Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Yangli Festival, Khelchawa Festival, Tiwa Tribe
Mains level: NA
Why in the news?
Tiwa tribals dance recently celebrated the Yangli festival at Bormarjong village, in Karbi Anglong district, Assam.
About Tiwa Tribals
- Tiwa tribes, also known as Lalungs, inhabit both the hills and plains of Assam and Meghalaya states.
- They hold the status of a Scheduled Tribe in Assam.
- The hill-dwelling Tiwa villagers engage in traditional practices such as Jhum cultivation, horticulture, and the cultivation of local crops and vegetables.
- Their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman linguistic group.
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About Yangli Festival
- The Yangli festival is celebrated before starting the paddy sowing
- It is also known as the Lakshmi Puja of the Tiwa people.
- It is celebrated with traditional rituals, emphasizing the community’s strong ties to agriculture, their primary livelihood.
- It serves as an occasion for prayers seeking a bountiful harvest and divine protection for crops against pests and natural calamities.
- It is held once in 5 years.
- In April, Khelchawa festival is celebrated by Tiwa tribes marking close of the harvest season.
Celebratory Activities:
- Festivities commenced with traditional rituals and vibrant dances.
- It continues with a joyous gathering along the riverbanks.
- It draws participation from over five hundred individuals representing various groups like Amchi, Rangkhai, and Magrat.
- Ceremonial animal sacrifices, including poultry and goats, are performed to honour the goddess and ensure her benevolence upon the Tiwa people’s granary, known as “NoBaro.”
PYQ:
[2014] Every year, a month long ecologically important campaign/festival is held during which certain communities/ tribes plant saplings of fruit-bearing trees. Which of the following are such communities/tribes?
(a) Bhutia and Lepcha
(b) Gond and Korku
(c) lrula and Toda
(d) Sahariya and Agariya |
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), DPI Adoption Index Mains: NA
Mains level: NA
Why in the news?
The World Bank, in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MEITY), is spearheading the development of a state-level Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) adoption index.
About State-Level DPI Adoption Index
- World Bank confirmed that the project was in its preparatory stages.
- The envisioned state-level DPI index aims to identify gaps and opportunities for strengthening the DPI for the digital economy, promoting financial inclusion, and fostering public-private innovation.
- The index will assess different states based on their adoption levels of DPIs, intending to incentivize increased utilization of these digital systems.
What is Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)?
- DPI refers to the foundational digital infrastructure that enables the delivery of digital services and facilitates digital interactions between citizens, businesses, and governments.
- It encompasses various technological components, policies, and frameworks aimed at enhancing digital connectivity, accessibility, and efficiency in public service delivery.
| DPI, as defined by the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration (September 2023) “is a set of shared digital systems that are secure and interoperable, built on open technologies, to deliver equitable access to public and/or private services at a societal scale”. |
Three Pillars of DPI:
- DPI primarily focuses on three key pillars: identity, payments, and data management.
- India has pioneered the development of all three DPI pillars through its India Stack Platform, setting a global benchmark.
- Identity: Aadhar serves as India’s digital ID system.
- Payment: The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) facilitates real-time fast payments.
- Data Management: The Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) ensures consent-based data sharing.
India’s Initiatives Leveraging DPI
- Digital India: Initiatives like Digital Locker, e-sign framework, and the National Scholarship Portal are integral parts of the Digital India campaign.
- BharatNet: This project aims to provide affordable internet connectivity to rural India, leveraging high-speed broadband networks.
- National Health Stack: Designed to revolutionize healthcare, this infrastructure facilitates health data exchange and interoperability.
- National Knowledge Network (NKN): Facilitating collaborative research and innovation, NKN promotes knowledge sharing.
- UMANG: The Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance offers access to various government services and schemes.
- Government e-Marketplace (GeM): An online platform streamlining procurement processes for government agencies.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sympathetic Solar Flares, Coronal Mass Ejections (CME), Solar Cycle
Mains level: NA
Why in the news?
A rare celestial event unfolded as four solar flares called as Sympathetic Solar Flares simultaneously, signaling the onset of the Sun’s dynamic 11-year solar cycle.
What is a Solar Cycle?
- Given the Sun’s dynamic nature, electrically charged gases on its surface generate powerful magnetic fields, known as magnetic fields.
- These magnetic fields undergo stretching, twisting, and tangling due to the constant movement of gases on the Sun’s surface, resulting in solar activity.
- Scientists monitor solar cycles using sunspots. Solar activity fluctuates throughout the solar cycle, which typically spans about 11 years.
