Sustainable Developmental Goals Index 2019
GS-Paper-3 Environment SDG PT-MAINS
The SDG India Index (NITI AAYOG) dashboard displays overall & detailed info on the progress made by States & UTs on Global Goals of the United Nations including their incremental progress from 2018, using interactive visualizations.
The SDG index shows that Kerala is on the first rank for 2019 followed by Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The report attributes the improvement in India's performance to several welfare programs including Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and Ujjwala Yojana.
Imp Points
Analysis
NITI Aayog has released the second edition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index (SDG Index 2.0).
Methodology Followed
National Analysis
State/UT Wise Analysis
How will the Index will be useful to States/UTs?
Significance and analysis:
Source: TH
Information about Country of Origin by the sellers made mandatory on GeM to promote Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat
Source: PIB
Financing for Compressed Bio-Gas plants to be brought under Priority Sector Lending
Context
About SATAT
CBG potential of Tamil Nadu
About Biogas
Importance of CBG
Source: PIB
Study of optical properties of super-massive black-hole
GS- PAPER-3 S&T PT-MAINS
Through 153 nights, 17 scientists from 9 countries in Europe and Asia including researchers from Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital (PT), an autonomous institution of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India took 2263 image frames and observed the changes in a very high energy gamma-ray emitting blazar ‘1ES 0806+524’ using seven optical telescopes in Europe and Asia.
A blazar is a feeding super-massive black-hole (SMBH) in the heart of a distant galaxy that produces a high-energy jet viewed face-on from Earth. Blazars are one of the most luminous and energetic objects in the known universe with a jet composed of ionized matter traveling at nearly the speed of light directed very nearly towards an observer.
Blazars are among one of the most favourite astronomical transient objects because they emit radiation in the complete electromagnetic (EM )spectrum, and their flux and polarization are highly variable.
Recent news
The first photograph of a black hole was revealed by scientists recently.
What is a black hole?
If black holes are invisible, how can we detect or photograph them?
How big are black holes?
Small black holes are called stellar-mass black holes. They have masses similar to those of larger stars — about five to 20 times the mass of the sun. The other kind is supermassive black holes, which are millions to billions of times more massive than the sun. That’s the kind the Event Horizon Telescope has been trying to photograph, as bigger objects ought to be easier to see. There is some evidence that black holes between these two sizes exist, but that has yet to be confirmed.
While black holes are very massive, that doesn’t mean they take up a lot of space. Because they’re so dense, they’re actually quite small. According to NASA, a black hole 20 times the mass of the sun could fit inside a ball 16 kilometres wide — the width of the Island of Montreal at its widest point.
Where are black holes found?
Supermassive black holes are found at the centre of most galaxies, including our own Milky Way. The one in our galaxy is called Sagittarius A* and is one of those the Event Horizon Telescope has been attempting to photograph.
Sagittarius A* isn’t the only black hole in our galaxy, though. Earlier this year, astronomers discovered another 12 within three light-years of it, suggesting there could be upwards of 10,000 black holes around the galactic centre.
Where do black holes come from?
Supermassive black holes are believed to form at the same time as the galaxy that surrounds them, but astronomers aren’t sure exactly how.
Stellar mass black holes form when a star with a mass greater than three times that of our sun runs out of fuel. It explodes into a supernova and collapses into an extremely dense core that we know as a black hole — something predicted by Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
Einstein’s theory also predicts the size and shape of the black holes that the Event Horizon Telescope is trying to photograph.
For WHITE DWARFS read: https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/dwarfs1.html
Source: AIR
Ashadhi Bij, the Kutchi New Year
Source: PIB
ULV sprayer through drones
To overcome the limitation of importing equipment, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW), under Make in India initiative, has taken up the challenge to indigenously develop a vehicle mounted ULV sprayer for locust control.
What is ULV(Ultra-Low volume) sprayer?
Ultra-low volume application of pesticides has been defined as spraying at a Volume Application Rate (VAR) of less than 5 L/ha for field crops or less than 50 L/ha for tree/bush crops. VARs of 0.25 – 2 l/ha are typical for aerial ULV application to forest or migratory pests.
ULV spraying is a well-established spraying technique and remains the standard method of locust control with pesticides and is also widely used by cotton farmers in central-southern and western Africa. It has also been used in massive aerial spraying campaigns against disease vectors such as the tse-tse fly.
A major benefit of ULV application is high work rate (i.e. many hectares can be treated in one day). It is a good option if all (or some) of these conditions apply:
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Importance of drones to control locusts
Source: PIB
Government declares Minimum Support Price for Mature Dehusked Coconut
Homogeneous Development
Source: PIB
YUKTI 2.0
About YUKTI 1.0
About YUKTI 2.0
Source: PIB
Purchasing Power Parities and the size of Indian Economy: Results from the 2017 International Comparison Program
International Comparison Program (ICP)
WORLDWIDE STATUS
REGIONAL STATUS: ASIA-PACIFIC REGION
Source: PIB
NDRF
The NDRF was set up in accordance with Section 46 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. It is meant to “meet the expenses for emergency response, relief and rehabilitation” for any threatening disaster situation. Although Section 46 includes a clause regarding grants made by any person or institution, provisions for such donations had not been made.
