Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Winter grade diesel
Mains level: Not much
Indiaâs armed forces may soon be using winter diesel for operations in high altitude areas such as Ladakh, where winter temperatures plummet to extremely low as -30° Celsius.
This year BS-VI compliant fuel was in news. Try differentiating the Winter Diesel with the BS-VI fuel.
What is Winter Diesel?
- Winter diesel is a specialised fuel that was introduced by Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. last year specifically for high altitude regions and low-temperature regions such as Ladakh, where ordinary diesel can become unusable.
- The flow characteristics of regular diesel change at such low temperatures and using it may be detrimental to vehicles.
- Winter diesel which contains additives to maintain lower viscosity can be used in temperatures as low as -30°C and that besides a low pour point, it had higher cetane rating â an indicator is the combustion speed of diesel and compression needed for ignition.
- It has lower sulphur content, which would lead to lower deposits in engines and better performance.
Back2Basics: BS-VI fuel
- Sulphur content in fuel is a major cause for concern. Sulphur dioxide released by fuel burning is a major pollutant that affects health as well.
- BS-VI fuel’s sulphur content is much lower than BS-IV fuel.
It is reduced to 10 mg/kg max in BS-VI from 50 mg/kg under BS-IV.
This reduction makes it possible to equip vehicles with better catalytic converters that capture pollutants. However, BS-VI fuel is expected to be costlier that BS-IV fuel.
With inputs from:
[pib] Winter-grade diesel
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Hagia Sophia
Mains level: World History: Turkish renaissance under Ottoman Empire
Turkeyâs highest court this week convened to decide whether Istanbulâs iconic Hagia Sophia museum can be turned into a mosque.
Try this question:
Q. The iconic Hagia Sophia, a UNESCO World Heritage site was recently in news. It is situated in:
a) Greece b) Turkey c) Israel d) Iran
What is the Hagia Sophia?
- The construction of this iconic structure in Istanbul started in 532 AD during the reign of Justinian I, the ruler of the Byzantine Empire when the city was known as Constantinople.
- The structure was originally built to become the seat of the Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church and remained so for approximately 900 years.
- In 1453, when Constantinople fell to Sultan Mehmet IIâs Ottoman forces, the Hagia Sophia was ransacked by the invading forces and turned into a mosque shortly after.
- For a long time, the Hagia Sophia was Istanbulâs most important mosque.
- The 1,500-year-old structure, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, was originally a cathedral before it was turned into a mosque.
What is the controversy about?
- In the 1930s, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, shut down the mosque and turned it into a museum in an attempt to make the country more secular.
- There have been calls for long from extremists groups to convert the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Timbuktu
Mains level: NA
Timbuktu is a western African city whose name is a metaphor for a place too exotic and remote to even imagine, now is in the grasp of Covid-19.
Try this question from CSP 2018:
Q.Very recently, in which of the following countries have lakhs of people either suffered from severe famine/acute malnutrition or died due to starvation caused by war/ethnic conflicts?
(a) Angola and Zambia
(b) Morocco and Tunisia
(c) Venezuela and Colombia
(d) Yemen and South Sudan
Timbuktu
- Timbuktu is a city in Mali, situated 20 km north of the Niger River.
- The mystique of Timbuktu owes a lot to its inaccessibility, which continues even today.
- It is located on the southern tip of the Sahara desert where there is nothing but thousands of miles of barren desert to its north.
- It was a regional trade centre in medieval times, where caravans met to exchange salt from the Sahara Desert for gold, ivory, and slaves from the Sahel, which could be reached via the nearby Niger River.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Central Zoo Authority (CZA)
Mains level: NA
The Environment Ministry has reconstituted the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to include an expert from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, and a molecular biologist.
Note following things about CZA:
1)Its constitution under any Act
2)Composition
3)Roles and functions
About CZA
- The CZA is the body of the government responsible for oversight of zoos constituted under the section 38A of Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972.
- The main objective of the authority is to complement the national effort in the conservation of wildlife.
