Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SMART
Mains level: Indian navy's arsenal
DRDO successfully conducted the flight test of its Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART) system.
Try this MCQ:
Q.The SMART system recently tested by the DRDO is essentially a-
a)Radar
b)Torpedo
c)UAV
d)Missile
What is the SMART system?
- Torpedoes are self-propelled weapons that travel underwater to hit a target but are limited by their range.
- In the mid-2010s, DRDO undertook a project to build capacity to launch torpedoes assisted by missiles; Monday’s was the first known flight test of the system.
- This SMART system comprises a mechanism by which the torpedo is launched from a supersonic missile system with modifications that would take the torpedo to a far longer range than its own.
- For example, a torpedo with a range of a few kilometres can be sent a distance to the tune of 1000 km by the missile system from where the torpedo is launched.
Why is it significant?
- SMART is a game-changing technology demonstration in anti-submarine warfare.
- India’s anti-submarine warfare capacity building is crucial in light of China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean region.
- Assets of such warfare consist of the deployment of submarines, specialised anti-submarine ships, air assets and state-of-the-art reconnaissance and detection mechanisms.
- The Navy’s anti-submarine warfare capability got a boost in June after the conclusion of a contract for Advanced Torpedo Decoy System Maareech, capable of being fired from all frontline warships.
- India has been indigenously developing and building several anti-submarine systems and vessels in the recent past.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: About the Tunnel, EIA
Mains level: NA
Kerala CM has launched a tunnel road project that would connect Kozhikode with Wayanad.
Try this PYQ:
Q.From the ecological point of view, which one of the following assumes importance in being a good link between the Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats?
(a) Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve
(b) Nallamala Forest
(c) Nagarhole National Park
(d) Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve
Kozhikode-Wayanad Tunnel Project
- The 7-km tunnel, being described as the third-longest in the country, is part of an 8-km road cutting through sensitive forests and hills of the Western Ghats.
- Its endpoints are at Maripuzha in Thiruvambady village panchayat (Kozhikode) and Kalladi in Meppadi panchayat (Wayanad).
- The tunnel is an outcome of a decades-long campaign for an alternative road as the Thamarassery Ghat Road is congested and gets blocked by landslides during heavy monsoon.
How will the road impact the ecology?
- The Forest Department has identified the proposed route as a highly sensitive patch comprising evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, marshlands and shola tracts.
- This region is part of an elephant corridor spread between Wayanad and Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu.
- Two major rivers, Chaliyar and Kabani that flows to Karnataka, originate from these hills in Wayanad.
- Eruvazhanjipuzha, a tributary of Chaliyar and the lifeline of settlements in Malappuram and Kozhikode, begins in the other side of the hills.
- The region, known for torrential rain during the monsoon, has witnessed several landslides, including in 2019 at Kavalappura near Nilambur and at Puthumala, Meppadi in Wayanad.
Environmental clearance issues
- Proponents of the project have been stressing that the tunnel will not destroy forest (trees).
- The MoEFCC guidelines state that the Forest Act would apply not only to surface area but the entire underground area beneath the trees.
- For tunnel projects, conditions relating to underground mining would be applicable.
- As the proposed tunnel is 7 km long, it will require emergency exit points and air ventilation wells among other measures, which would impact the forest further.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Hepatitis
Mains level: Not Much
Americans Harvey J Alter and Charles M Rice, and British scientist Michael Houghton were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology on Monday for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which one of the following statements is not correct? (CSP 2019)
(a) Hepatitis B virus is transmitted much like HIV.
(b) Hepatitis B. unlike Hepatitis C, does not have a vaccine.
(c) Globally, the number of people infected with Hepatitis B and C viruses arc several times more than those infected with HIV.
(d) Some of those infected with Hepatitis B and C viruses do not show the symptoms for many years.
Hepatitis C Virus
- Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a bloodborne virus and causes liver diseases. It refers to an inflammatory condition of the liver.
- The novel virus caused several deaths in the 1960s and 1970s — but remained unknown until its discovery in the late 1980s.
