Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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‘Climate change may lead to rise in temperature’

News

• The average global surface temperature will increase between 1.5 degree Celsius and 4.5 degree Celsius by the end of this century due to climate change, according to a government report, said Siddhanta Das, Director General of Forests and Special Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change.

Beyond News

• He said India had declared a voluntary goal of reducing the emission intensity by 33 % to 35 % over the 2005 levels by 2030.
• Das explained that there were plans to raise trees outside the forests and in catchment area of rivers.
• Director General, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), expressed concern that deforestation and degradation resulted in the reduction of carbon stocks.
• Climate change impact and vulnerability assessment at national, state and regional levels are necessary to develop adaptation strategies for forests.
• Deputy Director General (Research) of ICFRE, said that all the major forests, ranging from the coastal belts to alpine forests to desert areas, with its characteristic species, were likely to be impacted by climate change.

22 babies died daily within 28 days of birth: RTI reply

News

• As many as 13,541 children under the age of five died in the State Maharashtra in a span of 11 months, a Right to Information (RTI) application has revealed.

Beyond News

• While infant mortality (28 days to one year) and child mortality (ages one to five) rates have dipped in the Maharashtra, data obtained by RTI activist, which only focuses on the 11-month period, reveals the alarming number of deaths within the first month of birth.
• Avasthi said newborn intensive care has to be protocolised just like adult intensive care has been over the years. Newborn intensive care units require trained doctors, nurses who can monitor them round the clock. Besides the government, private practitioners, NGOs and big philanthropic organisations should step in to save the babies.
• Head of the State Directorate of Health Services, said several measures are being implemented to bring down child mortality.
• They are focusing on special newborn care units in hospitals and making other changes.
• This year, the data from the Registrar General of India’s sample registration system had said child mortality had gone down to 21 deaths per 1,000 children in the State in 2016, as compared to 23 in 2014 and 24 in 2015. Officials hope the statistics for 2018 will reflect improvement.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Railways liable to pay compensation for deaths caused while boarding train: SC

News

• Death or injury caused while boarding or de-boarding a train will entitle a person to compensation from the railways, the Supreme Court has held.

Beyond News

• In a significant ruling which will help decide thousands of railway compensation cases and bring relief to families of victims, a Bench held that death or injury caused while getting onto a train or alighting from it cannot be classified as a “self-inflicted injury” and used by the railways as a reason to deny compensation to victims.
• The railways cannot plead negligence on the part of the victims. Such deaths or injuries caused would be classified as “untoward incidents”, the court said.
• The judgment also held that mere presence of a body on the railway premises would not be conclusive to hold that the injured or deceased was a bona fide passenger for which a claim for compensation could be maintained.
• However, mere absence of ticket with such injured or deceased would not negate the claim that he or she was a bona fide passenger.
• The railways had argued that it was already paying approximately ₹350 crore as compensation. There are 68,000 km of railway tracks which are porous/unmanned, resulting in untoward incidents for which liability ought not to be fastened on the railways without valid proof of its liability.

Dirty socks, algae behind Taj discolouration, ASI tells SC

News

• Unwashed socks worn by visitors and rampant algae seem to turn the Taj Mahal from its natural white to yellow, brown and green, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), charged with the maintenance of the historic monument, told the Supreme Court.

Beyond News

• But a Bench of Justices was not convinced, asking the ASI how algae managed to reach the top parts of the mausoleum where patches of discolouration were seen.
• The court said the problem was not with algae but the fact that the ASI was unwilling to accept that they were not doing enough to conserve the monument.
• The ASI said the numerous footfalls everyday had taken a toll on the Taj. It was not possible to distribute socks to all visitors. Many went wearing their own socks. The discussion in the court ranged from the commitment or the lack of it on the part of the authorities to protect the monument to getting disposable socks from abroad.
• On May 1, petitioner and environmental lawyer handed over to the Bench photographs showing the discolouration on the pristine white of the Taj Mahal. He told the court that the upkeep of the UNESCO World Heritage site was in shambles.
• River Yamuna, which used to flow nearby, had dried up. Encroachments and industries have cropped up in the neighbourhood of the white marble mausoleum.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Telangana CM to launch Rythu Bandhu

News

• Unprecedented arrangements have been made for the launch of the ambitious Rythu Bandhu scheme (farmers’ investment support scheme) and distribution of pattadar passbooks by Chief Minister between Shalapalli and Indiranagar villages of Huzurabad mandal in Telangana .

Beyond News

• Stated to be first-of-its-kind scheme in the country the distribution of financial assistance of Rs. 8,000 per acre per annum to the farmer  the ‘Rythu Bandhu’ lauch will see the district administration according a grand welcome to the Chief Minister.

World’s second oldest rock is from Odisha

News

• A rock sample recovered nearly eight years ago from Champua in Odisha’s Kendujhar district has put India at the forefront of geological research in the world.

Beyond News

• Scientists have found in the rock a grain of magmatic zircon (a mineral that contains traces of radioactive isotopes) that is an estimated 4,240 million years old a discovery of great promise to study the earth’s early years.
• Geologists said that the only instance of zircon older than this discovery was the one found in Jack Hill, Western Australia, which was 4,400 million years old and is the oldest known rock sample.
• But the zircon in this case was from metamorphosed sedimentary rock, unlike the Singhbhum one, which was formed from magma.
• The analyses confirmed the presence of two zircon grains that were 4,240 million and 4,030 million years old.

Importance

• The study of these zircons will add valuable information about the presence of water in the first few hundred million years of the Earth’s history.
• It will also give us more clues to when plate tectonics began, adding to the speculation stemming from the Jack Hill Zircons of Western Australia.
• The study suggests that the Earth’s primitive crust was mafic (rich in iron and magnesium).

Hindu Notes from General Studies-04

Spy case cost scientist his reputation: Supreme Court

News

• The Supreme Court remarked that former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan faced a dent in his reputation in the espionage case and the Kerala government cannot evade liability to compensate him for the loss of reputation.

Beyond News

• A Bench said it could direct the recovery of the compensation either from the officers who were involved in the probe or the State government.
• The Bench is also looking at a possible re-investigation into the role of the then SIT officers who had framed the former scientist.
• The court also said the officers involved in the investigation had to pay from their pocket.
• While working as scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation, Mr. Narayanan was arrested on November 30, 1994, for alleged espionage.

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