Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Lack of grazing grounds could halt rise in Toda buffalo population in the Nilgiris

News

• The population of the Toda buffalo at Muthanadu Mund near Udhagamandalam, which saw a slight rebound in the last few years, is being limited due to a lack of grazing grounds for the herd.

Beyond News

• The population of the buffaloes had seen a slight increase over the last few years to around 70 heads, from an all-time low of around 40 in the same hamlet a few years ago.
• Though there are no exact figures, the population of the Toda buffalo in the Nilgiris is estimated to not exceed a few thousand animals.
• Better immunisation campaigns for the cattle had resulted in a slight rebound in the population of the buffaloes over the last few years.
• Though the stabilising population is a cause for cautious optimism among members of the community, the lack of grazing grounds for the buffaloes could limit their recovery in the coming years, as wattle and pine trees have spread over much of the grasslands.
• The buffaloes lost a lot of weight over the first few months of this year, as the extreme heat had dried out most of the vegetation, and they were unable to find any fodder.
• Lack of grazing area for the buffaloes was leading them to have to rely on the areas surrounding the Kamaraj Sagar dam during the summer, where the animals can find grass.
• The population of Toda buffaloes was continuing to decrease across most parts of the Nilgiris, and that a lack of grazing area was a contributing factor to their continued disappearance across the landscape of the upper Nilgiris.

World’s forests in ‘emergency room’

News

• The world lost 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of tropical tree cover last year, researchers said, warning the planet’s health was at stake.

Findings

• It was the fourth highest annual decline since records began in 2001, according to new data from Global Forest Watch, which uses satellite imagery and remote sensing to monitor tree cover losses from Brazil to Ghana.
• The loss of huge swathes of forest around the world also has major implications for climate change as they absorb a third of the planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions produced globally.
• The study found much of the loss occurred in primary rainforest — mature trees that absorb more carbon and are harder to replace.
• The rate of destruction in 2018 was lower than in the two previous years. It peaked in 2016 when about 17 million hectares of tropical forest were lost due partly to rampant forest fires, according to the WRI.
• The study highlighted new deforestation hotspots, particularly in Africa, where illegal mining, small-scale forest clearing and the expansion of cocoa farms led to an increase in tree loss in countries such as Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
• Indonesia was a rare bright spot, with primary forest loss slowing for two years running, after the government imposed a moratorium on forest-clearing.
• Indonesia has the world’s third largest total area of tropical forest and is also the biggest producer of palm oil. Environmentalists blame much of the forest destruction on land clearance for oil-palm plantations.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Indian Army to build tunnels to store ammunition

News

• Indian Army is planning to construct underground tunnels for storage of ammunition along the border with China and Pakistan and Public Sector Undertaking NHPC Limited is being roped in for the purpose.

Beyond News

• Underground storage offers improved safety, easier camouflage from enemy observation and satellite imagery and protection from enemy strikes like those seen during the aerial engagement on February 27, a day after the Balakot air strike when Pakistan Air Force jets targeted Indian army installations along the Line of Control (LoC).
• Major armies, including China and the U.S., already use underground ammunition storage, a second source observed.
• These tunnels will be built in high altitude areas in the Northern and Eastern borders. Initially, four pilot projects would be taken up at four different locations along the Northern border and in Jammu and Kashmir at a cost of ₹15 crore.
• As the conditions in the caverns are controlled, it ensures better safety of sensitive ammunition minimising accidental explosions. As part of the project, a number of caverns with storage capacity of 200 metric tonnes will be built in mountain folds in identified areas.
• NHPC is being roped in for their technical expertise in the development of tunnels. Army had earlier tried tunnelling on its own in Sikkim and Tawang, but there were problems of seepage and dampness. It was then decided to bring in NHPC given their experience, the source added.
• The Army had approached NHPC in November 2018 after which the company made detailed presentations on the modalities of executing the project. The four locations for pilot projects have been identified and work will begin once the MoU is signed.
• The Army has debated the idea of underground storage of ammunition for a long time as it has several advantages compared to over ground storage. A range of ammunition used by the Army, ranging from bullets, rockets to anti-tank and surface to air missiles, can be stored in the caverns.

Khasi ‘kingdoms’ to revisit 1947 agreements

News

• A federation of 25 Himas or Khasi kingdoms that have a cosmetic existence today, plan to revisit the 1948 agreements that made present-day Meghalaya a part of India.