What are other Hepatitis Viruses?
- Before the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus, two other viruses were known to cause hepatitis in patients.
- The Hepatitis A virus was known to spread mainly through contaminated food and water and caused a relatively milder form of liver inflammation.
- Hepatitis B, discovered in the 1960s, was known to transmit mainly through infected blood and caused a more serious form of the disease.
- Incidentally, the discovery of the Hepatitis B virus too was rewarded with a Nobel Prize in Medicine, given to Baruch Blumberg in 1976. There are vaccines available for this disease now.
How Hepatitis C came to observation?
- The discovery and identification of the Hepatitis B virus facilitated the development of a diagnostic test to detect its presence in blood.
- Thereafter, only blood sanitized from this virus would be given to patients, but it was observed that even this sanitized blood was able to prevent only 20% of the blood-borne hepatitis cases.
- It was then that the search for the new virus began.
How is Hepatitis C treated?
- Presently there is no vaccine available for HCV. However, it can be treated with antiviral medication.
- Hepatitis A and B are preventable by vaccine.
Back2Basics:
In news: Nobel Prize
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tax Sheltering
Mains level: Not Much
This newscard is an excerpt from an original article published in TH.
We can expect a statement based question comparing Tax Shelters and Tax Heavens.
What is a Tax Shelter?
- A tax shelter is a financial vehicle that an individual can use to help them lower their tax obligation and, thus, keep more of their money.
- It is a legal way for individuals to “stash” their money and avoid getting it taxed.
- A tax shelter is entirely different from a tax haven because the latter exists outside the country and its legality can, at times, be questionable.
- A tax shelter, on the other hand, is entirely legal and keeps all monies within an individual’s home country.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ketogenic Diet
Mains level: Not Much
Ketogenic or Keto Diet is popularly followed as a weight loss diet across the world.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Regular intake of fresh fruits and vegetables is recommended in the diet since they are a good source of antioxidants. How do antioxidants help a person maintain health and promote longevity? (CSP 2014)
(a) They activate the enzymes necessary for vitamin synthesis in the body and help prevent vitamin deficiency.
(b) They prevent excessive oxidation of carbohydrates, fats and proteins in the body and help avoid unnecessary wastage of energy.
(c) They neutralize the free radicals produced in the body during metabolism.
(d) They activate certain genes in the cells of the body and help delay the ageing process.
What is Ketogenic Diet?
- The Keto Diet is one of the most popular weight-loss diets the world over.
- It consists of a high-fat, moderate-protein and low-carb diet.
- It helps in weight loss by achieving ketosis — a metabolic state where the liver burns body fat and provides fuel for the body, as there is limited access to glucose.
What constitutes a keto diet?
- A classic keto generally requires that 90 per cent of a person’s calories come from fat, 6 per cent from protein and 4 per cent from carbs.
- But there are many versions doing the rounds since this one was designed for children suffering from epilepsy to gain control over their seizures.
How does it impact the body?
- If we starve the body of carbohydrate, after burning out the glucose, the liver starts breaking down fats for energy.
- Ketosis is common in all kinds of fasting, but in a keto diet, when one is feeding it by giving a lot of fats from outside without carbs, it can become mildly toxic.
- It may lead to many nutrient deficiencies such as carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins (especially vitamin A, D, E, & K) and minerals like calcium, phosphorus, sodium.
- Extreme carbohydrate restriction can lead to hunger, fatigue, low mood, irritability, constipation, headaches, and brain fog, which may last days to weeks
What impact does it have on our kidneys?
- Even the moderate increase in protein needs to be carefully monitored, especially in those who are already suffering from chronic kidney disease, as it could lead to kidney failure.
- One should get a thorough assessment and make sure they have normal kidney function before choosing this diet.
- This diet could lead to increased stress on the kidneys and result in kidney stones, as they are made to work overtime.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Various social reformers
Mains level: NA
PM has paid rich tributes to revolutionary freedom fighter Shyamji Krishna Varma on his birth anniversary.