- Standards and norms for housing, upkeep, health care and overall management of animals in zoos have been laid down under the Recognition of Zoo Rules, 1992.
Roles & Functions
- The Authorityâs role is more of a facilitator than a regulator.
- It, therefore, provides technical and financial assistance to such zoos which have the potential to attain the desired standard in animal management.
- Primary functionâ grant of recognition and release of financial assistance.
- It also regulates the exchange of animals of endangered category Listed under Schedule-I and II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act among zoos.
- Exchange of animals between Indian and foreign zoos is also approved by the Authority before the requisite clearances under EXIM Policy and the CITES permits are issued by the competent authority.
- The Authority also coordinates and implements programmes on capacity building of zoo personnel, planned breeding programmes and ex-situ research including biotechnological intervention for the conservation of species for complementing in-situ conservation efforts in the country.
Composition
- Apart from the chairman, it consists of 10 members and a member-secretary.
- Almost all of them are officials in the Environment Ministry and NGO experts are those who are wildlife conservationists or retired forest officers.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bahuda Yatra, Puri Temple Architecture
Mains level: Temple Architecture of India
The Bahuda Yatra, the return journey of the deities to the Puri Jagannath temple after the annual Rath Yatra, was recently concluded amid permitted restrictions.
Bahuda Yatra
- A/c to folk stories Lord Jagannath and his siblings, Goddess Shubhadra and Lord Balabhadra, returns from their aunt’s place at Gundicha Temple to Jagannath Temple.
- This journey is known as Bahuda Yatra.
- Nine days after the Rath Yatra, the yatra or the return journey takes place.
About Jagannath Rath Yatra
- Ratha Jatra, the Festival of Chariots of Lord Jagannatha is celebrated every year at Puri, the temple town in Orissa, on the east coast of India.
- It involves a public procession with a chariot with deities Jagannath (Vishnu avatar), BalaBhadra (his brother), Subhadra (his sister) and Sudarshana Chakra (his weapon) on a ratha, a wooden deula-shaped chariot.
- The huge, colourfully decorated chariots, are drawn by hundreds and thousands of devotees on the bada danda, the grand avenue to the Gundicha temple, some two miles away to the North.
- It attracts over a million Hindu pilgrims who join the procession each year.
Back2Basics: Puri Temple Architecture
- Jagannath Temple is a very big temple and covers an area of 37000m2. The height of the outer wall is 6.1m.
- It is surrounded by a high fortified wall 6.1 m high is known as Meghanada Pacheri.
- The main portion of the temple is also surrounded by a wall known as Kurma Bheda.
- The temple is built in Rekha Deula style and has four distinct sectional structures, namely â
- Deula, Vimana or Garba griha (Sanctum sanctorum) where the triad deities are lodged on the ratnavedi (Throne of Pearls)
- Mukhashala (Frontal porch)
- Nata mandir/Natamandapa, which is also known as the Jagamohan (Audience Hall/Dancing Hall), and
- Bhoga Mandapa (Offerings Hall)
Try this question from CSP 2019:
Q.Building ‘Kalyaana Mandapas’ was a notable feature in the temple construction in the kingdom of-
(a) Chalukya (b) Chandela (c) Rashtrakuta (d) Vijayanagara
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: G4 Flu
Mains level: Rise in zoonotic diseases and their possible causes
In new research, scientists from China â which has the largest population of pigs in the world â have identified a ârecently emergedâ strain of influenza virus that is infecting Chinese pigs and that has the potential of triggering a pandemic.
Practice question for mains:
Q.What are zoonotic diseases? Why China has emerged as the epicentre of global outbreaks of zoonotic disease?
G4 Flu
- Named G4, the swine flu strain has genes similar to those in the virus that caused the 2009 flu pandemic.
- The scientists identified the virus through surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs that they carried out from 2011 to 2018 in ten provinces of China.
- They also found that the G4 strain has the capability of binding to human-type receptors (like, the SARS-CoV-2 virus binds to ACE2 receptors in humans).
