IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-01

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Cyclone Kyarr: Five killed in rain-related incidents in Karnataka

News:

Rain-related incidents claimed five lives in coastal Karnataka and Malnad regions since Thursday night, while India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday predicted more rain in the next 24 hours in parts of Karnataka because of the impact of Cyclone Kyarr.

Beyond News:

An IMD release late on Friday evening said squally winds reaching 55 to 65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph were likely to prevail along and off Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, and Raigad districts of Maharashtra, and Goa during next 12 hours and decrease to 40 to 50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph during the subsequent 12 hours.

Towards Oman

The release states, “Cyclonic storm Kyarr is very likely to move northwards during the next 12 hours and then move west-northwards towards Oman coast during the subsequent five days. It is very likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm during the next 12 hours and into a very severe cyclonic storm during the subsequent 36 hours.”

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-02

Experts urge Centre to remove trans-fatty acids by 2021

News: Consumer organizations and health experts have written to the Union Health Ministry asking it to advance the 2022 deadline for the elimination of trans-fatty acids in Indian food to 2021. Over 77,000 deaths annually are attributed to trans fats consumption in India.

Beyond News:

• As per the draft notifications of FSSAI, the limit of trans-fats in the fats/oils should will be not be more than 3% by weight on and from January 1, 2021 and not more than 2% by weight on and from January 1, 2022.
• Globally, as per the Union Health Ministry’s records, trans-fat intake results in more than 500,000 deaths of people from cardiovascular disease every year. In India, more than 77,000 deaths annually are attributed to trans-fats consumption, which is the highest in the world.
• Health experts have noted that TFA can be found both naturally and artificially in foods.
• While natural trans-fats, present in very small amounts in certain animal products and whole milk, are not considered harmful, but industrially-produced artificial trans-fats, which are manufactured by done through adding hydrogen to vegetable oil, lead to an increase in bad cholesterol (LDL) and lowering of good cholesterol (HDL). These trans-fats are largely found in vanaspati oil, margarine, bakery shortenings, and in baked and fried foods.

TN village opts for no cracker Deepavali for the sake of birds

News:

This year too, Deepavali, the Festival of Lights, would be noiseless at Kollukudipatti, which houses Vettankudi bird sanctuary, being flocked by hundreds of winter migratory birds and indigenous endangered species for several decades.

Beyond News:

• Residents of Vettankudi, Kollukudipatti, Krishnapuram and Iyyapatti had been saying a strict ‘no’ to crackers ever since birds started visiting the sanctuary in the early 1960s for nesting and breeding.
• The sanctuary had been the preferred breeding habitat for the winged visitors – mostly from European and north Asian countries.
• The sanctuary, spread across in 38.40 acres, has about 40% water and has attracted more than half a dozen species, forest department officials said. Thanks to a serene and secured atmosphere, the sanctuary has been the preferred destination for migratory birds such as grey herons, darters, spoonbills, white ibis, black ibis, openbill stork and night herons.
• Indigenous endangered species such as painted stork, grey heron, little cormorant, little egret, spotbills and pintails also preferred the sanctuary.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-03

Kerala State PCB slaps ₹10.05-crore fine on Kochi corporation

News:

The Kerala State Pollution Control Board (PCB) has fixed an Environment Compensation of ₹10.05 crore on the Kochi Corporation for the civic body’s failure to comply with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, at its Brahmapuram facility.

Beyond News:

• The PCB blamed the civic body for its failure to make improvements or take sufficient rectification measures at Brahmapuram for the last nine years. The dump site of the corporation has been functioning without the authorisation of the board as per the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
• The Environment Compensation of ₹10.05 crore will include capital cost, operation and maintenance cost and environment externalities by considering the average waste generation as 365.19 tonnes a day (April 9, 2019 to October-end based on the quantity of waste collected for May, June, and July).
•  The cost of environmental damage will be arrived by a committee of experts and officials of the Central Pollution Control Board.

Penalty: The NGT had slapped a penalty of ₹1 crore on the Kochi Corporation in October 2018 for its failure to manage solid waste. The High Court had stayed the order for two months in November 2018 on condition that the civic body shall provide a bank guarantee for ₹1 crore.

Bank guarantee: The corporation had submitted a bank guarantee of ₹50 lakh each to the State Pollution Control Board and the Central Pollution Control Board respectively following the directive.

Green firecrackers a rarity in Hyderabad

News:
A furtive industrial espionage game has turned India’s experiment with green firecrackers into a dud.

The result: Green firecrackers are a rarity and require a willingness to hunt for them through different cracker shops in the city.

Beyond News:

• Green firecrackers are supposed to cause 30% less pollution than the conventional ones.
• The manufacturers are getting the approval for crackers from Chief Controller of Explosives, but with an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) that effectively keeps the cracker know-how to a small club of manufacturers.
• It is not just the rollout of green firecrackers, but the overall confusion about the ruling of the Supreme Court that has spooked the market.
• Barium Nitrate was the specific chemical banned by the Supreme Court in 2018 as the fumes produced during its combustion are toxic.

Railways to get spectrum for captive use only: TRAI

News:

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has recommended that 5Mhz spectrum in the premium 700 MHz band may be allotted to Indian Railways, albeit only for captive use in areas such as passenger information display system, live feed of video surveillance and IoT based asset monitoring services.

Beyond News:

• In order to install an Ultra-high-speed LTE-based communication corridor for train-ground and train-train communication, the Indian Railways had asked the DoT to reserve 15 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band. Following this, the DoT sought the regulator’s recommendation on administrative allotment of spectrum to Indian Railways.
• The regulator has suggested that spectrum charges be levied on formula basis as prescribed by the Telecom Department for royalty charges and licence fee for captive use.

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