Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Chola period inscriptions found at Erumbeeswarar Temple

News

• Research scholars have found more Chola period inscriptions at the Sri Erumbeeswarar Temple situated on a hillock at Tiruverumbur on the outskirts of the city throwing light on the socio-economic life of the people who had lived there then.

Beyond News:

• Though the temple dates back to 6th century C.E., the present construction belongs to 10th century C. E. and the credit of converting it into a stone temple goes to Chembiyan Vedivelan, a philanthropist who lived in the early Chola period.
• Earlier studies by the scholars at the temple had led to the discovery of nine inscriptions of Chola, Pandya and Vijayanagar period and the present study covered almost all the fragmentary inscriptions scattered all around the outer prakara of the temple.
• Nearly 40 fragments were found and all of them belonged to the Chola period. The fragments of inscriptions were found on the stones on the compound wall of the temple. The latest study has helped give a better understanding of certain older records and provided fresh details about people who lived during the Chola rule.
• The inscriptions that were found now throw interesting information on two Saivite mutts that had apparently existed there. One of the inscriptions states that nearly 24 ‘veli’(a measure) of land was gifted to a mutt named after Thirunavukkarasar, who had sung sacred hymns in this temple, during the 30th regnal year of Rajaraja Chola III. A royal order provided 10 veli of tax-free land to another Saivite mutt named after Sambandar that existed in the temple quarters.
• Another inscription of Rajaraja III was again a royal order by which certain portion of fertile land was allotted to the Thiruvudai Maruthudai Nayanar temple that is still to be seen at Koothapar, a nearby village.
• The name of the government official who had written the royal document and the names of the individuals of the revenue department who had passed the order are also recorded.
• An undated Chola record reveals a sad story of the residents of two villages namely Cheppankudi and Kadalankudi who had abandoned their villages due to severe drought.
• Names of villages, officials and local chieftains such as Vijayalaya Muttaraiyar and Srikanda Nayaka Piriyan, the temple accountant, could be gleaned from a few fragments. Some of them provide details on town planning.
• It is also understood that literate residents of the villages helped the illiterates by signing the documents on behalf of them which was a common practice in those days. Certain details on the temple worship and offerings are also available in the records.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

42 more Indians detained for illegally entering USA

News

• At least 42 Indians are detained in a facility in New Mexico for illegal entry into the United States, in the second such episode that has come to light this week. Earlier this week, it emerged that 52 Indians were being detained in a federal prison in Oregon.

Beyond News

• The U.S agencies enforcing immigration do not automatically notify missions of the countries from where the detainees come.
• Indian officials approached the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after hearing from community leaders, about the new batch of detainees. The ICE confirmed that at least 42 of the detainees at the Otero County Detention Centre in New Mexico, not far from the El Paso border crossing from Mexico, are Indians.
• It is likely that more cases of Indians being detained will emerge, as the Donald Trump administration continues with its ‘zero tolerance’ enforcement of immigration laws.
• It is unclear whether the detainees want any consular assistance at all or not. The detention centres allow detainees to contact anyone they want, but they can refuse to meet or talk to visitors.
• The news of the new batch of Indian detainees emerged from Indian Americans who spoke to them in recent days.
• Indian officials tracking the developments said it was unclear when these people were detained. The ICE has provided Indian missions with names of the detained people in Oregon and New Mexico.
• Most of the detainees are Sikhs from Punjab and a handful are Christians from Andhra Pradesh.
• The U.S. lawmakers who met detainees in Oregon had said they were seeking political asylum in America, claiming that they were victims of religious persecution in India. If they are indeed seeking political asylum, Indian missions would have no role to play.
• Asylum claims are adjudicated by the U.S immigration authorities.

World’s hungry population on the rise again, says UN report

News

• The number of hungry people in the world has risen for the first time in more than a decade, according to a United Nations report released on Wednesday.

