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Type: Prelims Only

  •  ‘PRASAD’ Scheme to create a slew of facilities at Srisailam

    President of India inaugurated ‘PRASAD’ project at the tourism facilitation centre in the pilgrim town of Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh.

    About Srisailam

    • The temple at Srisailam is the ancient and sacred place of South India.
    • The presiding deity of the place is Brahmaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy in natural stone formations in the shape of Lingam.
    • It is listed as one of the twelve Jyotirlingams existing in the country.

    Development with PRASAD scheme

    • The pilgrim town will get a pilgrim complex, amenities centres, an amphitheatre, sound and light show, digital intervention, parking areas among others.
    • There is total outlay of ₹48.03 crore under the PRASAD project.

    Back2Basics: PRASAD Scheme

    • PRASAD stands for Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive (PRASAD).
    • It is 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme under Tourism Ministry.
    • Provisions under the scheme include-
    1. Tourism Promotion and Tourist Ecosystem
    2. Vocational Training for Tourists and Hospitality Business
    3. Hunar se Rozgar tak (HSRT) and earn while you learn programs
    4. Improving Tourist Infrastructure

     

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  • What is a ‘Bomb Cyclone’?

    bomb

    Bomb cyclone continued to unleash havoc as the death toll due to weather-related incidents in the United States mounted to 34 and has left millions without power.

    What is Bomb Cyclone?

    • A bomb cyclone is a large, intense mid-latitude storm that has low pressure at its center, weather fronts and an array of associated weather, from blizzards to severe thunderstorms to heavy precipitation.
    • It becomes a bomb when its central pressure decreases very quickly—by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours.
    • When a cyclone “bombs,” or undergoes bombogenesis, this tells us that it has access to the optimal ingredients for strengthening, such as high amounts of heat, moisture and rising air.

    Why is it called a bomb?

    • Most cyclones don’t intensify rapidly in this way.
    • Bomb cyclones put forecasters on high alert, because they can produce significant harmful impacts.

    Its etymology

    • The word “bombogenesis” is a combination of cyclogenesis, which describes the formation of a cyclone or storm, and bomb, which is, well, pretty self-explanatory.
    • This can happen when a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass, such as air over warm ocean waters.
    • The formation of this rapidly strengthening weather system is a process called bombogenesis, which creates what is known as a bomb cyclone.

    How does it occur?

    • Over the warmer ocean, heat and moisture are abundant.
    • But as cool continental air moves overhead and creates a large difference in temperature, the lower atmosphere becomes unstable and buoyant.
    • Air rises, cools and condenses, forming clouds and precipitation.

    Where does it occur the most?

    • The US coast is one of the regions where bombogenesis is most common.
    • That’s because storms in the mid-latitudes – a temperate zone north of the tropics that includes the entire continental US – draw their energy from large temperature contrasts.
    • Along the US East Coast during winter, there’s a naturally potent thermal contrast between the cool land and the warm Gulf Stream current.

     

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  • What are Orans?

    Oran Bachao Yatras are taking place in Rajasthan for the protection of orans or sacred groves facing the threat of destruction due to the land being allotted for renewable energy infrastructure and high-tension power lines.

    What are Orans?

    • Orans are Community Conserved Areas protected for their sacred values.
    • They include woodlots, pastures, orchards, sacred groves, and habitats usually centered around sources of water such as natural springs, rivulets, or artificially constructed ponds.
    • Additionally, there is usually a shrine dedicated to a local deity at the heart of an Oran.
    • Their traditional boundaries are based on landmarks or geographical milestones established by indigenous and agro-pastoral communities associated with them.
    • Orans are usually defined by a strong community-territory relationship and a well-functioning governance system.

    Reasons for the Yatra

    • Named after local deities and medieval warriors, orans hold religious and social significance as small forest patches in the middle of the mighty Thar desert.
    • Orans also form the natural habitat for India’s most critically endangered bird, the Great Indian Bustard (GIB), a protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act, which is also the State bird of Rajasthan.
    • GIBs have died during the last few years because of collision with power lines, making this the most significant threat to the majestic birds.

