Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Editorials are covered separately. HINDU NOTES are available free date wise| CLICK HERE

Kerala floods: Resolve the calamity with ‘humaneness, focus, requisite efficiency’, says SC

News:

• Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra reached out to the people of Kerala whose lives have been swept away by the floods while urging the Centre and the Kerala government to resolve the calamity with “humaneness, focus and requisite efficiency”.

Beyond News:

• This is a crisis and we want everyone to wake up to the situation, Chief Justice observed orally.
• The Bench, however refrained from interfering with the ongoing work of the Centre and the Kerala government to contain the natural disaster and save lives. The Supreme Courtcommended the Kerala government for its “immense efforts” to rescue people trapped in floods.

    Supreme Court for lower storage at Mullaperiyar:

• The Supreme Court suggested that the disaster management sub-committee, the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) and the supervisory panel monitoring the Mullaperiyar dam in the flood-hit Kerala hold meetings to explore ways to reduce the water level in the reservoir to 139 feet.
• It said that every step should be taken to give advance warning to the people in the downstream areas before water is released.
• Kerala should follow the instructions issued by the NCMC on rescue and rehabilitation, while Tamil Nadu should “scrupulously” comply with any instruction to bring down the level of the dam.
• Soon after a review meeting at the Southern Naval Command in Kochi to discuss the devastating floods in Kerala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an interim relief of ₹ 500 crore against a demand of ₹ 2,000 crore made by the State government.
• This is apart from the Central assistance of ₹ 100 crore announced earlier.
• Prime Minister also announced an ex-gratia of ₹ 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and ₹ 50,000 each to those seriously injured in the floods, both taken from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.
• While Prime Minister was originally slated to do an aerial survey of the devastation before the review meeting, inclement weather conditions forced the survey to be suspended. However, he made a short aerial sortie along the Aluva-Thrissur stretch after the meeting was over.
• Prime Minister asked insurance companies to hold special camps for assessment and timely release of compensation to the affected families and beneficiaries under the social security schemes. Directions have also been issued for early clearance of claims under Fasal Bima Yojana to agriculturists, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
• Prime Minister asked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to repair main damagaed national highways on priority. The Central public sector units such as the NTPC and PGCIL have been directed to render all possible assistance to the State government in restoring power lines. Villagers, whose kutcha (unplastered) houses have been destroyed would be provided Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) houses on priority irrespective of their priority in the Permanent Wait List of the PMAY-G.

SC asks Delhi Lieutenant Governor to take effort to clear garbage

News

The Supreme Court asked the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi to make a collaborative effort with the help of civil society and resident welfare associations to clear Delhi of its garbage.

Beyond News

• A three-judge Bench turned to the LG after, in a previous hearing, voicing its exasperation at how garbage is dumped outside the homes of underprivileged families.
• The Bench, in a short order, asked the LG to look into all the aspects of solid waste management and “not rush into taking a decision”. Instead, the effort should be for an in-depth consideration of the problem which has dogged Delhi for decades.
• The court emphasised that the deliberations, including the cleaning up of landfill sites at Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalswa, should be “collaborative” with equal say to civil society and residents.
• A recent affidavit filed by the Lieutenant Governor’s office said Delhi is struggling to contain its daily waste generation. The LG produced statistics to show the Supreme Courtthat lack of land to establish new landfill sites have choked the Capital, which produces 10,200 Tonnes Per Day (TPD) of municipal solid waste.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

JNCASR: A new, robust form of gold

News

• Researchers from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru, have developed a new type of gold in the form of very small crystals microcystallites.

