National Current Affairs – UPSC/KAS Exams- 21st January 2019

Flamingo Festival Pulicat lake

Topic: Environment and Ecology

IN NEWS: The Flamingo Festival had a flying start  with tourists, both domestic and foreign, making a beeline for the picturesque Pulicat lake, a safe haven for migratory birds.

More on the Topic:

• The lake is the second largest brackish water ecosystem in the country after the Chilika lake in Odisha.
• The Lagoon is one of the three important wetlands to attract North-East Monsoon rain clouds during October to December season to Tamil Nadu.
• The barrier island of Sriharikota separates the lake from the Bay of Bengal and is home to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. Major part of the lake comes under Nellore district of Andhra pradesh.
• Two rivers which feed the lagoon are the Arani river at the southern tip and the Kalangi River from the northwest, in addition to some smaller streams. The Buckingham Canal, a navigation channel, is part of the lagoon on its western side.
• The lake acts as buffer to retain the accumulated flood water till the flood water is discharged gradually to the sea during the monsoon period and cyclones.

About Flamingo Festival:

• Flamingo Festival is being organised for the past 12 years. Migratory birds from Siberia have visit this place during winter season for breeding. Some where between 9,000 to 12,000 migratory birds arrive at Pulicat region for breeding this season.
• Usually around 80 different avian species migrate to Pulicat for breeding. They hunt in shallow waters of lake and breed there. Once the breeding season concludes, they fly away to their native land with their offspring in tow.

Source: The Hindu

Aadhaar is now passport to Nepal and Bhutan

Topic: International Relations

IN NEWS: Aadhaar cards are now valid travel documents for Indians under 15 and over 65 travelling to Nepal and Bhutan, according to a Home Ministry communique.Indians other than those in the two age brackets will not be able to use Aadhaar to travel to the two neighbouring countries, for which no visas are needed.

More on the Topic:

• Indian citizens going to Nepal and Bhutan don’t need a visa if they have a valid passport, a photo identity card issued by the government of India or an election ID card issued by the Election Commission.
• Earlier, persons over 65 and under 15 could show their PAN card, driving licence, Central Government Health Service (CGHS) card or ration card, but not the Aadhaar, to prove their identity and visit the two countries.

Why Indians don’t need Visa to enter Nepal and Bhutan:

• Citizens of India do not need a visa to enter Bhutan, because the 1949 Treaty between Bhutan and India allows for free movement of people between the two nations on a reciprocal basis.
• Indian citizens can obtain entry into Bhutan by air and land, and may use any of the acceptable documents.
• Citizens of India do not need a visa to enter Nepal, and can reside permanently as Nepali citizens with no restrictions, because Article 7 the 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship allows free movement of people between the two nations on a reciprocal basis.

Model Mains Question: Compare the changes happened to India Nepal relations in the recent decade to the previous decades.

Source:The Hindu

In 2019, India to beat U.K. in economy size

Topic: Indian Economy

In news: India is likely to surpass the United Kingdom in the world’s largest economy rankings in 2019, according to a report by global consultancy firm PwC.

More on the Topic:

• As per the report, while the U.K. and France have regularly switched places owing to similar levels of development and roughly equal populations, India’s climb up the rankings is likely to be permanent.

About PWC

• PwC ranks as the second largest professional services firm in the world behind Deloitte, and is one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, EY and KPMG. … PwC provides services to 422 out of 500 Fortune 500 companies.

Source: The Hindu

Jaycee Agro Farm- Model in Food processing

Topic: Agriculture

In news: A fusion of traditional practices, management expertise and technology has taken agriculture to a higher level at Jaycee Agro Farm at Tamilnadu.

