Geotail

An instrument on Chandrayaan2 named CLASS (Chandrayaan-2 Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer) has detected charged particles present on the moon soil during the orbiter’s passage through the “Geotail”.

These charged particles on the surface of the moon can help understand the complex interaction of these particles with the magnetic field.

Geotail region exists as a result of the interactions between the Solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field that obstructs its passage creating a magnetic envelope around Earth, called the magnetosphere= ~3-4 times the Earth radius (~22000 km above the surface) on the side facing the Sun, but is stretched into a long tail (geotail) on the opposite side that goes beyond the orbit of Moon. Approximately, once every 29 days, Moon traverses the geotail for about 6 days centered around full moon.

CLASS is to map the abundance of major rockforming elements on the lunar surface using the technique of X-ray fluorescence during solar flare events.

Donimalai : Iron Mining

National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is set to restart mining at Donimalai in Bellari district of Karnataka.

NMDC, which owned Donimalai mine since 1968, suspended operations in November 2018 after the Karnataka government sought 80% premium on iron mined to renew its lease for another 20 years.

NMDC is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel, Government of India

•NMDC is India’s single largest iron ore producer, presently producing about 35 million tonnes of iron ore

Saturn: 82 moons; Jupiter: 79

have been released by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Centre.

Hindu-Kush-Himalayan Region

MoES–> IMD–> collaborate with meteorological agencies in China and Pakistan, among others, to provide climate forecast services to countries in the Hindu-Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region.
•The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has proposed for establishment of regional climate centres in Islamabad, Delhi and Beijing.

•The HKH region spans Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan

traverses about 5 million square kilometres and hosts a large and culturally diverse population. •It is considered the Third Pole

contains vast cryospheric zones and is also the world’s largest store of snow and ice outside the polar region. •A recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has highlighted the threat to the HKH region from global warming.

GNSS–>

1. GLONASS
2. BEIDOU
3. GALILEO
4. QZSS- REGIONAL
5. IRNSS- REGIONAL
6. GPS

SBAS–>

1. WASS
2. EGNOSS
3. SDCM
4. BDSBAS
5. MSAS/ QZSS- SABAS
6. GAGAN

GEMINI Device

MoES–> GEMINI = A portable receiver for fishermen linked to ISRO-satellites- emergency Dissemination OSF of PFZ

GEMINI= Gagan Enabled Mariner’s Instrument for Navigation and Information
OSF= Ocean States Forecast
PFZ= Potential Fishing Zones

INCOIS is based in Hyderabad… runs the state of art Indian Tsunami Early Warning System (ITEWS).

INCOIS= Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services
ITEWS= Indian Tsunami Early Warning System

MoES–> INCOIS
•Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) in collaboration with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) utilized the GAGAN (GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation) satellite while developing the GEMINI device.
• IRSO+ AAI–> GAGAN = It is India’s first satellite-based global positioning system that relies on ISRO’s GSAT satellites.

GNSS= Augmentation of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is a method of improving the navigation system’s attributes, such as accuracy, reliability,

SBAS= Satellite-based Augmentation System is a civil aviation safety-critical system using GEO

Geostationary orbit– 35786 km –from the center of the Earth, this is ~42,164 km. This distance puts it in the high Earth orbit category.

While geosynchronous satellites can have any inclination, the key difference to geostationary orbit is the fact that they lie on the same plane as the equator.

GPS stay on Semo synchronous orbit. Geosynchronous orbits match the rotation of Earth (24 hours), semi-synchronous orbits take 12 hours to complete an orbit.

Dhruvtara- Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme-

MHRD–> Dhruvtara

•The programme will cover two areas namely, Science and Performing Arts. Overall 60 students will be selected (30 from each area) from across the country. •The students will be broadly from classes 9 to 12 from all schools including government and private.

Green Crackers

GOI has launched green firecrackers.
deveoped by CSIR + NEERI

reduce particulate matter pollution by 30%. •Green logo as well as a Quick Response (QR) coding system

had to be approved by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) and had to be free of mercury, arsenic and barium. However, compliant crackers weren’t available in the market.

improving the traditional crackers through reduction in the level of Barium Nitrate.
MoCI–> PESO
PESO is an office under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industries

IRCTC IPO

IRCTC held an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the National Stock Exchange on 30th September 2019

•The demand for Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC) IPO is unprecedented as compared to any other PSU disinvestment.

IRCTC is a debt-free company with a high marginal tax rate. •Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation •Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC) is a Mini Ratna Category-I (conferred in 2008) Central Public Sector Enterprise that is wholly-owned by and is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways.

Why Mamallapuram is chosen?

