IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-01

Lockdown air: less NO2, same PM2.5 and more urban ozone

News

• While traffic pollution has been falling, the lockdown may be leading to the generation of a dangerous pollutant, urban ozone, which can cause airway inflammation in humans.
• The research is specific to the UK.

Nitrogen oxides: Levels of nitrogen oxides were found reduced in most locations in the UK during mid-March and April.

• The level of decline ranges from 20% to 80%. Levels of nitrogen oxides fall less in rural areas than urban areas; and they are higher in the morning than compared to later in the day.

PM2.5: There was no evidence of a decrease in PM2.5.

• While these particle are produced by vehicles, they are also known to originate from domestic wood burning and chemical reactions involving emissions from industry and agriculture, so there has been no significant improvement in air quality in that regard.

Urban ozone: The Manchester team speculated that photochemical production of ozone may become more important in urban areas during summertime in these low conditions of oxides of nitrogen.

• As nitrogen oxides reduce, photochemical production may become more efficient and can lead to higher ozone concentrations in the summertime as higher temperatures increase emissions of biogenic hydrocarbon from natural sources such as trees. These biogenic hydrocarbons significantly affect urban ozone levels.
• While ozone is important for screening harmful solar UV radiation when present higher up in the atmosphere, it can be a dangerous at the Earth’s surface, and can react to destroy or alter many biological molecules.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-02

Nepal for bilateral talks to resolve Mansarovar link road dispute

News

• A day after a diplomatic face-off between India and Nepal over the construction and inauguration of a link road, the Nepal government said it believed that bilateral talks between Nepal and India were the most preferred option to sort out what it called the encroachment of around 400 sq km area east of Kali river in the tri-junction of Nepal, Tibet and India.
• These comments came as frayed tempers and anti-India sentiment dominated Nepal’s Parliament.

Bilateral talks

• Both sides are in the process of “scheduling foreign secretary-level talks”, which will be held once dates are finalised between after the two societies and governments have successfully dealt with the challenge of Covid-19.
• Nepal’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali said in the foreign relations committee of Parliament and the House of Representatives that India building the link road to Mansarovar via Lipulekh including a 19-km stretch in Nepali territory “without even responding to our diplomatic note” was objectionable.
• The minister said it was evident from the variation in subsequent maps published by India that there was manipulation including Nepali area in India.

Ensure migrant workers don’t walk home, counsel them: Centre to states

News

• The Centre has asked states to ensure migrant labourers do not walk on the road or railway tracks to reach home.
• It has asked them to counsel such labourers and put them in shelters.

Safety of migrant workers

• The development comes in the backdrop of 16 migrant labourers being crushed to death by a train near Aurangabad last week, and many also meeting fatal accidents routinely on roads while attempting to walk back to their homes amid the coronavirus lockdown,
• The Centre has asked states not to restrict the movement of doctors and healthcare workers as it could jeopardise Covid-19 fighting efforts. This follows after many cities such as Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad did not allow doctors to commute to Delhi recently.
• It had asked states to cooperate with the railways in running more number of ‘Shramik’ special trains so that the travel of stranded migrant workers is facilitated at a faster rate.
• It has asked states to ensure that its field officials “allow smooth movement of all medical professionals, nurses, para medical, sanitation personnel and ambulances, and ensure the opening of all private clinics, nursing homes and labs with all their medical professional and staff” not only within the state but also inter-State, wherever required”.

Amid lockdown, 50% fewer farm suicides in Punjab 

News

• Amid reports of economy taking a brutal hit, the ongoing coronavirus induced lockdown has managed to do what farm loan waivers and debt write-offs couldn’t do in last three years in Punjab. The state has witnessed a sharp decline in cases of suicides by farmers and farm labourers.

Decline in cases of suicides by farmers

• In the two months of March and April this year, Punjab recorded a 50% decrease in such suicides as compared to the corresponding period in previous years.
• Punjab government had imposed curfew in state, two days before Prime Minister announced the nationwide lockdown that came into effect.
• As per the data sourced from the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan), a total of 16 farmers and farm labourers took the extreme step in April this year while 27 killed themselves in March this year.
• Ninety one such suicides 41 in April and 50 in March were reported in the corresponding period last year. The figure was 80, 30 in April and 50 in March in 2018.
• Compared to last year, 61 per cent fewer suicides were reported in April this year, and 47 per cent less when compared to 2018.
• Similarly, 46 per cent less suicides by farmers and farm labourers were recorded in March this year, compared to corresponding month last year and 2018.
• Punjab contributes maximum 46 per cent of wheat to the central pool. Despite a major shortage of labour, both in the fields and the mandis, Punjab has already procured 11.5 million tonnes of grain out of 13.5 million tonnes that it has to contribute to the central pool.

