World Earth Day 2019

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

Context :

• Every year on April 22, we celebrate our mother earth with 'World Earth day', which marks the anniversary of the Modern Environmental Movement, started in 1970.

World Earth Day :

• World Earth day is a reminder for the mankind to protect and safeguard the mother earth and its species, to make Earth a better place for the coming generations.

• The Earth Day is observed on April 22 every year to support environmental protection. The movement began in the US in 1970 as a protection against the brutal and severe impact of industrial development on the environment.

• The day also identifies the collective responsibility to promote harmony with nature and the Earth in order to achieve a balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations of humanity.

• Inspired by the passion of the student anti- Vietnam War movement and concerned by an oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, US, the movement came to be known as 'Modern Environmental Movement' and it resulted in the creation of the Environment Protection Agency.

Theme 2019 :  Protect our species

• The theme aims to draw attention to the rapid extinction of species across the world, which is directly linked with the human activities which is leading to increasing climate change, global warming, population and deforestation which is leading straight to the rapid acceleration of the extensions of many species.

                                                                                                                   Source :- Indian Express

Imphal, Indian Navy’s advanced guided missile destroyer, launched in Mumbai

GS PAPER - 03 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Context :

• The Indian Navy has launched guided missile destroyer - INS Imphal

More about the news:

• The Indian Navy has named – for the first time – a warship after a city from the Northeast.

• It has been named after the Battle of Imphal and Kohima that were fought between British and Japanese Army during World War II in 1944.

• The name was chosen to commemorate the Indian soldiers who fought the 1944 Battle of Imphal and Kohima during the Second World War. A memorial in the middle of Manipur’s capital city Imphal stands proof of the bloody war between the invading Japanese forces and the allied army.

INS Imphal :

• INS Imphal is the third ship equipped with a guided missile destroyer, launched as part of the Navy’s Project 15B.

• The project, being carried out by the Directorate of Naval Design, is aimed at manufacturing indigenous vessels fortified with cutting edge advanced technology.

• INS Imphal is likely to be commissioned in 2023 and would join other warships named after Indian cities: INS Mysore, INS Delhi, INS Kolkata, INS Chennai, INS Kochi and INS Mumbai.

                                                                                                                                     Source :- The Hindu

‘Gender stereotypes leave imprint on brains’

GS PAPER - 03 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

Context :

• According to a new study, the society’s expectations about gender roles have a deep impact on human brains and can alter human brain at the cellular level.

Key Highlights :

• The researchers have highlighted that though the terms sex and gender are used interchangeably, they are different things.

  • Sex is based on biological factors such as sex chromosomes and gonads (reproductive organs).

  • While, gender us a social construct, and involves expectations and behaviours based on an individual’s perceived sex.

• According to scientists, these expectations and behaviours around the gender identity can be seen in epigenetic marks in the brain.

• Epigenetics is the term used to describe inheritance by mechanisms other than through the DNA sequence of genes.

• Epigenetic marks work through chemical tags added to chromosomes that in effect switch genes on or off.

• Epigenetic marks help determine which genes are expressed and are sometimes passed on from cell to cell as they divide.

•  They also can be passed down from one generation to the next. They drive biological functions and features as diverse as memory, development and disease susceptibility.

                                                                                                                                                                     Source :- The Hindu

No changes in citizenship Bill needed if Clause 6 implemented properly’

GS PAPER - 01 SOCIETY - POPULATION AND ASSOCIATED ISSUES

Context :

• The citizenship Bill does not require any changes if Clause 6 of the Assam Accord is implemented properly, says Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

• If Clause 6 is implemented in letter and spirit, then the indigenous people of Assam are well guarded and protected.

Assam Accord :

• The Assam Accord (1985) was a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed between representatives of the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement in New Delhi on 15 August 1985.

• The accord brought an end to the Assam Agitation and paved the way for the leaders of the agitation to form a political party and form a government in the state of Assam soon after.

• As per the Accord, those Bangladeshis who came between 1966 and 1971 will be barred from voting for ten years.

• The Accord also mentions that the international borders will be sealed and all persons who crossed over from Bangladesh after 1971 are to be deported. Though the accord brought an end to the agitation, some of the key clauses are yet to be implemented, which has kept some of the issues festering.