- The onset of a solar cycle typically features minimal sunspot activity, termed as a solar minimum.
- For instance, the last Solar Cycle 25 commenced in December 2019, characterized by a low number of sunspots.
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What are Sympathetic Solar Flares?
- Sympathetic solar flares are solar eruptions that occur in close temporal and spatial proximity to another solar flare or eruption.
- These events are believed to be interconnected through magnetic fields or other physical processes occurring on the Sun.
- When a solar flare or eruption happens on the Sun, it releases a burst of electromagnetic radiation and charged particles into space.
- In some cases, the energy released during these events can cause disturbances in the Sun’s magnetic field.
- These disturbances can trigger the occurrence of additional flares loop or eruptions in nearby regions of the Sun’s surface.
- This event follows coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and intense plasma bursts.
Implications for Earth
- Potential impacts include disruptions to power grids, interference with communication networks, and increased radiation exposure for astronauts and aircraft passengers.
- Solar storms can lead to spectacular natural light shows known as auroras, which are typically visible near the Earth’s magnetic poles.
PYQ:
[2012] The increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the air is slowly raising the temperature of the atmosphere, because it absorbs:
(a) the water vapour of the air and retains its heat
(b) the ultraviolet part of the solar radiation
(c) all the solar radiations
(d) the infrared part of the solar radiation |
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mercury Poisoning, Membranous Nephropathy, Minamata Convention.
Mains level: NA
Why in the news?
- Researchers from Kerala reported 15 cases of Membranous Nephropathy (MN) linked to the regular application of fairness creams.
- These creams contained high levels of mercury, sometimes exceeding the safe limit by 10,000 times.
Mercury Contamination in Hair Cream
- Blood and urine screenings of affected individuals unveiled alarmingly high levels of mercury, a well-known toxic element.
- The fairness creams contained mercury levels up to 10,000 times above the permissible limit of 1 ppm under Minamata Convention (2013).
- Most cases were PLA2R (phospholipase A2 receptor) negative, indicating a different cause.
- Cases of MN linked to Neural epidermal growth factor-like protein 1 (NELL-1) have been identified.
- NELL-1 has been associated with MN caused by traditional medicines containing high mercury levels.
Understanding Membranous Nephropathy
- Membranous Nephropathy (MN) is a nephrotic syndrome, characterized by excessive protein leakage into urine, eventually leading to kidney failure. Symptoms such as fatigue, edema, and proteinuria were found to have a history of regular fairness cream usage.
Impact of Mercury:
- Mercury in fairness creams inhibits melanin formation, resulting in lighter skin. Consumers perceive higher mercury levels as more effective for skin whitening.
- Mercury, a potent heavy metal found in these creams, penetrates the body through various channels, including sweat glands and hair follicles, causing systemic toxicity.
- Chronic exposure to mercury can result in kidney damage, neurological disorders, and a myriad of other health complications.
Back2Basics: Minamata Convention on Mercury
- The Minamata Convention on Mercury is devised to safeguard human health and the environment from the detrimental impacts of mercury and its derivatives.
- Its name derives from the Japanese bay where, during the mid-20th century, industrial wastewater tainted with mercury inflicted severe health damage upon thousands of individuals, leading to what is now recognized as “Minamata disease.”
- Signed in 2013 and enforced in 2017, it operates as a United Nations treaty under the purview of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
- Countries ratifying the Convention are legally obliged under international law to implement these regulations.
- 128 countries are signatories, with 119 of them having ratified it; India became a party by ratifying it in 2018.
Activities covered by the Convention:
- The Convention encompasses all phases of the mercury life cycle, aiming to regulate and diminish mercury usage across various products, processes, and industries.
- This encompasses regulations about:
- Mercury mining involves bans on new mines and the gradual phase-out of existing ones.
- Gradual reduction and elimination of mercury utilization in numerous products and procedures.
- Control measures address emissions into the atmosphere and release into soil and water bodies.
- Oversight of the informal artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector.
- Management of interim mercury storage and its disposal once classified as waste, as well as remediation of mercury-contaminated sites and associated health issues.
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PYQ:
[2010] Indiscriminate disposal of used fluorescent electric lamps causes mercury pollution in the environment. Why is mercury used in the manufacture of these lamps?
(a) A mercury coating on the inside of the lamp makes the light bright white
(b) When the lamp is switched on, the mercury in the lamp causes the emission of ultra-violet radiations
(c) When the lamp is switched on, it is the mercury which converts the ultra-violet energy into visible light
(d) None of the statement given above is correct about the use of mercury in the manufacture of fluorescent lamps |
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