• India has chosen Mamallapuram as a symbol of India’s ‘soft power’.
• Mamallapuram is an important town of the erstwhile Pallava dynasty that ruled in parts of South India from 275 CE to 897 CE.
• The name Mamallapuram got distorted during the British era to Mahabalipuram and thus it is also known as Mahabalipuram.
• The city of Mamallapuram was founded by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I in the 7^th century AD.
  • The name Mamallapuram derives from Mamallan, or “great warrior”, a title by which the Pallava King Narasimhavarman I was known.
• It is renowned for its architecture, widely admired across the world.
• Mamallapuram and the Pallava dynasty are also historically relevant, for the earliest recorded security pact between China and India (in the early 8^th century) that involved a Pallava king (Rajasimhan, or Narasimha Varma II), from whom the Chinese sought help to counter Tibet.

Gangetic Dolphin Annual Census

WWF India+ Uttar Pradesh–> annual Ganges river Dolphin census
along Upper Ganga river basin between Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary and Narora Ramsar site.

This year the tandem boat survey method replaced the previous years’ direct counting method in order to provide a more accurate count of the endangered species

e Gangetic river dolphin is India’s national aquatic animal and is popularly known as ‘Susu’.

‘Baiji’ now likely extinct from the Yangtze River in China,
•The ‘Bhulan’ of the Indus in Pakistan,
‘Boto’ of the Amazon River in Latin America.

•IUCN Status: Endangered
•It is listed on CITES Appendix-I.
•It is classified under Schedule 1,

Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary (VGDS) in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district is India’s only sanctuary

India-China 2nd Informal SummitMamallapuram Summi

• The recent Mamallapuram Summitt has begun a “New Era of Cooperation” between India and China.
• First India- China informal summit invoked the ‘Wuhan spirit’, whereas the second informal India-China summit has called for ‘Chennai Connect.

Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu was chosen as the venue for the second informal summit between India and China, as the town had trade and cultural links with Quanzhou, a port city in Fujian province where Xi once served as governor.

In Quanzhou, recently, evidence of trade links with Tamilnadu (Pallava and Chola dynasties) that existed almost 1,400 years ago was unearthed. Tamil inscriptions and fragments of architecture reflecting a possible temple built by Tamil traders in the 12th century have been discovered. 

There was a reference to Bodhi-Dharma who had left the shores of India from Tamil Nadu and went by sea and took Zen Buddhism to China and Japan

President Xi has urged both countries to take the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2020 as an opportunity to conduct broader and deeper cultural and people-to-people exchanges and has invited PM Modi to visit China for the 3rd Informal Summit to be held next year

Chalukyan Rulers

Recently, graves of Chalukyan rulers have been unearthed in a village near Pattadakal, Karnatak
 no clear details available of the places where Chalukyan rulers lived.

Historical Background

• The Chalukyas ruled parts of Southern and Central India between the 6^th century – 12^th century.
• There were 3 distinct but related Chalukya dynasties.
  • Badami Chalukyas:
    • The earliest Chalukyas with their capital at Badami (Vatapi) in Karnataka.
    • They ruled from mid-6^th century and declined after the death of their greatest king, Pulakesin II in 642 AD.
  • Eastern Chalukyas:
    • Emerged after the death of Pulakesin II in Eastern Deccan with capital at Vengi.
    • They ruled till the 11^th century.
  • Western Chalukyas:
    • Descendants of the Badami Chalukyas, they emerged in the late 10^th century and ruled from Kalyani.

The extent of empire:

• The Chalukya dynasty reached its peak during the reign of Pulakesin II.
• Pulakesin II subjugated the Kadambas, the Gangas of Mysore, the Mauravas of North Konkan, the Latas of Gujarat, the Malavas and the Gurjars.
  • He also succeeded in getting a submission from the Chola, Chera and Pandya kings.
  • He had also defeated King Harsha of Kannauj and the Pallava king Mahendravarman.
  • He had maintained friendly relations with Khusru II, the king of Persia.

•  Chalukya kings were Hindus, they were tolerant of Buddhism and Jainism.
• They contributed to great developments in Kannada and Telugu literature.
• They imprinted coins were included Nagari and Kannada legends.

• They built cave temples depicting both religious and secular themes.
• The temples also had beautiful mural paintings.
• The temples under the Chalukyas are a good example of the Vesara style of architecture

Vesara style is a combination of Dravida and Nagara styles.

• Aihole temples: Lady Khan temple (Surya Temple), Durga temple, Huchimalligudi temple etc.
• Badami temples
• Pattadakkal Temples:
  • It is well known for rock-cut temples.
  • It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
  • There are ten temples here – 4 in Nagar style and 6 in Dravida style. Virupaksha temple and Sangameshwara Temple are in Dravida style.