Beyond News

• The revisiting in consultation with legal experts and academicians is aimed at safeguarding tribal customs and traditions from Central laws in force or could be enacted, such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill that intends to bring in if voted to power again.
• The 25 Khasi states had signed the Instrument of Accession and Annexed Agreement with the Dominion of India between December 15, 1947, and March 19, 1948. The conditional treaty with these states was signed by Governor General Chakravarty Rajagopalachari on August 17, 1948.
• The Khasi states, though, did not sign the Instrument of Merger unlike most other states in India.
• During the British rule, the Khasi domain was divided into the Khasi states and British territories. At that time, the British government had no territorial right on the Khasi states and they had to approach the chiefs of these states if they needed land for any purpose.
• After independence, the British territories became part of the Indian dominion but the Khasi states had to sign documents beginning with the Standstill Agreement that provided a few rights to the states.
• Though the Constitution has provided self-rule to a considerable extent through tribal councils, there has been an increasing demand for giving more teeth to the Khasi states.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

‘10 Pakistan-based terrorists had role in cross-LoC trade’

News

• Ten Pakistan-based terrorists have been found involved in funnelling illegal weapons, narcotics and fake currency into the Valley after the government suspended cross-Line of Control (LoC) trade between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) from April 19, government sources said.

Beyond News

• The Ministry of Home Affairs had cited misuse by militants as the reason for shutting down the trade.
• The sources said investigations had shown that the 10 from J&K had crossed over to Pakistan and joined terror groups. They were found to be engaged in the trade.
• Firms under the control of these militants were doing LoC trade with Indian trading firms operated by their own relatives on the Indian side.
• The channel of LoC trade, meant to facilitate exchange of goods of common use between local populations, was being exploited to fund illegal and anti-national activities in Jammu & Kashmir.

NASA records first likely ‘quake’ on Mars

News

• NASA’s robotic Mars InSight lander has recorded a likely “marsquake” for the first time ever, the U.S. space agency said.
• The faint seismic signal, detected by the lander’s Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument.

Beyond News

• This is the first recorded trembling that appears to have come from inside the planet, as opposed to being caused by forces above the surface, such as wind, NASA said in a statement.
• Scientists still are examining the data to determine the exact cause of the signal.
• The new seismic event was too small to provide solid data on the Martian interior, which is one of InSight’s main objectives.
• The Martian surface is extremely quiet, allowing SEIS, InSight’s specially designed seismometer, to pick up faint rumbles.
• NASA’s Apollo astronauts installed five seismometers that measured thousands of quakes while operating on the Moon between 1969 and 1977, revealing seismic activity on the Moon. Different materials can change the speed of seismic waves or reflect them, allowing scientists to use these waves to learn about the interior of the Moon and model its formation.
• InSight’s seismometer, which the lander placed on the planet’s surface on December 19, 2018, will enable scientists to gather similar data about Mars.
• By studying the deep interior of Mars, they hope to learn how other rocky worlds, including Earth and the Moon, formed.
• Most people are familiar with quakes on Earth, which occur on faults created by the motion of tectonic plates.
• Mars and the Moon do not have tectonic plates, but they still experience quakes in their cases, caused by a continual process of cooling and contraction that creates stress.
• This stress builds over time, until it is strong enough to break the crust, causing a quake.
• Detecting these tiny quakes required a huge feat of engineering. On Earth, high-quality seismometers often are sealed in underground vaults to isolate them from changes in temperature and weather.
• InSight’s instrument has several ingenious insulating barriers, including a cover built by JPL called the Wind and Thermal Shield, to protect it from the planet’s extreme temperature changes and high winds.

Interceptor vessel joins Coast Guard service

News

• The Indian Coast Guard commissioned its latest acquisition, an interceptor vessel named C-441, at a ceremony held at the Vizhinjam harbour.

Beyond News

• Indian Coast Guard is undertaking maritime activities like search and rescue, rendering assistance to mariners and fisherfolk in distress, medical evacuation and marine environment protection, strict enforcement of marine laws, often braving bad seas, heavy winds and rains.
• ICGS C-441 is the seventh interceptor vessel amongst the series designed and built indigenously by L & T Ltd., Surat.
• The 27.8-metre-long vessel displaces 106 tonnes and has a maximum speed of 45 knots (83 km/hr).
• It is equipped with twin diesel engines and water jet propulsion.
• It also has the capability to undertake multifarious tasks such as close coast surveillance, interdiction, search and rescue and rendering assistance to boats and crafts in distress at sea.
• The ship is fitted with state-of-the art communication, navigational equipment and with light, medium and heavy automatic machine gun onboard as main armament.

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