- The virus was able to copy itself in human airway epithelial cells, and it showed effective infectivity and aerosol transmission.
Swine industry is the new hotspot for zoonoses
- The scientists report that the new strain (G4) has descended from the H1N1 strain that was responsible for the 2009 flu pandemic.
- Pigs are intermediate hosts for the generation of pandemic influenza virus.
- Thus, systematic surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs is a key measure for pre-warning the emergence of the next pandemic influenza.
Back2Basics: 2009 swine flu pandemic
- The WHO declared the outbreak of type A H1N1 influenza virus a pandemic in 2009 when there were around 30,000 cases globally.
- It was caused by a strain of the swine flu called the H1N1 virus, which was transmitted from human to human.
- Influenza viruses that commonly circulate in swine are called âswine influenza virusesâ or âswine flu virusesâ.
- Like human influenza viruses, there are different subtypes and strains of swine influenza viruses. Essentially, swine flu is a virus that pigs can get infected by.
- The symptoms of swine flu include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headaches, chills and fatigue.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Gold Nanoparticles
Mains level: Applications of nanomaterials
Indian researchers have successfully synthesized gold nanoparticles (GNPs) using psychrotolerant Antarctic bacteria through a non-toxic, low-cost, and eco-friendly way.
Nanotechnology is a pathbreaking technology which can create many new materials and devices with a wide range of applications, such as in nanomedicine, nanoelectronics etc.  GNPs are another distinct development.
What are Gold Nanoparticles?
- Metallic NPs have been efficiently exploited for biomedical applications and among them, GNPs are found to be effective in biomedical research.
- And NPs are those materials that are at least one dimension smaller than 100 nanometers.
- NPs have a high surface-to-volume ratio and they can provide the tremendous driving force for diffusion, especially at elevated temperatures.
- GNPs are melted at much lower temperatures (300 °C) than bulk gold (1064 °C).
- NPs have been found to impart various desirable properties to different day-to-day products.
- For example, GNPs are found to have greater solar radiation absorbing ability than the conventional bulk gold, which makes them a better candidate for use in the photovoltaic cell manufacturing industry.
Properties of GNP
1) Biomedical
- Genotoxicity describes the property of a chemical agent that is capable of damaging the genetic information of DNA and thus causing the mutation of the cell, which can lead to cancer.
- The study revealed the genotoxic effect of GNPs on a sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB).
- These GNPs can be used as composite therapeutic agent clinical trials, especially in anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-diabetic, and cholesterol-lowering drugs.
2) Optical
- GNPs have unique optical properties too. For example, particles above 100 nm show blue or violet colour in the water, while the colour becomes wine red in 100 nm gold colloidal particles.
- They can thus be used for therapeutic imaging.
3) Electronics
- GNPs are also found to be useful in the electronics industry.
- Scientists have constructed a transistor known as NOMFET (Nanoparticles Organic Memory Field-Effect Transistor) by embedding GNPs in a porous manganese oxide.
- NOMFETs can mimic the feature of the human synapse known as plasticity or the variation of the speed and strength of the signal going from neuron to neuron.
- These novel transistors can now facilitate better recreation of certain types of human cognitive processes, such as recognition and image processing and have their application in AI.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Kholongchhu Hydel Project
Mains level: Not Much
India and Bhutan took a major step forward for the construction of the 600 MW Kholongchhu project.
Try this question from CSP 2019:
What is common to the places known as Aliyar, Isapur and Kangsabati?
(a) Recently discovered uranium deposits
(b) Tropical rain forests
(c) Underground cave systems
(d) Water reservoirs
Kholongchhu Hydel Project
- The Kholongchhu project is regarded as a âmilestoneâ in the India-Bhutan partnership, under which four hydropower projects have been built in the last 30 years totalling a capacity of 2,100 MW.
- It is one of four additional projects agreed to in 2008, as a part of Indiaâs commitment to helping Bhutan create a total 10,000 MW of installed capacity by 2020.