Plastic invading Nicobar Islands

CSIR Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands consisting of a group of almost 572 Islands are under threat from plastic.

10 countries including India contributed to the plastic litter on the island namely, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, India, Myanmar, China, and Japan. Major portion of the litter was of Malaysian origin (40%) followed by Indonesia (23.9%) and Thailand (16.3%).

It is also violative of the law mentioned in the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships.

•Geography: They are located around 1,300 km southeast of the Indian subcontinent, across the Bay of Bengal and are home to the two most primitive tribes namely- Nicobarese & Shompens. •Species found: It is a habitat for diverse creatures including the giant robber crab, a megapode bird, the crab-eating macaque, and is also a nesting ground for leatherback sea turtles. •Ecology: The island harbors a wide spectrum of ecosystems from tropical wet evergreen forests, mountain ranges, and coastal plains. These islands also host the growth of coral reefs (the existence of which is threatened by the plastic debris & marine litter).

The island includes the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve (GNBR) which has been declared as one of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves by UNESCO. The reserve comprises of the Galathea National Park and the Campbell Bay National Park. •The Sundalands which is one of the four biodiversity hotspots in India includes the Nicobar group of Islands.

NSG 1986

The head of NSG- designated as Director General (DG), is selected and appointed by the Minister of Home Affairs.
•The motto of ‘Sarvatra, Sarvottam, Suraksha’ has always been upheld by it with a focus on its basic philosophy of swift and speedy strike and immediate withdrawal from the theatre of action

Nobel Prize

MICROBIAL FUEL CELLS

at a London Zoo, a fern started taking its own selfies. The Zoological Society of London (ZSL)

This was achieved by installing the microbial fuel cells in Pete (a maidenhair fern

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a device that converts chemical energy to electrical energy by the action of microorganisms

James Peebles for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology,– importance of the cosmic radiation during birth of the Big Bang was realized by him. •James Peebles also interpreted traces from the infancy of the universe and discovered new physical processes— 95% = dark matter.

Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for discovering an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.— The discovery of exoplanet 51 Pegasi b, started a “revolution in astronomy”.
•51 Pegasi b is a gaseous ball comparable with Jupiter.
•Ever since 4,000 exoplanets have been found in the Milky Way Galaxy.

early 1970s, Dr. Whittingham developed the first functional lithium battery. •Dr. Goodenough doubled the lithium battery’s potential, creating the right conditions for a vastly more powerful and useful Ebattery

Gregg L. Semenza was awarded the Prize for the discovery of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) protein

•Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe (Professor at Oxford University), earned his share of the Prize for discovering a mechanism common to all cells of the human body. When oxygen levels are low in the cells, this mechanism signals the kidneys to produce more RBC

•William G. Kaelin (Professor at Harvard University) received the Prize for his work investigating a genetic syndrome called Von Hippel-Lindau’s (VHL) disease

Economics— introduced a new approach to obtain reliable answers about the best ways to fight global poverty. Their approach divides the larger issue into smaller ones that could be easily examined to find out the solution to the problem.
•The 3 adopted an evidence-based approach to apply their theory to real-life situations using randomized trials and then assessing the outcomes.

Nobel Peace Prize – 2019 has been awarded to AAA= Abiy Ahmed Ali, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea.

• Abiy Ahmed Ali, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia ended 20 years war with neighboring Eritrea.
• The two countries resumed trade, diplomatic, and travel ties and started “a new era of peace and friendship” in the war-bloodied Horn of Africa.

 Boundary Commission in 2002 –> Badme was awarded to Eritrea.

GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX-201

Annual publication that is jointly prepared by the Concern Worldwide (an Irish agency) and the Welt Hunger Hilfe (a German organization).
•The report is based on 4 GHI indicators namely–> USWM– undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting, and child mortality.

102/117- 2019
95/116- 2010

India’s child wasting rate is highest for any country – 20.8%

•According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), child wasting is a strong predictor of mortality among children (under 5 yrs. of age).

Global Tuberculosis Report 2019: WHO

TB remains the top infectious killer in the world claiming over 4,000 lives a day. •Number of TB Cases: Geographically, most TB cases in 2018 were in the WHO regions of South-East Asia (44%), Africa (24%) and the Western Pacific (18%).

Eight countries that accounted for two thirds of the global total include India (27%), China (9%) and Indonesia (8%).

•Intensified research and development is required to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and End TB Strategy targets set for 2030

WHO End TB Strategy •The strategy aims to end the global TB epidemic, with targets to reduce TB deaths by 95% and to cut new cases by 90% between 2015 and 2035, and to ensure that no family is burdened with catastrophic expenses due to TB. •It sets interim milestones for 2020, 2025, and 2030.

