aditya
12:56
GS SCORE Current Affairs January 2022 Week 4 PDF
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Thursday, January 27, 2022
The HINDU Notes – 27th January 2022
aditya
12:49
📰 Spot-billed pelicans dying en masse in Naupada swamp
Nematode infestation triggers mass mortality; only 200 birds left
•A nematode infestation has led to mass mortality of spot-billed pelicans (Pelicanus philippensis) at Telineelapuram Important Bird Area (IBA) in Naupada swamp of Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh.
•Over 150 spot-billed pelicans have succumbed to the infestation since December, according to Forest officials, with 21 birds dying in the past 72 hours alone.
•As of Wednesday, nearly 200 adult spot-billed pelicans are surviving in the habitat, where they are breeding during their annual sojourn in the swamp. If the mortality rate continues unchecked, the species is likely to disappear completely from the swamp in a matter of days.
•Only adult birds have succumbed to the infestation till date. Until now, in South India, the Telineelapuram IBA is the prime winter sojourn for the spot-billed pelican for breeding. The same IBA is also a breeding habitat for the painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala).
•Wildlife Institute of India (WII-Dehradun) expert in animal ecology, migration, and movement studies Dr. R. Suresh Kumar spoke to The Hindu regarding the mass deaths. “Preliminary inquiry suggests that nematode infestation is the cause for the death of the spot-billed pelicans that prey on nearby water bodies. The nematode parasite is suspected to be transferred through fish and snails in particular, when the birds prey in the aqua ponds. At Telineelapuram IBA, the death rate is a case of mass mortality,” he said.
•Dr. Suresh Kumar had studied the mortality of spot-billed pelicans in Karnataka State between 2017-19. “In Karnataka, the nematode infestation has started taking a toll on spot-billed pelicans since 2017. Post-2019, the death toll had fallen. In all the affected habitats, only the spot-billed pelican is dying due to the infestation. No other species has been affected,” he observed.
Locals alerted
•“Until now, the mortality of spot-billed pelican has been reported in groups. There is no impact on painted stork which breeds in the same habitat. The post-mortem reports have certified parasitic (nematode) infestation as the cause of death,” said Srikakulam In-Charge District Forest Officer S. Venkatesh.
•“Aquaculture management practices surrounding the habitat are said to be the source for the parasite. We have alerted the locals and steps are being taken to prevent further death toll of the migrant bird species,” added Mr. Venkatesh.
•The nematode infestation would not spread from one species to another species as per the studies carried out by the experts in Karnataka State. “The way the infestation transfers from the fish, snails, and invertebrates is complex. It is purely related to water and aqua ponds,” said Dr. Suresh Kumar.
•The spot-billed pelican is capable of hunting huge fish from the water bodies and swamps and thus, it is vulnerable to infestation. Thousands of spot-billed pelicans and a few hundred painted storks migrate from the Siberian region to breed in the Telineelapuram IBA and a majority of them prefer to stay here instead of going back home.
📰 India probes China, Vietnam over ‘dumping’ of vinyl tiles
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Shankar IAS Complete Civil Services Interview Material PDF
aditya
19:02
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Daily Current Affairs, 25th January 2022
aditya
18:46
1) National Voters Day celebrated on January 25
•India observes “National Voters’ Day” every year on January 25 to encourage more young voters to take part in the political process. Election Commission of India is celebrating 12th National Voters Day on 25th January 2022. The theme for this year’s NVD, ‘Making Elections Inclusive, Accessible and Participative’, envisages focus on ECI’s commitment to facilitate the active participation of voters during the elections and to make the complete process hassle-free and a memorable experience for all categories of voters.
2) Himachal Pradesh and Haryana govts tie-up for construction of Adi Badri Dam
•Governments of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana have signed an MoU at Panchkula, for the construction of Adi Badri Dam that would come upon 77 acres in Himachal Pradesh near the Adi Badri area of Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana. The proposed dam aims for the rejuvenation of the Saraswati river with an estimated cost of Rs 215.35 crore.
3) Govt appoints Vinodanand Jha as new chairperson to PMLA Adjudicating Authority
•Vinodanand Jha has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Adjudicating Authority, for a period of 5 years. Jha is a 1983-batch retired IRS officer, who was serving as the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax in Pune before this.
4) 29 Children Awarded Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2022
•Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP) for the year 2022 has been conferred to 29 children. These winners include 15 Boys and 14 Girls, belonging to 21 States and UTs. The PMRBP award is given by the Government of India to children with exceptional abilities and outstanding accomplishments in 6 categories. The award carries a cash prize of Rs.1,00,000/-.
5) AIIB invests USD 150 million in data center development to serve emerging Asia
•Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a multilateral development bank has committed USD 150 million to invest in the development of data centres that mostly serve emerging Asia. This project is being AIIB’s 1st data centre project. India is a key founding member of AIIB. AIIB’s investment of USD 100 million through a parallel fund structure and USD 50 million through co-investments mark the final close of KDCF II, a development fund making strategic investments in the fast-growing data center sector with a focus on the Asia Pacific.
