Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (28 May 1883 – 26 February 1966)
Context
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has paid tributes to Veer Savarkar on his jayanti on May 28th.
"On his Jayanti, I bow to the courageous Veer Savarkar. We remember him for his bravery, motivating several others to join the freedom struggle and emphasis on social reform", the Prime Minister said.
About Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
Cause of Death: Fasting (Sallekhana Prayopavesa)
Hindutva
50 years of imprisonment – Kaala Paani
Source: PIB
How Heat wave in North India is unusual
Part of: GS-I- Geography (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST)
Heatwave in India: The last several days have brought heatwaves in parts of the country, but the preceding weeks had seen no such conditions. A look at how this breaks trends, Cyclone Amphan's role, and what is expected to follow.
For the past five days, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra have been experiencing severe to very severe heatwave conditions. In its very first spell this summer, this heatwave pushed day temperatures significantly above normal, with Churu in Rajasthan reporting 50 degrees. Here is why this summer is slightly unusual.
What is a heatwave and when is it declared?
Heatwaves occur over India between March and June. Meteorologists declare a heatwave event when the maximum (day) temperature for a location in the plains crosses 40 degrees Celsius. Over the hills, the threshold temperature is 30 degrees Celsius. When the day temperature jumps by 4 to 5 degrees above the normal maximum temperature of a location, it is declared as a heatwave (PT).
For example, if the normal maximum temperature for a location in the plains on a given day should be 40 degrees but records 45 degrees, then that location is experiencing a heatwave. Alternatively, any location where maximum temperature crosses 45 degrees or shows a departure of over 6 degrees from normal, it is a severe heatwave condition.
How long can a heatwave spell last?
A heatwave spell generally lasts for a minimum of four days. On some occasions, it can extend up to seven or ten days. The longest recorded heatwave spell, in recent years, was between 18 – 31 May 2015. This spell had severely affected parts of West Bengal along with Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. A similar spell in 2014 was reported during June 2 – June 11.
The current heatwave spell commenced on May 22 and is likely to continue till May 29. Heatwave conditions occurring in May have been observed to last longer, as the season reaches its peak this month. Whereas those reported in June often die down sooner, often due to the onset of Southwest monsoon over the location or in its neighbourhood.
Does all of India experience heatwave conditions?
No. Heatwaves are common over the Core Heatwave Zone (CHZ) — Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, West Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Vidarbha in Maharashtra, parts of Gangetic West Bengal, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, as categorised by India Meteorological Department.
Several recent studies indicate that CHZ experience more than six heatwave days per year during these four months. Many places in the northwest and cities along southeastern coast report eight heatwave days per season. However, the regions in the extreme north, northeast and southwestern India is lesser prone to heatwaves.
So why did the country experience an unusual summer sans heatwaves, till the third week of May?
Has cyclone Amphan influenced the current heatwave?
Since the event of severe heat has emerged immediately after the passing of Cyclone Amphan, experts confirm its role in leading to the present heatwave spell. Cyclone Amphan, which was a massive Super Storm covering 700 kms, managed to drag maximum moisture from over the Bay of Bengal, entire South Peninsula, parts of Central India and to some extent, even from the Arabian Sea.
All the moisture, that was otherwise built during the thunderstorm and rainfall, got gradually depleted from over vast areas as the storm advanced towards West Bengal and Bangladesh between May 16 and 20. It has now triggered dry north-westerly winds to blow over Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra causing severe heatwave.
Source: IE
Delimitation Commission
Context
The Delimitation Commission had a meeting on 28th May,2020,to review the progress of direction given by the Commission in its first meeting held on 29th April,2020.
Earlier there was slight delay in organizing the first meeting due to ongoing lock down because of Covid 19 pandemic. Information on details of State Election Commissioner has been received from the State of Arunachal Pradesh,Assam,Manipur and Union Territory of Jammu&Kashmir.
What is Delimitation?
Delimitation literally means the act or process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country to represent changes in population.
Why Delimitation?
How delimitation is carried out?
Delimitation Commission
The Delimitation Commission is appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with the Election Commission of India.
Composition:
Functions:
In case of difference of opinion among members of the Commission, the opinion of the majority prevails.
The Delimitation Commission in India is a high power body whose orders have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court.
Current Position of Delimitation
In the 2009 General elections, 499 out of total 543 Parliamentary constituencies were newly delimited constituencies.
This affected the National Capital Region of Delhi, The Union territory of Puducherry and all other states except J&K, Arunachal Pradesh,Assam,Jharkhand,Manipur and Nagaland.
Problems with Delimitation
Delimitation provisions of the J&K Constitution:
Source: PIB
National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)
Context
Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank interacted with Heads of more than 45,000 Higher Educational Institutions across the country today through Webinar hosted by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Bengaluru. The Minister addressed and Interacted with a Galaxy of Academicians comprising participation from Vice Chancellors / Registrars / Professors / IQAC heads / Principals / Faculty from across the Nation.
What is NAAC?
NAAC Procedure
The process of accreditation by NAAC was completely done on-site by a group of assessors. After the Revised Accreditation Framework in 2017, the following two-stage process is followed:
Stage 1
Institutions keen to be assessed should submit an Institutional Information for Quality Assessment (IIQA) and Self Study Report (SSR) to NAAC. The data submitted will then be validated.
Stage 2
This assessment will be based on various components, such as the number of faculties, the number of research journals in the library, and the number of international publications produced by the institute.
Various disciplinary measures are put in place for institutes and colleges for submitting incorrect data.
The on-site grading is still a part of the assessment process. It is just 30% of the process and is the last part of the NAAC assessment procedure.