    Back2Basics: Sacred Grooves

    • Sacred groves of India are forest fragments of varying sizes, which are communally protected, and which usually have a significant religious connotation for the protecting community.
    • It usually consists of a dense cover of vegetation including climbers, herbs, shrubs and trees, with the presence of a village deity and is mostly situated near a perennial water source.
    • Sacred groves are considered to be symbols of the primitive practice of nature worship and support nature conservation to a great extent.
    • The introduction of the protected area category community reserves under the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002 has introduced legislation for providing government protection to community-held lands, which could include sacred groves.

    Historical references

    • Indian sacred groves are often associated with temples, monasteries, shrines, pilgrimage sites, or with burial grounds.
    • Historically, sacred groves find their mentions in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, from sacred tree groves in Hinduism to sacred deer parks in Buddhism for example.
    • Sacred groves may be loosely used to refer to natural habitat protected on religious grounds.
    • Other historical references to sacred groves can be obtained in Vrukshayurveda an ancient treatise, ancient classics such as Kalidasa’s Vikramuurvashiiya.
    • There has been a growing interest in creating green patches such as Nakshatravana

    Regulation of activities in Sacred Grooves

    • Hunting and logging are usually strictly prohibited within these patches.
    • Other forms of forest usage like honey collection and deadwood collection are sometimes allowed on a sustainable basis.
    • NGOs work with local villagers to protect such groves.
    • Traditionally, and in some cases even today, members of the community take turns to protect the grove.

    Threats to such grooves

    • Threats to the groves include urbanization, and over-exploitation of resources.
    • While many of the groves are looked upon as abode of Hindu deities, in the recent past a number of them have been partially cleared for construction of shrines and temples.

    Total grooves in India

    • Around 14,000 sacred groves have been reported from all over India, which act as reservoirs of rare fauna, and more often rare flora, amid rural and even urban settings.
    • Experts believe that the total number of sacred groves could be as high as 100,000.
    • They are called by different names in different states:
    1. Sarna in Bihar
    2. Dev Van in Himachal Pradesh
    3. Devarakadu in Karnataka
    4. Kavu in Kerala
    5. Dev in Madhya Pradesh
    6. Devarahati or Devarai in Maharashtra
    7. Lai Umang in Maharashtra
    8. Law Kyntang or Asong Khosi in Meghalaya
    9. Kovil Kadu or Sarpa Kavu in Tamil Nadu

     

     

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  • What is Purse Seine Fishing?

    seine

    The Centre has told the Supreme Court that a ban imposed by certain coastal States on purse seine fishing, which is known to disadvantage endangered species, is not justified.

     Purse seine fishing

    • It uses a large vertical net to surround dense shoals of pelagic or midwater fish in the open ocean, and then draws in the edges like tightening the cords of a drawstring purse.
    • A vertical net ‘curtain’ is used to surround the school of fish, the bottom of which is then drawn together to enclose the fish, rather like tightening the cords of a drawstring purse.
    • It is deployed widely on India’s western coasts,

    What is the issue?

    • This mode of fishing is prohibited by Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Odisha, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Andaman and Nicobar Islands in their respective territorial waters of up to 12 nautical miles.
    • However, states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, and West Bengal have not imposed any such ban on purse seine fishing.

    Why states are divided over this?

    • In some States, it is linked to concerns about the decreasing stock of small, pelagic shoaling fish such as sardines, mackerel, anchovies and trevally on the western coasts.
    • The scientific community argues that climatic conditions, including the El Nino phenomenon, are responsible for the declining catch of such fish in the last ten years.
    • Fishermen using traditional methods have placed the blame squarely on the rise of purse seine fishing.
    • They fear a further fall in the availability of these small fish if the ban is lifted.

    How does the Centre see this plan?

    • The Fisheries Department of the Union government has recommended the lifting of the ban on purse seine fishing.
    • The expert panel has said that this mode of fishing has “per se has not resulted in any serious resource depletion so far, given the available evidence”.
    • It recommended purse seiners to fish in territorial waters and the Indian Exclusive Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) subject to certain conditions.

    Way ahead

    • There should be a national management plan on purse seine fisheries.
    • Partial ban in some states may put fishermen at disadvantage in other states.

     

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  • [pib] The Urban Learning Internship Programme (TULIP)

    tulip

    More than 25,000 internship opportunities have been advertised under the TULIP programme so far.

