1,000 kg of PTA that they wanted to import from countries like China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran, Korea and Thailand.
- Removing the duty will allow PTA users to source from international markets and may make it as much as $30 per 1,000 kg cheaper than now, according to industry executives.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Velutheeyam
Mains level: Not Much
A tri-metal sculpture of Jesus Christ( Healing Christ) in Thiruvalla, Kerala has entered the Universal Records Forum’s (URF) book of world records.
Velutheeyam
- The statue was sculpted with an alloy of zinc, copper, and velutheeyam (an alloy of tin and aluminium).
- A URF team adjudged that the 368-cm tall statue, weighing 2,400 kg, is the largest one of its kind in the world.
- It took 18 months for sculpting the statue.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Archimedes Principle
Mains level: NA
Recently, Archimedes Principle was used in Jharkhand to rescue baby elephant stuck in a well. The rescue team filled the well with water using motorized pipes, after which the struggling elephant floated to the top and was able to climb out through a ramp placed for it.
What is the ‘Archimedes Principle’?
- In physics, the Archimedes Principle refers to the law of buoyancy (the ability or tendency of something to float in water or other fluids).
- According to the principle, when an object is completely or partially submerged in a fluid, whether gas or liquid, it is acted upon by an upward force (buoyancy) equal to the weight of the fluid it has displaced.
- The force acting downward on the object is the weight of the object. The upward force is the one given by the Archimedes Principle.
- The difference between the two forces is the net force acting on the object.
- If the buoyant force is more than the weight, the object rises; if it is less, the object sinks.
- If the net force is zero, the object remains in place, and neither rises nor sinks.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Iconic sites mentioned in the newscard
Mains level: Ancient Indian architecture
The Union Govt. has proposed to set up an Indian Institute of Heritage and Conservation under the Ministry of Culture, and develop five archaeological sites as “iconic sites” with onsite museums in Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Hastinapur (Uttar Pradesh), Sivsagar (Assam), Dholavira (Gujarat) and Adichanallur (Tamil Nadu).
Rakhigarhi
- Rakhigarhi in Haryana’s Hissar district is one of the most prominent and largest sites of the Harappan civilization.
- It is one among the five known townships of the Harappan civilization in the Indian subcontinent.
- In one of the excavations, the skeletal remains of a couple were discovered.
- Interestingly, of the 62 graves discovered in Rakhigarhi, only this particular grave consisted of more than one skeletal remains and of individuals of the opposite sex together.
Hastinapur
- Excavations at Hastinapur, in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, were led by Dr B B Lal, who was at the time Superintendent of the Excavations Branch of the ASI.
- Hastinapur finds mention in the Mahabharata and the Puranas.
- One of the most significant discoveries made at this site was of the “new ceramic industry”, which was named the Painted Grey Ware, which as per the report represented the relics of the early Indo-Aryans.
- The sites of Hastinapur, Mathura, Kurukshetra, Barnawa, etc., are identifiable with those of the same name mentioned in the Mahabharata.
- If that be so, the Painted Grey Ware would be associated with the early settlers on these sites, viz. The Pauravas, Panchalas, etc., who formed a part of the early Aryan stock in India.
- Such an association may also explain the synchronism between the appearance of the Painted Grey Ware in the Ghaggar-Sutlej valleys and the probable date of the arrival of the Aryans in that area.”
Sivasagar
- In Sivasagar, excavations at the Karenghar (Talatalghar) complex between 2000 and 2003 led to the discovery of buried structures in the north-western and north-eastern side of the complex.
- Among the structural remains found at the site were ceramic assemblages including vases, vessels, dishes, and bowls, etc. Terracotta smoking pipes were also found.
- Another excavation site in Sivasagar district is the Garhgaon Raja’s palace. Excavation at this site was conducted during 2007-2008.
- A burnt-brick wall running in north-south orientation was found, along with the remains of two huge circular wooden posts.
Dholavira
- Dholavira in Gujarat is located in the Khadir island of the Rann of Kutch, and like Rakhigarhi is one of the sites where the remains of the Harappan civilization have been found.
- Dholavira is unique because remains of a complete water system have been found here.
- The people who lived there for an estimated 1,200 years during the Harappan civilization are noted for their water conservation system using rainwater harvesting techniques in an otherwise parched landscape.
Adichnallur
- Adichnallur lies in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu.
- The urn-burial site was first brought to light during a “haphazard excavation” by a German archaeologist in 1876. Following this, an Englishman Alexander Rae excavated the site between 1889 and 1905.