Try this PYQ:
Q. The Ghadr (Ghadar) was a –
(a) Revolutionary association of Indians with headquarters at San Francisco.
(b) Nationalist organization operating from Singapore
(c) Militant organization with headquarters at Berlin
(d) Communist movement for India’s freedom with head-quarters at Tashkent
About Shyamji Krishna Varma
- SK Varma (1857–1930) was an Indian revolutionary fighter, a patriot, lawyer and journalist who founded the Indian Home Rule Society, India House and The Indian Sociologist in London.
- He was a noted scholar in Sanskrit and other Indian languages.
- He pursued a brief legal career in India and served as the Divan of a number of Indian princely states in India.
- He had, however, differences with Crown authority, was dismissed following a supposed conspiracy of local British officials at Junagadh and chose to return to England.
- An admirer of Dayanand Saraswati’s approach of cultural nationalism, and of Herbert Spencer, Krishna Varma believed in Spencer’s dictum: “Resistance to aggression is not simply justified, but imperative”.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Atal Tunnel
Mains level: Significance of the Border Infrastructure
PM Modi has inaugurated the Atal Tunnel at Rohtang at an altitude of above 3,000 metres in Himachal Pradesh.
Refer this link to read more about Himalayan passes and rivers
https://www.civilsdaily.com/the-northern-and-northeastern-mountains-part-1/
Atal Tunnel
- The 9.02 km-long-tunnel, built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), is the world’s longest highway tunnel and connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley.
- It provides all-weather connectivity to the landlocked valley of Lahaul-Spiti, which remains cut-off for nearly six months in a year as the Rohtang Pass is usually snow-bound between November and April.
- Before the tunnel construction, the Lahaul Valley used to remain closed for vehicular movement due to bad weather conditions.
- It reduces the distance by 46 km between Manali and Leh and the travel time by about 4 to 5 hours. It is expected to boost tourism and winter sports in the region.
- The tunnel, also significant from the military logistics viewpoint, will provide better connectivity to the armed forces in reaching Ladakh.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Shaurya Missile
Mains level: India's missile programme
A successful trial of the nuclear-capable Shaurya missile was conducted by India.
Shaurya Missile
- Shaurya is a land-based parallel of the submarine-launched K-15 missile.
- It is a land variant of short-range SLBM K-15 Sagarika, which has a range of at least 750 kilometres.
- These ballistic weapons belong to the K missile family — codenamed after late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam — which is launched from Arihant class of nuclear submarines.
- Because these missiles are to be launched from submarines, they are lighter, smaller and stealthier than their land-based counterparts; the Agni series.
A look at what this family of missiles is their strategic importance as a nuclear deterrent and their recent tests.
K Family of missiles
- The K family of missiles is primarily Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs), which have been indigenously developed by DRDO.
- These are named after Dr Kalam, the central figure in India’s missile and space programmes who also served as the 11th President of India.
- The development of this naval platform launched missiles began in the late 1990s as a step towards completing India’s nuclear triad (land, sea and air-based).
Strategic importance of SLBMs
- The capability of being able to launch nuclear weapons submarine platforms has great strategic importance in the context of achieving a nuclear triad, especially in the light of ‘no first use’ policy of India.
- The sea-based underwater nuclear-capable assets significantly increase the second strike capability of a country and thus boosts its nuclear deterrence.
- These submarines can not only survive the first strike by the adversary but also can launch a strike in retaliation thus achieving Credible Nuclear Deterrence.
- The development of these capabilities is important in light of India’s relations with the two neighbours China and Pakistan.
Try this PYQ now:
What is “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)”, sometimes seen in the news? (CSP 2018)
(a) An Israeli radar system
(b) India’s indigenous anti-missile programme
(c) An American anti-missile system
(d) A defence collaboration between Japan and South Korea
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cannabidiol
Mains level: Not Much
These days, there are diverse opinions rising regarding the legalization of CBD oil in India after recent controversy rose after the alleged suicide of an actor.