    TULIP Program

    • TULIP is a portal jointly developed by the Ministry of HRD, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
    • It helps reap the benefits of India’s demographic dividend as it is poised to have the largest working-age population in the world in the coming years.
    • It helps enhance the value-to-market of India’s graduates and help create a potential talent pool in diverse fields like urban planning, transport engineering, environment, municipal finance etc.
    • It furthers the Government’s endeavors to boost community partnership and government-academia-industry-civil society linkages.

    Why need such a program?

    • India has a substantial pool of technical graduates for whom exposure to real-world project implementation and planning is essential for professional development.
    • General education may not reflect the depth of productive knowledge present in society.
    • Instead of approaching education as ‘doing by learning,’ our societies need to reimagine education as ‘learning by doing.’

     

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  • GI in news: Joynagar Moa

    moa

    The Joynagar Moa, the popular Bengal sweet got 10 year extension for its Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

    Joynagar Moa

    • The moa is a popped-rice ball held together with fresh date-palm jaggery, extracted from the beginning of December till the end of February.
    • Its manufacture is so synonymous with Joynagar, a settlement on the outskirts of Kolkata, that it earned the Geographical Indication tag of Joynagar Moa in 2015.

    How is it made?

    • A moa is made with khoi (puffed rice). The best ones are made with khoi from a rice variety known as kanakchur.
    • It uses cardamom and Bengal’s legendary nolen gur (a liquid jaggery made from date palms and found only in winter).

    Back2Basics: Geographical Indication (GI)

    • A GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
    • Nodal Agency: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry
    • India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 w.e.f. September 2003.
    • GIs have been defined under Article 22 (1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
    • The tag stands valid for 10 years.

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  • Kerala government publishes map for people to seek exemption from ESZ

    The Kerala government has published a forest department map that better reflects the block and plot-wise details of localities that could potentially fall under the Supreme Court-suggested one-km ecologically sensitive buffer zone (ESZ) around forests if imposed.

    What are the Eco-sensitive Zones (ESZs)?

    • Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs) are areas notified by the MoEFCC around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
    • The purpose of declaring ESZs is to create some kind of “shock absorbers” to the protected areas by regulating and managing the activities around such areas.
    • They also act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesser protection.

    How are they demarcated?

    • The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 does NOT mention the word “Eco-Sensitive Zones”.
    • However, Section 3(2)(v) of the Act, says that Central Government can restrict areas in which any industries, operations or processes or class of industries, operations or processes shall be carried out or shall not, subject to certain safeguards.
    • Besides Rule 5(1) of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 states that central government can prohibit or restrict the location of industries and carrying on certain operations or processes on the basis of certain considerations.
    • The same criteria have been used by the government to declare No Development Zones (NDZs).

    Defining its boundaries

    • An ESZ could go up to 10 kilometres around a protected area as provided in the Wildlife Conservation Strategy, 2002.
    • Moreover, in the case where sensitive corridors, connectivity and ecologically important patches, crucial for landscape linkage, are beyond 10 km width, these should be included in the ESZs.
    • Further, even in the context of a particular Protected Area, the distribution of an area of ESZ and the extent of regulation may not be uniform all around and it could be of variable width and extent.

    Activities Permitted and Prohibited

    • Permitted: Ongoing agricultural or horticultural practices, rainwater harvesting, organic farming, use of renewable energy sources, and adoption of green technology for all activities.
    • Prohibited: Commercial mining, saw mills, industries causing pollution (air, water, soil, noise etc), the establishment of major hydroelectric projects (HEP), commercial use of wood, Tourism activities like hot-air balloons over the National Park, discharge of effluents or any solid waste or production of hazardous substances.
    • Under regulation: Felling of trees, the establishment of hotels and resorts, commercial use of natural water, erection of electrical cables, drastic change of agriculture system, e.g. adoption of heavy technology, pesticides etc, widening of roads.

    What is the recent SC judgment that has caused an uproar in Kerala?

    • On June 3, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court heard a PIL that sought to protect forest lands in the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, but was later expanded to cover the entire country.
    • In its judgment, the court while referring to the 2011 guidelines as “reasonable”, directed all states to have a mandatory 1-km ESZ from the demarcated boundaries of every protected area.
    • It also stated that no new permanent structure or mining will be permitted within the ESZ.
    • If the existing ESZ goes beyond 1-km buffer zone or if any statutory instrument prescribes a higher limit, then such extended boundary shall prevail, the court, as per the Live Law report.