- Over the years, the site has gained attention because of three important findings: the discovery of an ancient Tamil-Brahmi script on the inside of an urn containing a full human skeleton, a fragment of a broken earthenware, and the remains of living quarters.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Read the attached story
Mains level: Not Much
Finance Minister has quoted four poets in her Budget speech: Pt. Dinanath Nadim, Avvaiyar, Thiruvalluvar and Kalidas, a sweep from Tamil Nadu to Kashmir, from ancient to contenporary India.
Dinanath Nadim
- The Kashmiri nationalist poet Dinanath Nadim was at the centre of Kashmir’s progressive movement, especially in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.
- Nadim was born in 1916, and passed away in 1988. Nadim wrote in Kashmiri, Hindi and Urdu, and inspired a powerful tradition of Kashmiri poetry.
- Nadim received the Sahitya Akademi award in 1986 for his opera Shuhul Kull (The Shady Tree).
- Among his other well known works are Vitasta (Jhelum River), Safar Taa Shehjaar (The Journey And The Shade), Heemaal Taa Naaegrai (Heemaal and Naagraaj), and Bombur Taa Yamberzal (The Bumble Bee And The Narcissus Flower).
Avvaiyar
- Avvaiyar translates to “Respected Woman”, and the title was used by several woman poets who contributed to Tamil literature during different periods of time.
- In the Budget’s section on “Aspirational India”, Sitharaman said, “Our government shall encourage balanced use of all kinds of fertilizers including the traditional organic and other innovative fertilizers.
- This is a necessary step to change the prevailing incentive regime, which encourages excessive use of chemical fertilisers.”
- She quoted from Aaathichoodi’s verse 81 which translate to “first tend to till one’s land and then eat. One must eat only after work.”
Thiruvalluvar
- Thiruvalluvar is fondly referred to as Valluvar by Tamils. His ‘Tirukkural’, a collection of 1,330 couplets (‘kurals’ in Tamil), are an essential part of every Tamil household.
- It holds importance in the same way the Bhagavad Gita or the Ramayana are in traditional North Indian Hindu households.
- He is an essential anchor for Tamils in tracing their cultural roots; Tamils are taught to learn his couplets word-for-word, and to follow his teachings in their day-to-day living.
- FM quoted Thiruvalluvar: “Pini Inmai Selvam Vilaivu Inbam Emam Ani Enba”, which loosely translates to having the “five jewels” required for a country that is without illness, with wealth, with good crops, with happiness, as well as safety and security.
Kalidas
- Kalidas, the legendary Sanskrit scholar, is believed to have lived during the middle of the fourth and early fifth centuries AD, during the reigns of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya and Kumaragupta.
- Raghuvamsa, from which FM quoted, is one of two long epic poems written by Kalidas.
- She mentioned the 18th verse: “Surya, the Sun, collects vapour from little drops of water. So does the King. They give back copiously. They collect only for people’s wellbeing.”
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Yellow rust, Pusa Yashasvi
Mains level: Not Much
Yellow Rust was detected in wheat crops in parts of Punjab and Haryana.
Yellow Rust
- Yellow Rust disease appears as yellow stripes of powder or dust on leaves and leaf sheaths of the wheat crop. This yellow powder comes out on clothing or fingers when touched.
- This occurs when the rust colonies in the leaves drain the carbohydrates from the plant and reduce the green leaf area.
- In India, it is a major disease in the Northern Hill Zone and the North-Western Plain Zone and spreads easily during the onset of cool weather and when wind conditions are favourable.
- Rain, dew and fog favour the disease’s development.
Impact of the disease
- The disease can spread rapidly under congenial conditions and affects crop development, and eventually the yield.
- Yield due to the disease can affected by between 5 and 30 per cent.
- According to the IIWBR advisory, if farmers observe yellow rust in patches in their wheat fields, they should spray fungicides.
Other facts: Pusa Yashasvi
- Last year, a new variety of wheat called HD-3226 or Pusa Yashasvi was released by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute.
- It had higher levels of resistance against major rust fungi such as the yellow/stripe, brown/leaf and black/stem.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PCI
Mains level: Terms of reference for PCI
The Union government is likely to announce the setting up of a Plantation Corporation of India in the upcoming budget.
Plantation Corporation of India
- The PCI will subsume all afforestation-related schemes currently underway in India including the Green India Mission, National Afforestation Programme and compensatory afforestation.
- The corporation will use Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) money to undertake the plantations and investment will also come from the global pension fund.
- CAF is a huge corpus of money collected from projects proponents for diverting forest land to be used for non-forestry activity.