Contribution to NDRF
Source: PIB
Decarbonising Transport: International Project to Develop Pathway to Low-CO2 Mobility for India NITI Aayog in collaboration with International Transport Forum (ITF) will launch the “Decarbonising Transport in India” project on 24 June, with the intention to develop a pathway toward
Foldscope could be a better alternative to clinical microscope Foldscope is an affordable origami-based microscopy device composed of a series of paper clippings. (Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper into decorative shapes and figures) Upon assembly, the device can hold a specime
Scientists detect ionospheric irregularities during major space weather events that influence communication & navigation systems The Earth's magnetic field lines are nearly horizontal over magnetic equator due to which equatorial ionosphere is a bed for a variety of plasma instabilitie
Study of optical properties of super-massive black-hole can provide clue to emission mechanism from its close vicinity Context Through 153 nights, 17 scientists from 9 countries in Europe and Asia including researchers from Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Naini
A way out of undelineated borders By, Mukul Sanwal is a former UN diplomat and has served as Deputy Commissioner Almora Context # The Galwan face-off should focus minds on resolving, not managing, different perceptions of the northern border, relying first on ‘samadhaan’, as Kau
The lone wolf threat: on isolated terror attack in London Context # The knife attack at a park in Reading, a town west of London, which killed three people and injured three others, is yet another reminder of the threat of lone wolf attacks the U.K. is facing. Lone wolf attacks in Britain
Transparency during a crisis By, Anjali Bhardwaj is associated with the National Campaign for Peoples’ Right to Information Context # Right to Information (RTI) applications seeking information pertaining to the PM CARES Fund have been stonewalled. # No information exists on
Right to Information Act,2005 Historical Background The right to information gained power when Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948 providing everyone the right to seek, receive, information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. The I
Bum La Pass The Bum La Pass is a mountain pass located at the Indo-China border above 15,200 ft above sea level, it is about 37 km away from Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. The road to Bum La is also a historical route, the People's Liberation Army of China invaded India during the 1962 Sino-Ind
Sharavathi Monkey Park Karnataka government has decided to develop a monkey park in Shivamogga district. The monkey park will be established on the uninhabited islands in the Sharavathi backwaters region. The park will be the first such in the state and will be set up on 100 acres of land at the
UNICEF Kid Power UNICEF Kid Power is a philanthropic initiative that was launched in 2015 as a division of the US Fund for UNICEF. It marks UNICEF's first foray into the hardware space. UNICEF Kid Power, with the help of California-based technology firm Calorie Cloud and design studi
SCHEME FOR VOLUNTARY CERTIFICATION OF YOGA PROFESSIONALS At the behest of the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, a Scheme for Voluntary Certification of Yoga Professionals has been launched by Ministry of AYUSH to spread India’s traditional knowledge worldwide and to provide India'
Online Yoga Quiz Competition Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) through National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has undertaken multi-dimensional initiatives to promote integration of Yoga in school curriculum. NCERT has developed textual materials on Yoga fo
KVIC starts reviving ancient glory of Pokhran potteries Seeking to restore the lost glory of the once-most famous pottery of Pokhran, a small town in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan where India conducted its 1st nuclear test, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) today distributed
Kumbhar Sashaktikaran Program Kumbhar Sashaktikaran Program is an initiative of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission(KVIC) for empowerment of potters community in the remotest of locations in the country. Target beneficiaries The program reaches out to the potters in : U.P.,
Study showing stars of varied ages can co-exist in open clusters, provides clue to stellar evolution in the Milky Way Galaxy Stars Stars in our Galaxy are formed from the molecular clouds present in the Galaxy. It is believed that the majority of stars in our Galaxy are formed in the sta
Detection of ?uorine in hot Extreme Helium Stars solves their evolution mystery An extreme helium star or EHe is a low-mass supergiant that is almost devoid of hydrogen, the most common chemical element of the universe. There are 21 of them detected so far in our galaxy. Mystery of EH
Artic Sea It is located mostly in the Arctic North Polar Region in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere, besides its surrounding waters the Arctic Ocean is surrounded by Eurasia and North America. It is partly covered by sea ice throughout the year and almost completely in winter. The Arctic
World Crocodile Day World Crocodile Day is celebrated on 17th June. The day is a global awareness campaign to highlight the plight of endangered crocodiles and alligators around the world. Crocodile spices found in India includes Mugger or Marsh Crocodile Estuarine or Saltwater C
Council of Scientific & Industrial Research It was established by the Government of India in September 1942 as an autonomous body. It comes under the Ministry of Science & Technology. It is known for its cutting edge research and development knowledge base in diverse science and technolog
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