ART AND CULTURE                                                                           

1. UNESCO network of creative cities                                                   

2. Rashtriya Ekta Diwas                                                                       

3. Gottiprolu, Andhra Pradesh indicate it as a Trade Centre of Early Historic Period                                                                                 

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE                                                             

1. TN becomes first State to enact law on contract farming                    

2. Almost all adolescents in India are malnourished: UNICEF                 

ECONOMY                                                                                             

1. Core sector output falls 5.2% in September                                       

SECURITY                                                                                             

1. Indo-French Joint Training Exercise Shakti– 2019                              

2. WhatsApp confirms: Israeli spyware was used to snoop on Indian journalists, activists                                                                          

ART AND CULTURE

UNESCO network of creative cities

GS PAPER - 01 ART AND CULTURE - Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Context :

• UNESCO has announced that Mumbai and Hyderabad have been included in its network of 'Creative Cities' on the occasion of World Cities Day 2019.

More in the news:

• Mumbai has been designated as Creative City of Films and Hyderabad a Creative City of Gastronomy.

• Earlier,Chennai and Varanasi were included as UNESCO cities of music while Jaipur was included as the City of Crafts and Folk Arts.

Significance :

• By joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), the cities pledge to share best practices and develop partnerships involving public and private sectors as well as civil society to strengthen the creation, production, and distribution of cultural activities.           

                                                                                                                             Source :- PIB

 Rashtriya Ekta Diwas

GS PAPER - 01 ART AND CULTURE -  The Freedom Struggle - its various stages and important contributors /contributions from different parts of the country.

Context :

• Rashtriya Ekta Diwas was observed on 31st October across the nation.

  • It marks the occasion of the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas :

• It was celebrated for the first time in 2014 with the aim to pay tribute to the ‘Iron man of India’ by remembering his extraordinary works for the country.

• Several events are organized on this day like ‘Run For Unity’-a nationwide marathon to increase awareness about the contribution of Sardar Patel to national integrity, National Unity pledge, etc.

• In 2018, the Government of India unveiled the ‘Statue of Unity’ in Gujarat in the honour of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
   

  • It is the tallest statue in the world.

                                                                                                                                                                            Source ;- PIB

Gottiprolu, Andhra Pradesh indicate it as a Trade Centre of Early Historic Period

GS PAPER - 01 ART AND CULTURE - Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Context :

• Archaeological Survey of India’s Excavation at Gottiprolu near Naidupeta in Nellore (now renamed as Sri Potti Sri Ramulu) district, Andhra Pradesh has discovered the remains of a huge settlement surrounded by a massive brick enclosure.

Gottiprolu :

• The site of Gottiprolu (13° 56’ 48” N; 79° 59’ 14” E) lies on the right bank of a distributary of river Swarnamukhi about seventeen kilometers east of Naidupet and eighty kilometers from Tirupati and Nellore.

Key Findings :

• Brick-built structures :

  • The excavation revealed the presence of brick-built structures in different sizes and forms.

  • The excavations revealed elliptical, circular and rectangular brick structures.

  • The most outstanding discovery is of massive sized brick enclosure wall at the southern part of the mound.

  • This structure is of baked bricks and exposed to a length of more than 75 meters with an average width of about 3.40 meters, which rise to a height of nearly 2 meters and runs in a curvilinear pattern towards the northern end of the mound. 

  • The size of bricks can be compared to those found in the Satavahana/Ikshvaku period structures in the Krishna valley viz. Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda.

  • This dates back the site to the 2nd century to 1st century BC.

• Sculpture : Vishnu sculpture Unearthed   with following specifications:

• It displays a four-armed Vishnu standing over a pedestal carrying chakra and conch in his upper right and left hands respectively. T

• he lower right is in bestowing boon and the left hand in katihastha (resting on the hip) posture. 

• The iconographical feature like the elaborate head gear, thick holy thread and decorative drapery dates it to Pallava period (circa 8^th cent. CE).

•  Antiquity :

  • female terracotta figurine with two hands lifted upwards.

  • Other major retrieved antiquities unearthed are copper and lead coins, iron spear head, stone celts, terracotta beads, ear stud in semi precious stone and hopscotches.

• Pottery :

  • conical jars that are considered to be imitated variety of Roman Amphorae jars (ancient Greek or Roman jar/ jug used to transport liquid commodities).
     

    • These settlements could have been an important trade centre due to the presence of imitated amphorae wares.

    • The conical jars of broken terracotta pipes found fitted into one another revealed about the civic amenities and drainage system pattern maintained by the occupants at the site.

    • The ceramic assemblage of the site consisted of fine quality black and redwares collected from the conical jars, russet coated ware, etc.

• Important Remnants of the Site: fortified early historic settlement at Puduru, Sunbrahmanya temple at Mallam, unique rock-cut laterite stepped well at Yakasiri, Vishnu temple at Tirumuru.