What is CBD oil?
- CBD oil is an extract from the cannabis plant.
- The two main active substances in it are cannabidiol or CBD and delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.
- The high that is caused by the consumption of cannabis is due to THC.
- CBD, however, does not cause a “high” or any form of intoxication.
- CBD oil is made by extracting CBD from the cannabis plant, then diluting it with a carrier oil like coconut or hemp seed oil.
What are the effects of Cannabidiol?
- Cannabidiol has effects on the brain, preventing the breakdown of a chemical that aggravates the pain and affects mood, and mental function. It can reduce pain and anxiety.
- It also reduces psychotic symptoms associated with conditions such as schizophrenia as well as epilepsy.
Is it legal in India?
- The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) outlaws the recreational use of cannabis.
- The NDPS Act, however, does not apply to the leaves and seeds of cannabis plants. In case the CBD is extracted from the leaves of the cannabis, then technically it is not illegal.
- CBD oil manufactured under a licence issued by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 can be legally used.
- However, the use of cannabis as a medicine is not much prevalent in India.
Now try this PYQ:
Q. Widespread resistance of malarial parasite to drugs like chloroquine has prompted attempts to develop a malarial vaccine to combat malaria. Why is it difficult to develop an effective malaria vaccine?
A) Malaria is caused by several species of Plasmodium
B) Man does not develop immunity to malaria during natural infection
C) Vaccines can be developed only against bacteria
D) Man is only an intermediate host and not the definitive host
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Wildlife week
Mains level: Conservation of wildlife
Celebrating Wildlife Week
- Wildlife Week is celebrated every year in India between October 1 and 8.
- The annual theme of the campaign is to promote the preservation of fauna – i.e. animal life.
- Wildlife Week was conceptualized in 1952 with the overall goal of raising awareness to serve the long-term goal of safeguarding the lives of wildlife through critical action.
- In addition, the Indian Government established an Indian Board of Wild Life which works to improve awareness towards the preservation of wildlife.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission
Mains level: Significance of Venture Capital Fund for Schedule caste
Union Social Justice Minister launched the Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission(ASIIM) under Venture Capital Fund for SCs, with a view to promoting innovation and enterprise among SC students studying in higher educational institutions.
What is ASIIM ?
- Under Ambedkar Social Innovation Incubation Mission initiative, one thousand SC youth will be identified in the next four years with start-up ideas through the Technology Business Incubators in various higher educational institutions.
- They will be funded 30 lakh rupees in three years as equity funding to translate their start-up ideas into commercial ventures.
- Successful ventures would further qualify for venture funding of up to five Crore rupees from the Venture Capital Fund for SCs.
Venture Capital Fund for SCs:
- The Social Justice Ministry had launched the Venture Capital Fund for SCs in 2014-15 with a view to developing entrepreneurship amongst the SC and Divyang youth and to enable them to become job-givers.
- The objective of this fund is to provide concessional finance to the entities of the SC entrepreneurs. Under this fund, 117 companies promoted by SC entrepreneurs have been sanctioned financial assistance to set up business ventures.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sawantwadi toys
Mains level: NA
Context- Online Release of Picture Postcard on Sawantwadi Toy by India Post.
What are Sawantwadi toys ?
- Sawantwadi toys refers to hand made works of art made of wood in Sawantwadi a town in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. Most of these toys are made in the village of Kolgaon in Sawantwadi taluka.
- These toys are made from the wood of the Indian Coral tree (Erythrina variegata).
- Craftsmen who make these toys belong to the Chittari community who came to Sawantwadi from Karwar and Goa.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Kanaklata Barua
Mains level: Role of women in Indian National Movement
A Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) named ICGS Kanaklata Barua was commissioned in the Indian Coast Guard on Wednesday, in Kolkata. It is named after a teenage freedom fighter who was shot dead in Assam during the Quit India Movement.
Who was Kanaklata Barua ?
- One of the youngest martyrs of the Quit India Movement, Kanaklata Barua has iconic status in Assam. Barua.
