Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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ASI unearths treasure at U.P. site

News

• The Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) ongoing excavation of 4,000-year-old burial sites in Uttar Pradesh’s Sanauli has unearthed underground “sacred chambers”, decorated “legged coffins” as well as rice and dal in pots and animal bones buried with the bodies.

Beyond News

• The excavation in the Baghpat district of U.P. was first started in 2018 and resumed in January this year, the process of listing and preservation at the site was on at the moment.
• Three chariots, some coffins, shields, swords and helmets had been unearthed, pointing towards the existence of a “warrior class in the area around 2,000 BCE.
• The excavators have found rice and urad dal in pots, cattle bones, wild pig and mongoose buried along with bodies, he said.
• Also found sacred chambers below the ground. After the procession, they put the body in the chamber for some treatment or rituals.
• Right now, the ASI is in the process of carrying out DNA, metallurgical and botanical analysis of samples and ground penetrating radar survey of the site.
• Sanauli is located on the left bank of the River Yamuna, 68 km north-east of Delhi which brought to light the largest necropolis of the late Harappan period datable to around early part of second millennium BCE.
• In one of the burial pits, the excavators found a wooden legged coffin that was decorated with steatite inlays with a female skeleton. The pit also contained an armlet of semiprecious stones, pottery and an antenna sword placed near the head.
• Another area of the site included remains of four furnaces with three working levels and the “overall ceramic assemblage has late Harappan characters”.

Fani is India’s strongest April cyclone in 43 years, say meteorologists

News

• Cyclonic storm Fani, which is lying about 600 km east of Vishakapatnam and 800 km south of Puri, is the first severe, cyclonic storm to have formed in April in India’s oceanic neighbourhood since 1976, according to records from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Beyond News

• While severe cyclones (defined as generating maximum windspeeds of 89-117 kmph) can form any time, they tend to be concentrated in November after the monsoon or around May, when the monsoon prepares to arrive in Kerala in June.
• This is a cyclone that’s forming due to the warming of the Bay of Bengal basin,with global warming India Meteorological Department have to be prepared for such occurrences and take precaution accordingly.
• From 1965-2017, the Bay of Bengal and Arabian sea have collectively registered 46 ‘severe cyclonic storms.’ As many as 28 of them were from October-December. Seven of them have been in May and only two in 1966 and 1976 were recorded in April, data from the IMD’s cyclone-statistics unit shows.
• Tropical cyclones in the Indian neighbourhood begin as ‘depressions’ or a gradual build-up of warm air and pockets of low pressure. About 35% of such formations intensify to ‘cyclones’ and only 7% intensify to ‘very severe cyclones’. About 20-30 severe tropical storms occur around the world every year.
• The IMD ranks cyclones on a 5-point scale with the mildest at 62-88 kmph and the strongest, a ‘super cyclonic storm’, at 221 kmph). Cyclone Fani is expected to graduate to an ‘extremely severe cyclonic storm’ by Wednesday and make landfall in Orissa (as a very severe cyclonic storm) by May 4, according to an evening forecast by the IMD.
• Heavy rains are expected in north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha and light rains in West Bengal under the influence of the cyclone. Strong winds are expected in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra. Fishermen have been advised to stay away from the sea.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

India’s ASAT test a response to growing space threats: France

News

• Stating that defence and offensive space technologies are being developed with various aims of spying, gaining control, deactivating service and destroying, French Envoy in India Alexandre Ziegler has supported India’s Anti-Satellite (ASAT) missile test as a response to these growing threats.

