Traditional konyak Dance for Guinness record in Nagaland.

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 :

• In an attempt to set a new Guinness World Records in the category of 'largest traditional Konyak dance display,' around 5,000 Konyak community women, all decked up in colourful traditional attire, danced to the tune of a ceremonial song. It was coinciding with the Aoleang festival also called Mini Hornbill festival.

• The event was organised by the Konyak Union with an aim to preserve the cultural heritage of the people and also to promote tourism

• Theme :  'Empowering women for cultural heritage.'

Konyak :

• The Konyaks are one of the major Naga tribes.

• They are easily distinguishable from other Naga tribes by their pierced ears; and tattoos which they have all over their faces, hands, chests, arms, and calves.

• they inhabit the Mon District-- also known as 'The Land of The Anghs'. The Anghs/Wangs are their traditional chiefs whom they hold in high esteem.

• The Konyaks have the largest population among the Nagas. They are found in Tirap, Longding, and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh; Sibsagar District of Assam; and also in Myanmmar. They are known in Arunachal Pradesh as the Wanchos-- 'Wancho' is a synonymous term for 'Konyak'.

Festival celebrated :

• Aoleng, a festival celebrated in the first week of April (1-6) to welcome the spring and also to invoke the Almighty's (Kahwang) blessing upon the land before seed-sowing, is the biggest festival of the Konyaks.

• 'Lao Ong Mo', is the traditional harvest festival celebrated in the months of August/September.

                                                                                                                         Source :- Indian express

First-ever global coalition for clean cooling launched

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS -  Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

Context :

• The first-ever global coalition on clean and efficient cooling was launched at the First Global Conference on Synergies between the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement, which concluded on April 3, 2019, in Copenhagen, Denmark

Global Cool Coalition:

• The Global Cool Coalition is a unified front that links action across the Kigali Amendment, Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.

• Objective: It is expected to inspire ambition, identify solutions and mobilise action to accelerate progress towards clean and efficient cooling.

• Supporters: Besides the UN, it is supported by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL).

• Composition: It includes government officials from Chile, Rwanda, Denmark as well as leaders from civil society, research and academia.

Need :

• Throughout the world, 2018 was the fourth hottest year, preceded by 2017, 2015 and 2016.

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD), too, warned that the season average maximum temperatures from April to June are likely to be warmer than normal by 0.5 degree Celsius.

• With increasing incomes and urbanisation, number of air conditioning units across the globe is set to increase from 1.2 billion to 4.5 billion by 2050, and India alone may account for one billion units.

• In the next 20 years, India's cooling requirement will increase by eight times, with air conditioners alone consuming more than half of the total energy required for cooling in the country by 2037-38.

                                                                                                                            Source :- Down to Earth 

Japan probe blast asteroid to make carter

GS PAPER - 03 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY  - Awareness in the field of Space

Context :

• Japan's Hayabusa 2 Shoots Copper Bomb at Asteroid Ryugu to Create Artificial Crater

More about the mission :

• Hayabusa2 is the second Japanese spacecraft to land on an asteroid

• It is an asteroid sample-return mission operated by the Japanese space agency, JAXA.

• It was launched on 3 December 2014 and rendezvoused with near-Earth asteroid 162173 Ryugu on 27 June 2018.

• Aim : 

  • to make a crater on asteroid.

  • Also, this spacecraft will collect its underground samples to find possible clues to the origin of the solar system.

• Hayabusa2 carries multiple science payloads for remote sensing, sampling, and four small rovers that will investigate the asteroid surface to inform the environmental and geological context of the samples collected.

• Since it arrived at Ryugu in June 2018, Hayabusa 2 has dropped two hopping landers, collectively known as MINERVA-II, onto the surface of the space rock to take pictures and measure the asteroid’s temperature.

                                                                                                                                                       Source :- The Hindu

Rise in obesity, vision-related issues in Indian schoolchildren, says study

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

Context :

• A report titled “Enhancing the Effectiveness and Impact of Schools: Insights from School Health Screening Program” has noted that obesity, vision and dental issues are the major health problems faced by school-going children across India.

• The report has been published by Jarma Wellness, an organisation working in the area of healthcare consultation.

Jarma Wellness report:

• The Jarma Wellness report is based on findings made from the School Health Screening Program conducted on 1,76,240 children ranging from 2 to 17 years of age

• It was conducted for over 40 K-12 schools and 300 pre-primary centres

• The schools belonged to different socio-economic backgrounds spread across 20 plus cities in India

Key findings :

• The report reveals a substantial percentage of children in the age group 2 to 17 years are suffering health abnormalities in the area of BMI (obesity/underweight), vision (myopia/hyperopia), dental health (decay/cavities), followed by ENT, hygiene related issues.

• As per the report, 25.5% children have abnormal vision.It has also reported that 50% of all students screened were found to have dental issues.

• Overweight and obesity have also emerged as a major health issue with the problem aggravating with age.

• The report has further added that hygiene is a major issue among school children across India.

                                                                                                                                                      Source :- The Hindu

‘Deaths from C-sections high in developing countries’

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

Context :

• A recent research published in The Lancet has noted that Deaths from caesarean sections are higher in low and middle-income countries, suggesting a threat to the lives of women and babies.

Key findings :

• The maternal deaths following caesarean sections in low and middle-income countries are 100 times higher than that in high-income countries.

  • particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East

• Annually, there are 3 lakh maternal deaths and 99% of it are from low and middle-income countries.

• Further, women undergoing emergency caesarean section in low and middle-income countries were twice more likely to die than those delivering by elective caesarean section (planned caesarean).

Major reasons for maternal deaths:

•  Poor access

•  unnecessary caesarean operations

• late referrals

•  inappropriate procedures

• poor resources and training of medical practioners

Recommendations :

• Improving access to surgery,

• Promoting appropriate use of the procedure

• Providing safe surgical environments

• Increasing neonatal resuscitation (the process of correcting physiological disorders) to help improve outcomes to babies

• Appropriate training of health professionals to reduce inappropriate caesarean sections.

                                                                                        Source :- The Hindu ; Business Standard

Kerala forests home to new spider species

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

Context :

• A group of jumping spiders that mostly occur in Eurasia and Africa, has been spotted for the first time in Ernakulam’s Illithodu forests.

          Jumping spider :

• Habrocestum Longispinum (after Latin ‘longe’ meaning long and ‘spinae’ for spine) belong to the genus Habrocestum that has been recorded mostly in Eurasia and Africa.

• These group of jumping spiders are predominantly brownish-black in colour with white and creamy-yellow patches.

Significance :

• The discovery lends support to the continental drift theory that suggests that the world’s continents were one large, contiguous landmass where these creatures thrived many millions of years ago.

                                                                                                                             Source :- The Hindu

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