Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Carving of Rudrama Devi discovered

News:

• A tall granite nondescript structure in the middle of fields in Thorrur mandal of Mahabubabad, a closer look reveals an intricate carving on a stone thrust in the middle. 

Beyond News:

• The structure is a watchtower built by the Kakatiyas, who ruled the region for more almost three centuries (1052 AD to 1323 AD).
• While exploring the square tower built to oversee the Siva Kesava temple in Nanchari Maduru village of Thorrur mandal here as part of the Temple Survey Project, an official of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) stumbled upon a distinctive granite slab embedded into the walls of the tower. The slab depicts Lord Siva blessing Kakatiya ruler Rudrama Devi in a mythical, animal form.

• The discovery of this elegant narrative sculpture is momentous for the archaeological research and most vital for the reconstruction of a few events that might have occurred in the life of Rani Rudrama Devi, said Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Chennai.
• 13th-century watchtower, which is a little damaged, also explains the hitherto unrevealed significance as a defence bastion of the Kakatiya rulers for safeguarding the region from the enemy surges, including the Kayasthas.
• The rectangular sculptured panel frame represents Rudrama Devi seated on an elephant, holding a sword in her raised right hand. Her left-hand carries elephant head gear, with an attendant in tow. A mahout is seen stopping the elephant by holding its trunk with the left hand and a mace in his right.
• The official believes the slab is one of the rare visual sources on the life of Rani Rudrama Devi.

Petroglyph site discovered in Kurnool

News

• Kandanathi, a tiny village located about 5-km south of Yemmiganur mandal headquarters in the district, is the biggest petroglyph site in Andhra Pradesh, an exploration by an archaeology researcher revealed.

Beyond News

• Archaeology researcher discovered rock art with engravings, and peckings and bruisings, predominantly of humped bulls and also of human figures, at Kandanathi dating back to the Mesolithic, Neolithic, and pre-historic periods.
• There was a carnival scene with humans playing musical instruments such as ‘dolu’ and ‘kommu’.
• There were several depictions of bulls with various sizes of horns and humps, and in association with riders.
• In addition, there were plenty of figures of animals and humans drawn on boulders such as goats, monkeys, dogs etc.
• The peak of the hillock has remains of a mutilated “buruju,” possibly dating to the Vijayanagara period (1336-1670 AD).
• One grinding hole was noticed on the foothill located at a distance of 10 metres from the site towards the west. The rock art in the village comprised paintings/pictographs and petroglyphs.
• Kurnool district is one of the richest zones of the prehistoric centres in the world for early human activities, and throws valuable insight into the past culture and cultural continuity to the archaeologists.
• Kandanathi is surrounded by brooks namely Banavasi Vanka, Eerlaiah Sami Vanka, Giddaiah Vanka. and Yenkanna Vaagu, which ultimately join the Handri, a tributary of the Tungabhadra.
• The petroglyphs at Kandanathi reveal the presence of the Boya community divided into many exogamous groups such as Mandla (herdsmen) and Yenubothula (buffalomen).

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

India, Italy agree to revitalise bilateral ties

News:

• India and Italy agreed to boost cooperation in counter-terrorism and cybersecurity as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met the top Italian leadership and discussed steps to revitalise bilateral ties.

Beyond News

• It was the first major political exchange between the two countries after Mr. Conte assumed charge early this month.
• Swaraj conveyed felicitations of the Government of India to the newly elected Government of Italy, and reiterated India’s desire to strengthen bilateral relations with Italy, the statement said.
• They exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
• Recognising the need to sustain the momentum generated by the visit of former Italian Prime Minister [Paolo] Gentiloni to India in October 2017, the Ministers emphasised the importance of promoting regular high-level contacts and bilateral dialogue mechanisms.
• To augment collaboration in areas of mutual benefit, the Ministers agreed to hold the next meeting of the Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) in India later this year, it said.
• They also welcomed Italy’s participation as a partner country at the Tech Summit in India in November 2018 which would boost cooperation in technology and innovation.
• The year also marks the 70th year of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Road map laid for India-U.S. meet

News:

• Indian and U.S. experts began a three-day consultations to find meeting points in bilateral relations in preparation for the first-ever meeting of the Ministers for External Affairs and Defence with their U.S. counterparts next month.

Beyond News:

• The July meeting in Washington DC between Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman and their U.S. counterparts, called the two-plus-two discussions, is expected to further cement the India-U.S. engagements.
• According to officials, among the key focus areas of the meeting that began is finding a breakthrough in concluding the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), one of the four foundational agreements that helps the U.S. to intensify its defence cooperation with a partner nation.
• Indications emerging from the U.S. side is that they are keen to stress the importance given to India in its Indo-Pacific strategy.
• The U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) was recently renamed Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), symbolic of the significance U.S. attaches to India in the region.
• Apart from the foundational agreements, the U.S. is also keen on a broad based intelligence-sharing agreement with India as the two countries have vastly expanded their counter-terror cooperation.
• In this context, the fourth foundational agreement, Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA), will be significant.
• COMCASA and BECA are the two foundational agreements that India is yet to sign. It has already signed the General Security Of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) and the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA).
• The most significant of them is LEMOA, which gives both nations access to each other’s military facilities. But it does not make it automatic or obligatory.
• The COMCASA will facilitate transfer of encrypted communications systems.

