Hindu Notes from General Studies-01
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Indian monsoons influence Atlantic hurricanes: study
News
- Strong monsoons in the Indian Ocean can induce easterly winds that push Atlantic Ocean hurricanes westward, increasing the likelihood they will make landfall in the Americas, according to a study.
Findings
- The study, found that in years where summer rainstorms in India are stronger, Atlantic hurricanes move further westward towards land .
- In years where the rains are not as strong, hurricanes tend to curve northward earlier and fizzle out in the north Atlantic Ocean.
- The newly-discovered relationship could help scientists better predict the path of oncoming hurricanes, especially in late summer months like September, when Atlantic hurricane activity peaks, according to researchers.
- The Indian monsoon season has typically waned by September, but climate projections suggest that under future warming conditions, monsoon precipitation will increase, and the monsoon season could end later in the year, researchers said.
- As the climate continues to warm, the monsoon could have an increasing influence on the paths of Atlantic hurricanes, according to the study.
- Previous research has attributed changes in hurricane steering to El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a periodic fluctuation in sea surface temperature and air pressure in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
- They conducted simulations of hurricane tracks with a model that incorporates observed variations of monsoon intensity and found that in response to strong monsoons, hurricanes shifted significantly westward.
- Strong monsoons influence hurricane steering by enhancing the effects of the North Atlantic subtropical high, a centre of high atmospheric pressure in the Atlantic Ocean. When the subtropical high increases, stronger winds come from the east and push hurricanes westward.
Hindu Notes from General Studies-02
SC bans sale of BS-IV vehicles from 2020
News
- The Supreme Court banned the sale and registration of motor vehicles conforming to the emission standard Bharat Stage-IV in the entire country from April 1, 2020.
Beyond News
- It said pollution has reached an “alarming and critical” level all over India.
- Bharat Stage (BS) emission norms are standards instituted by the government to regulate output of air pollutants from motor vehicles.
- The BS-IV norms have been enforced across the country since April 2017. In 2016, the Centre had announced the country would skip the BS-V norms altogether and adopt BS-VI norms by 2020.
- The apex court said there cannot be any compromise on the health of citizens and this has to take precedence over the “greed” of a few automobile manufacturers who want to stretch the timeline.
- It said there was sufficient time for manufacturers to make BS-VI compliant vehicles.
Cabinet nod to panel on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
News
- The Union Cabinet approved the setting up of a high-level steering committee chaired by the Chief Statistician of India and Secretary to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) to review if India was on track to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Beyond News
- The panel would also decide if there was a need to “refine” indicators by reviewing the National Indicator Framework (NIF) periodically, according to a press release announcing the Cabinet decision.
- The SDGs are a list of 17 goals, which include the elimination of poverty, ending hunger, ensuring provision of quality education, clean water and sanitation, that countries, including India, must achieve by 2030.
- The steering committee would recommend measures to “mainstream” SDGs into ongoing national policies, programmes and strategic action plans to address the developmental challenges.
- Statistical indicators of the NIF would be the backbone for monitoring of SDGs at the national and State levels and would scientifically measure the outcomes of the policies to achieve the targets under different SDGs.
- Based on statistical indicators, the MoSPI would produce national reports on implementation of the SDGs.
- The MDGs, which addressed various development issues, were unevenly achieved across the countries and the Centre wanted to start fresh discussions to assess the usefulness of the MDGs and to explore a possible successor to guide development cooperation in the world beyond 2015.
- The UN General Assembly in its 70th Session, in 2015, considered and adopted the SDGs for the next 15 years. The 17 SDGs came into force with effect from January 1, 2016. Though not legally binding, the SDGs have become de facto international obligations and have the potential to reorient domestic spending priorities of the countries during the 15-year-period.
Cabinet approves Adjudicating Authority for speedy disposal of benami cases
News
- The government approved setting up of Appellate Tribunal and Adjudicating Authority for speedy disposal of cases related to benami transactions.
