Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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World’s biggest flooded cave found in Mexico, explorers say

News:

• A group of divers has connected two underwater caverns in eastern Mexico to reveal what is believed to be the biggest flooded cave on the planet, a discovery that could help shed new light on the ancient Maya civilization.

Beyond News

• The Gran Acuifero Maya (GAM), a project dedicated to the study and preservation of the subterranean waters of the Yucatan peninsula, said the 347-km cave was identified after months of exploring a maze of underwater channels.
• Near the beach resort of Tulum, the group found that the cave system known as Sac Actun, once measured at 263 km, communicated with the 83-km Dos Ojos system. For that reason, Sac Actun now absorbs Dos Ojos.
• GAM director and underwater archaeologist said that,the “amazing” find would help to understand the development of the rich culture of the region, which was dominated by the Maya civilization before the Spanish conquest.
• He also said that,it allows them to appreciate much more clearly how the rituals, the pilgrimage sites and ultimately the great pre-Hispanic settlements that we know emerged.
• The Yucatan peninsula is studded with monumental relics of the Maya people, whose cities drew upon an extensive network of sinkholes linked to subterranean waters known as cenotes.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Geo-tagging to help keep PMAY in order

News

• Geo-tagging of site location and periodic monitoring with photographs of work progress has reduced the leeway for malpractices in the implementation of the housing schemes under the Pradhan Manthri Awaz Yojana (PMAY).

Beyond News

• The State-level monitoring team in Kerala has now recommended to the city Corporation to stop the release of funds to nine beneficiaries, after discrepancies were found in their geo-tagged data.
• The geo-tagging system involves marking the geographical coordinates of the site location as well as photographing of the progress of a given work.
• It has now been enabled for the PMAY scheme, under which funds are provided to build a house for those who already own land.
• The local body has completed geo-tagging of close to 800 houses, out of the 3,100 such beneficiaries in the first phase of the scheme in the Corporation.
• As per this scheme, the construction work should start afresh on the land that they own. Existing structures have to be demolished before the work begins.
• According to project officials, in geo-tagged photographs, it was noticed that some of them had just demolished a room of their old house and constructed a new one, while in another case, just the roof was redone.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

‘Direct tax collections jump 18.7% this fiscal’

News

• The tax department said that,direct tax collections during the first nine-and-a-half months of the current fiscal have risen by 18.7% to ₹6.89 lakh crore.

Beyond News

• The collections till January 15, 2018, represent over 70% of the ₹9.8 lakh crore revenue target from direct taxes, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement.
• Gross collections (before adjusting for refunds) have increased by 13.5% to ₹ 8.11 lakh crore during April 2017 to January 15, 2018.
• Refunds amounting to ₹1.22 lakh crore have been issued during this period.
• CBDT said that, the growth rate of total gross collections has improved from 10% in Q1, to 10.3% in Q2, to 12.6% in Q3 and to 13.5% as on January 15, 2018.

West Bengal rivers are not fit even for bathing, says report

News

• A dip in the Ganges is, generally speaking, synonymous with the idea of purification. But that shall no longer be so in Bengal, where the river is so polluted that it is now officially unfit for bathing.

Findings in the Report

• According to the latest State of Environment Report, published by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB), in 17 major rivers of the State, including the Ganges, the levels of coliform bacteria (found mainly in human faeces) are much higher than the permissible limit of MPN (most probable number) per 100 ml.
• The permissible limit as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guideline is 500.
• The report states that several stretches of the Ganges, known as Bhagirathi and Hooghly in the region (two tributaries of the Ganges), have a total coliform count (TCC) much higher than the permissible level of 500.
• According to the WBPCB, compared with 2014, all the four main rivers of north Bengal recorded a significant increase in TCC, while the ones in south Bengal had TCC levels much higher than the permissible limit.

Reason

• One of the reasons for such high TCC was the disposal of “untreated sewage.

Terrorism erodes economy: Sushma Swaraj

News

• Hitting out at the sponsors of international terrorism, India urged for greater consensus among countries for devising a global strategy.

Beyond News

• Speaking at the plenary session of the 3rd Raisina Dialogue, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that, terrorism is a major disruptor of the global economy and has delivered a jolt to the process of globalisation.
• The 3rd annual Raisina Dialogue was launched by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu where he described terrorism as a major threat to the democracies in the twenty-first century.
• Continuing with the theme of ensuring safety for democracies, Ms Swaraj remarked that security and socio-economic developments, have pushed globalisation into a retreat.
• The Minister said that while international terrorism by Islamic State, which grew out of ungoverned territories, is dangerous, more dangerous.
• Ms Swaraj also pointed out that another emerging disruptor is the concern over maritime movement.

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