- The project is located at the lower course of Kholongchhu just before its confluence with Drangmechu (Gongrichu) in Trashiyangtse District of Bhutan.
- The GoI will provide, as a grant, the equity share of the Bhutanese DGPC in the JV Company.
- Once the project is commissioned, the JV partners will run it for 30 years, called the concession period, after which the full ownership will transfer to the Bhutan government.
Whatsâ so special with the project?
- It is the first hydropower joint venture project in Bhutanâs less developed eastern region of Trashiyangtse.
- It is the first time an India-Bhutan hydropower project will be constructed as a 50:50 joint venture and not as a government-to-government agreement.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Gynandromorphism
Mains level: NA
Recently, a rare biological phenomenon called Gynandromorphism was observed in dragonflies at Kole wetlands of Kerala.
Gynandromorphism is a core biology concept. We can expect a prelims question in a rare scenario.
Try this question from CSP 2013:
Q.Improper handling and storage of cereal grains and oilseeds result in the production of toxins known as aflatoxins which are not generally destroyed by normal cooking process. Aflatoxins are produced by
(a) Bacteria (b) Protozoa (c) Moulds (d) Viruses
Gynandromorphism
- Gynandromorphs are individual animals that have both genetically male and female tissues and often have observable male and female characteristics.
- They may be bilateral, appearing to divide down the middle into male and female sides, or they may be mosaic, with patches characteristic of one sex appearing in a body part characteristic of the other sex.
- Gynandromorphs occur in insects, spiders, crustaceans, and other arthropods as well as in birds, but they are extremely rare, and discovering one in the field or in the laboratory is a major event.
- Estimating how frequently they occur is difficult because they usually go unnoticed in species where sexual dimorphism is less pronounced.
- Gynandromorphs have been reported in mosquitoes, fruit flies, and in other insects, but they are most dramatic in those butterfly species in which the male and female wing colours and patterns are dramatically different.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Jungle Fowl
Mains level: NA
A recent study by scientists has revealed new details about the earliest domestication of chicken from the Jungle Fowl.
Try this question from CSP 2012:
Q.What is the difference between the antelopes’ Oryx and Chiru?
(a) Oryx is adapted to live in hot and arid areas like Africa and Arabia whereas Chiru is adapted to live in steppes and semi-desert areas of cold high mountains of Tibetan Plateau.
(b) Oryx is poached for its antlers whereas Chiru is poached for its musk
(c) Oryx exists in western India only whereas Chiru exists in northeast India only.
(d) None of the statements (a), (b) and (c) given above is correct.
Jungle Fowl
- The DNA sequencing of 863 genomes has shown the first domestication of chicken occurred in southwestern China, northern Thailand and Myanmar.
- The study involved sequencing of genomes from all four species of the genus Gallus, five subspecies of Red Jungle Fowl and various domestic chicken breeds collected worldwide.
- It revealed single domestication from Red Jungle Fowl sub-species Gallus spadiceous.
- The study also demonstrated that all five Red Jungle Fowl sub-species were genetically differentiated from each other approximately 50,000 years ago much earlier than domestication.
- The results contradicted the earlier claim that chickens were domesticated in northern China and the Indus Valley.
Domestication of Chicken
- The question of domestication of chickens has intrigued scientists for centuries and has been the subject of debate.
- Charles Darwin postulated that chickens were domesticated around 4,000 B.C. from a single ancestor, Red Jungle Fowl in the Indus Valley.
- An important study published earlier from Uppsala University claimed the Grey Jungle Fowl had contributed to chicken domestication.
- With this, a couple of studies from India, China and other South-Asian countries have argued the monophyletic origin of chicken.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PC Mahalanobis
Mains level: NA
Statistics Day will be celebrated today on 29th June 2020 to popularize the use of Statistics in everyday life and sensitize the public as to how Statistics helps in shaping and framing policies.
Try this question from CSP 2016:
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
Who was P.C. Mahalanobis?
- Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis (29 June 1893 â 28 June 1972) was an Indian scientist and statistician.