Beyond News
- The decision was taken at the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister.
- Earlier this month, the government had notified Sessions courts in 34 states and Union Territories, which will act as special courts for trial of offences under the benami transaction law.
- Benami transaction refers transactions made in a fictitious name, or the owner is not aware of the ownership of the property, or the person paying for the property is not traceable.
- As per an official release, the Adjudicating Authority and Appellate Tribunal will be based in the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD).
- Benches of Adjudicating Authority may sit in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, and the necessary notification in this regard will be issued after consultation with the Chairperson of the proposed Adjudicating Authority.
- The appointment of the Adjudicating Authority, would provide first stage review of administrative action under the the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act (PBPT) Act.
- Establishment of the proposed Appellate Tribunal would provide an appellate mechanism for the order passed by the Adjudicating Authority under the PBPT Act.
- The rules and all the provisions of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act came into force on November 1, 2016.
- After coming into effect, the existing Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, was renamed as the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988.
Fastest growing language in the U.S.
News
- Telugu is the fastest growing language in the US, says a study by an American think tank.
Findings
- The number of US residents speaking Telugu rose by 86 per cent between 2010 and 2017, according to an online video by the World Economic Forum.
- But Telugu, the fourth most spoken language in India, is still outside the top 20 of the most widely-spoken languages other than English in the US, reports the BBC.
- The study on languages spoken in the US used data from the American Community Survey and compared the number of people who said they spoke a language other than English at home in 2010 and 2017, the BBC said.
- Last year there were more than 400,000 Telugu speakers in the US – nearly double the number in 2010.
- Of the more than 60 million people that speak a language other than English out of the total population of about 320 million, the vast majority speak Spanish. Out of the most commonly spoken South Asian languages, Hindi is first, followed by Urdu, Gujarati and then Telugu.
Hindu Notes from General Studies-03
SC shocked over ‘vanishing’ Aravalli hills
News
- The Supreme Courtexpressed shock over the disappearance of 31 hills in the Aravalli area of Rajasthan and asked the State government to stop illegal mining in the 115.34-hectare area there within 48 hours.
Beyond News
- The top court said that even though Rajasthan was earning royalty of around ₹5,000 crore from mining activities in the Aravallis, it cannot endanger the lives of lakhs of people in Delhi as the disappearance of the hills could be one of the reasons for rise in pollution level in Delhi-NCR.
- A Bench referred to the status report filed by the Rajasthan government and said it indicated that illegal mining activity was going on in 115.34 hectare area in Aravalli range in the State.
- It also referred to a report of the Central Empowered Committee, which had said that out of 128 samples taken by the Forest Survey of India, as many as 31 hills or hillocks had vanished.
- The top court said that it was compelled to pass an order to stop illegal mining activities in the area within 48 hours as it appeared that the State has taken the issue “very lightly”.
- The Bench said it was “not at all satisfied” with the contents of the status report filed by the State as it mostly deals with the “so called incompetence” of the FSI.
- During the hearing, the Bench asked the State’s counsel as to what steps have been taken by them to stop illegal mining activity in the Aravallis.
Aggressive fish can help corals survive
News
- Higher water temperature, which increases the aggressiveness of some fish, may lead to better protection of some coral reefs, a study claims.
Findings
- It is well established that higher water temperatures lead many corals to die.
- However, researchers have shown that coral recovery can be significantly influenced by the behaviour of species living around coral reefs.
- Researchers evaluated the relationship between fish behaviour and coral performance using a farmerfish-coral system. Farmerfish are aggressive damselfish found around coral reefs in tropical climates that defend gardens of algae from intrusion by other fish.
- They found that more branching corals resided in the territories of aggressive farmerfish groups.
- In addition, corals experimentally planted into the territories of non-aggressive farmerfish suffered 80 per cent more damage than the corals planted into the territories of aggressive groups.
- Fish aggressiveness is therefore likely to be an important part of how coral reefs will survive.
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