Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Alien invasion in Kerala

News

• The floods, due to unusually heavy rainfall, caused widespread destruction throughout Kerala in 2018.
• While the state is still in the process of rebuilding itself, it has a major environmental issue to deal with invasion by alien plant and fish species triggered by the floods.

Findings

• In September 2018, a joint research showed that the floods have released several alien species of fish into the State’s water bodies, raising a threat to the endemic aquatic ecosystem and biodiversity.
• An ongoing study has sought immediate attention to the wild growth of invasive plants in agricultural lands and forest areas.

     Alien species

• An alien species is any kind of living organism a frog, python, feral cat, plant, insect, fish or fungus non-native to an ecosystem.
• It is introduced naturally or accidentally by humans. These alien species may or may not cause harm to the native ecosystem.

     Invasive species

• Invasive species are those alien species that can significantly modify or disrupt the ecosystems they colonise.
• To be considered invasive, a species must adapt itself to the new area easily. It must reproduce quickly and spread aggressively, with the potential to cause harm to native plants and animals.

Invasive species cause harm to wildlife in many ways.

• In the absence of natural predators, a new and aggressive species can breed, spread quickly and overrun the local habitat. Native wildlife may not have evolved defences against the invader, further boosting their growth.
• The threats from an invasive species include preying on native species and outcompeting them for resources, thereby restricting the growth of native species.
• Some invasive species are capable of changing the conditions in an ecosystem, such as the soil chemistry.

A variety of methods are adopted to get rid of invasive species.

• Chemicals are used to control invasive species, but they can sometimes harm non-invasive plants and animals.
• Other species, usually the predator of the invasive species, are introduced.
• Planting of exotic ornamental plants should be avoided.
• Thorough scrutiny at airports to eliminate materials that may carry invasive species should be ensured.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Russia suspends participation in N-pact

News

• President Vladimir Putin said Russia was suspending its participation in a key Cold War-era missile treaty in a mirror response to a U.S. move the day before.
• Moscow and Washington have long accused the other of violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) agreement, which was signed in 1987.

Beyond News

• President Donald Trump last year announced plans to withdraw unless Russia fulfilled its obligations.
• Brokered by U.S. President Ronald Reagan with last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the treaty ended a superpower build-up of warheads that had frightened Europeans. It banned ground-launched missiles with a range of 500 km to 5,500 km.
• The deal addressed Soviet nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles targeting Western capitals, but put no restrictions on other major military actors such as China.
• President Donald Trump said that Washington was starting a process to withdraw from the agreement in six months.
• The U.S. in December gave Moscow a 60-day deadline to dismantle missiles. But Moscow has insisted that the disputed 9M729 missile is allowed under the treaty.

Kerala sets up drug price monitor

News:

• Kerala has become the first State to set up a price monitoring and research unit (PMRU) to track violation of prices of essential drugs and medical devices under the Drugs Price Control Order (DPCO).

Beyond News:

• The move comes more than five years after the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) proposed such a system for the States and the Union Territories.
• The State Health Secretary would be the Chairman of the society and the Drugs Controller would be its member secretary. Its members include a State government representative, representatives of private pharmaceutical companies, and those from consumer rights protection fora.
• The society would also have an executive committee headed by the Drugs Controller.
• The new watchdog will offer technical help to the State drug control officials and the NPPA to monitor notified prices of medicines, detect violation of the provisions of the DPCO, look at price compliance, collect test samples of medicines, and collect and compile market based data of scheduled as well as non-scheduled formulations.

U.K. Home Secretary orders Vijay Mallya’s extradition to India

News

• K. Home Secretary ordered the extradition of Vijay Mallya to India.