•The project is aligned with AIIB’s thematic priorities of Connectivity and Regional Cooperation, Green Infrastructure and Private Capital Mobilization. It will also support Alpha in developing climate finance monitoring indicators, incorporating the joint MDB methodology for tracking climate finance and an Environmental and Social Management System at the Fund level. This partnership benefits AIIB’s geographical diversification given the diverse pipeline covering Southeast Asia and East Asia, among other regions across Asia Pacific.
6) India’s Koozhangal gets the best film award at Dhaka International Film Festival
•P S Vinothraj directed film Koozhangal from India won the best film award in the Asian Film Competition section at the 20th Dhaka International Film Festival. Information and Broadcasting Minister of Bangladesh Hasan Mahmud gave away the awards as Chief Guest during the concluding session organised at the National Museum auditorium in Dhaka.
7) CDRI Develops Omicron Testing Kit named “OM”
•CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) has developed an indigenous RT-PCR diagnostic kit, ‘Om’, for the testing of the Omicron variant of coronavirus. It is the first kit made by any government institution, and the third to be made indigenously, for specific testing of Omicron. Currently, two more such kits developed by private players are available in the market. The kit will give test results in around two hours.
8) ‘Jai Bhim’ & Marakkar shortlisted for the Oscars 2022
•Indian Movie’s Jai Bhim and Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham have been officially shortlisted for the Oscars 2022. Jai Bhim is the fourth Indian film to get nominated for Oscars after Mother India, Salaam Bombay, and Lagaan. Marakkar Arabikadalinte Simham has been also nominated for the Global Community Oscar Awards 2021. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has released the list of 276 films eligible for the awards this year.
•Not just Jai Bhim and Marakkar, directors Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s Writing with Fire, a film about a newspaper run by Dalit women, has been shortlisted in the Best Documentary Feature category at the Oscars 2022. The voting for the nominations will begin on January 27 and conclude on February 1. The nominations will be announced on February 8. The 94th Academy Awards will be held on March 27.
Pulkit Singh [Rank – 26, 2020] TOPPERS NOTES PDF
aditya
10:37
Pulkit Singh [Rank – 26, 2020] TOPPERS NOTES PDF
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The HINDU Notes – 25th January 2022
aditya
10:27
📰 In conjunction: On evolution of democratic society
Individual obligation is meaningful only when rights are guaranteed by the state
•The evolution of a democratic society is centred around the expansion of rights — civil, political, economic and cultural, leading to the empowerment of people. Democratic nations respect individual and group rights for moral and instrumental reasons. Duties, both legal and moral, are cherished in order to reinforce those rights. The obligations of the individual to the collective must be understood in that context; rights and duties complement each other, just as responsibility comes with freedom. Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to suggest a dichotomy between the rights and duties of citizens when he said last week that the country had wasted a lot of time “fighting for rights” and “neglecting one’s duties”. His speech was not the first time that he or other Hindutva protagonists have called for a foregrounding of duties over rights. Service and the sacrifices of nameless and faceless nation-builders have formed the bedrock of the modern Indian Republic, but their sacrifices were indeed for rights, dignity and autonomy. Any notion of rights and duties being adversarial or hierarchical is sophistic. The Indian Constitution enshrines equality and freedom as fundamental rights, along with the right against exploitation, freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights, and the right to constitutional remedies. The deepening of Indian democracy has led to an expansion of rights — education, information, privacy, etc. are now legally guaranteed rights. The state’s fidelity to these rights is tenuous at best. Citizens are generally duty-bound to protect the integrity and the sovereignty of the country, and this is true for India though there is no conscription. Other constitutional duties expected include a duty to promote harmony and brotherhood, and to develop scientific temper, humanism and a spirit of inquiry.
•Any shift in state policy emphasis from rights to duties will be absurd and a disservice to many for whom the realisation of even fundamental rights is still a work in progress. An enlightened citizenry is critical to progress and good governance. But duty is not something that the citizens owe to the state. The obligation of individual citizens to the collective pursuit of a nation can be meaningful when their rights are guaranteed by the state. The citizen has a right to use a public road, and a duty to obey traffic rules. The right and the duty are meaningful only in conjunction. The Prime Minister’s comments come against this backdrop — formal and informal restrictions on the rights of citizens are on the rise along with coercive powers of the state. The emphasis on duty along with the de-emphasis of rights also raises the spectre of a descent into pre-Republican norms in social relations. The celebration of India as a traditionally duty-driven society carries with it the inescapable connotation of an exploitative division of labour and norms that are antithetical to constitutionalism. Needless to say, that is not progress.
📰 Dealing with the macroeconomic uncertainties
Monday, January 24, 2022
Geography Interview Questions For UPSC CSE PDF
aditya
13:39
Geography Interview Questions For UPSC CSE PDF
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