INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS                                                    

1. Afghanistan first country to recognize Indian Pharmacopoeia             

ECONOMY                                                                                          

1. 100 Years of ASSOCHAM                                                                

2. Hydroponic Farming – boon to farmers- Gadkari                                

3. How an end-to-end railway line can help Kerala                                 

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY                                                

1. India had most deaths caused by pollution in 2017: new report           

2. Rhinos to be re-introduced in Uttarakhand                                         

SECURITY                                                                                          

1. Exercise Hand-in-Hand 2019                                                          

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Afghanistan first country to recognize Indian Pharmacopoeia

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - India and its neighborhood- relations; Effects of liberalization on the economy

Context :

• The Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) has been recognised formally by the National Department of Regulation of Medicines and Health Products of the Ministry of Public Health of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) :

• IP is an officially recognized book of standards as per the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules 1945 thereunder.

• The IP specifies the standards of drugs manufactured and marketed in India in terms of their identity, purity and strength.

• In order to ensure the quality of medicinal products, the legal and scientific standards are provided by Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) in the form of Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP).

• As per, the Second Schedule of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, IP is designated as the official book of standards for drugs imported and/or manufactured for sale, stock or exhibition for sale or distribution in India.

IP commission :

• The IP Commission’s mission is to promote public and animal health in India by bringing out authoritative and officially accepted standards for quality of drugs including active pharmaceutical ingredients, excipients and dosage forms, used by health professionals, patients and consumers.

• This is achieved by developing the standards for medicines and supporting their implementation.

• In addition, IPC also develops IP Reference Substances (IPRS) that act as fingerprint for identification of an article under test and its purity as prescribed in the IP monographs.

• Standards prescribed in the IP are authoritative in nature and are enforced by the regulatory authorities for quality control of medicines in India.

                                                                                                                                  Source :- PIB

ECONOMY

100 Years of ASSOCHAM

GS PAPER - 03 ECONOMY  - Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Context :

• Prime Minister Addresses the Inaugural session of 100 Years of ASSOCHAM.

ASSOCHAM:

• The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India is one of the apex trade associations of India.

• It was established in 1920.

• The organisation represents the interests of trade and commerce in India, and acts as an interface between issues and initiatives.

• The goal of the organization is to promote domestic and international trade.

                                                                                                                                         Source :- PIB

Hydroponic Farming – boon to farmers- Gadkari

GS PAPER - 03 ECONOMY - e-technology in the aid of farmers Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices

Context :

• MSME-DI Nagpur organized 2-day Workshop on Hydroponic and Organic Farming and Fruits and vegetables processing during 16th-17th December, 2019.

Hydroponic Farming :

• The word Hydroponics means “Water Related” and this technology of farming has become popular and has greater applications in modern farming practices.

• In India, hydroponic farms are omnipresent — found in the arid tracts of Jaipur, landlocked Delhi-NCR, in humid weather conditions of Goa and various places in the southern parts of the country.

Hydroponics Farming Process:-

• In Hydroponics Farming, water is enriched with well balanced nutrients which are essential for plants growth and better yield. Water level pH will be maintained within the specific range which results in better growth and produce.

•  In this farming, plants take the nutrients from the water and using sun light, they produce the output.

• it’s a soilless farming, one should ensure to replace the basic functions of soil while opting for  Hydroponics farming.

• Plant Root System Support: Generally, in Hydroponics system, a medium like sand or grave or plastics are used for supporting the plant root system.

• Supply of Nutrients: In the soil based farming system, nutrients are supplied from organi content. where as in Hydroponics farming, fertilizers are added in the water for providing the well balanced. nutrition to the plants.

• Supply of Oxygen: In soil based farming, plats use the oxygen from the soil where as in Hydroponics, plants get the oxygen from the water. This is just like providing the oxygen for fish in the tank.

• Supply of Water: In soil based farming, plants get the water from the soils to establish the root system in the soil where as in Hydroponics farming, water is directly supplied to the plants.

Advantages :

• Hydroponics uses all the mineral nutrients provided in the water without any wastage thus it provides the less pollution farming.

• Hydroponics farming requires less water compared to soil based farming.

