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Type: Prelims Only

  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Species in news: Great Indian Hornbill

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Hornbill

    Mains level: NA

    A study based on satellite data has flagged a high rate of deforestation in a major hornbill habitat in Arunachal Pradesh.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. In which of the following regions of India are you most likely to come across the ‘Great Indian Hornbill’ in its natural habitat? (CSP 2016)

    (a) Sand deserts of northwest India

    (b) Higher Himalayas of Jammu and Kashmir

    (c) Salt marshes of western Gujarat

    (d) Western Ghats

    About Great Indian Hornbill

    IUCN status: Vulnerable (uplisted from Near Threatened in 2018), CITES: Appendix I

    • The great hornbill (Buceros bicornis) also known as the great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill, is one of the larger members of the hornbill family.
    • The great hornbill is long-lived, living for nearly 50 years in captivity.
    • It is predominantly fruit-eating, but is an opportunist and preys on small mammals, reptiles and birds.
    • Its impressive size and colour have made it important in many tribal cultures and rituals.
    • A large majority of their population is found in India with a significant proportion in the Western Ghats and the Nilgiris.
    • The nesting grounds of the birds in the Nilgiris North Eastern Range are also believed to support some of their highest densities.

    Their ecological significance

    • Referred to as ‘forest engineers’ or ‘farmers of the forest’ for playing a key role in dispersing seeds of tropical trees, hornbills indicate the prosperity and balance of the forest they build nests in.

    Threats

    • Hornbills used to be hunted for their casques — upper beak — and feathers for adorning headgear despite being cultural symbols of some ethnic communities in the northeast, specifically the Nyishi of Arunachal Pradesh.
    • Illegal logging has led to fewer tall trees where the bird’s nest.

    Back2Basics: Hornbill Festival

    • The Hornbill Festival is a celebration held every year from 1 – 10 December, in Kohima, Nagaland.
    • The festival was first held in the year 2000.
    • It is named after the Indian hornbill, the large and colourful forest bird which is displayed in the folklore of most of the state’s tribes.
    • Festival highlights include the traditional Naga Morungs exhibition and the sale of arts and crafts, food stalls, herbal medicine stalls, flower shows and sales, cultural medley – songs and dances, fashion shows etc.

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  • Global Geological And Climatic Events

    Perseids Meteor Shower

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Meteor terminology

    Mains level: Not Much

    The Perseids meteor shower is going to be active from August 17-26.

    Try this question from CSP 2014:

    Q.What is a coma, in the content of astronomy?

    (a) Bright half of material on the comet

    (b) Long tail of dust

    (c) Two asteroids orbiting each other

    (d) Two planets orbiting each other

    What is the Perseids meteor shower?

    • The Perseids meteor shower peaks every year in mid-August. It was first observed over 2,000 years ago.
    • The Perseids occur as the Earth runs into pieces of cosmic debris left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle.
    • The cloud of debris is about 27 km wide, and at the peak of the display, between 160 and 200 meteors streak through the Earth’s atmosphere every hour as the pieces of debris.
    • They travel at the speed of some 2.14 lakh km per hour; burn up a little less than 100 km above the Earth’s surface.

    What are Meteor Showers?

    • Meteors are bits of rock and ice that are ejected from comets as they manoeuvre around their orbits around the sun.
    • As meteors fall towards the Earth, the resistance makes the space rocks extremely hot and, as meteorites pass through the atmosphere, they leave behind streaks of glowing gas that are visible to the observers and not the rock itself.
    • Meteor showers, on the other hand, are witnessed when Earth passes through the trail of debris left behind by a comet or an asteroid.
    • When a meteor reaches the Earth, it is called a meteorite and a series of meteorites, when encountered at once, is termed as a meteor shower.
    • According to NASA, over 30 meteor showers occur annually and are observable from the Earth.

    Where do the Perseids come from?