- Then 17, led the Mukti Bahini, a procession of freedom fighters to unfurl the Tricolour at Gohpur police station on September 20, 1942. When police did not let them move forward, an altercation led to firing, killing Barua at the head of the procession.
- She had joined the Mrityu Bahini [a kind of a suicide squad] just two days before the incident. The squad strictly admitted members aged 18 and above but Kanaklata was an exception. She wanted to lead the procession and after much persuasion she was allowed to.
- Even as Barua fell to bullets, she did not let go of the flag. She did not want it to touch the ground. Another woman volunteer behind her — Mukunda Kakoty — came and held the flag, and she, too, was shot.
How important is her legacy ?
- 1940’s was a time where you saw a lot of women coming to the fore, leading processions, patriotic fervour was at its peak — and Kanaklata was a product of this time.
- There are schools named after her, there are two statues, there is a ship. While we see her as an icon now, people in her village hated her then — she was a rebel, who questioned patriarchy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Causacus region mapping
Mains level: Usual crisis in the middle east and caucasus region
Fresh clashes erupted on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, threatening to push the countries back to war 26 years after a ceasefire was reached.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Turkey is located between-
(a) The Black Sea and Caspian Sea
(b) The Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea
(c) Gulf of Suez and the Mediterranean Sea
(d) Gulf of Aqaba and the Dead Sea
The conflict
- The largely mountainous and forested Nagorno-Karabakh, home for some 150,000 people, is at the centre of the conflict.
- Nagorno-Karabakh is located within Azerbaijan but is populated, mostly, by those of Armenian ethnicity (and mostly Christian compared to the Shia Muslim majority Azerbaijan).
- The conflict can be traced back to the pre-Soviet era when the region was at the meeting point of Ottoman, Russian and the Persian empires.
A legacy of soviet era
- Once Azerbaijan and Armenia became Soviet Republics in 1921, Moscow gave Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan but offered autonomy to the contested region.
- In the 1980s, when the Soviet power was receding, separatist currents picked up in Nagorno-Karabakh.
- In 1988, the national assembly voted to dissolve the region’s autonomous status and join Armenia.
- But Baku suppressed such calls, which led to a military conflict.
- When Armenia and Azerbaijan became independent countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the clashes led to an open war in which tens of thousands of people were killed.
- The war lasted till 1994 when both sides reached a ceasefire (they are yet to sign a peace treaty and the border is not clearly demarcated).
Issue over control
- By that time, Armenia had taken control of Nagorno-Karabakh and handed it to Armenian rebels. The rebels have declared independence, but have not won recognition from any country.
- The region is still treated as a part of Azerbaijan by the international community, and Baku wants to take it back.
What is the strategic significance of the region?
- The energy-rich Azerbaijan has built several gas and oil pipelines across the Caucasus (the region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea) to Turkey and Europe.
- This includes the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline (with a capacity of transporting 1.2 billion barrels a day), the Western Route Export oil pipeline, the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline and the South Caucasus gas pipeline.
- Some of these pipelines pass close to the conflict zone (within 16 km of the border). In an open war between the two countries, the pipelines could be targeted, which would impact energy supplies.
What’s Turkey’s role?
- Turkey has historically supported Azerbaijan and has had a troublesome relationship with Armenia.
- In the 1990s, during the war, Turkey closed its border with Armenia and it has no diplomatic relations with the country.
- The main point of contention between the two was Ankara’s refusal to recognise the 1915 Armenian genocide in which the Ottomans killed some 1.5 million Armenians.
- On the other end, the Azeris and Turks share strong cultural and historical links. Azerbaijanis are a Turkic ethnic group and their language is from the Turkic family.
Where does Russia stand?
- Moscow sees the Caucasus and Central Asian region as its backyard. But the current clashes put President Vladimir Putin in a difficult spot.
- Russia enjoys good ties with both Azerbaijan and Armenia and supplies weapons to both.
