IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-01

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Odisha delta site is 3,600 years old

News

• The Archaeological Survey of India, which had discovered ancient artefacts and grain during excavations at Bharati Huda in Jallarpur village in Odisha’s Cuttack district last year, said a rural settlement had thrived at the site about 3600 years ago.

Findings

• The age of the settlement was arrived at after radiocarbon dating of charcoal samples found at the site by the Inter University Accelerator Centre (IUAC) in New Delhi using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS).
• This excavation confirmed that a separate ethnic group that was using non-black-and-red ware might have existed during the early chalcolithic cultural horizon and a new class of ethnic group might have come into contact with the rural settlers at Bharati Huda during mature phase of chalcolithic culture.
• The report says the charcoal samples found in Layer three of the excavation dated backed to 1072 BCE, Layer 4 to 1099 BCE, Layer 5 to 1269 BCE and Layer 7 to 1404 BCE. Radiocarbon ages were calibrated using Oxcal software and median ages are utilized in this report. Scientific study of two more layers could push the age back by another 100 years.
• A new religious belief emerged in the form of nature worship as evident from a single specimen of the Sun motif found arrayed in chocolate-slipped pottery.
• The world famous Sun temple of Konark, located some 30 kilometres from the excavation, was built in the 13th century CE. The tradition of Sun worship seems to have evolved with human settlements in the region.
• The excavated remains indicate existence of Chalcolithic culture in the valley as attested by the presence of mud structural remains, large quantity of potsherds, ground and polished stone tools, bone tools, beads of semi-precious stones, terracotta objects, huge quantity of faunal remains and carbonized grains. It was confirmed by the scientific dating done by IUAC, New Delhi.
• According to the archaeologist, the inhabitants practised agriculture and animal husbandry as attested by the findings of domesticated variety of rice and jute and evidence of domesticated cattle among the faunal remains as well as terracotta bull figurine.

Source: Hindu

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-02

China no longer top trading partner of U.S.

News

• As a result of their ongoing trade war, China is no longer the top trading partner of the United States and has been replaced by America’s neighbours Mexico and 

Beyond News

• In the first half of the year, Mexico was the top trading partner of the United States followed by Canada, the latest official data reveals.
• As a result of the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China, imports from China to the U.S. dropped by 12 % and America’s export to China fell by 19 %.
• After coming to power, Mr. Trump has imposed 25 % import tariff on chinese products worth $250 billion.
• Another 10 % tarrif on products worth $300 billion will come into effect on September 1.
• According to a Commerce Department report, the total value of bilateral goods exchanged with China fell 14 per cent in the first half of the year to $271.04 billion.
• After holding the top spot among US trading partners from 2015 to 2018, China now sits at No. 3 and now smaller than Mexico for the first time since 2005.

Source: Hindu

U.K. updates advisory for British nationals to be “vigilant” in J&K

News

• The UK government updated the travel advisory for its citizens travelling to Jammu and Kashmir, warning them to “remain vigilant” and up to date with developments, citing reports in the media over a heightened security threat in the state.

Beyond News

• The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) updated its advisory a day after the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir suspended the annual Amarnath yatra due to security reasons, and issued an advisory asking pilgrims and tourists to return as soon as possible.
• The FCO warned against travel to the state, and to tourist destinations of Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sonamarg.
• In its regular India-related travel advisory, the FCO advises against all travel to the immediate vicinity of the border with Pakistan, other than at Wagah and Jammu and Kashmir, except for travel within the city of Jammu, travel by air to the city of Jammu, and travel within the region of Ladakh.
• The government’s advice extends to “all but essential travel” to the city of Srinagar and between the cities of Jammu and Srinagar on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
• The broad advice to British citizens travelling to India also includes a warning that the risk of a terrorist attack remains “very likely”.
• The purpose of the FCO travel advice is to provide information and advice to help British nationals make informed decisions about foreign travel to different destinations around the world.
• The country-wise guide, available online, is kept under constant review to be updated in light to developing incidents or threats in a particular region around the world.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-03

Tigers in India face lurking threat from virus

News

• The the loss of habitat, a decline of prey and poaching continues to be a threat to tigers’ survival. Along with these, a potential virus Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) that can be transmitted from CDV-infected dogs living in and around wildlife sanctuaries has started to raise concern among wildlife biologists.