                                                                                                                                                                      Source :- PIB

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

TN becomes first State to enact law on contract farming

GS PAPER - 02 POLITY - Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Context :

• Tamil Nadu has become the first State in the country to enact a law on contract farming with President giving assent to the Agricultural Produce and Livestock Contract Farming and Services (Promotion and Facilitation) Act.

Agricultural Produce and Livestock Contract Farming and Services (Promotion and Facilitation) Act :

• The act safeguards the interests of farmers during times of bumper crop or when market prices fluctuate.

  • The farmers would also be paid a predetermined price which had been arrived at the time of signing agreements with buyers.

• The act provides for a six-member body called the Tamil Nadu State Contract Farming and Services Authority.

• The authority would ensure proper implementation of the Act and make suggestions to the State government for promotion and better performance of contract farming.

• The farmers could get support from purchasers for improving productivity by way of inputs, feed and fodder and technology.

• However,any produce banned by the Centre or State government or the Indian Council of Agricultural Research would not be covered under contract farming.

                                                                                                                          Source :- The Hindu

Almost all adolescents in India are malnourished: UNICEF

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Context :

• UNICEF has released a report titled “Adolescents, Diets and Nutrition: Growing Well in a Changing World”.

More about the Report :

• The report  released by UNCIEF in association with NITI Aayog.

• The  report is based on the recently released Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS).

  • The survey has been conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to measure malnutrition.

  • The CNNS data set provides new insights into all types of macronutrient and micronutrient malnutrition, dietary habits, life skill behaviours, access to services (school, health and nutrition) and physical activity throughout adolescence (10-19 years) for both girls and boys.

Key Highlights :

• Over 50% of adolescents(about 63 million girls and 81 million boys) in the age group of 10 to 19 years in India are, short, thin, overweight or obese.

• More than 80 per cent adolescents in India suffer from hidden hunger a form of undernutrition.Hidden hunger is a deficiency of one or more micronutrients such as iron, folate, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B12 and vitamin D.

• The report found that adolescent girls especially suffer multiple nutritional deprivations.While more girls suffer from shortness than boys, anaemia affects 40% of adolescent girls compared to 18% of boys and worsens as they get older.

• The report has also revealed that government nutritional schemes are not reaching the adolescents.

• Further,fruits and eggs are consumed daily by less than 10% of boys and girls.Over 25% of adolescents reported no consumption of green leafy vegetables even once a week.

Key Recommendations :      

• The report has asked the government to focus on adolescent girls before they become mothers to break India’s intergenerational cycle of malnutrition.

• It has also asked the government to work with academia to tap into the growing expertise in nutrition, diets and agriculture.

• It has also called for more private sector investment and engagement in adolescent nutrition.

                                                                                                                       Source :- Livemint

ECONOMY

Core sector output falls 5.2% in September

GS PAPER - 03 ECONOMY - growth, development and employment.

Context :

• The output of eight core infrastructure industries has decreased by 5.2% in September,2019 indicating the severity of the economic slowdown.

More in the news:

• All sectors in the core index with the exception of fertilisers has seen a contraction in September,2019.

• The experts have blamed consumption slowdown, heavy rainfall and flooding in several states as the prime reasons for the contraction.

• They have also said that the sharp contraction also showed the severity of the industrial slowdown and recovery may take time.

Steps taken By government :           

• To lift growth,government has also taken several measures such as

  • Cut in corporate tax rates

  • infusing capital in banks

  • relaxing foreign direct investment limits for select sectors

  • supporting real estate and

  • providing liquidity for non banking finance companies.

                                                                                                                                              Source :- The Hindu

SECURITY

Indo-French Joint Training Exercise Shakti– 2019

GS PAPER - 03 SECURITY - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests

Context :

• The Indo–French joint training EX SHAKTI – 2019 commenced

Ex - SHAKTHI :

• The exercise will focus on counter terrorism operations in backdrop of semi-desert terrain. The training will focus primarily on high degree of physical fitness, sharing of drill at tactical level and learning of best practices from each other.

• The exercise aims at enhancing understanding, cooperation and interoperability between the two Armies.

                                                                                                                                                                        Source :- PIB

WhatsApp confirms: Israeli spyware was used to snoop on Indian journalists, activists

GS PAPER - 03 SECURITY - basics of cyber security

Context :

• Recently, Facebook-owned platform WhatsApp has been reported that WhatsApp was used to spy on journalists and human rights activists in India earlier this year.The surveillance was carried out using a spyware tool called Pegasus.

Pegasus :

• Pegasus is a spyware that can hack any iOS or Android device and steal a variety of data from the infected device.

• The spyware was created by NSO Group,an Israeli cybersecurity firm founded in 2010.

• Pegasus works by sending an exploit link and if the target user clicks on the link, the malware or the code that allows the surveillance is installed on the user’s phone.

• Once Pegasus is installed,the attacker has complete access to the target user’s phone.

• The NSO group have claimed to help governments and law enforcement agencies across the world fight crime and terrorism.

                                                                                                      Source :- Indian Express

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