The agreements are a key requirement by Washington for sharing h-tech military hardware, especially armed drones which the U.S. is willing to supply to India. Sale of armed drones is high on the agenda of the 2+2 dialogue.

In a first, WHO recommends quadrivalent influenza vaccine

News

• Sanofi Pasteur’s injectable influenza vaccine (FluQuadri) containing two A virus strains H1N1 and H3N2  and two B virus strains  Victoria and Yamagata  for active immunisation of adults of age 18 to 64 years was approved in May last year by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). The application for the paediatric indication is under review by the DCGI and final approval is expected by the end of this month.

Beyond News

• Sanofi’s quadrivalent influenza vaccine was licensed for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013; it is licensed in 26 countries.
• While a trivalent influenza vaccine contains both A subtype viruses, it has only one of the B subtype virus, the quadrivalent vaccine offers greater breath of protection as it includes both B subtype viruses.
• Since the vast majority of influenza vaccines manufactured were trivalent till recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) used to recommend two A subtypes and one B subtype, plus an optional fourth strain (the other B virus strain). But this February 2018, for the first time, the WHO issued an official recommendation for a quadrivalent vaccine.
• The quadrivalent vaccine will contain four influenza virus strains (two A subtypes and two B subtypes H1N1 and H3N2, and Victoria and Yamagata respectively). The WHO recommendation then mentioned which B strain should be removed in the case of a trivalent flu vaccine.
• The viruses used in the vaccine are killed and this eliminates the possibility of the virus in the vaccine itself causing infection.
• In India, the vaccine will be available as single dose pre-filled syringe. Eventually, it will be available in a vial for public health use.
• Since 2011, there have been about 97,000 H1N1 cases and over 7,100 deaths in India according to the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) data.
• Till June 3 this year, there have been 1,740 seasonal influenza cases and 191 deaths caused by H1N1.
• Despite the high number of infections and mortality each year, India does not have in place a national policy for influenza immunisation. Pregnant mothers, children aged below five and young people with asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and high blood pressure are at a greater risk of infection and death.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Govt. to set up fifth national data centre

News

• The Centre will set up the country’s biggest data centre in Bhopal with a capacity to host five lakh virtual servers, Electronics and IT Minister said.

Beyond News

• The data centre, which will take about two years to come up, will be set up by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• This will be the fifth National Data Centre after the ones at Bhubaneswar, Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune. These National Data Centres host government websites, services and applications.

Mount Everest, the high-altitude rubbish dump

News

• Decades of commercial mountaineering have turned Mount Everest into the world’s highest rubbish dump as an increasing number of big-spending climbers pay little attention to the ugly footprint they leave behind.

Beyond News

• Fluorescent tents, discarded climbing equipment, empty gas canisters and even human excrement litter the well-trodden route to the summit of the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) peak.
• As the number of climbers on the mountain has soared at least 600 people have scaled the world’s highest peak so far this year alone  the problem has worsened.
• Meanwhile, melting glaciers caused by global warming are exposing trash that has accumulated on the mountain since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made the first successful summit 65 years ago.
• Five years ago Nepal implemented a $4,000 rubbish deposit per team that would be refunded if each climber brought down at least eight kilogrammes (18 pounds) of waste.
• On the Tibet side of the Himalayan mountain, they are required to bring down the same amount and are fined $100 per kilogramme if they don’t.
• In 2017 climbers in Nepal brought down nearly 25 tonnes of trash and 15 tonnes of human waste the equivalent of three double-decker buses — according to the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC).
• Environmentalists are concerned that the pollution on Everest is also affecting water sources down in the valley.
• At the moment the raw sewage from base camp is carried to the next village a one-hour walk  and dumped into trenches.

Solutions

• They are considering installing a biogas plant near Everest base camp that would turn climber poo into a useful fertiliser.
• Another solution would be a dedicated rubbish collection team.

Need to save coral reefs

News

• Loss of coral reefs around the world would double the damage from coastal flooding, and triple the destruction caused by storm surges, researchers said.

Findings

• Without coral to help absorb the shock, a once-in-a-century cyclone would wreak twice the havoc, with the damage measured in the tens of billions of dollars, the team calculated.
• Coral reefs serve as natural, submerged breakwaters that reduce flooding by breaking waves and reducing wave energy.
• Coral is also highly sensitive to spikes in water temperature, which have become sharper and more frequent with climate change.
• Global coral reefs risk catastrophic die-off if Earth’s average surface temperature increases two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, earlier research has shown.
• Globally, seaside flooding is estimated to cause nearly USD 4 billion dollars (3.4 billion Euros) a year in damages.
• With the erosion of the top metre (three feet) of coral reefs worldwide, that figure rises to USD 8 billion, Beck and his colleagues found.
• Saudi Arabia, the United States, Taiwan and Vietnam would also become significantly more vulnerable to flooding with severe coral erosion.

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