INS Kesari sets sail on Covid aid mission to Indian Ocean countries

News

• With New Delhi’s enhanced focus on the Indian Ocean region in the wake of an assertive and proactive China, the government has sent Indian Naval ship Kesari to Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles, carrying on board two medical assistance teams, consignments of Covid-related essential medicines and essential food items.

Covid aid mission

• This is the first time that a single assistance mission is covering all island countries of the western Indian Ocean in one go except Sri Lanka, for which a second set of medicines have been airlifted.
• This exhibits the contiguity of the government’s Indian Ocean policy, it also implicitly conveys the inclusion of Madagascar and Comoros as part of the ‘Indian Ocean vision’.
• The medical teams will be deployed in Mauritius and Comoros, helping their governments deal with the pandemic and, in the case of Comoros, with dengue fever also.
• The mission comes on the heels of ‘Operation Samudra Setu’ which is a part of New Delhi’s efforts to repatriate citizens stranded abroad.
• Kesari will deliver consignments of Covid-related medicines to Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles and about 600 tonnes of food items to Maldives. In addition, in case of Mauritius, a special consignment of Ayurvedic medicines is also being sent.
• The consignments meant for Madagascar and Comoros also includes Hydroxychloroquine tablets, which have already been sent earlier to Mauritius, Maldives and Seychelles.
• The operation, named ‘Mission Sagar’ (PM Modi’s concept of SAGAR Security and Growth for All in the Region), also displays rising salience of the IOR in MEA’s policy-making.
• Mission Sagar “is in consonance with the Prime Minister’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region SAGAR and highlights the importance accorded by India to relations with her neighbouring countries and further strengthens the existing bond.”

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-03

Currency with public continues to swell in line with coronavirus lockdown extension

News

• Currency in the hand of the public continued its surge for the fortnight ended April 24 as it rose by Rs 33,524 crore to hit a new high of Rs 24.28 lakh crore.
• With this, currency with the public since the announcement of the lockdown has gone up by Rs 82,972 crore.

Currency with public

• The rise in currency with the public comes despite appeals by the government and the RBI to use digital payment tools amidst the coronavirus outbreak.
• With this, currency with the public has now increased by 15.9 per cent to Rs 3.32 lakh crore from April 2019.Banks have parked close to Rs 8.5 lakh crore with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at 3.75 per cent (reverse repo rate) and bank credit to the commercial sector declined by Rs 1,19,597 crore to Rs 109.19 lakh crore in March and April, indicating the unwillingness of banks to lend.
• The currency in circulation has been rising sharply since the beginning of March when the virus started spreading across the United States and Europe, and fresh cases were also reported in India.
• RBI data shows that since February 28, currency with the public has jumped by Rs 1.69 lakh crore or an average fortnightly increase of Rs 42,263 crore.
• According to the RBI, currency with the public is arrived at after deducting cash with banks from total currency in circulation. Currency in circulation refers to the cash or currency within a country that is physically used to conduct transactions between consumers and businesses.
• According to banking experts, the rise in cash with the public indicates more usage of cash for transactional purposes. This may have also prompted more withdrawals at ATMs to support the same level of currency demand.
• The RBI has been pushing for digital payments since the announcement of the lockdown, with RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das even coming on social media and TV channels with the campaign of “Pay digital, stay safe”.

Indian and Chinese troops clash in Sikkim, Ladakh

News

• Rekindling tensions over boundary claims, Indian and Chinese troops have clashed at two points along the Line of Actual Control this week, leaving personnel injured on both sides.

Tensions over boundary

• The incidents took place in the Naku La sector it’s a mountain pass in Sikkim at an altitude of over 5000 metres, and in a contested area near Pangong Tso, a lake in Ladakh, on the night of May 5-6.
• A Colonel and a Major, were among the Indian personnel injured in the Ladakh clash. Two Chinese helicopters also arrived on their side of the LAC after an Indian helicopter, carrying a senior officer, flew in the vicinity of the contested zone.
• Following the Naku La incident, the Army said, “temporary and short duration faceoffs between border guarding troops do occur as boundaries are not resolved”.
• Aggressive behaviour by the two sides resulted in minor injuries to troops. The two sides disengaged after dialogue and interaction at local level.
• It is learnt that Chinese troops attacked Indian soldiers on patrol in the area. They were carrying batons studded with nails and this caused serious injuries to several Indian soldiers, some of whom had to be hospitalised.
• The Indian troops, also hit back at the Chinese soldiers, and the confrontation continued until senior officers from both sides intervened. The area is said to be on a high state of alert.
• Sources said there had been another faceoff in the end of April but that had been amicably resolved.
• The last such clash on the LAC in Ladakh took place in September 2019 on the north bank of the Pangong lake.