More on the Topic:

• The farm, spread over 200 acres (and an additional 250 acre of leased land), adopts a biodiversified cropping pattern (paddy, fruits and vegetables) and is home to about 51,000 trees, all belonging to native species.
• It has an interconnected drip irrigation network with six percolation ponds, six open wells and 28 borewells, in addition to rainwater harvesting infrastructure.
• The water grid, which can be operated with an Android phone, ensures uninterrupted supply. The organic, bio and biodynamic manure and pesticides produced at the farm are tested in an in-house laboratory.
• The dairy unit provides the ingredients for manure production. Units are being set up to process fruits, vegetables; produce herbal powders and cold-pressed oils.

Why Value Added Agriculture is Important

• The average annual income of a farmer in India is less than ₹1lakh now. We are working towards improving it to close to ₹2.50 lakh by 2022.
• This can happen only if we focus on value addition,
• Value addition will improve the shelf life of the agriculture commodities. The wastage can be reduced even at a bumper harvest.
• It will provide new employment opportunities.
• It will earn India foreign reserve if the value added products are exported.

Source: The Hindu

RailWire WiFi

Topic: Infrastructure Development

In news: The Indian Railways has one of the world’s largest public WiFi networks in RailWire WiFi. With around 2.6 crore users logins in a month, and over 9,491 Tetra Byte (TB) of aggregated data consumption, RailWire WiFi at 746 railway stations across the country is only getting stronger.

More on the Topic:

• The network, provided by RailTel, a ‘Mini Ratna’ central PSU (Public Sector Undertaking) under the Ministry of Railways, is not only one of the largest but also one of the fastest public WiFi networks.
• The response to the high speed service provided as part of turning railway stations into a platform for digital inclusion has been phenomenal.
• The backbone capacity of each of these railway stations is 1 GBPS.
• Free WiFi services to commuters are being provided under ‘RailWire’, RailTel’s retail Broadband initiative.
• Of the 746 railway stations, RailTel has provided high speed WiFi at 414 A, A1 and C category railway stations across the country, in association with Google as the technology partner.

Source: The Hindu

Triple-drug therapy to fight Elephantiasis

Topic: Health

In news: Maharashtra is all set to roll out the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended triple-drug therapy for lymphatic filariasis to speed up elimination of the disease.

More on the Topic:

• The State currently has a two-drug regimen consisting of diethylcarbamazine citrate and albendazole. The drugs are distributed in endemic areas through a Mass Drug Administration (MDA) exercise,which is carried out once a year. In the triple-drug regimen, one more drug called ivermectin will be added.

About Elephantiasis:

• Lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, is a neglected tropical disease. According to the WHO, infection occurs when filarial parasites are transmitted to humans through mosquitoes. The infection is usually acquired in childhood, causing hidden damage to the lymphatic system.

Source: The Hindu

E-buses to hit Kerala roads next month

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In news: The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will launch 10 zero-emission and noiseless air-conditioned battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

More on the Topic:

• The environment-friendly Olectra-BYD’s electric bus, manufactured under the ‘Make in India’ initiative and wet-leased by the KSRTC for 10 years, is being deployed on the corridor after its successful chain service operations.
• With one charging, which will need three to four hours, the buses can run up to 300 km.

FAME, National Electric Mobility Mission:

• Government of India approved the National Mission on Electric Mobility in 2011 and subsequently National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 was unveiled in 2013.
• As part of the mission, Department of Heavy Industry has formulated a scheme namely FAME – India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India) for implementation with effect from 1st April 2015, with the objective to support hybrid/electric vehicles market development and Manufacturing eco-system.
• The overall scheme is proposed to be implemented over a period of 6 years, till 2020, wherein it is intended to support the hybrid/electric vehicles market development and its manufacturing eco-system to achieve self-sustenance at the end of the stipulated period. The scheme has 4 focus areas i.e. Technology Development, Demand Creation, Pilot Projects and Charging Infrastructure.
• Conversion of vehicles to electric vehicles has a potential to save fossil fuels worth about $100 bn annually, which in turn would save the country precious foreign exchange, prevent the dependence on imported petroleum products and reduce the pollution in cities by 80-90%.