- But Armenia is more dependent on Russia than the energy-rich, ambitious Azerbaijan. Russia also has a military base in Armenia.
- But Moscow, at least publicly, is trying to strike a balance between the two. Like in the 1990s, its best interest would be in mediating a ceasefire between the warring sides.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cat Que Virus
Mains level: Not Much
In a study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, scientists have noted the presence of antibodies against the Cat Que virus (CQV) in two human serum samples.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which one of the following statements is not correct?
(a) Hepatitis B virus is transmitted much like HIV.
(b) Hepatitis B, unlike Hepatitis C, does not have a vaccine.
(c) Globally, the number of people infected with Hepatitis B and C viruses is several times more than those infected with HIV.
(d) Some of those infected with Hepatitis B and C viruses do not show the symptoms for many years.
What is the Cat Que Virus?
- For CQV, domestic pigs are considered to be the primary mammalian hosts.
- Antibodies against the virus indicate that the virus has formed a “natural cycle” in the local area and has the ability to spread in pigs and other animal populations through mosquitoes.
- CQV belongs to the Simbu serogroup and infects both humans and economically important livestock species.
- It was first isolated in 2004 from mosquitoes during the surveillance of arbovirus activity in northern Vietnam.
- In this study, researchers reported a CQV strain (SC0806), which was isolated from mosquito samples collected in China in 2006 and 2008.
Impact on humans
- Humans can get infected through mosquitoes as well.
- In the study, scientists note that because of positivity in human serum samples and the replication capability of CQV in mosquitoes, there is only a “possible disease-causing potential” of CQV in the Indian scenario.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ESG funds
Mains level: Not Much
ESG funds are witnessing a growing interest in the Indian mutual fund industry these days.
Try this PYQ:
Sustainable development is described as the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In this perspective, inherently the concept of sustainable development is intertwined with which of the following concepts?
(a) Social justice and empowerment
(b) Inclusive Growth
(c) Globalization
(d) Carrying capacity
What are the ESG funds?
- ESG means using Environmental, Social and Governance factors to evaluate companies and countries on how far advanced they are with sustainability.
- ESG investing is used synonymously with sustainable investing or socially responsible investing.
- While selecting a stock for investment, the ESG fund shortlists companies that score high on the environment, social responsibility and corporate governance, and then looks into financial factors.
- So, the scheme focuses on companies with environment-friendly practices, ethical business practices and an employee-friendly record.
- They imbibe the environment, social responsibility and corporate governance in their investing process.
Why so much focus on ESG now?
- Modern investors are re-evaluating traditional approaches and look at the impact their investment has on the planet.
- As a result of this paradigm change, asset managers have started incorporating ESG factors into investment practices.
- Companies with good ESG scores tick most of the checkboxes for investing, tend to mitigate environmental and social risks and tends to have stronger cash flows, lower borrowing costs and durable returns.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Chandra Telescope, Chandra X Ray Observatory
Mains level: Not Much
In the cold, dry desert of Ladakh, 4500 meters above the mean sea level, for two decades, the 2-m diameter optical-infrared Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) at the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) has been scanning the night sky for 20 years in search of stellar explosions, comets, asteroids, and exo-planets.
Chandra X-Ray observatory and now, it is Himalayan Chandra Telescope. Do you the key difference? The former is a NASA project while the HCT is the Indian one.
Himalayan Chandra Telescope
- The HCT is a 2.01 meters (6.5 feet) diameter optical-infrared telescope named after India-born Nobel laureate Subrahmanyam Chandrasekhar.
- It contains a modified Ritchey-Chretien system with a primary mirror made of ULE ceramic which is designed to withstand low temperatures it experiences.
- The telescope was manufactured by Electo-Optical System Technologies Inc. at Tucson, Arizona, USA.
- It is mounted with 3 science instruments called Himalaya Faint Object Spectrograph (HFOSC), the near-IR imager and the optical CCD imager.
- It is remotely operated from Hosakote, about 35 km northeast of Bangalore via an INSAT-3B satellite link which allows operation even in sub-zero temperatures in winter.