Beyond News

• The microcrystal gold has been found to be nobler than gold it do not dissolve in mercury and Aqua regia (a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid), and showed the least interaction with copper.
• The microcystallites were synthesised by decomposing an organic complex containing gold and other ions under controlled conditions. The newly formed microcystallites, about 3 micrometre in length were found to be of a different crystal structure. Normal gold has a (face-centered) cubic structure, while the new ones exhibit deformed cubic structure tetragonal and orthorhombic cells.
• The researchers then examined copper growth on these gold crystals when subjected to plating without the use of electrodes. Electron microscopy images revealed that thick copper got deposited on normal gold within minutes, while no detectable copper was seen on the central portion of the new crystals even after an hour.
• The researchers then investigated the stability of the gold microcystallites using corrosive agents like mercury and Aqua regia.While normal gold disappeared in a matter of minutes when immersed in mercury and also in aqua regia, the gold crystallites remained intact. Microscopy imaging showed that the surface was undamaged.
• All these properties make new crystallites an ideal candidate for catalytic purposes. Gold in itself is not a catalyst but the new gold microcystallites have very active surfaces. Compared with other catalysts like palladium and ruthenium, gold is cheaper and it can also be easily recovered.

Drinking water project comes to the aid of 7,000 families

News:

• A drinking water project, expected to benefit residents of 34 habitations at Semmankuppam and Poovalai villages in Parangipettai block in Tamil Nadu, was inaugurated.

Beyond News

• The project to provide protected drinking water to over 7,000 families in the habitations was funded by the U.S.-based Missouri Tamil Sangam, Carolina, Minnesota and Wisconsin Tamil Sangangal, and Abdul Kalam Vision India Movement and Aum Education Seva Trust.
• According to a release, a study undertaken by Abdul Kalam Vision India Movement in the coastal hamlets of Cuddalore district in 2016 revealed that the groundwater was unfit for consumption.
• The total dissolved solids (TDS) value in Semmankuppam and Poovalai area’s groundwater was found to be 4,500 (mg/l) while the acceptable limit was 50 (mg/l).
• The study found that the continuous consumption of groundwater with high presence of TDS had resulted in local residents being affected with bone disorders, hepatitis and skin diseases.

Meghalayan farms are also bird habitats

News

• Agricultural landscapes near protected areas are important habitats for wildlife in some regions. Now, researchers have proved this to be true in Meghalaya with the finding that wooded cultivated areas support multiple bird groups that play various roles from insect controllers to fruit-eating seed dispersers  in the ecosystem.
• There are more than 100 bird species in the cultivated areas.

Findings

• While several of India’s natural ecosystems including forests are now ‘Protected Areas’ (PAs), there are many patches that fall outside PA-limits but also support wildlife. Meghalaya’s Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary and reserve forest are surrounded by community-managed forests and wooded betel leaf farms. A recent study found out how important these wooded areas are for birds.
• The researchers studied how different groups (guilds) of birds including nectar drinkers like sunbirds and insectivores such as drongos  use these two habitats and the different woodland vegetation found there. They find that areas outside the protected areas were used by all guilds of birds, suggesting that these areas maintained a functional bird community.
• Studying the presence of such birds in these areas, the team examined the effects of vegetation structure trees and shrubs  on the use of sites by different guilds of birds. They find that tree cover did not matter because most of these areas are highly wooded; shrub cover and bamboo influenced use of wooded areas by birds.
• The team also studied species richness in these areas. Surprisingly, agricultural woodlands supported more bird species than the protected areas did: bird species richness was higher in the wooded areas than in the protected areas due to increased number of generalist birds.
• But that does not mean protected areas are not important; some specialised species are still dependent on them. Birds including large woodpeckers were not spotted as much in farmlands.
• Wooded agricultural areas are important supplementary bird habitats.
• A lot of forests are at risk in Meghalaya because they are being converted into permanent open cultivation; encouraging regenerating forest areas or crops that require tree cover would be important.
• This well-designed study reinforces that at the landscape level, we can maximise the number of species we conserve by not just protecting natural habitats but also by ensuring the persistence of wooded areas (like regenerating forest) between protected areas.

CLICK HERE TO SEE DATE WISE CURRENT AFFAIRS.