Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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4,400 year-old tomb unearthed

News

• Archaeologists have discovered a well-preserved, 4,400-year-old tomb of a royal priest and his family in Egypt, in a “one of a kind” find, Egyptian authorities announced.

Beyond News

• The tomb was unearthed in Saqqara, a city south of Cairo and a vast necropolis from ancient Egypt. The discovery dates from the rule of Neferirkare Kakai, the third king of the fifth dynasty of ancient Egypt.
• The fifth dynasty governed for less than two centuries, from 2,500 B.C. to about 2,350 B.C.
• Its near-perfect condition makes it “one of a kind in the last decade.
• Authorities suggested that more objects of archaeological significance would be discovered once the excavation of five shafts begins.
• Thousands of years ago, Saqqara, where the latest tomb was found and which is home to the celebrated Step Pyramid, was the cemetery for Memphis, the capital of the Old Kingdom a necropolis.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Government rejects separate time zone for northeastern States citing strategic reasons

News

• A panel, formed to examine having a separate time zone for the nortsheastern States, recommended against it for “strategic reasons”, the government informed the Lok Sabha.
• In a written response to a question on demands from the northeastern States for having a separate time zone, Union Science and Technology minister said such requests have been made on the ground that sunrise and sunset timings in these parts are much earlier than official working hours.

Beyond News

• The matter was examined by a High Level Committee (HLC) comprising the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology and Chief Secretary of Tripura, he added.
• The HLC, after considering the issue, recommended not to have two time zones for India for strategic reasons.
• A senior official of the Ministry of Science and Technology said the panel was formed several years ago.
• The demand for a separate time zone is not new. In 2017, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister demanded a separate time zone for northeastern States stating that several work hours are wasted as offices open late and sun rises early.
• France has 12 time zones, while the U.S. has 11 and Australia has eight. Like India, China too has only a single time zone.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Evidence of water discovered in 17 asteroids

News

• Japanese scientists have detected evidence of water in 17 asteroids for the first time using data from the infrared satellite AKARI.
• Researchers found that water is retained in asteroids as hydrated mine- rals, which were produced by chemical reactions of water and anhydrous rocks that occurred inside the asteroids.

GSAT-7A, ISRO’s ‘angry bird’, takes to the skies

News

GSLV-F11 carrying communication satellite GSAT-7A, meant to enhance the communication infrastructure of the Indian Air Force.

Beyond News

• Three key factors had weighed on the minds of the launch team at ISRO the weight of the satellite, changes made to the cryogenic stage and the second stage of the vehicle to increase payload capacity, and the possibility of a cyclone looming on the coast that finally changed track gave anxious moments to the team.
• In its Mk-II version, the GSLV with the indigenous cryogenic stage carried on board its heaviest satellite that weighed 2,250 kg, from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR.
• Though the Mission Control team remained tight-lipped about the purported use of the satellite, sources in ISRO and the Indian Air Force said the satellite would enhance the communication capabilities of IAF.
• This is primarily for the Indian Air Force’s communication purposes, such as ground to air communication.
• The satellite, being dubbed as ‘angry bird’ by some, is likely to enhance the range of communication and also aid in aircraft to aircraft communication.
• With ISRO ending the year on a high, having completed 17 missions, Mr. Sivan said he had a ‘great gift’ for his staff.
• It will be a major booster and force multiplier for the Indian Air Force.

New clam species from backwaters

News

• Named after the habitat from where it was found, Indosphenia kayalumis a new species of softshell clam discovered from Kochi’s kayal or backwaters in Kerala.

Beyond News

• To identify the “enigmatic” clam, the team studied its morphology in detail and compared its features with that of similar-looking softshell clams (of three genera, Sphenia, Corbulaalso called Potamocorbula, and Cuspidaria) seen in the Indian subcontinent.
• They did this by also comparing museum specimens from the National Museum of Wales (Cardiff, the United Kingdom) and the Natural History Museum (London).
• Morphological analyses under powerful microscopes revealed that their new find was distinct and therefore, a new species.
• It was when they studied the morphology of the other species too for comparison that the scientists realised that all the Indian brackish water species assigned to one genus Potamocorbula in fact belong to the family, the Myidae, and not Corbulidae as is currently thought.
• To confirm this, they also used genetic data of some of these species as well as that of the new clam they found in the Kochi backwaters. With this, the team reassigned species under three existing genera Sphenia, Potamocorbulaand Cuspidaria – to a new Indian genus, Indosphenia. The new clam species from Kochi also falls into this new genus.
• Yet, taxonomy of these small estuarine and marine creatures is crucial because India supports extensive bivalve fisheries (mussels, oysters, and clams), with an estimated annual production of 84,483 tonnes, according to a report by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute.
• Recently, the clam at a fishery in Kollam, which produces around 10,000 tonnes annually and earns over ₹10 crore for the country in foreign revenue, was reported as having been misidentified as short neck clam when it is actually Venus shell clam.

Indigenous gun trials of the Army to enter next stage by June

News

• The development of the indigenously-designed heavy artillery gun, the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), has advanced to a stage where user-assisted trials of the gun are likely to start by June and the Army has begun finalising the Preliminary Specifications Qualitative Requirements (PSQR).

Beyond News

• The ATAGS is a 155mm, 52 calibre gun being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation on two parallel tracks: one prototype is being built in partnership with Tata Power (Strategic Engineering Division), and the other is in collaboration with Bharat Forge.
• There is a sanction for production of 10 guns as part of the development process.
• The Army, which is in the process of drawing up the PSQR that details the essential and desired parameters for the gun, has already flagged a few concerns related to weight and accuracy.
• The gun currently weighs about 18 tonnes while the ideal weight for the army would be 14-15 tonnes. While the development team wanted the weight, accuracy and firing parameters to be relaxed in the PSQR, the Army has said that would be looked into after the user-assisted trials commence.
• Once the PSQRs are approved, the process for formulating the final Qualitative Requirements would begin. Guns from both Bharat Forge and Tata Power would be evaluated and based on the commercial bids, the order would be split between them with the lowest bidder getting a larger order.
• The Defence Ministry has already approved the in-principle purchase of 150 of these guns at an approximate cost of ₹3,365 crore.
• The gun has several significant features including an all-electric drive, high mobility, quick deployability, auxiliary power mode, advanced communications system, automated command and control system. It also sports a six-round magazine instead of the standard three-round magazine. This necessitates a larger chamber and is a major factor pushing up the overall weight of the system.
• The Army, which has been seeking to accelerate the modernisation of its weaponry, recently inducted its first modern pieces of artillery in three decades: the M777 Ultra-Light Howitzer from the U.S. and the K9 Vajra-T tracked self-propelled artillery gun from South Korea.

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