Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Why do some species go extinct?

News:

• 99 % of all species that existed on Earth are extinct. Many of them were wiped out in the five known major mass extinction events.

Findings:

• Scientists believe we are currently in the throes of the sixth mass extinction, called the Holocene extinction. (The Holocene is the current geological epoch, which began 11,500 years ago at the close of the last Ice Age).
• While earlier extinction events were driven by natural causes, such as climate change, volcanic eruption, and asteroid strike, the Holocene is the first extinction event to be triggered by the activities of a species – the humans.
• Scientists have identified some tipping points that may lead to extinction of species.
• Habitat loss poses the greatest threat to wildlife and is widely listed as the predominant cause of extinction. The world’s forests, swamps, plains, lakes, and other habitats continue to disappear as they are cleared to make way for agriculture, housing, roads and other developments.
• Changes in one part of the food web can have a big impact on other parts. When a food source disappears, a predator will have to find another food source in order to survive.
• The loss of a species due to the extinction of another is called co-extinction.
• Overfishing depletes some species and drives others to extinction. Animals are also killed for their skin, tusks and other body parts. Poaching has put species such as rhinoceros, tiger and pangolin in the endangered list. Hunting for sport is also a factor in wildlife extinction.
• Humans have inadvertently introduced species in new environments, which have led to the decline of local species.
• People have often brought domestic cats with them to islands, where some of the animals have escaped to form feral populations. Feral cats have caused the extinction of some 30 island bird species worldwide, according to a study.
• Disease outbreaks can kill thousands of animals very quickly. Over the last few decades many new animal diseases have emerged, and older diseases have spread to new areas.
• Climate change has triggered mass extinction of species in the past and it could happen again. Earth is warming faster than at any time in the past 10,000 years. With these changes, species have to adapt to new climate patterns (changes in rainfall, colder winter, hotter summer and drought, heatwave and floods).
• Animals from all regions are affected by changing climate. It has depleted their food source and changed their migration and breeding pattern. American pika, snow leopard, musk ox, narwhal, coral and monarch butterfly are some of the species that are hit by climate change.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

PM Modi, Sheikh Hasina jointly inaugurate Indo-Bangla friendship pipeline

News

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the cooperation between India and Bangladesh as an example for the world as he and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina jointly inaugurated the construction of a friendship pipeline project through video conferencing.

Beyond News

• The 130-kilometreIndia-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline Project will connect Siliguri in West Bengal in India and Parbatipur in Dinajpur district of Bangladesh.
• The ₹346 crore-project will be completed in 30 months and the capacity of the pipeline will be one million metric tons per annum.
• Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister described the cooperation between the two countries as an example for the world, according to an official statement.
• Prime Minister said the proposed pipeline will further energise, not just Bangladesh’s economy, but also the relationship between the two countries.
• He said the project will boost the friendship between India and Bangladesh and the pipeline will help fulfil energy needs of Bangladesh at cheaper rates.
• Besides the pipeline, the two leaders also inaugurated the construction of the third and fourth dual-gauge rail lines in Dhaka-Tongi section and the dual-gauge rail line in Tongi-Joydebpur section of Bangladesh Railway.
• Prime Minister said Dhaka-Tongi-Joydebpur Railway project will improve connectivity between the two countries and generate more revenue.

A child under 15 dies every 5 seconds around the world: UN

News

• An estimated 6.3 million children under 15 years of age died in 2017, or 1 every 5 seconds, mostly of preventable causes, according to the new mortality estimates released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Division and the World Bank Group.

Findings

• The report notes that for children everywhere, the most risky period of life is the first month.
• In 2017, 2.5 million newborns died in their first month while 5.4 million deaths occur in the first five years of life, with newborns accounting for around half of the deaths.
• Also, a baby born in sub-Saharan Africa or in South Asia was nine times more likely to die in the first month than a baby born in a high-income country. And progress towards saving newborns has been slower than for children under five years of age since 1990.
• Most children under 5 die due to preventable or treatable causes such as complications during birth, pneumonia, diarrhea, neonatal sepsis and malaria. By comparison, among children between 5 and 14 years of age, injuries become a more prominent cause of death, especially from drowning and road traffic.
• The report adds that even within countries, disparities persist. Under-five mortality rates among children in rural areas are, on average, 50% higher than among children in urban areas.
• Globally, in 2017, half of all deaths under five years of age took place in sub-Saharan Africa, and another 30% in Southern Asia.
• Despite these challenges, fewer children are dying each year worldwide. The number of children dying under five has fallen dramatically from 12.6 million in 1990 to 5.4 million in 2017. The number of deaths in older children aged between 5 to 14 years dropped from 1.7 million to under a million in the same period.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

DAC accords procedural approval for upgraded Akash SAMs for Army

News

• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) accorded a procedural approval for the procurement of an improved variant of the indigenously developed Akash Surface to Air Missile (SAM) systems for the Army.

