Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cat Que Virus
Mains level: Not Much
In a study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, scientists have noted the presence of antibodies against the Cat Que virus (CQV) in two human serum samples.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which one of the following statements is not correct?
(a) Hepatitis B virus is transmitted much like HIV.
(b) Hepatitis B, unlike Hepatitis C, does not have a vaccine.
(c) Globally, the number of people infected with Hepatitis B and C viruses is several times more than those infected with HIV.
(d) Some of those infected with Hepatitis B and C viruses do not show the symptoms for many years.
What is the Cat Que Virus?
- For CQV, domestic pigs are considered to be the primary mammalian hosts.
- Antibodies against the virus indicate that the virus has formed a “natural cycle” in the local area and has the ability to spread in pigs and other animal populations through mosquitoes.
- CQV belongs to the Simbu serogroup and infects both humans and economically important livestock species.
- It was first isolated in 2004 from mosquitoes during the surveillance of arbovirus activity in northern Vietnam.
- In this study, researchers reported a CQV strain (SC0806), which was isolated from mosquito samples collected in China in 2006 and 2008.
Impact on humans
- Humans can get infected through mosquitoes as well.
- In the study, scientists note that because of positivity in human serum samples and the replication capability of CQV in mosquitoes, there is only a “possible disease-causing potential” of CQV in the Indian scenario.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ESG funds
Mains level: Not Much
ESG funds are witnessing a growing interest in the Indian mutual fund industry these days.
Try this PYQ:
Sustainable development is described as the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In this perspective, inherently the concept of sustainable development is intertwined with which of the following concepts?
(a) Social justice and empowerment
(b) Inclusive Growth
(c) Globalization
(d) Carrying capacity
What are the ESG funds?
- ESG means using Environmental, Social and Governance factors to evaluate companies and countries on how far advanced they are with sustainability.
- ESG investing is used synonymously with sustainable investing or socially responsible investing.
- While selecting a stock for investment, the ESG fund shortlists companies that score high on the environment, social responsibility and corporate governance, and then looks into financial factors.
- So, the scheme focuses on companies with environment-friendly practices, ethical business practices and an employee-friendly record.
- They imbibe the environment, social responsibility and corporate governance in their investing process.
Why so much focus on ESG now?
- Modern investors are re-evaluating traditional approaches and look at the impact their investment has on the planet.
- As a result of this paradigm change, asset managers have started incorporating ESG factors into investment practices.
- Companies with good ESG scores tick most of the checkboxes for investing, tend to mitigate environmental and social risks and tends to have stronger cash flows, lower borrowing costs and durable returns.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Chandra Telescope, Chandra X Ray Observatory
Mains level: Not Much
In the cold, dry desert of Ladakh, 4500 meters above the mean sea level, for two decades, the 2-m diameter optical-infrared Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) at the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) has been scanning the night sky for 20 years in search of stellar explosions, comets, asteroids, and exo-planets.
Chandra X-Ray observatory and now, it is Himalayan Chandra Telescope. Do you the key difference? The former is a NASA project while the HCT is the Indian one.
Himalayan Chandra Telescope
- The HCT is a 2.01 meters (6.5 feet) diameter optical-infrared telescope named after India-born Nobel laureate Subrahmanyam Chandrasekhar.
- It contains a modified Ritchey-Chretien system with a primary mirror made of ULE ceramic which is designed to withstand low temperatures it experiences.
- The telescope was manufactured by Electo-Optical System Technologies Inc. at Tucson, Arizona, USA.
- It is mounted with 3 science instruments called Himalaya Faint Object Spectrograph (HFOSC), the near-IR imager and the optical CCD imager.
- It is remotely operated from Hosakote, about 35 km northeast of Bangalore via an INSAT-3B satellite link which allows operation even in sub-zero temperatures in winter.
Significant feats
- The telescope has been used in many coordinated international campaigns to monitor stellar explosions, comets, and exo-planets, and has contributed significantly to these studies.
- Some of the thrust research areas are the study of solar system bodies like; comets, asteroids, the study of star formation processes and young stellar objects, the study of open and globular clusters and variable stars in them.