- He is best remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure, and for being one of the members of the first Planning Commission of free India.
- He made pioneering studies in anthropometry (the science of obtaining systematic measurements of the human body) in India.
- He founded the Indian Statistical Institute and contributed to the design of large-scale sample surveys.
- For his contributions, Mahalanobis has been considered the father of modern statistics in India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Various waterfalls mentioned in the newscard
Mains level: NA
The Kerala government recently gave the go-ahead for the proposed 163-megawatt (MW) Athirappally Hydroelectric Project.
Information about some of Indiaâs tallest waterfalls is provided in the B2b section. Kindly pen them down along with their respective states. They can be asked in the match the pair type question.
Athirappally Waterfalls
- The famous Athirappally Waterfalls is located on the Chalakudy River in Thrissur district of Kerala.
- It originates from the upper reaches of the Western Ghats at the entrance to the Sholayar ranges.
- It is the largest waterfall in Kerala, which stands tall at 80 feet and is nicknamed “The Niagara of India”.
- Controversy about a state-proposed hydroelectric dam on the Chalakudy River above the waterfalls began in the 1990s and continued through 2021.
Issues with the Hydel project
- A number of families belonging to the Kadar tribal group are facing displacement here.
- The dam will also affect irrigation and tourism possibilities in the downstream parts of the Chalakudy River.
- The falls and its surroundings are part of a crucial biodiversity-rich region coming under the Ecologically Sensitive Zone 1 of the Western Ghats.
- The Ghats themselves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are one of the eight âhottest hot-spotsâ of biological diversity in the world.
Back2Basics: Waterfalls in India
- Vajrai Falls (560m): Satara, Maharashtra
- Kunchikal Falls (455m): Shimoga, Karnataka
- Barehipani Falls (390m): Odisha
- Nohkalikai Falls (340m): East Khasi, Meghalaya
- Dudhsagar Falls (310m): Karnataka, Goa
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Malabar Rebellion 1921
Mains level: Peasants revolts in the colonial period
With the 1921 Malabar Rebellion turning 100 next year, several movies have been announced back-to-back.
Try this question from CSP 2015:
Q. Which amongst the following provided a common factor for tribal insurrection in India in the 19th century?
(a.) Introduction of a new system of land revenue and taxation- of tribal products
(b.) Influence of foreign religious missionaries in tribal areas
(c.) Rise of a large number of money lenders, traders and revenue farmers as middlemen in tribal areas
(d.) The complete disruption of the old agrarian order of the tribal communities
What is the Malabar Rebellion?
- The Malabar Rebellion in 1921 started as resistance against the British colonial rule and the feudal system in southern Malabar but ended in communal violence between Hindus and Muslims.
- There were a series of clashes between Mappila peasantry and their landlords, supported by the British, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.
- It began as a reaction against a heavy-handed crackdown on the Khilafat Movement, a campaign in defence of the Ottoman Caliphate by the British authorities in the Eranad and Valluvanad taluks of Malabar.
- The Mappilas attacked and took control of police stations, British government offices, courts and government treasuries.
Also in news:
Variyankunna Kunjahammed Haji
- He was one of the leaders of the Malabar Rebellion of 1921.
- He raised 75000 natives, seized control of large territory from the British rule and set up a parallel government.
- In January 1922, under the guise of a treaty, the British betrayed Haji through his close friend Unyan Musaliyar, arresting him from his hideout and producing him before a British judge.
- He was sentenced to death along with his compatriots.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Senkaku Islands
Mains level: China's territorial expansion plans
A local council in southern Japan voted to rename an area covering the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku Islands â known by Taiwan and China as the Diaoyus â from âTonoshiroâ to âTonoshiro Senkakuâ.
Try this:
Q. Recently, Senkaku Island was in the news. Where is it located?
a) South China Sea
b) Indian Ocean
c) East China sea
d) Red sea
Senkaku Island Dispute
- The Japanese-administered island chain, formed by five islets and three barren rocks, covers an area of 7 square km.
