current affairs paperwise | gs paper 1 | October 2020- AspireIAS

Kochi-Muziris Biennale

Kochi-Muziris Biennale 5th edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale has been postponed to 1st November 2021, which was earlier set to be inaugurated on 12th December 2020. What? The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is an art exhibition and festival that is the largest of its kind in South Asia and is organised by the Kochi Biennale Foundation at Kochi, Kerala. The Foundation is a non-profit charitable trust engaged in pr

Important Facts of Kerala

Important Facts of Kerala Capital Thiruvananthapuram or Trivandrum Date of Formation November 01, 1956 State Boundaries Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry (Mahe) Number of Districts 14 State Animal Elephant State Bird Great Indian Hornbill State Flower

Single Male Parent

Single Male Parent Male Government employees who are single parents will now be eligible for childcare leave. Single male parents include unmarried employees, widowers and divorcees, who may be expected to take up the responsibility of caring for a child single-handedly. Features: Child care leave can be granted at 100% of leave salary for the first 365 days and 80% of leave salary for the next 365 days. In the case of a disabled child, the condition of availing child care leave

Himalayan zone is Tectonically Active

A Himalayan zone is Tectonically Active Recently, a group of scientists from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Dehradun have found that the Indus-Tsangpo Suture Zone (ITSZ) of Himalayas tectonically active. What is a Suture zone? A suture zone is a linear belt of intense deformation, where distinct terranes or tectonic units with different plate tectonic, metamorphic, and paleogeographic histories join together. These zones also provide the only record of deep oceani

Women at the heart of recovery

Women at the heart of recovery By, Shoko Noda is UNDP Resident Representative in India; Atul Bagai is Head, UN Environment Country Office, India Context The recovery measures undertaken by the government through fiscal stimulus packages is offering India two golden opportunities: one, to build climate resilience for the most vulnerable by ensuring that stimulus measures are green; and two, to meaningfully address long-standing gender equality issues. Societal impact of the pande

Abortion Laws in Poland

Abortion Laws in Poland Recently, women in Poland have been protesting a court ruling that drastically restricts their right to access safe and legal abortions. The existing 1993 abortion law of Poland permits the termination of pregnancy on the grounds of foetal defects. These are already considered some of the strictest laws in Europe and after the enactment of the court’s decision, abortions will only be permitted in cases of rape, incest, or if there is a threat to the mother

The manacles of caste in sanitation work (Analysis on Manual scavengers)

The manacles of caste in sanitation work By, Dr. Raees Muhammad is the director of Dalit Camera and general secretary of the Nilgiris All India Sanitation Workers Self Respect Trade Union, Tamil Nadu Context While civil society started a movement in the 1990s to abolish dry latrines, the focus now is on manhole deaths and provision of safety equipment to sanitation workers. The movement has been demanding the abolition of the dehumanising practice of the manual removal of human ex

Recalling a Pakistan misadventure: What happened on October 22, 1947?

Recalling a Pakistan misadventure: What happened on October 22, 1947? Context Kashmiris have traditionally observed October 27 as a Black Day to mark the first landing of Indian troops in the Valley in 1947 to push back Pakistan-backed tribal invaders. But this year, in what appears to be an effort by the government to change that narrative, the Ministry of Culture is marking October 22 — the day the Pakistani invasion began and set the stage for the first India-Pakistan war &m

Love in the time of polarisation

Love in the time of polarisation Context The release of the Tata-owned Tanishq advertisement was followed by a manic backlash with complaints about hurt Hindu sentiment, threats of violence, and its abrupt withdrawal. These threats were not empty; showrooms in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh were visited by goons demanding a written apology. Message and the attack What is the advertisement trying to communicate and what is hurtful about it? An affluent Muslim family is seen

The Milky Way’s secret

The Milky Way’s secret Context: 2020 Nobel Prize in physics has been awarded to Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea M. Ghez for their work on black holes. Important terminologies: 1. Event Horizon: It is defined as a notional boundary around a black hole beyond which no light or other radiation can escape. 2. Quasars: A quasar is an extremely luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN), in which a super massive black hole with very high mass is surrounded