- It has helped in analysis of elements in the atmosphere of evolved stars, star formation in external galaxies, Active Galactic Nuclei, stellar explosions like novae, supernovae, gamma-ray bursts and so on.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UVIT
Mains level: Not Much
The satellite that detected the first extreme-UV rays in the Universe from the cosmic noon celebrated its 5th birthday today.
Try this PYQ:
Q.“Event Horizon” is related to:
(a) Telescope
(b) Black hole
(c) Solar glares
(d) None of the above
Ultra-Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT)
- The UVIT is a remarkable 3-in-1 imaging telescope.
- Weighing all of 230 kg, the UVIT can simultaneously observe in the visible, the near-ultraviolet (NUV) and the far-ultraviolet (FUV).
- UVIT comprises of two separate telescopes. One of them works in the visible (320-550 nm) and the NUV (200-300 nm).
- The second works only in the FUV (130-180 nm).
Its achievement
- It has carried out 1166 observations of 800 unique celestial sources proposed by scientists both from India and abroad.
- It has explored stars, star clusters, mapping of the large and small satellite galaxies nearby to our own Milky Way galaxy called the Magellanic Clouds.
- It is an energetic phenomenon in the Universe such as the ultra-violet counterparts to gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, active galactic nuclei, and so on.
- Its superior spatial resolution capability has enabled astronomers to probe star formation in galaxies as well as resolve the cores of star clusters (3 times better than the last NASA mission, GALEX).
- Observations from UVIT has recently led to the discovery of a galaxy located at a distance of about 10 billion light-years from Earth and emitting extreme ultraviolet radiation that can ionize the intergalactic medium.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Eden Gardens
Mains level: NA
This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in TH.
UPSC may ask a question like this:
Q. In which Governor-General/Viceroy’s term was the famous cricketing ground ‘Eden Gardens’ was built?
Eden Gardens
- The first cricket club outside Britain was the Calcutta Cricket Club founded in 1792, and the first match was played 12 years later between the Etonians, senior civil servants and other company officials.
- In 1825 the club got a plot of land on the ground between Government House and Fort William to be used as a cricket ground.
- In 1841, the club was permitted to enclose the ground with a fence. But the Army at Fort William described the club as an “encroacher”.
- Cricket Club of Calcutta authorities then looked for an alternative ground and at ₹1,000, found a new one, fenced it and made it playable.
- In 1864, the land was laid out for a ground for Calcutta Cricket Club in the extended part of Eden Gardens.
Deriving its name
- Eden Gardens made its first appearance during the time of Governor-General Lord Auckland (1836-42).
- According to the achieves, a local landlord gifted this land to Lord Auckland and his sisters Emily Eden and Fanny Eden helped him save his third daughter from a deadly disease.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: JIMEX 20
Mains level: Not Much
The 4th edition of India – Japan Maritime bilateral exercise JIMEX will be held in the North Arabian Sea from 26 to 28 September 2020.
JIMEX 20
- It is conducted biennially between the Indian Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF)
- This series of exercises was commenced in January 2012 with a special focus on maritime security cooperation.
- The last edition of JIMEX was conducted in October 2018 off Visakhapatnam, India.
- JIMEX 20 will showcase a high degree of inter-operability and joint operational skills through the conduct of a multitude of advanced exercises, across the spectrum of maritime operations.
- Multi-faceted tactical exercises involving weapon firings cross deck helicopter operations and complex surface, anti-submarine and air warfare drills will consolidate coordination developed by the two navies.
- JIMEX 20 will further enhance the cooperation and mutual confidence between the two navies and fortify the long-standing bond of friendship between the two countries.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Yo-Yo Test
Mains level: NA
In his interaction with fitness experts and influencers the PM asked about the yo-yo test, that is a vital part of the Indian cricket team’s fitness routine.
Try this MCQ:
Q.The Yo-Yo test sometimes seen in news is related to:
Sports/ Healthcare/ Robotics/ Automation
What is the Yo-Yo test?
- The test was developed by Danish football physiologist Jens Bangsbo.
- Two cones are placed 20 metres apart, and the athlete has to run between them when the beep goes off.
- The beeps become more frequent after one minute, and if the athlete fails to reach the line within that time, he is expected to catch up within two more beeps.
- The test is stopped if the player fails to catch up before the beeps run out.