Beyond News

• There are now approximately 38 million more undernourished people in the world, rising from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016, the year for which the latest statistics are available.
• According to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 2018 report, conflict is now one of the main drivers of food insecurity in 18 countries.
• After a prolonged decline, world hunger appears to be on the rise again. Conflict, drought and disasters linked to climate change are among the key factors causing this reversal in progress.
• Violent conflicts also led to the forced displacement of a record high 68.5 million in 2017.
• Noting the increasing impact of extreme events related to a changing climate, the report said economic losses attributed to disasters were estimated at over $300 billion in 2017.
• This is among the highest losses in recent years, owing to three major hurricanes affecting the United States of America and several countries across the Caribbean.
• While there is little country-specific data in the report, it does examine the performance of various regions in meeting the 17 SDGs, which were adopted by UN member nations in 2015. The deadline to meet them is 2030.
• South Asia, which includes India, has seen child marriage rates plunge, with a girl’s risk of getting married in childhood dropping by 40% from 2000 to 2017.
• On the other hand, water stress levels for many countries in the region are above 70%, indicating fast-approaching water scarcity. More than nine out of 10 people living in urban areas around the world are breathing polluted air, with southern Asia scoring the worst in this area. While electricity and sanitation deficits in south Asia are still poor, the report noted efforts are being made to close the gap.

Chennai Corportion proposes hefty fines to squash litterbugs

News

• The Chennai Corporation in Tamil Nadu proposes to effect a steep increase in the maximum fine for littering from ₹50 to ₹25,000 in the city.

Beyond News

• The civic body has framed solid waste management bylaws under Section 349 of the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act of 1919 to collect fines ranging from ₹100 to ₹25,000 for littering.
• The bylaws apply to domestic, institutional, commercial and any other non-residential solid waste generators, as well as individuals who dump solid waste in stormwater drains, underground sewage systems and waterbodies in the city.
• Those who burn solid waste in public spaces will also be penalised. Owners of non-residential buildings who litter public spaces will pay a fine of ₹2,000. But traders will have to pay just ₹1000 for littering public spaces.
• Persons who spit in public spaces will have to pay a fine of ₹100. Street vendors who fail to use garbage containers will have to pay a fine of ₹100.
• Residents who dump garden waste on the road will have to pay a fine of ₹1,000.
• After notification of the bylaws, sanitary inspectors will collect fines from persons littering public places including roads, arch roads, viaducts, lanes, footways, alleys, passages, highways, causeways, bridges, square alleys, parks, gardens, recreation grounds, playgrounds, beaches, water bodies, water courses, public plazas, promenades, government buildings, public hospitals, markets, slaughter houses and courts.
• In exercise of the powers conferred under Sections 3, 6, and 25 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Central government has already enacted the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 to regulate the management of solid waste.
• Every resident, institution or commercial establishment will be asked to segregate and store the waste in three separate bins, namely biodegradable, non-biodegradable and domestic hazardous waste, and hand over segregated waste to authorised waste pickers or waste collectors, officials said.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Upgrade software at ATMs by June 2019 or face penalty, RBI tells banks

News

• With banks failing to upgrade software in automated teller machines (ATM) despite repeated reminders, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has now directed the banks to complete the process in a phased manner latest by June 2019.

Beyond News

• The slow progress on the part of the banks in addressing these issues has been viewed seriously by the RBI, the central bank said in a notification to banks.
• The banking regulator pointed out that many ATMs were still running on Windows XP and other unsupported software.
• RBI said the vulnerability arising from the ATMs operating on unsupported version of operating system and non-implementation of other security measures, could potentially affect the interests of customers and the banks’ image.
• Security measures should be implemented by August 2018 and anti-skimming and white-listing solutions by March 2019.

It may be noted that any deficiency in timely and effective compliance with the instructions contained in this circular may invite appropriate supervisory enforcement action under applicable provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and/or Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, RBI said.

Now, use of waste plastic in road work mandatory

News

• The Maharashtra State has made it mandatory to use waste plastic and industrially-recycled plastic in all road construction and repair works.

Beyond News

• The move, according to the government, will ensure roads with better quality at lesser price and help tackle the waste plastic problem, which is likely to arise after the ban.
• A government resolution (GR) issued directed the use of plastic in asphalting works following a successful experiment.
• The GR said the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research too has found that such roads are of better quality and less expensive.

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