IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-01

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16 seismometers defunct in earthquake-prone zones

News

• At least 20 out of 35 seismometers in Maharashtra are lying in a state of disrepair, and 16 of these are located in seismic zones III and IV, an official said.

A seismometer is an instrument used to measure and record earthquakes.

Seismometers defunct

• At least four seismometers in seismic zone III and 12 in zone IV are defunct, and they fall under moderate and strong earthquake categories, respectively. The procedure to induct new instruments is under way.
• A seismometer is an instrument used to measure and record earthquakes.
• Seismometers have been installed at 35 locations across Maharashtra and these instruments were commissioned from 1963 onwards. As time passed, these instruments turned defunct due to unavailability of spare parts and general wear and tear.
• At present, 20 out of 35 machines are defunct and two of them are shut as there was no need of the instrument in that particular area,superintendent engineer (dam safety) said.
• A committee has been constituted under the director of MERI to finalise the specifications for new seismometers.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-02

Ties with Japan key to stability in Indo-Pacific, says Narendra Modi

News

• India’s relationship with Japan is a key component of its vision for peace, prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defence Minister Taro Kono.

Indo-Japan defence and foreign ministerial dialogue

• The two Japanese ministers are in New Delhi to attend the first edition of Indo-Japan defence and foreign ministerial dialogue.
• In the meeting, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of all-round development in India-Japan relations for the benefit of people of the two countries as well as the region and the world, the MEA said.
• Prime Minister also conveyed to the two Japanese ministers that he was looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to India for India-Japan annual summit.
• Both India and Japan have been pushing for formulating a broad and comprehensive approach for the Indo-Pacific region for regional peace, prosperity and stability.
• China has been fast expanding military and economic influence in the Indo-Pacific region, triggering concern in various countries of the region and beyond.
• The Indo-Japan defence and foreign ministerial talks under the new two-plus-two framework are taking place following a decision taken by Mr. Modi and Mr. Abe during the 13th India-Japan annual summit last year.
• The two leaders decided to institute the new mechanism for further deepening bilateral security and defence cooperation and bring greater depth to the special strategic and global partnership between the two countries.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh holds talks with Japanese counterpart

News

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono on a range of strategic issues including the evolving security scenario in the Indo-Pacific region.

Defence and foreign ministerial talks

• The meeting took place ahead of the first edition of defence and foreign ministerial talks between the two countries.
• Singh and Mr. Kono deliberated on key facets of Indo-Japan defence and security cooperation as well as reviewed the evolving security scenario in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Both India and Japan have been pushing for formulating a broad and comprehensive approach for the Indo-Pacific for regional peace, prosperity and stability.
• In the Mr. Singh-Mr. Kono meeting, both sides also decided to further ramp up maritime security cooperation.
• India, Japan and the US have been part of the annual Malabar maritime exercise which is aimed at achieving greater inter-operability among the navies of the three countries.
• The two ministers also deliberated on deepening ties in development of weapons and military hardware under the technology transfer framework.
• In reflection of their growing congruence in defence ties, the two strategic partners have already decided to go for joint development of military platforms.
• The two sides were also learnt to have deliberated on the long-pending issue of supply of the US-2 amphibious aircraft by Japan to India.

India, Bhutan hold talks on development cooperation

News

• Execution of various developmental projects by India in Bhutanwas reviewed by the two countries at a high-level meeting.

High-level meeting

• The annual development cooperation talks is an important bilateral mechanism to review the entire gamut of India’s development partnership with Bhutan.
• India has committed an assistance of ₹4,500 crore for the implementation of development projects and ₹400 crore for transitional trade support facility during Bhutan’s 12th Five Year Plan (2018-2023).
• 51 large and intermediate projects and 359 small development projects are at various stages of implementation under the 12th five year plan of Bhutan.
• With Bhutan’s 12th five-year plan entering its second year, the two sides reviewed and expressed satisfaction at the overall progress of the ongoing projects, the MEA said in a statement.
• The two sides agreed to hold the next Development Cooperation Talks in 2020 in Thimphu on a mutually agreed date.

India and Japan ask Pakistan to take action against terror networks operating on its soil

News

• In their inaugural foreign and defence ministerial dialogue, India and Japan deliberated on the threat posed to regional peace by terror networks operating from Pakistan and asked it to take “resolute and irreversible” against them.

Take action against terror networks

• The two countries specifically called upon Islamabad to “fully comply” with its international commitments to deal with terrorism including the steps prescribed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-terror watchdog.
• In their inaugural foreign and defence ministerial dialogue, India and Japan  deliberated on the threat posed to regional peace by terror networks operating from Pakistan and asked it to take “resolute and irreversible” against them.
• The two countries specifically called upon Islamabad to “fully comply” with its international commitments to deal with terrorism including the steps prescribed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-terror watchdog.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-03

Two soldiers killed after getting hit by avalanche in Siachen

News

• Two soldiers were killed after an Army Patrol was hit by an avalanche on Southern Siachen glacier at approximately 18,000 feet.
• Two weeks back, four Army personnel and two civilian porters were killed on the Northern Siachen glacier after being hot by an avalanche at around 19,000 feet.

Avalanche

• An avalanche (also called a snowslide) is an event that occurs when a cohesive slab of snow lying upon a weaker layer of snow fractures and slides down a steep slope.
• Avalanches are typically triggered in a starting zone from a mechanical failure in the snowpack (slab avalanche) when the forces of the snow exceed its strength but sometimes only with gradual widening (loose snow avalanche).
• After initiation, avalanches usually accelerate rapidly and grow in mass and volume as they entrain more snow. If the avalanche moves fast enough, some of the snow may mix with the air forming a powder snow avalanche, which is a type of gravity current.

Fossil reveals how middle ear evolved

News

• Researchers have unearthed well-preserved middle ear bones from a new species of an extinct rodent that lived 145-66 million years ago in what is now northeastern China, an advance that may lead to better understanding of the evolution of hearing.

Evolution of hearing

• The studylooked at fossils of the extinct rodent-like mammal Jeholbaatar kielanae at Jehol Biota of China, and noted that these animals had a middle ear that is distinct from those of its relatives.
• The researchers said the evolution of the rodent’s bones and muscles involved in hearing may have been driven by specialisation for hearing. The fossil clues provide solid evidence of the morphology and formation of the inner ear bones, which are fully detached from the lower jaw.
• According to the researchers, the bones reveal a unique configuration with more complete components than those previously reported in these creatures.
• The new fossil reveals a transitional stage in the evolution of the surangular a “reptilian” jawbone.
• Based on the new findings, the scientists speculated that in a class of extinct mammals, the joints connecting the middle ear to the eardrum, and those connecting bones in the cheek region to the lower jaw may have evolved in tandem, allowing a distinct jaw movement while chewing.
• They suggested that in these extinct mammals, the evolution of the middle ear may have probably been triggered by functional constraints on the bones and muscles involved in feeding.

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