- The test has a beginner and an advanced level, and players are given scores. The minimum score set by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to pass the test is 16.1.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: English Channel
Mains level: NA
Hundreds of migrants have taken advantage of the warm weather and calm seas in the English Channel to reach the UK in a flurry of small boat crossings.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which one of the following pairs of islands is separated from each other by the ‘Ten Degree Channel’?
(a) Andaman and Nicobar
(b) Nicobar and Sumatra
(c) Maldives and Lakshadweep
(d) Sumatra and Java
English Channel
- The English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France.
- It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end.
- It is the busiest shipping area in the world.
- It is about 560 km long and varies in width from 240 km at its widest to 34 km in the Strait of Dover.
- It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ABHYAS-HEAT
Mains level: Not Much
Successful flight test of ABHYAS – High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) was today conducted by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Interim Test Range, Balasore in Odisha.
Try this PYQ:
What is “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)”, sometimes seen in the news?
(a) An Israeli radar system
(b) India’s indigenous anti-missile programme
(c) An American anti-missile system
(d) A defence collaboration between Japan and South Korea
ABHYAS Air Vehicle
- ABHYAS is designed & developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), DRDO.
- The air vehicle is launched using twin underslung booster.
- It is powered by a small gas turbine engine and has a MEMS-based Inertial Navigation System (INS) for navigation along with the Flight Control Computer (FCC) for guidance and control.
- The vehicle is programmed for fully autonomous flight. The check out of air vehicle is done using laptop-based Ground Control Station (GCS).
- During the test campaign, the user requirement of 5 km flying altitude, vehicle speed of 0.5 mach, the endurance of 30 minutes and 2g turn capability of the test vehicle were successfully achieved.
Its uses
- Abhyas’s radar cross-section (RCS), as well as its visual and infrared signatures, can be augmented to simulate a variety of aircraft for air-defence weapon practices.
- It can also function as a jammer platform and decoy.
- The HEAT system is utilized to do away with the post-launch recovery mode, which is time-consuming and difficult in a scenario as the sea.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Medicanes
Mains level: Frequent landfalls of tropical cyclones in India
Very recently, a medicane named Ianos made landfall along the coast of Greece and caused heavy rainfall and flooding on the islands of Zakynthos, Kefalonia and Ithaca.
Try this PYQ:
In the South Atlantic and South-Eastern Pacific regions in tropical latitudes, cyclone does not originate. What is the reason?
(a) Sea surface temperatures are low
(b) Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone seldom occurs
(c) Coriolis force is too weak
(d) Absence of land in those regions
What are Medicanes?
- Medicanes are extra-tropical hurricanes observed over the Mediterranean Sea.
- Medicanes occur more in colder waters than tropical cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons.
- Hence, the cores of these storms are also cold, as compared to the warm cores of tropical cyclones.
- Warmer cores tend to carry more moisture (hence rainfall), are bigger in size and have swifter winds.
- The main societal hazard posed by Medicanes is not usually from destructive winds but through life-threatening torrential rains and flash floods.
Why in news?
- This year is a mild La Niña, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
- La Niña is the cooling phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, as opposed to the warming El Niño phase.
- It is characterized by the unusual cooling of the central and east-central equatorial Pacific Ocean.
- A La Niña produces more rain in the central-eastern part, where most of the Mediterranean cyclones develop.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Brucellosis
Mains level: NA
As the novel coronavirus pandemic continues, the health commission has announced this week that a leak in a biopharmaceutical company last year caused an outbreak of brucellosis disease.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Consider the following kinds of organisms:
- Bacteria
- Fungi
- Flowering plants
Some species of which of the above kinds of organisms are employed as bio-pesticides?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
What is Brucellosis?
- Brucellosis is a bacterial disease that mainly infects cattle, swine, goats, sheep and dogs.
- Humans can get infected if they come in direct contact with infected animals or by eating or drinking contaminated animal products or by inhaling airborne agents.
- According to the WHO, most cases of the disease are caused by ingesting unpasteurized milk or cheese from infected goats or sheep.
- Symptoms of the disease include fever, sweats, malaise, anorexia, and headache and muscle pain.
- While some signs and symptoms can last for long periods of time, others may never go away. Human to human transmission of the virus is rare.