    • The comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862 by Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle, takes 133 years to complete one rotation around the sun.
    • The last time it reached its closest approach to the sun was in 1992 and will do so again in 2125.
    • Every time comets come close to the sun, they leave behind dust that is essentially the debris trail, which the Earth passes through every year as it orbits around the Sun.

    Back2Basics:

     

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  • Global Geological And Climatic Events

    In news: Mount Sinabung

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Geographical Features & Their Location

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Mount Sinabung

    Mains level: Not Much

    The Mount Sinabung volcano in Indonesia has erupted spouting ash at least 5,000 metres high into the sky.

    In the Philippines, a volcano called Taal on the island of Luzon; 50 km from Manila has recently erupted in January. Note all such recent eruption in news.

    Also, try this PYQ:

    Consider the following statements:

    1. The Barren Island volcano is an active volcano located in the Indian Territory.
    2. Barren Island lies about 140 km east of Great Nicobar
    3. The last time the Barren Island volcano erupted was in 1991 and it has remained inactive since then.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (CSP 2018)

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 3 only

    (d) 1 and 3

    Mount Sinabung

    • It is a Pleistocene-to-Holocene stratovolcano in the Karo plateau of Karo Regency, North Sumatra, Indonesia.
    • It is created by the subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate under the Eurasian Plate.
    • It erupted in 2010 after a 400-year-long hiatus and has been continuously active since September 2013.

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  • Monsoon Updates

    Boreal Summer Intra-Seasonal Oscillation (BSISO)

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Geographical Features & Their Location

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: BSISO

    Mains level: Indian monsoon and its prediction

    Researchers at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad have reportedly found a way to better forecast the Boreal Summer Intra-Seasonal Oscillation (BSISO).

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.With reference to ‘Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)’ sometimes mentioned in the news while forecasting Indian monsoon, which of the following statements is/are correct? (CSP 2017)

    1. IOD phenomenon is characterized by a difference in sea surface temperature between tropical Western Indian Ocean and tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean.
    2. An IOD phenomenon can influence an El Nino’s impact on the monsoon.

    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

    What is BSISO?

    • The BSISO of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) is one of the most prominent sources of short-term climate variability in the global monsoon system.
    • It is the movement of convection (heat) from the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific Ocean roughly every 10-50 days during the monsoon (June-September).
    • Compared with the related Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) it is more complex in nature, with prominent northward propagation and variability extending much further from the equator.
    • It represents the monsoon’s ‘active’ and ‘break’ periods, in which weeks of heavy rainfall give way to brilliant sunshine before starting all over again.
    • The active phase also enhances monsoon winds and hence the surface waves.

    Why predict BSISO behaviour?

    • Some phases of boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation or BSISO induce high wave activity in the north Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea, the researchers claimed.
    • Wave forecast advisories based on the BSISO would be more useful for efficient coastal and marine management.
    • This finding has a great significance in developing seasonal and climate forecast service for waves and coastal erosion for India.

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  • Festivals, Dances, Theatre, Literature, Art in News

    Why August 7th is called National Handloom Day?

    Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Handloom, Swadeshi Movement

    Mains level: India's handloom sector

    Yesterday, August 7th was celebrated as the National Handloom Day. It was in 2015, the first National Handloom Day was celebrated.

    Try this PYQ:

    What was the immediate cause for the launch of the Swadeshi movement? (CSP 2010)

    (a) The partition of Bengal done by Lord Curzon.

    (b) A sentence of 18 months rigorous imprisonment imposed on Lokmanya Tilak.

    (c) The arrest and deportation of Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh; and passing of the Punjab Colonization Bill.

    (d) Death sentence pronounced on the Chapekar brothers.

    Why 7th August?

    • With the partition of Bengal, the Swadeshi Movement gained strength.
    • It was on August 7, 1905, that a formal proclamation was made at the Calcutta Town Hall to boycott foreign goods and rely on Indian-made products.

    What is handloom?