Beyond News

• India shared the same observation and desire to act, which is actually reflected in Indian Prime Minister’s announcement of the ASAT missile test on March 27 this year. It is obvious that it was a clear response to an assessment of growing threats in the outer space.
• French Envoy in India also observed that outer space has become an “arena of rivalry between major powers.”
• At the same time, French Envoy in India said there was common concern on space debris. Satellites today have to avoid almost 6,00,000 debris of over 1 cm travelling at speed faster than a bullet, he stated.
• On March 27, India shot down a live satellite in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) of 300 km using a modified interceptor of the Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system. Officials had stated that the LEO was particularly chosen to minimise space debris.
• India and France, which have been cooperating in the area of space for several decades, had announced the setting up of a constellation of satellites for maritime surveillance of the Indian Ocean.
• French Envoy in India said as part of this, the two countries are co-developing a constellation 10-15 satellites that could help “monitor the maritime traffic in the Indian Ocean.”
• In this regard, Deputy High Commissioner of Australia, said his country was keen to be part of the broader maritime security cooperation and was working with India and France.
• As space gets increasingly crowded, French Envoy in India also called for the need to regulate space traffic on the lines of air traffic or railways.

Water pits, salt licks come to the rescue of animals in Horsley Hills

News

• The truant rain and rapid depletion of water sources in the forests surrounding the Horsley Hills, that spread over Madanapalle division and the adjoining Karnataka, has affected the wildlife in the region.
• In an attempt to to bail out the wild animals from the scorching heat and to quench their thirst, the Chittoor West forest division has initiated many measures on a war-footing by setting up drinking water pits and salt licks in the forests.

Beyond News

• Horsley Hills has a rich presence of the antelope species, including sambhar and black-buck, in addition to wild boar, rabbits, bears, wild dogs, leopards, peacocks and a variety of birds and reptile species.
• Thirty-two places inside the forests and in the fringes have been identified where provisions of drinking water for the animals are being made.
• Apart from arranging water tubs, saucer pits have been created. Water is being kept for the wildlife close to the dried up rivulets and streams.
• Water tankers have been deployed to regularly fill the saucer pits, tubs and other storage points during day time, so that the animals would arrive and stay there at night.
• The move would also prevent wild animals from venturing into the villages on the fringe areas of the forest in search of water.
• With no rainfall since the last three years, the water sources deep inside the forest have dried up, forcing the animals come to close human habitations. Casualties among wildlife species have also been recorded while crossing the National and State highways abutting the forest zone.

Infra sector growth improves to 4.7% in March

News

• Growth in the core sectors of the economy surged in March to a five-month high of 4.7%, driven by a broad-based recovery in sectors such as cement, refinery products, steel, and coal.

Beyond News

• The March edition of the Index of Eight Core Industries also provides a full year (April-March) performance review, which shows that the core industries maintained their growth rate of 4.3% in 2018-19, the same as in the previous year.
• The cement sector saw the strongest rebound, growing 15.7% compared with 8%. The steel sector saw growth accelerating to 6.7% from 4.9% over the same period. The cement sector grew 13.3% over the full year 2018-19, up from the 6.3% growth it recorded in the previous year.
• The steel sector, on the other hand, saw growth for the full year come in at a slower 4.7% in 2018-19 compared with 5.6% in 2017-18.
• Growth in the coal sector also accelerated, to 9.1% from 7.4%. Over the full year, the sector grew 7.3% in 2018-19 compared to 2.6% in the previous year.
• The crude oil sector continued its contraction, contracting 6.2% compared with a contraction of 6.1% in the previous month. Over 2018-19, the sector contracted 4.1% compared with a contraction of 0.9% in the previous year.
• Refinery products, however, saw growth picking up to 4.3% compared with a contraction of 0.8%. The sector’s full-year growth nevertheless came in lower, at 3.1%, than the previous year’s 4.6%.
• Fertilizer growth quickened in 4.3% from 2.5% in the previous month. The sector saw the full year’s performance grow 0.3% in 2018-19, compared with the nearly flat 0.03% registered in the previous year.
• The electricity sector posted a growth of 1.4% compared with 1.2% in February. The sector’s growth over FY19 however, was a slower 5.1% compared with 5.3% in the previous year.

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