Model Mains Question: Discuss  India’s FAME scheme. What are the challenges it has to overcome to be successful?

Elephant Corridors

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In news: The Supreme Court  dismissed an appeal filed by Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. (NRL) and ordered demolition of a 2.2-km boundary wall erected on an elephant migration corridor in eastern Assam’s Golaghat district.

 About Elephant Corridors:

• Elephant herds are known to migrate across 350-500 sq. km. annually. Elephant corridors are narrow strips of land that connect two large habitats. There are around 1950 elephants left in India, more than 40 elephants lose their lives every year. Recently, there were incidences of Elephants being killed by train accidents, in all this scenario-the elephant corridors become very important for effective migration of

The corridors are important because:

• It reduces man and animal conflict.
• It would ensure not restricted mobility of elephants.
• It would help in monitoring of elephants if they are wounded or sick
• It ensures safe mobility in times of emergencies like Forest Fires
• They help in enhancing the gene pool
• It would be helpful in monitoring of elephants, if they are sick or under any kind of stress.
• It would help in effective migration and then leading to increase of population through interbreeding.

Why its Important to conserve the Elephants:

• Elephants being one of the most important “Umbrella Species”, their conservation is very instrumental in maintaining the ecological balance, maintaining the food web and also to make sure the effective conservation of several other species.
• Therefore, it is important to conserve elephants; also India being home for more than 50% elephants of the world have a special responsibility in this regard.

Why it is important to conserve elephant corridors? What are all the measures taken by government in this regard?

Source: The Hindu

Indus Valley Civilisation-Lothal

Topic: Ancient History

In news: Mention in the Hindu

More on the Topic:

• Indus Valley Civilisation, which is now more popularly referred to as the Harappan Civilisation after Harappa, the first of its sites to be excavated in the 1920s by British archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler.
• The Harappan Civilisation was widespread: it covered parts of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Even though, post-Partition, Harappa and Mohenjo-daro fell in Pakistani territory, there are many sites of the Harappan Civilisation in India too.
• Indian archaeologists started the search for cities of the Harappan Civilisation post-1947 in Saurashtra, Gujarat, and were amply rewarded.

About Lothal:

• Archaeologist S.R. Rao led teams who discovered a number of Harappan sites, including the port city of Lothal in 1954-63.
• Two sub-periods of Harappan culture are marked out: period A dating to 2,400-1,900 BCE, and period B dating to 1,900-1,600 BCE.
• The word Lothal, like Mohenjo-daro, means the mound of the dead. Lothal is located between the Bhogavo and Sabarmati rivers near the Gulf of Khambat.
• The 4,500-year-old city was mathematically planned. It had a grid pattern with proper streets crossing at right angles, drainage systems, and a great bath. The emphasis on cleanliness can be judged from the discovery of toilets and lota-like jars.
• Lothal was in the thick of Harappan maritime trade, and beads made from semi-precious stones, terracotta, gold, etc. were popular in areas as far as Sumer (modern-day Iraq), Bahrain and Iran. The Lothal bead-makers were highly skilled.

Source: The Hindu

India Africa Trade relations

Topic: International Relations

In news: Seeking to enhance economic, business and cultural relations with Africa, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj assured representatives of African nations that India will continue to be their trusted partner and work closely for their economic and social empowerment.

More on the Topic:

• “The trade between India and Africa stood at $62.66 billion for 2017-18, which reflects a nearly 22% increase over the previous year. India is ranked third largest export destination in Africa.
• India has accorded Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) Scheme to 38 African countries.
• In recent years, there has been a surge in Indian investment in Africa. India is the fifth largest investor in Africa with cumulative investments of $ 54 billion
• Indian investments in African will grow manifold in the coming years due to the Indian government’s thrust in strengthening ties.
• Major areas identified for investments are minerals and mining, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, high-technology manufacturing and information and communication technology.