Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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ASI unearths ‘first-ever’ physical evidence of Copper-Bronze age chariots

News:

• The “first ever” physical evidence of chariots dating 2000 BC – 1800 BC have been found by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) during a trial excavation in Sanauli village near Baghpat.

Beyond News

• Decorated with copper motifs, the findings of the Copper-Bronze age have opened up further research opportunities into the area’s civilisation and culture.
• The three-month long excavation, which started in March this year, has unearthed eight burial sites and several artefacts including three coffins, antenna swords, daggers, combs, and ornaments, among others.
• The three chariots found in the burial pits could remind one of the familiar images of horse-drawn carriages from mythological television shows.
• The relics suggest the existence of a two-wheeled open vehicle that may have been driven by one person.
• The wheels and the pole have been found decorated with copper triangles, symbolic of the rays of the sun.
• Manjul termed the digging drive a “path-breaking” one, also because of the copper plated anthropomorphic figures having horns and peepal-leafed crowns  found on the coffins, that indicated a possiblity of “royal burials”.
• While coffins have been discovered during past excavations in Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and Dholavira (Gujarat), but never with copper decorations.
• The findings also shed light on the noteworthy progress the Indian civilisation had made at the time, making it at par with the 2000 BC Mesopotamia.
• The swords, daggers, shields and a helmet confirmed the existence of a warrior population, and the discovery of earthen and copper pots, semi-precious and steatite beads, combs, and a copper mirror from the burial pits point towards a “sophisticated” craftsmanship and lifestyle.
• The current site lies 120 meters from an earlier one in the village, excavated in 2005, where 116 burials were found along with antenna swords and pottery.
• While it was difficult to ascertain the exact race of the latest buried remains, asserted that the chariots and coffins did not belong to the Harappan civilisation.
• Similarities could have been an outcome of the migration of the Harappans to the Yamuna and the upper planes during the late mature Harappan era.
• However, the recent findings were “completely different” from the ancient civilisation.

Maternal mortality ratio in the country drops to 130 from 167

News

• The latest Sample Registration System (SRS) data indicating the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) has brought glad tidings.

Beyond News

• As per the data, the MMR (number of maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births) has dropped from 167 (in 2011-2013, the last SRS period) to 130 for the country. This 28% drop is an achievement arising from painstakingly reducing the MMR in each of the States.
• The SRS segments States into three groups: “Empowered Action Group” (EAG) Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand and Assam; “Southern States”  Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu; and “Others”  the remaining States and union territories.
• The highest reduction from the last SRS is with the EAG States at 23%, a drop from 246 (2011-2013) to 188, while the Other States have dropped by 19%, taking the MMR down from 115 in 2011-2013, to 93 now.
• Southern States, which are at a better average of 77, dropped 17%. Truly encouraging is the massive drop of 29% in Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand where the MMR has dropped from 285 to 201.
• Kerala remains at the top with an MMR of 46 (down from 61). Maharashtra retains its second position with 61, but the pace of fall has been much lower, dropping from 68 during 2011-13. Tamil Nadu with 66 (79) is in the third position.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Indo-Pacific area should be inclusive: New Delhi

News

• India joined Australia, Japan and the United States to discuss the future of Asia-Pacific region as an inclusive space. Senior officials of the four countries held the discussion in Singapore.

Beyond News

• The participants reaffirmed their support for a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific Region. They also confirmed their common commitment, based on shared values and principles, to promote a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said.
• The statement indicates the discomfort of the various stakeholders with China’s bid to alter the status quo in the South China Sea, that is interpreted as a hurdle to freedom of maritime and air movements.
• The meeting was held between officials from the foreign ministries of India, Australia, Japan and the United States on the sidelines of ASEAN-focused Senior Officials’ Meeting.
• This meeting marks continuity of the similar discussion among the four countries that was held in Manila in October 2017. The last meeting was expected to lead to a higher level of consultation for forming a ‘Quadrilateral mechanism’ among the participating countries.
• Statements by Australia and Japan also emphasised the need for ‘rules-based order’ in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The participants expressed support for the ASEAN-related mechanism to help stabilise the Asia-Pacific region.
• They agreed to partner with all countries and institutions in the region to promote the shared vision of a peaceful, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific, including through such plurilateral formats, said the statement from the Ministry of External Affairs.