- It is located about 200km southwest of Japanâs Okinawa Island and a similar distance northeast of Taiwan.
- Japan annexed the archipelago following Chinaâs defeat in the first Sino-Japanese war from 1894 to 1895.
- Yet the islands were left out of the Treaty of San Francisco at the end of the second world war that returned to China most of the territories previously occupied by Japan.
- Under the terms of Japanâs surrender, the island chain was controlled by the US until 1971, when it was returned to Japan along with Okinawa and other surrounding islands.
Why are the Islands so coveted?
- The region appears to have great promise as a future oil province of the world.
- Japan and China are among the worldâs top importers of fossil fuels.
- Abundant fishing resources are found nearby, as can important shipping lanes used by Japan, South Korea and China for energy imports.
- The islands have also become a focal point of the broader rivalry between the two countries.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ahom Kingdom
Mains level: Not Much
Recently, Assam CM ordered the arrest of a political commentator who had described Chaolung Sukapha as a âChinese invaderâ.
Practice question for mains:
Q. Who are the Ahoms? Describe the role of Ahom Kingdom in cultural assimilation of modern-day Assam.
Who was Chaolung Sukapha?
- Sukapha was a 13th-century ruler who founded the Ahom kingdom that ruled Assam for six centuries. Contemporary scholars trace his roots to Burma.
- He reached Brahmaputra valley in Assam from upper Burma in the 13th century with around 9,000 followers.
- Sukapha is said to have left a place called Maulung ( in Yunnan, China ) in AD 1215 with eight nobles and 9,000 men, women and children â mostly men.
- In 1235, Sukapha and his people settled in Charaideo in upper Assam after wandering about for years, defeating those who protested his advance and temporarily staying at different locations.
- It was in Charaideo (in Assam) that Sukapha established his first small principality, sowing the seeds of further expansion of the Ahom kingdom.
Who are the Ahoms today?
- The founders of the Ahom kingdom had their own language and followed their own religion.
- Over the centuries, the Ahoms accepted the Hindu religion and the Assamese language, scholars say.
- The Ahoms embraced the language, religion and rituals of the communities living here â they did not impose theirs on those living here.
- Today, the Ahom community is estimated to number between 4 million and 5 million.
Why is Sukapha important in Assamese culture?
- Sukaphaâs significance â especially in todayâs Assam â lies in his successful efforts towards the assimilation of different communities and tribes.
- He developed very amicable relationships with the tribal communities living here â especially the Sutias, the Morans and the Kacharis.
- Intermarriage also increased assimilation processes. He is widely referred to as the architect of âBor Asomâ or âgreater Assamâ.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Solar Eclipse and related terms, Summer Solstice
Mains level: Not Much
A rare celestial event, an annular solar eclipse popularly called as the âring of fireâ eclipse, will be visible on June 21, 2020 from some parts of Northern India. The first solar eclipse of this year takes place on the summer solstice, which is the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere.
Try this question from CSP 2019:
Q. On 21st June, the Sun
(a) Does not set below the horizon at the Arctic Circle
(b) Does not set below the horizon at Antarctic Circle
(c) Shines vertically overhead at noon on the Equator
(d) Shines vertically overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn
What is the Solar Eclipse?
- A Solar Eclipse happens when the moon while orbiting the Earth comes in between the sun and the Earth, due to which the moon blocks the sunâs light from reaching the Earth, causing an eclipse of the sun or a solar eclipse.
- According to NASA, people who are able to view the total solar eclipse are in the centre of the moonâs shadow as and when it hits the Earth.
- There are three types of eclipses: one is a total solar eclipse, which is visible only from a small area on Earth. A total solar eclipse happens when the sun, moon and Earth are in a direct line.
- The second type of a solar eclipse is a partial solar, in which the shadow of the moon appears on a small part of the sun.
Annular Solar Eclipse
- The third kind is an annular solar eclipse, which happens when the moon is farthest from the Earth, which is why it seems smaller.