Clause 6 of Assam Accord :

• Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which was signed in 1985 after the Assam Agitation of 1979-85, envisages that appropriate constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards should be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the people of Assam.

                                                                                                                                                             Source :- The Hindu

In a first, East Asian birds make Andaman stopover

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

Context :

• The researchers at Zoological Survey of India say that the sighting of news species on the island chain has gone up since the 2004 Indonesian tsunami.

More about the news:

• In the past few years a few birds of southeast Asian origin have been recorded in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands during migration.

• Researchers are intrigued by the fact that number of new sightings has increased post the tsunami.

• These birds also use Andaman and Nicobar Islands for a few week rest before they can fly along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF).

• The EAAF extends from Arctic Russia and North America to the south Australian boundaries and includes the most of the east Asian regions including Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

• Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with just about 0.25 % the country’s landmass, is home to about 350 species of exotic birds, according to an official estimate.

New species on Island chain:

• The Zappey’s Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cumatilis) a song bird that breeds in China and spends the winters in the Malay peninsula, Sumatra and Java, was spotted six times in different areas of Andaman and Nicobar Islands between December 2017 and March 2017 — at least thrice in pairs.

• Researchers recorded the presence of the Javan Pond Heron (Ardeola speciosa), usually found in Thailand and Cambodia.

• Mugimaki Flycatcher (Ficedula mugimaki), Blue-winged Pitta (Pitta moluccensis), Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes) and the Chinese Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone incei) have also been recorded. 

                                                                                                                           Source :- The Hindu

Medicine labels in regional language

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Context :

• Iron tablets and polio drops administered under government programmes may soon bear the medicine’s name and expiry date in Hindi and other Indian languages, besides English.

More about the news:

• The decision is based on the recommendations of Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) – highest statutory decision-making body on technical matters related to drugs.

• The move is meant to ensure that those seeking drugs under government schemes have access to all the requisite information about them.

  • For instance, labels of iron tablets or polio-drop vials meant for children in Maharashtra would bear the drug’s name and expiry date in English and Marathi, or both.

• The suggestion specifically focuses on iron tablets and polio drops because they are the medicines most commonly administered to children at government health centres.

                                                                                                                                                              Source :- The Hindu

Indian,US Navies hold anti submarine warfare exercise

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS -  Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests

Context :

• The Indian and U.S navies has held an anti-submarine warfare exercise.

Anti submarine warfare exercise :

• The military exercise focused on anti-submarine warfare training, information sharing and coordination between maritime patrol aircraft and surface combatants.

• It was the first bilateral anti-submarine warfare exercise since the signing of a Communications,Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) between the two countries.

                                                                                                                                  Source :- The Hindu

Serial blasts across Sri Lanka claim 200, several injured

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS- India and its neighborhood- relations.

Context :

• A series of eight devastating bomb blasts ripped through high-end hotels and churches holding Easter services in Sri Lanka on Sunday, killing 290 people, including dozens of foreigners.

More about the news:

• Sri Lanka’s government has also declared an indefinite national curfew and blocked social media networks such as Facebook and WhatsApp in order to prevent the spread of rumors that might spark intercommunal violence.

• Easter 2019 was observed on April 21,2019.Easter is a Christian festival. The day marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ after he rose from the dead.

• As per the Bible,Christ was crucified on the day of Good Friday and buried in a grave.

• However,on the third day,his disciples visited his grave only to find the stone rolled away and the grave to be empty.This day stands for the triumph of Christ over death.

                                                                                                                            Source :- The HIndu

Special kits to probe sexual assault cases

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Context :

• The Union Ministry has distributed 3,100 Sexual assault evidence collection kits (SAECK) or rape investigation kits among the States and Union Territories.

Sexual assault evidence collection kits (SAECK) :

• The Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits (SAECK) or 'rape investigation kits' are designed to carry out immediate medico-legal investigation and aid in furnishing evidence in sexual assault and rape cases.

• The kits have been procured with financial support under the Nirbhaya Fund.

• Each of these kits comprises essential items that will aid in furnishing evidence such as blood and semen samples in sexual assault and rape cases, thus helping the prosecution to gather evidence against the accused.

• These kits also contain instructions on collection of evidence from the crime scene.

• The kits are expected to help law enforcement agencies to ensure effective investigation in a timely manner. This will in turn help in better prosecution and conviction in sexual assault cases.

                                                                                                                                                Source :- Times Of India

​------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------