Functions of NAAC
Paramarsh Scheme
Source: PIB
Locust attack: How they arrived, the seriousness of the problem, and ways to solve it
What are ‘desert locusts’ doing in non-desert lands?
This is what seems to have happened this year. These locusts usually breed in the dry areas around Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea along the eastern coast of Africa, a region known as the Horn of Africa.
Other breeding grounds are the adjoining Asian regions in Yemen, Oman, southern Iran, and in Pakistan’s Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. Many of these areas received unusually good rains in March and April, and that resulted in large-scale breeding and hopper development.
When July-October is the normal time, how did they arrive so early?
But why the further eastward movement?
So, what damage have they caused?
How can these pests be controlled?
Source: IE
A joint fight by India and Pakistan, over the years: To control the Locusts swarms
History of outbreaks
Beginning of cooperation
India and Pakistan
Source: IE
Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET)
Source: PIB
UV-C light source for Germicidal Irradiation
Source: PIB
Hansa Jivraj Mehta
Hansa Jivraj Mehta a social activist served in the constituent assembly from 1946-1949, was a Padma Bhushan awardee. She was a member of the Fundamental rights sub-committee, the advisory committee and the provincial constitutional committee.
Hansa Mehta’s most significant contribution to the constituent assembly debates was in trying to make the Uniform Civil Code(UCC) a justiciable part of the constitution.
She also served as a member of the UN sub committee on the United National Declaration of Human Rights committee. She successfully championed her cause changing the phrase in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, from “All men are born free and equal” to “All human beings are born free and equal.”
Source: Web
Credit scores
A credit score determines how creditworthy a person is and helps banks and financial institutions decide on loans. In India, the scores are issued by credit reporting agencies such as CIBIL, Equifax, Experian, Etc.
These agencies are regulated by the RBI and collect data from banks on their loans and come up with credit scores through use of algorithms. The data is updated frequently. Credit scores in India range from 300-900. A credit report may be obtained for free once a year from every credit reporting agency.
Source: TH
NASA’s Kilopower Project
NASA has invented a small nuclear reactor Kilopower, It can generate a reliable power supply by using uranium-235 reactor core. This power system could provide up to 10 kilowatts of electrical power enough to run two average households continuously for at least 10 years. This reactor will be used for electronic propulsion systems and for providing safe and plentiful energy for future robotic and human missions for Mars and beyond.
Source: TH
National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN)
National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) is an ambitious initiative to trigger a broadband revolution in rural areas. It aims to connect all the Gram panchayats in the country and provide 100 Mbps connectivity to all gram panchayats (GPs).
Bharat Net
Source: PIB
5G technology
Union telecom ministry had announced 5G technology will be rolled out from 2020. 5G promises ultra-reliable, very fast speeds and high bandwidth mobile connectivity and supports massive interconnected devices spread across wide areas like Internet of things (IoT). This would entail accelerating the BharatNet programme for deploying connectivity infrastructures.
Source: TH
Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)
At present, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is a three-member body, with one Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two Election Commissioners (EC).
Key points to remember
Source: WEB
Automated ocean pollution observation system
Union government has planned to setup an automated ocean pollution observation system. These systems will be installed in coastal areas of West Bengal, Goa, Mumbai, Kochi, Vishakhapatnam and Chennai.
It will help keep a tab on ocean pollution levels apart and provides insights on how the marine system is changing. It is an initiative under National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Source: TH
Accessible India Campaign (AIC)
It is a nationwide flagship campaign of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The aim of the Campaign is to make a barrier free and conducive environment for differently abled all over the country.
For creating universal accessibility for differently abled persons the campaign has been divided into three verticals:
This campaign is in line with UNCRPD (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) to which India is a signatory.
Source: TH
UN Environment Management Group (EMG)
The EMG is a UN system-wide coordination body on environment and human settlements. Its members include the secretariats of the multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and other specialized agencies, programmes and organs of the UN.
Representatives of intergovernmental bodies, civil society and international non-governmental organizations can be invited to contribute. The EMG works through technical meetings, Issue Management Groups and task forces.
Source: DtE
Export control regime
Australia Group
Recently the Australia Group admitted (2018) India as its 43rd participant. India’s entry would contribute to international security and non-proliferation objectives.
The Australia Group (AG) is an informal forum of countries which, seeks to ensure export controls over development of chemical or biological weapons. By this AG nations would fulfil their obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention to the fullest extent possible.
MTCR
It is a multilateral, consensus based grouping of 35 member countries who are voluntarily committed to the non-proliferation of missiles capable of carrying chemical, biological and nuclear weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
It controls the export of the technologies and materials involved in ballistic missile systems and unmanned aerial vehicles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. This is a non–treaty association which has a rule-based regulation mechanism to limit the transfer of such critical technologies of these missile systems.
India joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016.
Wassenaar Arrangement (WA)
The Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) has been established in order to contribute to regional and international security and stability. It promotes transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, thus preventing destabilising accumulations.
The aim is also to prevent the acquisition of these items by terrorists. Participating States ensure that transfers of these items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities. India became a member of WA in 2017.
NSG
Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a multinational body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that may be applicable to nuclear weapon development. NSG was set up in 1974 as a reaction to India’s nuclear tests.
Source: TH
Cyber Surakshit Bharat
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), announced the Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative. It aims to spread awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.
Cyber Surakshit Bharat is the first public-private partnership of its kind and will leverage the expertise of the IT industry in cybersecurity. Cyber Surakshit Bharat aims to conduct a series of training programs for departments in State and Union governments,Public Sector Banks, and technical arms of the Air Force, Army and Navy.
Source: PIB
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