• As we are controlling water pH level and providing essential nutrients in optimized way, faster growth and high yield can be expected in this system.

• Hydroponics system can be automated and managed easily.

• Unlike traditional farming methods, Hydroponics farming requires less space.

• The product quality will be high in hydroponics farming.

• This technology can be combined with greenhouse technology to get better results.

• The only disadvantage of Hydroponics system is its initial set up cost. However, most of the farmers already getting good results with this system used in greenhouse farming.

                                                                                                                                                            Source :- PIB

How an end-to-end railway line can help Kerala

GS PAPER - 03 ECONOMY  - Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

Context :

• The Ministry of Railways granted in-principle approval for the ‘Silver Line’ project, a proposal of the Kerala government.

Silver Line project :

• The Silver line project aims to connect major districts and towns with semi high-speed trains that will run on their own tracks.

• It involves laying of semi high-speed trains between the two corners of the state of Kerala.

• The corridor will be 532-km long.It will be built away from the existing line between Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur.

• The Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail), a joint venture between the Ministry of Railways and the Kerala government to execute projects on a cost-sharing basis, will be the nodal agency.

                                                                                                                Source :- Indian Express

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

India had most deaths caused by pollution in 2017: new report

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context :

• Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) 2019 has released Pollution and Health Metrics: Global, Regional and Country Analysis.

Key Highlights :

• In 2017, pollution was responsible for 15% of all deaths globally, and 275 million Disability-Adjusted Life Years.

• India saw the most pollution deaths — about 2.3 million — a new report has found.

• The top 10 countries with the most pollution deaths include both the world’s largest and wealthiest nations, and some of its poorer ones.

• India is followed by China in the number of pollution deaths, with about 1.8 million. The United States makes the top 10 list with 1,97,000 pollution-related deaths, while ranking 132nd in the number of deaths per 100,000 people.

• The report includes three lists on pollution-induced deaths. India is the only country that features in the top 10 in all three lists (right).

• South Asian region (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan) accounted for over 1.5 million deaths.

                                                                                                                   Source :- Indian Express

Rhinos to be re-introduced in Uttarakhand

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context :

• The Uttarakhand State Wildlife Board has cleared a proposal by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to introduce rhinoceroses in the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) to boost tourism and revive the habits of species that survive on low-height grass.

  • Around 10 rhinos will be brought in CTR in the first phase and subsequently, 10 more would be added.

Reason for Translocation :

• This has been done to boost tourism and revive the habitats of species that survive on low-height grass.

• Rhinos reduce the size of elephant grass by eating it which would encourage species thriving on lower-height grass like- Hog Deer, Cheetal, Sambar and Swamp Deer.

• Geographical terrain and environmental conditions in CTR are suitable for rhinos.

  • Valley habitats bounded on either side by the lower Himalayas (north), Shivalik Hills (south) and the Ramganga Reservoir (east) are the ideal sites. They would act as natural barriers to rhino movement and will minimise man-animal conflict.

• Re-introduction into habitats in the historic range would create safety-net populations for the species and also restore their ecological role in these faunally-degraded habitats.

• Rhinos are poached because their horns are considered an aphrodisiac.          

                                                                                                                     Source :- Indian express

SECURITY

Exercise Hand-in-Hand 2019

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

Context :

• The eighth edition of India-China joint training exercise Hand-in-Hand 2019 culminated in Meghalaya.

Hand-in-Hand:

• Hand-in-Hand is an India-China joint training exercise.

• It is conducted annually as part of military diplomacy and interaction between armies of India and China.

  • Due to tensions between the two sides over Doklam due to standoff between the armies for more than 70 days, the armies skipped the ‘Hand-in-Hand’ exercise in 2017.

• The exercise involves tactical level operations in an International Counter Insurgency/Counter Terrorist environment under UN mandate.

• Hand-in-Hand 2019 was aimed at practicing the joint drills of counter terrorism operations in a semi urban terrain under United Nation mandate.

• The exercise aims to build close relations between the armies of the two countries.

• It comes in the backdrop of situation along the Line of Actual Control, which has so far remained peaceful.

• The number of transgressions this year also considerably reduced as compared to last year, according to the defence ministry in its annual report 2018-19.

                                                                                                                            Source :- PIB

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