    • While different definitions for the word have evolved since the Handloom (Reservation and Articles for Production) Act, 1985, where ‘handloom’ meant “any loom other than power loom”, in recent years it has become more elaborate.
    • In 2012, a new definition was proposed: “Handloom means any loom other than power loom, and includes any hybrid loom on which at least one process of weaving requires manual intervention or human energy for production.”

    Back2Basics: Swadeshi Movement

    • Credit to starting the Swadeshi movement goes to Baba Ram Singh Kuka of the Sikh Namdhari sect, whose revolutionary movements which heightened around 1871 and 1872.
    • It gained momentum with the partition of Bengal by the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon in 1905 and continued up to 1911.
    • It was the most successful of the pre-Gandhian movements.
    • Its chief architects were Aurobindo Ghosh, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai, V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, Babu Genu.
    • Swadeshi, as a strategy, was a key focus of Mahatma Gandhi, who described it as the soul of Swaraj (self-rule). It was strongest in Bengal and was also called the Vandemataram movement in India.

    Important phases of the Movement

    • 1850 to 1904: developed by leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji, Gokhale, Ranade, Tilak, G. V. Joshi and Bhaswat K. Nigoni. This was also known as the First Swadeshi Movement.
    • 1905 to 1917: Began in 1905, because of the partition of Bengal ordered by Lord Curzon.
    • 1918 to 1947: Swadeshi thought shaped by Gandhi.

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  • Indian Army Updates

    Exercise Kavkaz 2020

    Prelims Only | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Various Security Forces, Agencies & Their Mandates

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Kavkaz 2020

    Mains level: NA

    In a resumption of bilateral and multilateral military exercises which were deferred due to coronavirus (COVID-19), India will take part in the Russian Kavkaz 2020 strategic command-post exercise next month.

    Go through the list for once. UPSC may ask a match the pair type question asking exercise name and countries involved.

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/prelims-spotlight-defence-exercises/

    Kavkaz 2020

    • The Kavkaz 2020 is also referred to as Caucasus-2020.
    • The exercise is aimed at assessing the ability of the armed forces to ensure military security in Russia’s southwest, where serious terrorist threats persist and preparing for the strategic command-staff drills.
    • The main training grounds that will be involved are located in the Southern Military District.
    • The invitation for participation has been extended to at least 18 countries including China, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey apart from other Central Asian Republics part of the SCO.

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  • International Space Agencies – Missions and Discoveries

    SN5 Starship by SpaceX

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: SN5 Starship

    Mains level: Commercial crew programme by SpaceX

    SpaceX has successfully test-launched its “Mars ship”, a stainless steel test vehicle called SN5, and which is a part of the Starship spacecraft.

    Elon Musk’s aerospace company has been putting continuous wins on the board ever since it became the first privately funded group to put a payload in Earth orbit.

    What is Starship?

    • Designed by SpaceX, Starship is a spacecraft and super-heavy booster rocket meant to act as a reusable transportation system for crew and cargo to the Earth’s orbit, Moon and Mars.
    • SpaceX has described Starship as “the world’s most powerful launch vehicle” with an ability to carry over 100 metric tonnes to the Earth’s orbit.
    • Starship has been under development since 2012 and is a part of Space X’s central mission to make interplanetary travel accessible and affordable and to become the first private company to do so.

    So what all can Starship do?

    • SpaceX is planning its first cargo mission to the red planet by 2022 and by 2024, the company wants to fly four ships including two cargo and two crewed ones to Mars.
    • Once functional, the Starship spacecraft will enter Mars’ atmosphere at a speed of 7.5 km per second and will be designed to withstand multiple entries.
    • Starship is also expected to help carry large amounts of cargo to the Moon, for human spaceflight development and research.
    • Beyond the Moon, the spacecraft is being designed for carrying crew and cargo for interplanetary missions as well.

    A quest for reusability

    • Therefore, the company is working on building a fleet of reusable launch vehicles, capable of carrying humans to Mars and other destinations in the solar system.
    • Reusability is at the heart of making interplanetary travel accessible.