Issues with PCI
- Critics have raised concerns over the move’s impact on the federal structure of forest governance in the country.
- While forests are a concurrent subject, land-related issues are the responsibility of the states.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Fruit Train
Mains level: Logistics support for horticulture products
A ‘fruit train’, said to be the first of its kind in India, was flagged off from Tadipatri Railway Station in Anantapur district of Andhra.
About the fruit train
- This is the first time in India that an entire train is being sent to the gateway port (JNPT) for export.
- This helps save both time and fuel as 150 trucks would have been required to send a consignment of this size by road to JNPT, which is over 900 km away, before the temperature-controlled containers are loaded on ships.
- The bananas are being exported under the brand name ‘Happy Bananas’.
- Farmers from Putlur region in Anantapur and Pulivendula in Kadapa district are exporting ‘Green Cavendish’ bananas to many international markets.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nagoba Jatara
Mains level: Not Much
The month long Nagoba Jatara recently concluded in Adilabad dist. of AP.
Nagoba Jatara
- Nagoba Jatara is a tribal festival held in Keslapur village, Inderavelly Mandal[1] Adilabad district, Telangana, India.
- It is the second biggest tribal carnival and celebrated by Mesaram clan of Gond tribes for 10 days.
- Tribal people from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh belonging to the Mesram clan offer prayers at the festival.
- It starts in pushya masam. A ceremony of ‘bheting’ is it’s integral part where the new brides are introduced to the clan god during first jatra afer their marriage
- The few hundred Raj Gond and Pardhan Adivasis, men clad in pure white dhoti-kurta and the pagdi headgear and women in the traditional colourful nau-vari Maharashtrian style saree.
- The temple for which a new structure is coming up is dedicated to the serpent god, known as Shri Shek to the aboriginal people, and is the centre of all activities during the week long festivities.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Beating Retreat Ceremony
Mains level: Not Much
The Beating Retreat ceremony recently took place at Vijay Chowk. The ceremony, which takes place on January 29 every year, marks the culmination of the four-day Republic Day celebrations.
What is the Beating Retreat function?
- ‘Beating Retreat’ marks a centuries old military tradition, when the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms and withdrew from the battlefield and returned to the camps at sunset at the sounding of the Retreat.
- The military tradition began in 17th century England, when King James II ordered his troops to beat drums, lower flags and organise a parade to announce the end of a day of combat.
- The ceremony was then called ‘watch setting’ and took place at sunset after firing a single round from the evening gun.
- The ceremony is currently held by Armed Forces in the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and India, among others.
How did it begin in India?
- Beating the Retreat’ has emerged as an event of national pride when the Colours and Standards are paraded.
- The ceremony traces its origins to the early 1950s when Major Roberts of the Indian Army indigenously developed the unique ceremony of display by the massed bands.
- Section D (Ceremonials) at the Ministry of Defence conducts the event.
- The ceremony consists of musical performances by the bands, who each year play Indian and western tunes.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: No-fly List
Mains level: Not Much
Four airlines in India have banned a stand-up comedian from taking flights after he allegedly heckled television news anchor on-flight.
No-Fly List
- In 2017, the government issued rules for preventing disruptive behaviour by air travellers and laid down guidelines for a no-fly list.
- As per the rules, a complaint of unruly behaviour needs to be filed by the pilot-in-command, and this is to be probed by an internal committee to be set up by the airline.
- During the period of pendency of the inquiry, the rules empower the concerned airline to impose a ban on the passenger.
- The committee is to decide the matter within 30 days, and also specify the ban duration.
- Any aggrieved person, upon receipt of communication of a ban from the airline, may appeal within 60 days from the date of issue of the order, to an Appellate Committee constituted by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Three categories of unruly behaviour:
- Level 1 refers to behaviour that is verbally unruly, and calls for debarment up to three months;
- Level 2 indicates physical unruliness and can lead to the passenger being debarred from flying for up to six months;
- Level 3 indicates life-threatening behaviour for which the debarment would be for a minimum of two years.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: HADR, Op Vanila
Mains level: NA
Indian navy will perform HADR operations in Madagascar under ‘Operation Vanilla’.
Operation Vanilla
- Indian Navy Ship Airavat whilst mission deployed in the Southern Indian Ocean has been diverted to Antsiranana based on request recieved from Madagascar.
- The ship will undertake Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) mission as part of ‘Operation Vanilla’.