Beyond News

• The 63-year-old businessman lost a legal challenge against his extradition in a British court in December 2018.
• Under the Extradition Treaty procedures, the Chief Magistrate’s verdict was sent to the Home Secretary because only he is authorised to order Mr. Mallya’s extradition.
• Mallya is on bail on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard in April 2017 after the Indian authorities brought fraud and money laundering charges amounting to ₹9,000 crore against the former Kingfisher Airlines boss.
• The U.K. court had said it was satisfied with the various assurances provided by the Indian government, including a video of the jail cell, which had not only been recently redecorated but was also far larger than the minimum requirement threshold.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Drones, AI can be used to monitor Yamuna: NGT-constituted panel

News

• Drones, artificial intelligence and satellite imagery could be used to monitor pollution level of the Yamuna caused by dumping of debris at the floodplains of the river, according to a committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal.

Beyond News

• To check encroachment on its vacant land, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) tied up with the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO’s) Regional Remote Sensing Centre (RRSC).
• The DDA is putting a computerised system in place to detect encroachment using satellite images provided by ISRO. If successful, the satellite imagery can also be used to monitor the Yamuna floodplains, according to a report by the monitoring committee established by the NGT to monitor Yamuna cleaning operation.
• In addition, artificial intelligence, aerial mapping or drones can also keep a track of quantum and location of debris being dumped.
• For monitoring of encroachments on vacant land using satellite imageries the subject was taken up with ISRO. DDA has reported that an agreement has been signed on July 6, 2018, and will become operational by July 6, 2019. If successful, it will be implemented in the monitoring of Yamuna river floodplains.
• The committee also suggested that the state government should set up a consortium of NGOs and board members of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to jointly consider and approve small, innovative projects which can lead to reducing pollution.

In Assam, temples stave off extinction of turtles

News

• The black softshell turtle (Nilssonia nigricans) figures in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List as “extinct in the wild”.
• But a few temple ponds in Assam and Bangladesh are bringing these turtles back from the brink.

Beyond News

• One such pond is in Hayagriva Madhab Temple at Hajo, about 30 km west of Guwahati. Locals regard the turtles in the pond as Kurma avatar of Lord Vishnu to whom the Hajo temple is dedicated.
• The other turtle species moved from the temple pond to the wild was Indian softshell (Nilssonia gangetica) and the peacock softshell (Nilssonia hurum).
• Hatchlings of the three turtle species were moved to the Assam State Zoo in Guwahati, where they were monitored for a quarantine period of 39 days, before being released into the wild.
• Taking the turtle conservation story forward is seen as a major challenge for wildlife officials in Pobitora, vulnerable to poachers because of a sizeable one-horned rhino population.
• India hosts 28 species of turtles, of which 20 are found in But consumption of turtle meat and eggs, silt mining, encroachment of wetlands and change in flooding pattern have had a disastrous impact on the State’s turtle population.

Hubble discovers dwarf galaxy in cosmic neighborhood

News

• The Hubble Space Telescope has made an unexpected discovery of a never-before-seen dwarf galaxy in our cosmic backyard, located just 30 million light-years away.
• An international team of astronomers used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to study white dwarf stars within the globular cluster NGC 6752.

ISRO set to launch communication satellite GSAT-31

News

• The Indian Space Research Organisation is all set to launch its 40th communication satellite GSAT-31 on February 6 from the spaceport in French Guiana.

Beyond News

• The satellite with a mission life of 15 years will provide continuity to operational services on some of the in-orbit satellites and augment the Ku-band transponder capacity in Geostationary Orbit.
• The satellite, weighing about 2,535 kg, is scheduled for launch onboard the Ariane-5 (VA247) from Kourou in French Guiana.
• The satellite GSAT-31 is configured on ISRO’s enhanced I-2K Bus, utilising the maximum bus capabilities of this type. The satellite derives its heritage from ISROs earlier INSAT/GSAT satellite series. The satellite provides Indian mainland and island coverage.
• ISRO also said the GSAT-31 will be used for supporting VSAT networks, television uplinks, digital satellite news gathering, DTH television services, cellular back haul connectivity and many such applications.
• The satellite will also provide wide beam coverage to facilitate communication over large oceanic region comprising large part of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean using wide band transponder. The agency added that two Ku-band beacon downlink signals are transmitted for ground tracking purpose.

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