2,415 wheat stubble burning incidents so far, 6% higher than last year

News

• As the wheat harvesting season draws to a close in Punjab, the state has witnessed 1,455 incidents of stubble burning in the last three days.
• Despite the lockdown, Punjab has crossed the tally of farm fires this season compared to the corresponding period last year.

Stubble burning

• Stubble burning incidents reported were much higher than the same day last year. In this season, Punjab has already recorded 6 per cent more field fires than last year.
• Total 2,415 farm fire incidents have been recorded in Punjab during this season from April 15 to May 10 against 2,276 fires during same period in 2019.
• According to Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC), Ludhiana, under Punjab Pollution Control (PPCB) on May 8 and 9, Punjab witnessed 664 and 545 fires respectively against 214 and 360 fires on May 8 and 9 in  2019, respectively. On these two days this year, 53 per cent more fires were recorded comparing to last year.
• The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Punjab is still between Satisfactory to Moderate. Experts said that the cases in Majha will increase in the coming days because wheat harvesting has just taken place in the Majha region.
• Punjab has around 50,000 stubble management machines but still, farmers are finding burning an easy solution.

Discovery of new lizard species in north Kerala turns scanner on illegal mining

News

• In a significant discovery, a team of researchers have stumbled upon two lizard species in northern Kerala, one of which has been documented in a hilly region prone to persistent illegal mining.

Importance

• The discovery underlines the importance of protecting such regions in the already-vulnerable Western Ghats from unplanned developmental activities.

Prone to persistent illegal mining

• The Cnemaspis chengodumalaensis is named after the Chengodumala region in Kozhikode district, where it is naturally found within crevices of rocks. It is a nocturnal gecko endemic to the Western Ghats.
• The Chengodumala hills has been prone to indiscriminate granite mining over several decades and has the local villagers and activists demanding a reassessment of the environment impact study of the quarry.
• With the discovery, their concerns about the lack of a proper biodiversity survey have been justified, indicating the need for a change in policies before permits are handed out to quarry developers.
• The other species, Cnemaspis zacharyi, has been found in the hills of neighbouring Wayanad district, which has also been prone to adverse effects of climate change arising out of activities like deforestation, propping of plantations and illegal mining.
• Researchers say both species can be differentiated from all other Indian congeners by a suite of distinct morphological and genetic characters.
• Both the lizard species, though referred to as day geckos, are actually nocturnal in nature. They are terrestrial creatures and live in crevices of rocks. They are classified as ‘critically endangered’ by IUCN.

RBI gold reserves up 40.4 tonnes in 2019-20, more than half of total holdings held overseas

News

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bought 40.45 tonnes of gold in financial year 2019-20, taking its total holdings of the yellow metal to 653.01 tonnes.

Gold reserves

• The RBI’s total gold reserves were 612.56 tonnes in the preceding fiscal ended March 2019. With the addition of more stocks, the value of gold reserves rose to $30.57 billion (around Rs 2,32,000 crore) by March 2020 from $23.07 billion in March 2019.
• As much as 360.71 tonnes of gold was held overseas in safe custody with the Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements, while the remaining gold is held domestically, the RBI said in its ‘Report on Management of Foreign Exchange Reserves’.
• In value terms (USD), the share of gold in the total foreign exchange reserves rose from about 5.59 per cent as of March 2019 to about 6.40 per cent by March 2020.
• Gains or losses on valuation of foreign currency assets and gold due to movements in the exchange rates and/or price of gold are booked under a balance sheet head named the Currency and Gold Revaluation Account (CGRA). The balances in CGRA provide a buffer against exchange rate/gold price fluctuations.
• Out of the reserves, $263.4 billion is invested in securities abroad and $147.5 billion is deposited in other central banks. The RBI has the mandate to invest up to $5 billion in bonds issued by the India Infrastructure Finance Company (UK) Ltd. As of March 2020, the amount invested in such bonds stood at $1.86 billion.

Bengaluru airport voted as best regional airport in India & Central Asia

News

• The Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru has won this year’s SKYTRAX Award for Best Regional Airport in India and Central Asia, said Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL).

Best Regional Airport

• BIAL said that the airport was voted by customers as the Best Regional Airport in India & Central Asia for the third time in four years at the 2020 World Airport Awards.
• The Awards are based on the World Airport Survey questionnaires completed by over 100 nationalities of airport customers during the 6-month survey period. The survey evaluated the customer experience across airport service and product key performance indicators from check- in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security and immigration through to departure at the gate.
• In the previous SKYTRAX Awards, the Bengaluru airport was adjudged the best airport in India in 2011 and the second best airport in India in 2012.