Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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10,000-year-old crayon found in Britain

News:

• Archaeologists have discovered in Britain one of the earliest examples of crayon possibly used by our ancestors 10,000 years ago for applying colour to their animal skins or for artwork.

Beyond News

• The ochre crayon was discovered near an ancient lake, now blanketed in peat, near Scarborough in North Yorkshire.
• An ochre pebble was found at another site on the opposite side of the lake.
• Ochre is an important mineral pigment used by prehistoric hunter-gatherers across the globe.
• The findings, suggest people collected ochre and processed it in different ways during the Mesolithic period.

The latest discoveries helped further our understanding of Mesolithic life.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Plea to exclude SC/ST creamy layer from quota

News:

• The Supreme Court will hear a petition to exclude the affluent members, or the creamy layer, of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from the benefits of reservation.

Beyond News:

• A Bench will hear the petition which argues that the rich among the SCs/STs are “snatching away” the benefits, while the deserving and impoverished continue to “bite the dust.
• This is the first time a petition has been filed urging the Supreme Court to introduce the creamy layer concept for the SCs/STs.
• In 1992, a nine-judge Bench of the court in the Indra Sawhney case, or the Mandal case as it was popularly known, upheld the caste-based reservation for the OBCs as valid.
• The petition argues that no class or caste remained homogeneously backward across time. Only the backward portion of castes included in the list of SCs/STs alone are constitutionally entitled to the benefits of reservation.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

 Sensors in Andamans to monitor earthquakes

News

• The Indian Tsunami Early Warning System (ITEWS) of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) is in the process of setting up an elaborate system of sensors on the Andaman & Nicobar Islands for real-time monitoring of earthquakes.

Beyond News:

• Strong Motion Sensors with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) have been installed at 28 locations on the islands.
• Three more ‘cabins’ housing the sensors deep in the forests are awaiting permission from the environment and forest departments.
• The plan was to have such sensors at 35 locations. These would be put inside six-by-six metre structures.
• They would be interconnected and would have a satellite-linked facility to enable scientists here to monitor minute land mass movements and seismic data in real-time and be in a position to get a better estimate of the impact and act quickly.
• Eight of the sensor stations had been linked via satellite, while the remaining were recording data, which could be accessible once they were interconnected.
• This was likely to happen in a couple of months. Four more sensor stations were in the pipeline.

Tsunamigenic quakes

• The ITEWS comprises a real-time network of seismic stations, tsunami buoys and tide gauges to detect tsunamigenic earthquakes and to monitor tsunamis.
• The real-time data is collated at INCOIS in collaboration with the Indian Meteorology Department, the National Institute of Ocean Technology, the Survey of India and international sources.
• It detects globally occurring earthquakes of 5 magnitude and above within 5-10 minutes of the event.

Cambodia backs anti-terror efforts

News

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cambodian counterpart, Samdech Hun Sen, held talks to boost ties in key areas of defence, security and counter-terrorism.

Beyond News

• The two leaders called for concerted global efforts to eliminate terrorism, including blocking sources of terror financing and dismantling terrorist bases.
• After the talks, the two countries inked four pacts, including the one to improve cooperation in the prevention and investigation of crimes and legal assistance in criminal matters and another on a line of credit from India to finance Cambodia’s Stung Sva Hab water resources development project for $36.92 million.

Defense programmes

• Expressing satisfaction at the current state of bilateral defence ties, including ship visits and training programmes, the two leaders agreed to further enhance ties, including through exchanges of senior-level defence personnel and capacity-building projects.
• Both sides expressed a keen interest in enhancing cooperation in maritime domain, including preservation of marine and coastal environment, anti-piracy cooperation, security of sea lanes of communication to maintain peace and ensure safety and security of navigation in the Indo-Pacific Region, and supported complete freedom of navigation and overflight and pacific resolution of maritime issues based on international law.
• Reaffirming their resolve to fight terrorism, the two leaders affirmed that those responsible for committing, abetting, organising and supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and be punished.

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