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  • J&K – The issues around the state

    Appointment of new Lt. Governor of the UT of J&K

    Prelims Only | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Federalism

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Lt. Governor and its appointment

    Mains level: Administrative differences in governance of UTs

    A veteran politician has been appointed as Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Which one of the following suggested that the Governor should be an eminent person from outside the State and should be a detached figure without intense political links or should not have taken part in politics in the recent past? (CSP 2019)

    (a) First Administrative Reforms Commission (1966)

    (b) Rajamannar Committee (1969)

    (c) Sarkaria Commission (1983)

    (d) National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2000)

    Office of the Lt. Governor

    • A Lt. Governor is the constitutional head of the union territories in India.
    • She/he is appointed by the President of India for a term of five years and holds office at the President’s pleasure.
    • Since the union territories of Delhi, J&K and Puducherry have a measure of self-government with an elected legislature and council of ministers, the role of the lieutenant governor there is mostly a ceremonial one, akin to that of a state’s governor.
    • In Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Ladakh however, the lieutenant governor holds more power, being both the head of state and head of government.
    • The other three UTs—Chandigarh; Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu; and Lakshadweep—are governed by an administrator.

    Some related facts

    • Unlike the lieutenant governors of other territories, they are usually drawn from the IAS or IPS.
    • Lieutenant governors do not hold the same rank as a governor of a state in the list of precedence.
    • Since 1985 the Governor of Punjab has also been the ex-officio Administrator of Chandigarh.

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  • Tribes in News

    Who are the Bru Tribals?

    Prelims Only | Governance | Mains Paper 1: Population & Associated Issues

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Bru Tribals

    Mains level: Bru-Reang Repatriation Agreement

    Non-Brus of Tripura has proposed six places for settling the displaced Brus from Mizoram and set a limit for the number of families to be accommodated in two subdivisions that have borne the brunt of the 23-year-old refugee crisis.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. With reference to ‘Changpa’ community of India, consider the following statement:

    1. They live mainly in the State of Uttarakhand.
    2. They rear the Pashmina goats that yield fine wool.
    3. They are kept in the category of Scheduled Tribes.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (CSP 2014)

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    Who are the Brus?

    • Reangs or Brus are the second largest ethnic group in Mizoram.
    • Their exodus in 1997 was spurred by violent clashes in Mamith subdivision, a Reang-dominated area when they demanded the creation of an autonomous council that was vehemently opposed by Mizo groups.
    • Around 34,000 people were forced to live in sub-human conditions in tents in Tripura. No solution could be reached all these years.
    • These people were housed in temporary camps at Kanchanpur, in North Tripura.

    Read the complete thread here:

    [Burning Issue] Bru– Reang Repatriation Agreement

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  • Seeds, Pesticides and Mechanization – HYV, Indian Seed Congress, etc.

    In news: Pokkali Rice

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Pokkali Rice

    Mains level: Coastal farming and various hurdles

    Farmers from West Bengal are betting on the Pokkali variety of rice from Kerala to tide over a crisis-like situation created by severe seawater incursion into paddy fields in vast areas of the Sundarbans after the cyclone Amphan.

    Try this MCQ:

    Q.Which of the following is the striking feature of the Pokkali Rice recently seen in the news?

    a) It is bio-fortified rice for treating malnutrition

    b) It is a saltwater resistant variety of rice

    c) It is healthy rice used to treat diabetes

    d) None of these

    Pokkali Rice

    • The Pokkali variety of rice is known for its saltwater resistance and flourishes in the rice paddies of coastal Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts.
    • The uniqueness of the rice has brought it the Geographical Indication (GI) tag and is the subject of continuing research.
    • It had been in the news because of its uniqueness and also because a group of people in Kerala have been trying to revive the cultivation of the rice variety in the State.

    Why introduce in Sunderbans?

    • About 80% of the rice paddies in the Sundarbans faced the problem of the saltwater incursion.
    • If the Pokkali experiment succeeds, it would be a good step to turn around the fortunes of the farmers.

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