- These include recurrent fevers, arthritis, swelling of the testicles and scrotum area, swelling of the heart, neurologic symptoms, chronic fatigue, depression and swelling of the liver or spleen.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Queens Council
Mains level: NA
India has suggested Pakistan appointing a Queen’s Counsel for the Kulbhushan Jadhav case to ensure a free and fair trial.
Queen’s Counsel
- In the UK and in some Commonwealth countries, a Queen’s Counsel during the reign of a queen is a lawyer who is appointed by the monarch of the country to be one of ’Her Majesty’s Counsel learned in the law’.
- The position originated in England.
- Some Commonwealth countries have either abolished the position, or re-named it so as to remove monarchical connotations, for example, ’Senior Counsel’ or ’Senior Advocate’.
- Queen’s Counsel is an office, conferred by the Crown that is recognised by courts.
- Senior Advocate Harish Salve earlier this year has been appointed as Queen’s Counsel (QC) for the courts of England and Wales.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Hispanic Heritage Month
Mains level: NA
The National Hispanic Heritage Month has begun in the US.
Try this MCQ:
Q.The event National Hispanic Heritage Month recently seen in news is primarily celebrated in which of the following countries?
(a) US (b) Spain (c) Mexico (d) Cuba
National Hispanic Heritage Month
- The annual event honours the history, culture and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors hailed from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
- It is marked every year from September 15 to October 15.
- The observation was started by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week and was extended to an entire month by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, the year it was enacted into law.
Hispanics in the US
- With a population of over 5.7 crores, Hispanic Americans are currently the largest minority group in the US, making up a fifth of the total US population.
- More than half– 3.5 crore– are of Mexican origin, followed by Puerto Rican (53 lakh), and about 10 lakh each of Salvadorans, Cubans, Dominicans, Guatemalans and Colombians.
- The community is referred to as Hispanic, Latino or Latinx– terms that refer to a person’s origin or culture, without considering their race.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Himalayan orogeny
Mains level: NA
China and Nepal are expected to announce the latest official height of Mt. Everest.
Try this PYQ:
Q.When you travel to the Himalayas, you will see the following:
- Deep gorges
- U-turn river courses
- Parallel mountain ranges
- Steep gradients causing land-sliding
Which of the above can be said to be the evidences for the Himalayas being young fold mountains?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1, 2 and 4 only
(c) 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Mt. Everest
- Mount Everest or Sagarmatha, Earth’s highest mountain above sea level, is located in the Himalayas between China and Nepal -– the border between them running across its summit point.
- Its current official elevation – 8,848m – places it more than 200m above the world’s second-highest mountain, K2, which is 8,611m tall and located in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
- The mountain gets its English name from Sir George Everest, a colonial-era geographer who served as the Surveyor General of India in the mid-19th century.
- Considered an elite climbing destination, Everest was first scaled in 1953 by the Indian-Nepalese Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund Hillary.
Everest’s first survey
- The mission to measure the world’s highest peak was taken up on a serious note in 1847 and culminated with the finding of a team led by Andrew Waugh of the Royal Surveyor General of India.
- The team discovered that ‘Peak 15’ — as Mt Everest was referred to then — was the highest mountain, contrary to the then-prevailing belief that Mt Kanchenjunga (8,582 m) was the highest peak in the world.
- Another belief, prevailing even today, is that 8,840 m is not the height that was actually determined by the 19th-century team.
- That survey, based on trigonometric calculations, is known as the Great Trigonometric Survey of India.
Why is the height being measured again?
- Everest’s current official height– 8,848m– has been widely accepted since 1956, when the figure was measured by the Survey of India.
- The height of the summit, however, is known to change because of tectonic activity, such as the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
- Its measurement over the decades has also depended on who was surveying.
- Another debate is whether the height should be based on the highest rock point or the highest snow point.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Foreign portfolio investment (FPI)
Mains level: Not Much
The RBI has proposed allowing foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to undertake exchange-traded rupee interest rate derivatives transactions subject to an overall ceiling of ₹5,000 crores.
Every year, there is a question on a capital market instruments. Make note of all such separately. Also, try this PYQ:
Q. Which of the following is issued by registered foreign portfolio investors to overseas investors who want to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly? (CSP 2019)
(a) Certificate of Deposit
(b) Commercial Paper
(c) Promissory Note
(d) Participatory Note
Interest Rate Derivatives (IRDs)
- An IDR is a financial instrument with a value that is linked to the movements of an interest rate or rates.