- In this type of an eclipse, the moon does not block the sun completely, but looks like a âdark disk on top of a larger sun-coloured diskâ forming a âring of fireâ.
- Furthermore, during a solar eclipse, the moon casts two shadows on the Earth; the first one is called the umbra, which gets smaller as it reaches the Earth.
- The second one is called the penumbra, which gets larger as it reaches the Earth.
- According to NASA, people standing in the umbra see a total eclipse and those standing in the penumbra see a partial eclipse.
Why the study of solar eclipse is crucial?
- One of the reasons that NASA studies solar eclipses is to study the top layer of the sun called the corona.
- During an annular eclipse, NASA uses ground and space instruments to view this top layer when the sunâs glare is blocked by the moon.
Back2Basics: Summer Solstice
- The summer solstice occurs when one of the Earth’s poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun.
- It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern).
- For that hemisphere, the summer solstice is when the Sun reaches its highest position in the sky and is the day with the longest period of daylight.
- Within the Arctic circle (for the northern hemisphere) or Antarctic circle (for the southern hemisphere), there is continuous daylight around the summer solstice.
- On the summer solstice, Earth’s maximum axial tilt toward the Sun is 23.44°. Likewise, the Sun’s declination from the celestial equator is 23.44°.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Megaliths
Mains level: Not Much
The Kodumanal excavation in Erode Dist. of Tamil Nadu has threw light on burial rituals and the concept of afterlife in megalithic culture.
Must read:
Chapter 1 | Stone Age â Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic
About these sites
- The researchers have identified 250 cairn-circles at the village in Erode district.
- Earlier excavations revealed that the site served as a trade-cum-industrial centre from 5th century BCE to 1st century BCE.
- The rectangular chambered cists, each two metres long and six metres wide, are made of stone slabs, and the entire grave is surrounded by boulders that form a circle.
- The grave could be of a village head or the head of the community as the size of two boulders, each facing east and west, are bigger than other boulders.
- Believing that the deceased person will get a new life after death, pots and bowls filled with grains were placed outside the chambers.
What are Megaliths?
- Megaliths are the earliest surviving man-made monuments we know ofâderived from the Latin mega (large) and lith (stone).
- Megaliths were constructed either as burial sites or commemorative (non-sepulchral) memorials.
- The former are sites with actual burial remains, such as dolmenoid cists (box-shaped stone burial chambers), cairn circles (stone circles with defined peripheries) and capstones (distinctive mushroom-shaped burial chambers found mainly in Kerala).
- The urn or the sarcophagus containing the mortal remains was usually made of terracotta.
- Non-sepulchral megaliths include memorial sites such as menhirs. (The line separating the two is a bit blurry, since remains have been discovered underneath otherwise non-sepulchral sites, and vice versa.)
- In India, archaeologists trace the majority of the megaliths to the Iron Age (1500 BC to 500 BC), though some sites precede the Iron Age, extending up to 2000 BC.
Megaliths in India
- Megaliths are spread across the Indian subcontinent, though the bulk of them are found in peninsular India, concentrated in the states of Maharashtra (mainly in Vidarbha), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
- According to archaeologists around 2,200 megalithic sites can be found in peninsular India itself, most of them unexcavated.
- Even today, a living megalithic culture endures among some tribes such as the Gonds of central India and the Khasis of Meghalaya.
Literary sources
- Megalithic culture finds several references in ancient Tamil Sangam literature. For instance, menhirs are referred to as nadukal.
- Ancient Sangam texts lay out, in detail, a step-by-step procedure for laying a memorial stone or nadukal in honour of a fallen hero.
- Manimekalai (5th century AD), the famous Sangam epic, refers to the various kinds of burials namely cremation (cuášuvĹr), post excarnation burial (iášuvĹr), burying the deceased in a pit (toášukuḝip paášuvĹr), rock chamber or cist burial (tÄḝvÄyiáš aášaippĹr), urn burial encapped with lid (tÄḝiyiáš kavippĹr).
