Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

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World Bank fillip for natural resources of Meghalaya

News

• The World Bank signed a $48 million loan agreement for revitalising natural resources in Meghalaya through a community-led landscape approach.

Beyond News

• The project is expected to benefit 1,00,000 people in rural Meghalaya besides building the capacity of some 30,000 youth through access to technology.
• The Meghalaya Community-led Landscapes Management Project is designed to support the State’s three tribal communities – Khasi, Garo, and Jaintia – in managing its forests and natural resources through customary laws.
• Meghalaya’s woods are designated as ‘unclassified forests’ in the State records and for the most part do not receive technical or financial support from State institutions. Besides, there are no institutions or legal frameworks for water management in the State.
• Water bodies, rivers, and springs are considered common property like forests and are managed by traditional tribal institutions. But some of them are being polluted due to unscientific coal and limestone mining.
• The project will help manage these depleting resources by strengthening communities and traditional institutions.
• Restoration of degraded and highly degraded landscapes under the project will increase water for local communities and improve soil productivity.
• The project will prioritise around 400 villages located in ‘very critical’ and ‘critical’ landscapes over a period of five years.
• Landscape planning and investments will be preceded by extensive training for communities and project management staff at the field level.

Bomb blast outside Indian consulate office in Nepal

News

• A small explosion was reported from the Indian consulate office in Nepal’s Biratnagar.

Beyond News

• According to an Indian Army source, the explosion took place at Biratnagar at the Indian Embassy Consulate office. He said it is a temporary office which was set up during the recent floods in Nepal and North Bihar.
• Biratnagar is just six kilometers away from India-Nepal border.
• No one was present in the office when the explosion happened.
• Nepal police, which is investigating the blast, are suspecting cadres of a local political group. The group had called a general strike in Biratnagar on Monday.
• Biratnagar, Nepal’s second biggest city after Kathmandu, is very close to the India border across Bihar.

PM Modi in Sweden

News

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the capital of Sweden, the first bilateral visit by an Indian premier to the Nordic nation in 30 years.

Beyond News

• Modi is on the first leg of his five-day foreign tour which will also take him to the UK where he will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
• The prime minister said he would also call on King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf.
• India and Sweden will also jointly organise the India-Nordic Summit in Stockholm tomorrow. The summit will also be attended by the prime ministers of Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.
• From Sweden, Mr. Modi will later tomorrow travel to the UK where he will also attend the CHOGM, besides holding bilateral talks with his British counterpart Theresa May.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

China develops 3D conic device to increase solar-thermal conversion

News

• Chinese scientists have developed a new device of 3D hollow-cone structure that can greatly increase the solar-thermal conversion efficiency.

Beyond News

• The device, named ‘Artificial Transpiration’ is inspired by the transpiration process of trees.
• It has a special 1D water path within it, which can reduce the energy loss in conduction, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the article as saying.
• The cone structure, based on a graphene film, can collect more sunlight throughout the day when compared with a flat device, as about 10 per cent to 50 per cent of sunlight is diffusive. Thus it performs even better in the real world than in the laboratory.
• As a result, the device can enhance the solar-thermal conversion rate to 85 per cent, which is much higher than the 40 per cent rate of common devices, it said.
• Many sectors have refrained from using solar power because of its low conversion rate caused by losses in radiation, convection and conduction. The device will open new possibilities in utilisation of solar energy.
• Zhu’s team first applied this structure to solar waste-water treatment, and the test showed that it could not only retrieve clean water but also recycle heavy metals such as copper and cadmium.
• In the future, the structure can be further optimised to have a longer life and recycle more heavy metals.

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