Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Escaping flooded Kaziranga, tiger finds a ‘bed that’s just right’

News

• A Royal Bengal Tiger emerged from a flooded Kaziranga National Park (KNP), took refuge in a house on the fringes and found a ‘bed’ to rest on.

Beyond News

• A rescue team was exploring ways to provide a safe passage for the animal into the forest without capturing it. 
• Although the 430 sq. km. KNP is known more for its one-horned rhino, it has one of the highest concentration of tigers in the world.
• A census in March 2017 said the park had an estimated 102 tigers. 

‘Artificial snow’ could save stricken Antarctic ice sheet, says study

News

• Governments could stop the West Antarctic Ice Sheet from sliding into the ocean and submerging coastal cities by launching a last-ditch engineering project to blanket its surface with “artificial snow”, according to a study released.

Findings

• Scientists believe that global warminghas already caused so much melting at the south pole that the giant ice sheet is now on course to disintegrate, which would trigger an eventual global sea level rise of at least three metres (10 feet) over centuries.
• The authors of the new study envisaged using 12,000 wind turbines to pump seawater 1,500 metres (4,900 feet) up to the surface, where it would be frozen into “snow” to try to weigh the sheet down enough to stop it collapsing any further.
• With the droughts, floods, storms and wildfires associated with climate change intensifying globally, some scientists have begun to seriously contemplate interventions that would have been dismissed as wildly impractical even a few years ago.
• The most urgent priority was to deliver the rapid cuts in carbon emissions needed to meet the temperature goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which is aimed at averting runaway climate impacts.
• Full sea level rise projected to follow the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet might not unfold for hundreds of years.
• The sea level rise from Western Antarcticawill eventually submerge Hamburg, Shanghai, New York and Hong Kong.
• Melting ice sheets in Greenland, the Arctic and shrinking glaciers around the world would worsen the problem, sea levels could ultimately rise at least five metres (16 feet) even if countries manage to implement the Paris pact.
• They used computer models to calculate that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could be stabilized by depositing a minimum of 7,400 gigatonnes of artificial snow over 10 years around the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers.
• Climate scientists cautioned that even a theoretical prospect of artificially shoring up the West Antarctic Ice Sheet should not be used as an excuse to delay emissions cuts.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Pakistan espoused Khalistani agenda: India

News

• In a dossier to Pakistan, India has mentioned nearly 30 instances in the past four years when Sikh pilgrims visiting the neighboring country were subjected to “anti-India propaganda” such as espousing the Khalistani cause.

Beyond News

• The 23-page dossier was handed over to the Pakistani delegation during the Kartarpur corridor talks held at Wagah last week.
• In April, Chawla, president of the Punjabi Sikh Sangat (PSS), “raised the demand of liberation of Punjab and Kashmir from India” during a function at Panja Sahib in Pakistan’s Attock where Indian pilgrims were present, the dossier says.
• The dossier contains a photograph of Chawla with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed.
• Under a 1974 bilateral protocol, four Sikh jathasvisit important gurdwaras in Pakistan every year. The Kartarpur corridor will link two revered Sikh shrines in India and Pakistan and is expected to be operational before the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
• India said that Chawla was a well-known “Khalistani element who often spews venom against India in his speeches and supports militancy in Punjab”. The paper also contained a “pictorial catalogue of his anti-India activities on social media”.
• India said the recently banned Sikhs for Justice was given a free hand to promote secessionism during visits of pilgrims.
• In 2016, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Harmony, while addressing a function at Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, “eulogised Burhan Wani a Kashmiri militant and alleged that the Sikhs and Kashmiris are treated like ‘slaves’ by the Indian government,” India said.
• In 2016, “attempts were made to instigate the Sikh pilgrims against the Indian Government over the issues like demonetisation of Indian currency.”
• It also mentioned names of others were named in the dossier for displaying Khalistani propaganda and leading a protest against India at Wagah border in July 2017.
• In 2018, U.K and U.S based pro-Khalistani elements were allowed to campaign openly for Khalistan at Panja Sahi Gurudwara in Attack.

World Bank extends KSTP Phase II

News

• The World Bank (WB) has extended the second phase of the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP), launched with the support of a World Bank loan of $216 million, till April 2021.

Beyond News

• With this, the State will get two years to complete the upgrade of 363 km of State Highway (SH) corridors spread over 10 packages across the State. Improvement of traffic flow and strengthening of road safety management systems will also be taken up.
• As per the agreement, Phase II was to end on November 30, 2018.
• It is a breather for the State as the WB had threatened to pull out of the $445-million KSTP or partially cancel the loan extended in the wake of the missed deadlines and slow pace of works in Phase II.
• Kerala has also been able to avoid the ‘poor performer tag’ that would have been automatically bestowed if the WB had pulled out of the project.
• The State would also have suffered in procuring funds from international funding agencies such as the WB , Asian Development Bank, and others.
• Delay in acquiring land for the corridors to be developed, issues created by contractors, and poor financial progress were the criticisms raised by the WB about Phase II.
• In 2017, Kerala gave a commitment to the Union Department of Economic Affairs and the WB that it would expedite the ongoing works during a review in Delhi.
• A WB team had recently expressed its satisfaction at the pace of the State Highways (SH) upgrade and road safety works.
• The ₹146.6-crore 80-km Vettu Road-Thycaud to Adoor safe corridor demonstration project and the 82.13-km Punalur-Ponkunnam road are among the unfinished works.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Kaziranga’s man-made highlands help rhinos survive floods

News

• Kaziranga National Park (KNP)’s man-made highlands have turned into islands of relative safety for the park’s animals as large parts of Assam remain inundated by flood 

Beyond News

• Among the handful of species that have taken refuge in these patches of higher ground are the one-horned rhino and the water buffalo, while most other animals have moved to the hills of Karbi Anglong district just beyond a highway that runs along the southern fringe of the park.
• Floods are a necessary evil in Kaziranga, which comprises a mix of wetlands, grasslands and forests. Every monsoon, the neighbouring Brahmaputra inundates the 880 sq km park its core area is 430 sq km primarily serving to flush out the aquatic plants and weeds that choke its ecosystem.
• The annual natural process, however, tests the survivability of the park’s animals and leaves a trail of death.
• Two decades ago, the Assam Forest Department constructed 111 highlands as an experiment. It helped keep a few animals above the water level but served little purpose when 75% or more of the park was flooded.
• In 2017, the park authorities started work on 33 more highlands that were bigger in dimension.
• The new highlands, constructed at a cost of ₹13 crore, were designed scientifically with provision for adequate grass, and plants yielding fruits such as elephant apple and Indian gooseberry.
• These highlands have helped us reduce the animal casualty during floods this year.

Naval training ships to have facilities for women

News

• In a step forward towards deploying women officers on board naval ships, the recently issued tender for cadet training ships has facilities catered for women aboard, a Navy source said.

Beyond News

• This is the first tender to be issued with design inputs incorporated for separate facilities for women officers. Such design changes will be part of all future warships to be procured by the Indian Navy.
• In February this year, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has accorded the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for three Cadet Training ships for the Navy, which would be utilised to provide basic sea training for “officer cadets including women officer undertrainees.”
• The process is expected to take about three years to conclude the contract and another 18-24 months after that for the first ship to be delivered.
• The ships would be capable of undertaking hospital ship duties, providing Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, undertaking search and rescue missions and non-combatant evacuation operations.
• The three Services have been progressively inducting women in all arms and services and the Navy has stated that women officers cannot be posted immediately on board ships as there are no separate facilities.
• As of May 2019, women constituted 6.7% of the Navy officers, excluding medical and dental services, according to information given in Parliament.

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