- Even in the Sangam age (when kingship and a well-ordained society had emerged) the above modes of burials survived.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Axone
Mains level: NA
A movie named Axone â also spelt akhuni âsoya bean dish of Nagaland has been recently released.
The traditional âAxoneâ dish is very unique in itself. However, one must note that it does NOT carry any GI tag. Still, there is a possibility of it being asked in match the pair type questions.
What is Axone?
- Axone â also spelt akhuni â is a fermented soya bean of Nagaland, known for its distinctive flavour and smell.
- As much an ingredient as it is a condiment, Axone used to make pickles and chutneys, or curries of pork, fish, chicken, beef etc.
- While it is called âaxoneâ in parts of Nagaland, fermented soya bean is cooked with, eaten and known by different names in different parts of Northeast India, including Meghalaya and Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur as well in other South, Southeast and East Asian countries.
- Axone is prepared and eaten across Nagaland but is particularly popular among the Sumi (also Sema) tribe. They use it in every meal.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Hilsa Fish`
Mains level: NA
Fishermen in West Bengal are in for a pleasant surprise amid the COVID-19 gloom as they have exuded hope of a bumper yield of Hilsa, known as “maacher rani” (queen of fish).
Try this question from CSP 2019:
Q. Consider the following pairs:
| Wildlife |
Naturally found in |
| 1. Blue-finned Mahseer |
Cauvery River |
| 2. Irrawaddy Dolphin |
Chambal River |
| 3. Rusty-spotted Cat |
Eastern Ghats |
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Hilsa Fish
IUCN status: Least Concerned
- The Hilsa is a species of fish related to the herring, in the family Clupeidae.
- It is a very popular and sought-after food fish in the Indian Subcontinent.
- It is the national fish of Bangladesh and state symbol in the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura.
- The fish contributes about 12% of the total fish production and about 1.15% of GDP in Bangladesh.
Whatâs so special about Hilsa?
- Hilsa has a history of migrating to Allahabad in the Ganga river system from Bangladesh.
- Though itâs a saltwater fish, it migrates to sweet waters of the Ganges from the Bay of Bengal.
- It travels upstream of the river during the mating seasons and returns to its natural abode after spawning.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Yakshagana, Talamaddale
Mains level: NA
The traditional art of âTalamaddaleâ, a variant of Yakshagana theatre, has gone virtual in times of COVID-19.
Try this question from CSP 2017:
Q.With reference to Manipuri Sankirtana, consider the following statements:
- It is a song and dance performance.
- Cymbals are the only musical instruments used in the performance.
- It is performed to narrate the life and deeds of Lord Krishna.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3.
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1 only
Talamaddale theatre
- Tala-Maddale is an ancient form of performance dialogue or debate performance in Southern India in the Karavali and Malnad regions of Karnataka and Kerala.
- The plot and content of the conversation is drawn from popular mythology but the performance mainly consists of an impromptu debate between characters involving sarcasm, puns, philosophy positions and humour.
- The main plot is sung from the same oral texts used for the Yakshgana form of dance- drama.
- Performers claim that this was a more intellectual rendition of the dance during the monsoon season.
How it is different from Yakshagana?
- Unlike the Yakshagana performance, in the conventional âtalamaddale,â the artists sit across in a place without any costumes and engage in testing their oratory skills based on the episode chosen.
- If music is common for both Yakshagana performance and âtalamaddaleâ, the latter has only spoken word without any dance or costumes.
- Hence it is an art form minus dance, costumes and stage conventions.
- It has an âarthadhariâ who is an orator, a âbhagavathaâ (singer-cum-director), and a âmaddaleâ player.
Back2Basics: Yakshagana
- It is the oldest theatre form popular in Karnataka.
- It emerged in the Vijayanagara Empire and was performed by Jakkula Varu
- It is a descriptive dance drama.
- It is presented from dusk to dawn.
- The stories are drawn from Ramayana, Mahabharata and other epics from both Hindu and Jain tradition.
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