- It has been launched to provide assistance to the affected population of Madagascar post devastation caused by Cyclone Diane.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Oslo Peace Accord, West Bank
Mains level: Palestine-Israel conflicts
Palestinian officials threatened to withdraw from key provisions of the Oslo Accords, which define relations with Israel, if U.S. President Donald Trump announces his Middle East peace plan next week.
The Oslo Peace Accord
- The Oslo Accords were a landmark moment in the pursuit of peace in the Middle East.
- Actually a set of two separate agreements signed by the government of Israel and the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)—the militant organization established in 1964 to create a Palestinian state.
- The negotiations between Israel and the PLO that ultimately led to the Oslo Accords began, in secret, in Oslo, Norway, in 1993.
- The Oslo Accords were ratified in Washington, D.C., in 1993 (Oslo I) and in Taba, Egypt, in 1995 (Oslo II).
- Sometimes called Oslo II, the interim agreement set out the scope of Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza.
- The interim pact was only supposed to last five years while a permanent agreement was finalised but it has tacitly been rolled over for more than two decades.
A final nail in the coffin
- World powers have long agreed that Jerusalem’s fate should be settled through negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
- The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state and believe Trump’s plan buries the two-state solution that has been for decades the cornerstone of international Middle East diplomacy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Natrialba Swarupiae, Sambhar Lake
Mains level: Not Much
- Scientists at the National Centre for Microbial Resource — National Centre for Cell Science (NCMR-NCCS) in Pune have reported a new archaeon (a kind of microorganism), which they discovered in Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan.
- The new archaeon has been named Natrialba swarupiae, after Dr Renu Swarup, secretary, Department of Biotechnology, for her initiative in supporting microbial diversity studies in the country.
Archaea
- Archaea (singular archaeon) are a primitive group of microorganisms that thrive in extreme habitats such as hot springs, cold deserts and hypersaline lakes.
- These slow-growing organisms are also present in the human gut, and have a potential relationship with human health.
- They are known for producing antimicrobial molecules, and for anti-oxidant activity with applications in eco-friendly waste-water treatment.
- Archaea are extremely difficult to culture due to challenges in providing natural conditions in a laboratory setting.
- As archaea are relatively poorly studied, very little is known about how archaea behave in the human body.
- The organism has potential gene clusters that helps maintain the metabolism of the archaea to survive in extreme harsh conditions.
Search and discovery
- Sambhar Lake has been poorly studied for microbial ecology studies.
- With a salt production of 0.2 million tonnes per annum, it is also a hypersaline ecosystem which provides an opportunity for microbial ecologists to understand organisms that thrive in such concentrations.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Specialized Supervisory and Regulatory Cadre (SSRC)
Mains level: Governance of RBI
The RBI has decided to recruit 35% of the specialised supervisory and regulatory cadre from the market while the remaining 65% will be recruited via internal promotions.
Specialized Supervisory and Regulatory Cadre (SSRC)
- The SSRC will comprise officers in Grade B to Executive Director level.
- In Nov. last year RBI decided to reorganize its regulation and supervision departments.
- It merged the three regulatory departments (department of banking, non-banking and cooperative bank) into one and did likewise for the three supervisory departments.
- As a result, there is only one supervisory department which looks after supervision of banks, NBFCs and cooperative banks and only one regulatory department for these three.
- The move is aimed at dealing more effectively with potential systemic risk that could come about due to possible supervisory arbitrage and information asymmetry.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Vyoma Mitra
Mains level: Various functions of Vyoma Mitra in ISRO's unmanned missions
ISRO unveiled its first ‘woman’ astronaut during the event ‘Human Spaceflight and Exploration’.
Vyom Mitra
- The AI-based robotic system is being developed at a robotics lab at the VSSC in Thiruvananthapuram.
- Vyom Mitra will be used for an unmanned flight of ISRO’s GSLV III rocket in December 2020, which, along with a second unmanned flight in July 2021.
- This will serve as the test of ISRO’s preparedness for its maiden manned space mission, Gaganyaan, being targeted for 2022 to mark 75 years of India’s independence.
Functions of the humanoid
- Vyommitra, equipped with a head, two arms and a torso, is built to mimic crew activity inside the crew module of Gaganyaan.
- Attaining launch and orbital postures, responding to the environment, generating warnings, replacing carbon dioxide canisters, operating switches, monitoring of the crew module, receiving voice commands, responding via speech (bilingual) are among its functions listed.
- It will have a human-like face, with lips synchronised for movement to mimic speech.
- Once it is fully developed, Vyommitra will be able to use equipment on board the spacecraft’s crew module, like safety mechanisms and switches, as well as receive and act on commands sent from ground stations.
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