National Current Affairs – UPSC/IAS Exams- 22nd May 2019
Anti-Terrorism day
Topic: Polity and Governance
In News: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed varsities and higher educational institutions to observe May 21 as Anti-Terrorism day to wean away the youth from terrorism.
More on the Topic:
- The activities suggested for the day include debates, discussions, symposium, pledge taking ceremony and screening of films.
About UGC:
- The University Grants Commission of India (UGC India) is a statutory body set up by the Indian Union government in accordance to the UGC Act 1956 under Ministry of Human Resource Development, and is charged with coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of higher education.
- It provides recognition to universities in India, and disbursements of funds to such recognised universities and colleges.
- Its headquarters is in New Delhi, and has six regional centres in Pune, Bhoal, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Guwahati and Bangalore.
- UGC is modelled after University Grants Committee of UK which was an advisory committee of the British government and advised on the distribution of grant funding amongst the British universities. The committee was in existence from 1919 until 1989.
Source: The Hindu
West Nile fever
Topic: Science and Technology
In News: Four cases of the West Nile Virus infection have been reported from within the Kozhikode Corporation limits.
More on the Topic:
- The presence of the West Nile virus was identified from the mosquito samples collected from these areas and serum samples of the close contacts of the infected persons by a team from the National Centre for Disease Control.
- There could have been more unreported cases of the disease as 80% of the infected people do not show any symptoms, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Human infection is most often the result of bites from infected mosquitoes of the Culex genus.
- “Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds, which circulate the virus in their blood for a few days.
- Mosquito eradication works had been taken up in areas from where these cases were reported. Steps were also taken to create awareness among local residents.
About National Centre for Disease Control:
- National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) (previously known as National Institute of Communicable Diseases) is an institute under the Indian Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- It was established in July 1963 for research in epidemiology and control of communicable diseases and to reorganize the activities of the Malaria Institute of India (MII).
- Currently it has eight branches at Alwar, Bangalore, Trivandrum, Calicut, Coonoor, Jagdalpur, Patna, Rajahmundry and Varanasi to advise the respective state governments on public health.
- The headquarters are in Sham Nath Marg in New Delhi.
Source: The Hindu
UN World Economic Situation and Prospects Report
Topic: Economy
In News: The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2019 report said that the global economy is experiencing a broad-based growth slowdown led by slowing industrial production coupled with the weakening of international trade activity due in large part to the unresolved trade disputes between the U.S. and China.
More on the topic:
- Across both developed and developing countries, growth projections for 2019 have been downgraded.
- Alongside a slowdown in international trade, business sentiments have deteriorated, casting a cloud on investment prospects.
- The Indian economy, which generates two-thirds of the regional output, expanded by 7.2% in 2018.
- Strong domestic consumption and investment will continue to support growth, which is projected at 7% in 2019 and 7.1% in 2020.
- While the slowdown in European Union has meant exports from nations such as Bangladesh have also slowed as the EU is one of its major export destinations, India is on a stronger footing because of the nature of its export destinations.
- India’s exports remain more robust, as around half of exports are destined for faster-growing Asian markets.
Source: The Hindu
World Metrology Day
Topic: Science and Technology
In News: World Metrology Day is an event occurring on the 20th of May celebrating the International System of Units.
More on the Topic:
- The date is the anniversary of the signing of the Metre Convention in 1875 . Metrology is the study of measurement.
- The Convention set the framework for global collaboration in the science of measurement and in its industrial, commercial and societal applications.
- The World Metrology Day project is currently realized jointly by the BIPM(International Bureau of Weights and Measures) and the OIML(International Organization of Legal Metrology).
- The 2019 Metrology Day is when the changes to the International System that were decided on in 2018 come into effect.
- Among them, the replacement of the International Prototype Kilogram with a redefinition based on the Planck Constant.
Source: PIB
Wearable Supercapacitor
Topic: Science and Technology
In News: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay have fabricated a wearable supercapacitor that can store and deliver large amount of electrical energy, exceeding other similar devices.
More on the Topic:
- The wearable energy storage device can be stitched on to any fabric and can deliver power ranging from microwatt to milliwatt.
- The energy stored in the device can power GPS location-based transmitters.
- The electrode of the supercapacitor was fabricated by uniformly coating cotton yarn with carbon nanotubes (CNTs).
- The coating converts the electrical insulating yarn into a metallic conductor thereby behaving like an electrode.
About Supercapacitor:
- A capacitor is a passive two-terminal electronic component that stores electrical energy in an electric field, the effect of a capacitor is known as capacitance.
- A supercapacitor (SC) is also called a supercap, ultracapacitor or Goldcap.
- It is a high-capacity capacitor with capacitance values much higher than other capacitors (but lower voltage limits) that bridge the gap between electrolytic capacitors and rechargeable batteries.
Source: The Hindu
ISRO missions for next 10 years announced
Topic: Science and Technology
In News: Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) recently announced for its upcoming mission over next 10 years.
More on the Topic:
- Apart from much awaited and ambitious Chadrayaan-2 some other mega missions will be conducted.
- Among these seven mega missions ISRO has defined XPoSat and Aditya-L1 missions only. India’s second moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, will be flight ready by May end. ISRO has recently declared that the spacecraft will be launched in July 2019.
Major Highlights:
- Apart from XPoSat and Aditya-L1 missions, other four undefined missions are Mangalyaan-2, Venus mission, Lunar Polar Exploration and Exoworlds.
- The XPoSat, or the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite, is a dedicated mission to study polarisation which is scheduled for launch next year.
- Xposat to study cosmic radiation in 2020, Aditya L1 to the Sun in 2021, Mars Orbiter Mission-2 in 2022, Lunar Polar Exploration or Chandrayaan-3 in 2024 and Exoworlds, an exploration outside the solar system in 2028.
- Xposat will be a five-year mission, carrying a polarimeter instrument made by Raman Research Institute to measure cosmic radiation. The spacecraft will be placed in a circular 500-700km orbit.
- Indian mission would land in South polar region on Moon, which is an unexplored place till date.
- Chandrayaan-2 will carry 13 Indian payloads and one passive experiment from NASA.
- Chandrayaan-2 costs about `800-crore. It’d orbit around the moon and perform the objectives of remote-sensing the moon.
About XPoSat and Aditya-L1
- Xposat payload was developed by Raman Research Institute. “The spacecraft will carry Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays (POLIX) payload which will study the degree and angle of polarisation of bright X-ray sources in the energy range 5-30 keV. The satellite has a mission life of five years.
- Aditya L1, the Sun mission, may play a key role in understanding and predicting climate change on Earth. The payloads will study the solar corona. The launch may happen by mid-2020 and will be placed in ‘libration orbit’, which is about 1.5 million km from Earth.
Source: The Hindu