- These may include futures, options, or swaps contracts.
- They are often used by institutional investors, banks, companies, and individuals to protect themselves against changes in market interest rates.
- The proposed directions by RBI are aimed at encouraging higher non-resident participation, enhance the role of domestic market makers in the offshore market, improve transparency, and achieve better regulatory oversight, according to the central bank.
Back2Basics: Foreign portfolio investment (FPI)
- FPI involves holding financial assets from a country outside of the investor’s own.
- FPI holdings can include stocks, ADRs, GDRs, bonds, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds.
- Along with foreign direct investment (FDI), FPI is one of the common ways for investors to participate in an overseas economy, especially retail investors.
- Unlike FDI, FPI consists of passive ownership; investors have no control over ventures or direct ownership of property or a stake in a company.
FPI vs FDI
- With FPI—as with portfolio investment in general—an investor does not actively manage the investments or the companies that issue the investments.
- They do not have direct control over the assets or the businesses.
- In contrast, foreign direct investment (FDI) lets an investor purchase a direct business interest in a foreign country.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Etosha Salt Pan and its location
Mains level: NA
NASA has recently captured images depicting the wet and dry cycles of Etosha Pan in Africa’s Namibia through the year.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which of the following has/have shrunk immensely/ dried up in the recent past due to human activities?
- Aral Sea
- Black Sea
- Lake Baikal
Select the correct option using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 2 only
(d) 1 and 3 only
Etosha Salt Pan
- The Etosha pan is hollow in the ground, wherein water may collect or in which a deposit of salt remains after the water has evaporated.
- The 120-kilometre-long dry lakebed and its surroundings are protected as Etosha National Park, Namibia’s second-largest wildlife park.
- The pan is mostly dry, but after a heavy rain, it acquires a thin layer of water that is heavily salted by the mineral deposits on the surface.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Subramania Bharati and his works
Mains level: Not Much
This newscard is an excerpt from an article originally published in TH.
Try this question from CSP 2016:
Q.A recent movie titled The Man Who Knew Infinity is based on the biography of-
(a) S. Ramanujan
(b) S. Chandrasekhar
(c) S. N. Bose
(d) C. V. Raman
Subramania Bharati
- Bharati was a Tamil writer, poet, journalist, Indian independence activist, social reformer and polyglot.
- Popularly known as “Mahakavi Bharathi”, he was a pioneer of modern Tamil poetry and is considered one of the greatest Tamil literary figures of all time.
- His numerous works included fiery songs kindling patriotism during the Indian Independence movement.
Literary works
- As a working journalist, Bharati necessarily employed prose to communicate, and his writings in Swadesamitran and India made an important contribution to Tamil political vocabulary.
- He wrote stories, commentaries, and was also the pioneer of column writing in Tamil.
- Active participation in the day-to-day politics of the nationalist movement notwithstanding, Bharati never lost sight of the future, the dream of how a free India should look like.
- Aspects of this dream form part of his fantasy story, Gnanaratham (The Chariot of Wisdom), written when he was still in his late 20s.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Panama disease
Mains level: NA
The scientists of Indian Council of Agriculture Research or ICAR have found a cure for one of the most dreaded diseases on Banana.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Recently, our scientists have discovered a new and distinct species of banana plant which attains a height of about 11 metres and has orange-coloured fruit pulp. In which part of India has it been discovered?
(a) Andaman Islands
(b) Anamalai Forests
(c) Maikala Hills
(d) Tropical rain forests of northeast
Panama Disease
- The fungal disease, called Fusarium Wilt, is popularly known as the ‘Panama Disease’ and afflicts banana plants.
- For the first time, Indian scientists have brought out a biopesticide that can control the disease. This biopesticide has been made using another fungus.
- For a long time, banana cultivators have been struggling with the Panama Disease.
- This disease affects the Cavendish variety or the G9 Banana cultivar, which is the most widely grown banana in the world.
Spread in India
- In India, more than 60 per cent of bananas are of the G9 variety.
- They go by names like ‘Grand Naine’, ‘Robusta’, ‘Bhusaval’, ‘Basrai’ and ‘Shrimanth’.
- Farmers in at least four Indian states — Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh — have been badly affected by this disease.
- All these are areas where the Cavendish variety is grown.