Significant feats
- The telescope has been used in many coordinated international campaigns to monitor stellar explosions, comets, and exo-planets, and has contributed significantly to these studies.
- Some of the thrust research areas are the study of solar system bodies like; comets, asteroids, the study of star formation processes and young stellar objects, the study of open and globular clusters and variable stars in them.
- It has helped in analysis of elements in the atmosphere of evolved stars, star formation in external galaxies, Active Galactic Nuclei, stellar explosions like novae, supernovae, gamma-ray bursts and so on.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UVIT
Mains level: Not Much
The satellite that detected the first extreme-UV rays in the Universe from the cosmic noon celebrated its 5th birthday today.
Try this PYQ:
Q.“Event Horizon” is related to:
(a) Telescope
(b) Black hole
(c) Solar glares
(d) None of the above
Ultra-Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT)
- The UVIT is a remarkable 3-in-1 imaging telescope.
- Weighing all of 230 kg, the UVIT can simultaneously observe in the visible, the near-ultraviolet (NUV) and the far-ultraviolet (FUV).
- UVIT comprises of two separate telescopes. One of them works in the visible (320-550 nm) and the NUV (200-300 nm).
- The second works only in the FUV (130-180 nm).
Its achievement
- It has carried out 1166 observations of 800 unique celestial sources proposed by scientists both from India and abroad.
- It has explored stars, star clusters, mapping of the large and small satellite galaxies nearby to our own Milky Way galaxy called the Magellanic Clouds.
- It is an energetic phenomenon in the Universe such as the ultra-violet counterparts to gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, active galactic nuclei, and so on.
- Its superior spatial resolution capability has enabled astronomers to probe star formation in galaxies as well as resolve the cores of star clusters (3 times better than the last NASA mission, GALEX).
- Observations from UVIT has recently led to the discovery of a galaxy located at a distance of about 10 billion light-years from Earth and emitting extreme ultraviolet radiation that can ionize the intergalactic medium.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Eden Gardens
Mains level: NA
This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in TH.
UPSC may ask a question like this:
Q. In which Governor-General/Viceroy’s term was the famous cricketing ground ‘Eden Gardens’ was built?
Eden Gardens
- The first cricket club outside Britain was the Calcutta Cricket Club founded in 1792, and the first match was played 12 years later between the Etonians, senior civil servants and other company officials.
- In 1825 the club got a plot of land on the ground between Government House and Fort William to be used as a cricket ground.
- In 1841, the club was permitted to enclose the ground with a fence. But the Army at Fort William described the club as an “encroacher”.
- Cricket Club of Calcutta authorities then looked for an alternative ground and at ₹1,000, found a new one, fenced it and made it playable.
- In 1864, the land was laid out for a ground for Calcutta Cricket Club in the extended part of Eden Gardens.
Deriving its name
- Eden Gardens made its first appearance during the time of Governor-General Lord Auckland (1836-42).
- According to the achieves, a local landlord gifted this land to Lord Auckland and his sisters Emily Eden and Fanny Eden helped him save his third daughter from a deadly disease.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: JIMEX 20
Mains level: Not Much
The 4th edition of India – Japan Maritime bilateral exercise JIMEX will be held in the North Arabian Sea from 26 to 28 September 2020.
JIMEX 20
- It is conducted biennially between the Indian Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF)
- This series of exercises was commenced in January 2012 with a special focus on maritime security cooperation.
- The last edition of JIMEX was conducted in October 2018 off Visakhapatnam, India.
- JIMEX 20 will showcase a high degree of inter-operability and joint operational skills through the conduct of a multitude of advanced exercises, across the spectrum of maritime operations.
- Multi-faceted tactical exercises involving weapon firings cross deck helicopter operations and complex surface, anti-submarine and air warfare drills will consolidate coordination developed by the two navies.
- JIMEX 20 will further enhance the cooperation and mutual confidence between the two navies and fortify the long-standing bond of friendship between the two countries.
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