    Why are people protesting against it?

    • There is a high density of human population near the notified protected areas.
    • Farmer’s groups and political parties have been demanding that all human settlements be exempt from the ESZ ruling.
    • The total extent of the wildlife sanctuaries in Kerala is eight lakh acres.
    • If one-km of ESZ is demarcated from their boundaries, around 4 lakh acres of human settlements, including farmlands, would come within that purview.

     

    Try this PYQ

    With reference to ‘Eco-Sensitive Zones’, which of the following statements is/are correct?

    1. Eco-Sensitive Zones are the areas that are declared under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
    2. The purpose of the declaration of Eco-Sensitive Zones is to prohibit all kinds of human activities, in those zones except agriculture.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”jnl52b57xo” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

     

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  • Centre rules out an increase in MSP for Cotton

    While cotton farmers in several States have demanded an increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of the crop, the Centre has said that it is watching the cotton production scenario and decide accordingly.

    What is MSP?

    • The MSP assures the farmers of a fixed price for their crops, well above their production costs.
    • MSP, by contrast, is devoid of any legal backing. Access to it, unlike subsidized grains through the PDS, isn’t an entitlement for farmers.
    • They cannot demand it as a matter of right. It is only a government policy that is part of administrative decision-making.
    • The Centre currently fixes MSPs for 23 farm commodities based on the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) recommendations.

    Fixing of MSPs

    • The CACP considered various factors while recommending the MSP for a commodity, including the cost of cultivation.
    • It also takes into account the supply and demand situation for the commodity; market price trends (domestic and global) and parity vis-à-vis other crops; and implications for consumers (inflation), environment (soil and water use) and terms of trade between agriculture and non-agriculture sectors.

    What changed with the 2018 budget?

    • The Budget for 2018-19 announced that MSPs would henceforth be fixed at 1.5 times of the production costs for crops as a “pre-determined principle”.
    • Simply put, the CACP’s job now was only to estimate production costs for a season and recommend the MSPs by applying the 1.5-times formula.

    How was this production cost arrived at?

    • The CACP projects three kinds of production cost for every crop, both at the state and all-India average levels.
    • ‘A2’ covers all paid-out costs directly incurred by the farmer — in cash and kind — on seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, hired labor, leased-in land, fuel, irrigation, etc.
    • ‘A2+FL’ includes A2 plus an imputed value of unpaid family labor.
    • ‘C2’ is a more comprehensive cost that factors in rentals and interest forgone on owned land and fixed capital assets, on top of A2+FL.

    How much produce can the government procure at MSP?

    • The MSP value of the total production of the 23 crops worked out to around Rs 10.78 lakh crore in 2019-20.
    • Not all this produce, however, is marketed. Farmers retain part of it for self-consumption, the seed for the next season’s sowing, and also for feeding their animals.
    • The marketed surplus ratio for different crops is estimated to range differently for various crops.
    • It ranges from below 50% for ragi and 65-70% for bajra (pearl millet) and jawar (sorghum) to 75% for wheat, 80% for paddy, 85% for sugarcane, 90% for most pulses, and 95%-plus for cotton, soybean, etc.
    • Taking an average of 75% would yield a number of just over Rs 8 lakh crore.
    • This is the MSP value of production that is the marketable surplus — which farmers actually sell.

    Nature of MSP

    • There is currently no statutory backing for these prices, nor any law mandating their enforcement.

    Farmers demand legalization

    • Legal entitlement: There is a demand that MSP based on a C2+50% formula should be made a legal entitlement for all agricultural produce.
    • Private traders’ responsibility: Some say that most of the cost should be borne by private traders, noting that both middlemen and corporate giants are buying commodities at low rates from farmers.
    • Mandatory purchase at MSP: A left-affiliated farm union has suggested a law that simply stipulates that no one — neither the Government nor private players — will be allowed to buy at a rate lower than MSP.
    • Surplus payment by the govt.: Other unions have said that if private buyers fail to purchase their crops, the Government must be prepared to buy out the entire surplus at MSP rates.
    • Expansion of C2: Farm unions are demanding that C2 must also include capital assets and the rentals and interest forgone on owned land as recommended by the National Commission for Farmers.