Why is the disease so deadly?
- Panama Disease is caused by a fungus with a long and complicated name called Fusarium oxysporum f. Sp cubense.
- One of its strains which is called ‘Tropical Race 4’ or ‘TR4’ is creating the most havoc, threatening almost 80 per cent of the global banana production.
- The disease is so deadly that it is sometimes referred to as ‘banana cancer’.
- The fungus resides below ground and infects the plant through its roots. The infection then stops water and essential nutrients from being transported to the rest of the plant.
- The leaves begin to wilt, and the stem of the plant starts turning dark brownish before the plant dies. If one plant gets it, then it is most likely that an entire plantation can be wiped out.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UNESCO heritages (tangible and intangible)
Mains level: Not Much
Turkish Coffee made it to the UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013. It is celebrated in literature and songs and is an important part of ceremonies and festivals.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Consider the following pairs:
Traditions Communities
- Chaliha Sahib Festival — Sindhis
- Nanda Raj Jaat Yatra — Gonds
- Wari-Warkari — Santhals
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 and 3
(d) None of the above
Turkish Coffee
- To make Turkish Coffee, Arabica beans are ground manually and boiled with water and sugar in a special pot called cezve in Turkey and ibrik elsewhere.
- It is taken off the heat as soon as it begins to froth and before it boils over.
- It is traditionally served in individual porcelain cups called kahvefinjan.
- Sometimes the coffee may be flavoured with cardamom or other spices and served with a small piece of Turkish delight.
Back2Basics: Intangible Heritages from India
- Tradition of Vedic chanting
- Ramlila, the traditional performance of the Ramayana
- Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre
- Ramman, religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal Himalayas.
- Mudiyettu, ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala
- Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan
- Chhau dance
- Buddhist chanting of Ladakh: recitation of sacred Buddhist texts in the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir.
- Sankirtana, ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur
- Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making among the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru, Punjab
- Yoga
- Nawrouz
- Kumbh Mela
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: “Dictionary of Martyrs” Project
Mains level: India's freedom struggle
Four martyrs of Communist movement of Kerala will be added to the ‘Dictionary of Martyrs India’s Freedom Struggle (1857-1947)’, if an earlier review report to the Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) is accepted.
Communist revolutionaries of Kerala
- The four who may make it to the list include Aboobacker and Chirukandan of Kayyur, “who walked to the gallows shouting Inquilab Zindabad and Communist Party Zindabad” and “died as brave communists,” as mentioned in the fifth volume of the dictionary.
- Abu of Mambram, a Communist and active partner in the nationalist and anti-imperialist movements, and Chattukutty, an active Communist cadre involved in the agitations for price control, wage hike, and relief to peasants, who were killed in the Tellichery police firing on September 15, 1940, would also qualify.
- The report had suggested the deletion of the martyrs of Punnapra-Vayalar, Karivelloor, and Kavumbayi agitations as they were rioters against the interim government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru.
Back2Basics: “Dictionary of Martyrs” Project
- The project for the compilation of “Dictionary of Martyrs” of India’s Freedom Struggle was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture, to the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the uprising of 1857.
- In this dictionary, a martyr has been defined as a person who died or who was killed in action or in detention, or was awarded capital punishment while participating in the national movement for the emancipation of India.
- It includes ex-INA or ex-military personnel who died fighting the British.
- Information of about 13,500 martyrs has been recorded in these volumes.
Who are included?
- It includes the martyrs of 1857 Uprising, Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (1919), Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22), Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-34), Quit India Movement (1942-44), Revolutionary Movements (1915-34), Kissan Movements, Tribal Movements, Agitation for Responsible Government in the Princely States (Prajamandal), Indian National Army (INA, 1943-45), Royal Indian Navy Upsurge (RIN, 1946), etc.
Five Volumes
- Volume 1: In this volume, more than 4400 martyrs of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have been listed.
- Volume 2: In this volume, more than 3500 martyrs of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir have been listed.
- Volume 3: The number of martyrs covered in this volume is more than 1400. This volume covers the martyrs of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Sind.
- Volume 4: The numbers of martyrs covered in this volume is more than 3300. This volume covers the martyrs of Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura.
- Volume 5: The number of martyrs covered in this volume is more than 1450. This volume covers the martyrs of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
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