UN India business forum, NITI Aayog form consortium to help women entrepreneurs

News

• The UN India Business Forum and the Women Entrepreneurial Platform of NITI Aayog formed a consortium to reduce gender disparities in start-up investments by providing mentorship and networking opportunities and accelerating financial and market linkages for women entrepreneurs.

Beyond News

• UN India-NITI Aayog Investor Consortium for Women Entrepreneurs will bring together key ecosystem stakeholders, including venture capitalists and impact investors, international donor and funding agencies, private sector partners and state governments, according to a joint statement.
• The consortium aims to strengthen women’s entrepreneurship by creating an enabling ecosystem for investments. Women entrepreneurs will be identified through key partners, including WEP, UN Women, and UNDP. The consortium secretariat will then connect entrepreneurs, according to their requests, with relevant members.
• In “full potential” scenario when women participate in the economy, equally to men, it could add $2.9 trillion to India’s GDP by 2025, according to the statement.
• However, Indian women entrepreneurs continue to face challenges in accessing investors and raising capital.
• Sustainable development has the potential to open up markets worth $12 trillion around the world by 2030.
• It is estimated that up to $5 trillion is needed in a year to implement UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) worldwide. Return on investments on implementing the SDGs could be about $30 billion a year.
• The UN India Business Forum, an alliance of India’s businesses, financial institutions, the government and the UN, aims to accelerate India’s rapid growth and achieve the SDGs.
• Key partners for finance include HDFC, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Ambuja Cement, Tata Housing and LinkedIn while for health and nutrition companies such as Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Philips India, and Tata Chemicals have enrolled.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Indian entrepreneurs win $1 million prize for safety device

News

• A group of young Indian entrepreneurs have won a $1 million dollar prize by developing a wearable smart device that women can use to send out emergency alerts if threatened or assaulted.

Beyond News

• New Delhi-based Leaf Wearables was among the five finalists selected from 85 teams hailing from 18 countries for the ‘Women’s Safety XPRIZE’ instituted by Indian-American philanthropists Anu and Naveen Jain.
• The technology start-up, founded by students of IIT Delhi and Delhi Technological University, won the prize for their project ‘Safer Pro’, an enhanced version of their earlier safety devices.
• Teams participating in the challenge had to create a device, costing no more than $40 and able to work without Internet, that can inconspicuously trigger an emergency alert if a woman is facing a threat and transmit information to a network of community responders, all within 90 seconds.
• The start-up has previously launched two wearable devices.
• The smart device by Leaf Wearables will also be able to make audio recordings, which could be used as evidence.
• Globally, one out of every three women and girls experiences physical or sexual violence or both  from an intimate partner, or sexual violence by a non-partner, the United Nations estimates. The figure is twice as high in some countries.

U.S. team to join Indian Ocean study

News

• A team of 20 scientists, along with a key vessel of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is arriving in Goa, marking the expansion of U.S.-Indian collaboration in the study of the Indian Ocean.

Beyond News

• Subtle changes on the surface and deep below in the western Indian Ocean have significant impact on weather in India in days, and in the United States, two to four weeks later.
• Jointly collecting data on changes in the current, temperature, salinity and other parameters is a less known component of the Indo-Pacific cooperation between India and America.
• NOAA’s ship Ronald H Brown is on a global expedition on the lines of a similar ocean expedition 50 years ago.
• The phenomenon called the Madden-Julian Oscillation, discovered in the 1970s, starts when water vapor rises out of the Indian Ocean every 30 to 60 days to create a major ocean storm that travels west to east from near the Seychelles off Africa toward India, crosses into the tropical Pacific Ocean and eventually affects weather patterns across America.
• Scientists are advancing the knowledge of this phenomenon with new tools and models, said NOAA Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.

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