Hindu Notes from General Studies-01
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Archaeologist stumbles upon seventh century sculpture.
News:
- A rare sculpture of Lord Siva and Goddess Parvati dating back to the 7th century was discovered at a Chalukyan temple in Satyavolu village of Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh.
Beyond News
- The red sandstone sculpture portrays Lord Siva as the therapeutic physician (Rudra Bhaishajana) – as described in Rigveda – in which he holds a bowl in his left hand, which contains medicine from herbs to revive the ailing horse lying at his feet.
- The ASI official, as part of the Temple Survey Project, visited the Chalukyan temple complex in Satyavolu village and discovered the sculpture at a corner inside the temple complex.
- Such a highly exceptional iconographic form of Lord Siva had not been discovered so far.
- The sculpture belongs to early 7th century Chalukyan School of Art.
- Further describing the sculpture, the vertical stone slab prominently illustrates Siva and Parvati. The Lord is gracefully seated on a pedestal with the left leg on the seat, the other with knee bent and resting on the ground.
- Goddess Parvati is in a gracious posture standing to Siva’s left, carrying a vessel in her right hand, while the left hand rests on her waist.
Uranium contamination in Rajasthan groundwater, finds study
News
- Many parts of Rajasthan may have high uranium levels in their groundwater, according to a study by researchers at the Duke University in North Carolina, United States, and the Central Groundwater Board of India.
Beyond News
- The main source of uranium contamination was “natural,” but human factors such as groundwater table decline and nitrate pollution could be worsening the problem.
- Nearly a third of all water wells tested in one State, Rajasthan, contained uranium levels that exceed the World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) safe drinking water standards.
- While previous studies have referred to high uranium levels in some districts of India, this analysis gave a bird’s eye view into the extent of such contamination.
- The WHO has set a provisional safe drinking water standard of 30 micrograms of uranium per litre, a level that is consistent with the U.S. EPA standards. Despite this, uranium is not yet included in the list of contaminants monitored under the Bureau of Indian Standards’ Drinking Water Specifications.
Hindu Notes from General Studies-02
Indonesia wins UNSC vote
News
- The Maldives failed to get elected to the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member.
Beyond News
- Maldives and Indonesia had contested for a seat in the UNSC, but in the plenary session held at the UN headquarters in New York, Indonesia won the seat after securing 144 votes against 46 for the Maldives.
- The Ministry of External Affairs maintained a studied silence on whether India voted against the Maldives.
- In the election, 190 members participated, and the winning members had to get more than two-thirds majority or 127 votes.
- Indonesia is likely to take up the seat on January 1, 2019 with other newly elected non-permanent members Germany, Belgium, Dominican Republic and South Africa.
- India’s relation with the Maldives has nosedived in recent months with Delhi expressing dissatisfaction on the law and order situation as well as on the imposition of a state of emergency by the Abdullah Yameen government.
- In comparison, India’s ties with Indonesia have witnessed an upswing with the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the country.
- In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Maldives said it will continue to champion its priorities at the UN, despite not winning the seat at the Security Council.
U.S. seeks to dissuade India on Russian S-400 air defence systems
News
- The United States is trying to discourage India from buying large defence systems from Russia, an action that might attract sanctions, according to a senior State Department official.
Beyond News
- The 2017 law Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanction Act or CAATSA, requires that countries that have significant defence cooperation with Russia must be sanctioned by America.
- India is planning to buy five S-400 Triumf air defence systems for around $4.5 billion from Russia.
- The Trump administration has publicly expressed its desire to protect India from CAATSA, considering the U.S.-India strategic ties.
- Secretary of Defence and Secretary of State have urged lawmakers to make changes in the law so that partners such as India are not punished. But efforts in this direction are being strongly resisted by Democratic lawmakers who want to put the administration on the mat on Russia relations.
- Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs hoped the U.S. could make progress with India on concluding pending foundational defence agreements.
- The official said the U.S has given India new options to address concerns raised by India regarding some of these agreements. Indian officials familiar with the negotiations said some provisions in the standard agreements that the U.S does with treaty allies such as Japan were not comfortable for India.
More than three-fourths of Green card waiting list comprise of Indians: USCIS
News
- Indians account for more than three-fourths of those highly-skilled professionals waiting in queue to obtain legal permanent residence status in the U.S., popularly known as Green Card, according to latest official figures.
Beyond News
- As of May 2018, there were 395,025 foreign nationals waiting for Green Card under the employment-based preference category. Of these 306,601 were Indians, according to the latest figures released by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
- This does not include counts of dependent beneficiaries associated with the approved immigrant petitions.
- India is followed by a distant second China, which currently has 67,031 Chinese waiting for the Green Card.
- Under the existing law, no more than seven per cent of the Green cards may be issued to natives of any one independent country in a fiscal year. As such Indians have the longest waiting period for Green Card.
Hindu Notes from General Studies-03
State takes hi-tech route to count Fishing Cats
News
- In a first in the country, the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department is undertaking the census of the endangered Fishing Cat at the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (CWLS) on a large scale using modern technology.
Beyond News
- The month-long exercise comprising 30 trained personnel equipped with 120 state-of-the-art digital cameras commenced .
- Categorised as ‘vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) ‘Red List of Threatened Species’, and very little known about its ecology and behaviour, the Fishing Cat is being spotted every now and then in the CWLS, the second largest mangroves after the Sundarbans, and an abode for about 85 species.
- A feline, the Fishing Cat is about twice the size of a typical house cat is an adept swimmer and enters water frequently to prey on fish as its name suggests. It is known to even dive to catch fish.
- This census helps us know the exact number of Fishing Cats living in the mangroves, besides getting the pictures and video footage of the rare species.
- The department has already launched a mascot of the CWLS with the caricature of the species and named it ‘Macha the Fishing Cat,’ aimed at promoting its presence and the need to preserve to the general public.
IIT team’s solar powered system can convert plastic into fuel
News
- Scientists from IIT Madras have developed a solar powered system to convert non-recyclable plastic into fuel that can substitute diesel used in generators, furnaces and engines.
Beyond News
- The technology which consists of a mobile unit that can collect and process waste currently yields around 0.7 litres of fuel oil per kilogramme of plastic, researchers said.
- India produces approximately 15,000 tonnes of plastic waste in a day
- The team showcased its project on the occasion of the World Environment Day, hosted by the United Nations (UN) in New Delhi.
- The theme of this year’s World Environment Day was “Beat Plastic Pollution”.
- The conversion of plastic to fuel involves a process called pyrolysis a thermochemical treatment that exposes the material to high temperature in the absence of oxygen, leading it to go through physical and chemical changes.
- This creates a low density fuel oil by breaking down the polymer chain of plastic at the temperature of 350-500 degrees Celsius. This oil can be used as a substitute for diesel to power generators, furnaces and engines.