Beyond News

• The Army has already inducted two regiments of Akash and last year two more regiments which are in the process of being delivered. The Akash system has since been upgraded and the DAC has given approval for the third and fourth regiments to be of the upgraded variant.
• “The missile to be procured is an upgraded version of the previously inducted Akash missiles and will include seeker technology, possess 360 degree coverage and will be of compact configuration with reduced signature. The upgraded Akash Weapon System is operationally critical equipment which will provide protection to vital assets, Defence Ministry said in a statement.
• Akash was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme initiated in 1984 and is manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).
• Akash has a range of 25 kms and can simultaneously engage multiple targets in all weather conditions and has a large operational envelope from a low altitude of 30 metres to a maximum of up to 20 km. Each regiment consists of six launchers with each launcher having three missiles.
• The DAC also accorded approval for progressing design and development of Individual Under Water Breathing Apparatus (IUWBA) for T-90 Tanks.
• Developed by Defence Bioengineering and Electromedical Laboratory (DEBEL) of DRDO, the IUWBA is used by the tank crew as a safety gear and is required for emergency escape when negotiating water obstacles.
• The DAC also accorded approval for design and development of test equipment for guided weapons system of T-90 tank which have so far been imported. The equipment is being developed by DRDO and will give an indigenous solution to the test equipment used for checking the guided weapon systems of T-90 tanks, the statement added.

China raises tariffs on $60bn of US goods in technology fight

News

• China announced a tariff hike on $60 billion of S. products in response to President Donald Trump’s latest duty increasein a dispute over Beijing’s technology policy.

Beyond News

• The Finance Ministry said it was going ahead with plans announced for the increases of 10 per cent and 5 per cent on 5,207 types of U.S. goods. A list released last month included coffee, honey and industrial chemicals.
• The increase is aimed at curbing “trade friction” and the “unilateralism and protectionism of the United States,” the ministry said on its website. It appealed for “pragmatic dialogue” to jointly safeguard the principle of free trade and the multilateral trading system.
• The Trump administration announced the tariffs on some 5,000 Chinese-made goods will start at 10 percent. They are to rise to 25 per cent on January 1.
• A Commerce Ministry statement earlier said Trump’s increase “brings new uncertainty to the consultations” but there was no word on whether Beijing would back out of talks proposed last week by Washington.
• American companies and trading partners including the European Union and Japan have long standing complaints about Chinese market barriers and industrial policy. But they object to Trump’s tactics and warn the dispute could chill global economic growth and undermine international trade regulation.
• The American Chamber of Commerce in China warned Washington is underestimating Beijing’s determination to fight back.
• Trump has strained relations with potential allies including the European Union, Canada and Mexico by raising tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. He demanded Canada and Mexico renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement to make it more favorable to the United States.

HC orders total freeze on destruction of mangroves

News

• The Bombay High Court said that the State cannot permit destruction of mangroves for private, commercial or any other use unless the court finds it necessary for the public good or in public interest.

Beyond News

• The Bench has directed the State to constitute a committee headed by a divisional commissioner within one month. The committee shall be responsible for conservation of mangroves, and for restoration of reclaimed mangrove area.
• It shall hold regular meetings, the minutes of which shall be made available in the public domain. The Principal Secretaries of Environment, Revenue and Forest departments shall be in charge of ensuring total compliance with the court order.
• The court said the destruction of mangroves offends citizens’ fundamental rights under Article 21 (Right to Life) of the Constitution. As per Article 21, 47 (duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health), 48A (protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wild life) and 51 A g (to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures), it is a mandatory duty of the State and its agencies and instrumentalities to protect and preserve mangroves, it said.
• The court said that no development permission shall be granted by any authority of the government in an area under mangroves. It said all mangrove land will fall in the Coastal Region Zone (CRZ) I as per the notifications of 1991 and 2001. Any violation will attract penal provision.
• It directed the State to carry out satellite mapping of mangrove cover, and install CCTV cameras and barricades to keep a check on it. The government shall also create a grievance redressal mechanism for citizens to report destruction/removal of mangroves, it said.

Rajnath arrives in Jammu, to inaugurate smart border fence (Second Lead)

News

• Union Home Minister  arrived to inaugurate two “smart” border fencing pilot projects under the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) programme.
• Based on integrated border management system, this virtual fence would be a first-of-its-kind initiative in India, said a Home Ministry official.

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