Beyond News

• Canine distemper is a contagious and serious disease caused by a virus that attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous systems of puppies and dogs.
• A recent study notes that 86% of the tested dogs around Ranthambhore National Park in Rajasthan carried CDV antibodies in their bloodstream. This means that the dogs are either currently infected or have been infected sometime in their life and have overcome the disease.
• This finding points out that there is an increased risk of disease transfer from the dogs to tigers and leopards that live in the park.
• Last year, over 20 lions from the Gir forest succumbed to the viral infection and now a guideline has been prepared by the National Tiger Conservation Authority to prevent the spillover of the disease to wild animals.
• The main aim should be to vaccinate the free-ranging and domestic dogs in the area around national parks. A lot of NGOs have started started animal birth control programmes.
• The disease needs to be recognised and more targeted studies need to be initiated to collect baseline data on CDV from wherever they are reported from in wild carnivores.
• Understanding the role of domestic animals as contributors to a local CDV reservoir is imperative precursor in considering control measures.

Source: Down to earth

Army foils Pakistan attack bid in J&K’s Keran sector

News

• Pakistan made fresh bids to attack forward posts in J&K and up to seven members of the country’s Border Action Team have been killed in retaliatory fire.

Beyond News

• An attack of the Pakistan’s Border Action Team on a forward post along the Line of Control (LoC) was foiled in Kupwara’s Keran Sector, which left five to seven Pakistan Army regulars or terrorists dead. The Army will continue to foil Pakistan’s nefarious designs.
• The Army said a number of attempts were made by Pakistan Army to attack forward posts and disturb peace in J&K.
• The Army also killed four Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militants in the Shopian and Sopore encounters. “There is attempt to disrupt peace in J&K,” he added.
• In Poonch district, Pakistan troops violated ceasefire by resorting to mortar shelling and small arms firing on forward posts and villages along the Line of Control.
• The firing from across the border started in Mendhar sector, prompting a strong and effective retaliation by the Indian Army.
• In July, two soldiers and a 10-day-old baby were killed and several civilians injured in heavy shelling and firing by Pakistan in the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu region.

Chennai’s flood mitigation project 

News

• The ambitious ₹3,000-crore proposal to implement a comprehensive flood mitigation project for Greater Chennai and its peri-urban areas in Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts may take off in six months.

Beyond News

• The Central government recently gave its nod to the proposal and has recommended it to the World Bank for loan assistance.
• A detailed project report has been submitted to the World Bank for funding. The project, which was proposed by the Commissionerate of Revenue and Disaster Management, will also cover other vulnerable coastal districts such as Cuddalore, Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi.
• The various projects in different river basins, including lower Palar, Araniyar and Kosasthalaiyar, when implemented, will help reduce the vulnerability of several localities to floods.
• An additional storage of nearly 4.76 thousand million cubic feet will also be created to cater to the drinking water needs of the city and its fringes, said sources in the Water Resources Department (WRD). Such interventions will not only mitigate floods but also strengthen the city’s capacity to tackle drought.
• Besides forming new reservoirs to store surplus flood water in the Adyar and the Kovalam basins, riverine reservoirs will also be built in major waterways, including in the Adyar river, at a cost of ₹80 crore.
• Flood banks will be raised to create a riverine reservoir, a storage structure in the river.
• Nearly 21 cut-and-cover macro drains will be built between waterbodies to bridge the missing links in surplus channels and reduce water logging in neighbouring areas.
• For instance, macro drains will be constructed to carry surplus water from waterbodies in Irumbuliyur and Peerkankaranai to the Adyar river.
• Various structures, including check dams, recharge wells and sub-surface dykes, will be constructed in rivers as part of the project, to enhance groundwater recharge and storage.

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