    Government’s position

    • The PM has announced the formation of a committee to make MSP more transparent, as well as to change crop patterns — often determined by MSP and procurement.
    • The panel will have representatives from farm groups as well as from the State and Central Governments, along with agricultural scientists and economists.

    Back2Basics: Cotton Cultivation in India

    • Cotton, a semi-xerophyte, is grown in tropical & sub-tropical conditions.
    • A minimum temperature of 15C is required for better germination at field conditions.
    • The optimum temperature for vegetative growth is 21-27C & it can tolerate temperature to the extent of 43C but temperature below 21C is detrimental to the crop.
    • Cotton is grown on a variety of soils ranging from well-drained deep alluvial soils in the north to black clayey soils of varying depth in central region and in black and mixed black and red soils in south zone.
    • It is semi-tolerant to salinity and sensitive to water logging and thus prefers well-drained soils.

    Sowing season

    • The sowing season of cotton varies considerably from tract to tract and is generally early (April-May) in northern India.
    • Sowing is delayed as its proceeds down south (monsoon based in southern zone).

     

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  • [pib] Vainu Bappu Observatory

    vainu

    The several stellar discoveries of the 40-inch telescope at the Vainu Bappu Observatory in Kavalur, Tamil Nadu, were highlighted at the celebration of its 50 years of its operation.

    Vainu Bappu Observatory

    • The Vainu Bappu Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
    • It is located at Kavalur in the Javadi Hills, near Vaniyambadi in Tirupathur district in Tamil Nadu.
    • The 40-inch telescope was installed in 1972 and started producing important astronomical discoveries soon after.
    • More than a generation of astronomers were trained at this telescope as well.

    Significant feats achieved by VBO

    The telescope set up by Professor Vainu Bappu has played a significant role in astronomy with major discoveries like-

    1. Presence of rings around the planet Uranus,
    2. New satellite of Uranus,
    3. Presence of an atmosphere around Ganymede which is a satellite of Jupiter
    4. Discovery and study of many ‘Be stars’, Lithium depletion in giant stars, optical variability in Blazars, the dynamics of the famous supernova SN 1987A and so on.

     

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  • Dhokra Art of West Bengal

    dhokra

    This newscard is an excerpt from the articles published in TH.

    Do you know?

    The dancing girl from Mohenjo-Daro (c. 2300 – 1750 BCE) is not just the most famous piece of art from the Harappan Civilisation, it is also one of the finest examples of metal art from that period.

    dhokra

    But did you know that this world-famous figurine is also the oldest example of a unique metal casting tradition called Dhokra that survives to this day in parts of India?

    Dhokra Art

    • Named after a nomadic tribe called ‘Dhokra Damar’, the art of Dhokra was originally found in the region from Bankura to Dariapur in Bengal, and across the metal-rich regions of Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.
    • Today, it is practiced in the tribal belt across present-day Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.
    • The Dhokra artistes first make a clay model out of wax, which is then replaced with molten metal, either brass or bronze, through a lost-wax metal cast.

    What is Dhokra?

    • Dhokra is a metal casted art that uses the ancient lost-wax casting technique.
    • This art is said to be the first of its kind to use a non-ferrous metal like copper and its alloys – brass (a mix of zinc and copper) or bronze (tin and copper) which do not contain iron.
    • It uses the process of annealing, where a metal is heated to very high temperatures and allowed to cool slowly.
    • The casting is done using two kinds of processes – the traditional, hollow-casting method and solid casting. Solid casting is predominant in Telangana, whereas hollow casting is used in Central and Eastern India.

    Symbolism of Dhokra

    • With its roots in ancient civilisations, Dhokra represents a primitive lifestyle and the beliefs of people, going back to the age of hunting.
    • This is why figures of elephants, owls, horses and tortoises are commonly seen in Dhokra art.
    • The elephant symbolises wisdom and masculinity; the horse motion; owl prosperity and death; and the tortoise femininity.
    • In Hindu mythology, these iconic symbols also have stories behind them.
    • The world is imagined to rest on four elephants, standing on the shell of a tortoise.
    • The tortoise, considered as an avatar of Lord Vishnu, carries the world on his back, holding up the earth and the sea.

     

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