20th Livestock Census

MoFAHD–>released the 20th Livestock Census report… done every 5 years.

The total Livestock population is 535.78 million in the country showing an increase of 4.6% over Livestock Census-2012. •West Bengal observed the highest increase of 23%, followed by Telangana (22%).

sharp increase in cross-bred cattle and higher female indigenous cattle population.

total exotic/crossbred cattle has increased by 27%

•Cross-bred animals contributed around 28% to India’s total milk production in 2018-19. •The milch population of exotic and crossbred cattle such as Jersey or Holsteins shows higher milk yields and thus farmers prefer animals yielding more milk. •A decline of 6% in the total indigenous cattle population has been observed.

Total Bovine population (Cattle, Buffalo, Mithun and Yak) has shown an increase of about 1%.

Rangdum Monastery

ASI= Archaeological Survey of India is planning to declare the Rangdum Monastery located in Ladakh (Kargil district) as a monument of national importance.

•It is the 18th century built monastery that is situated at an altitude of 4,031 m. at the head of the Suru Valley, in Ladakh

Drained by the Suru River which is a tributary of the Indus River. •Rangdum Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery belonging to the Gelugpa sect

Tulagi Island

Beijing-based company which has close ties to the CCP has secured exclusive development rights for the entire island of Tulagi and its surroundings

Tulagi is an island within the Solomon Islands, which are located in the South Pacific, directly between Australia and the U.S.

destroyed by the Japanese (1942) during World War II.

•China is also pushing to end the region’s status as a diplomatic stronghold for Taiwan

Soloman + Kribati ended ties with Taiwan and joined China.

India Innovation Index 2019

NITI AAyog–> India Innovation Index 2019

Index goes beyond traditional approaches for measuring innovation such as patents per million of population, publication in scientific journals, percentage of GDP spending on research and adds parameters that are specific to the Indian economy (eg. Demographic dividend), to give it a more holistic coverage.

•Major states, •North-east and hill states, •Union territories/Small states

Karnataka= 1
TN= 2 , MAHARA= 3
Maharashtra performs the best in the dimension of Enablers

Among the North-Eastern states and Union territories, Sikkim and Delhi occupy the top spots respectively

Bihar, Jharkhand, and Punjab were the least attractive states for investment

Mt Paektu

Mount Paektu or Changbai (in Chinese) is considered sacred by the Koreans

•It is a volcanic mountain that last erupted over 1,000 years ago. •It is situated at the border between Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and China. •At a height of about 9,000 feet, it has the highest peak in the Korean peninsula

GOAL (Going Online as Leaders)

2nd phase of GOAL (Going Online as Leaders) has been jointly launched by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Facebook to digitally mentor 5000 young women in India’s tribal-dominated districts

MoTA+ Facebook–> GOAL

World Intellectual Property Indicators- 2019

United Nations, World Intellectual Property Indicators Report-2019, global Intellectual Property (IP) filing activity continued to grow at a rapid pace.

Asia accounted for two-thirds of these applications, being the global hub for IP applications.
•China has been at the leading position of global growth in worldwide IP filings in 2018 whereas the United States of America marked its first decline since 2009.

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary

Recently, due to the anthrax, two Asiatic Water Buffaloes died in the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary

found in the Central Indian Forests and is mostly restricted to the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh

forests of Maharashtra after which the Maharashtra Government declared the Kolamarka forest area as a conservation reserve for the Asiatic Wild Buffalo. •Asiatic buffalo has the widest horn span among all bovids found globally.

Asiatic wild buffaloes are of enormous economic significance as they are the direct ancestors of all the breeds of the domestic buffaloes

s an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

listed under Schedule-1 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. •It is included in CITES AppendixIII and is legally protected in Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Thailand. •Wild Water Buffalo is believed to be extinct in Bangladesh, Peninsular Malaysia, and on the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary has the highest density of one-horned rhinos in the world and second highest concentration in Assam after Kaziranga National Park.
•It is often called ‘Mini Kaziranga’ due to similar landscape and vegetation


wildlife sanctuary is home to endangered one-horned rhinoceros and the other mammals such as Leopard, Leopard cat, Fishing cat, Jungle cat, Feral Buffalo, Wild pigs, Chinese pangolins, etc.
•Water hyacinth (an invasive aquatic plant) is a major problem to the area especially to waterfowl, as it forms thick mats on the water surface.

•Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, •Kaziranga National Park, •Manas National Park, •Nameri National Park, •Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park

Anthrax — Bacteria

Jiyo Parsi Scheme

MoMA–> Jiyo Parsi Scheme
Ministry of Minority Affairs in 2013

3 components: •Advocacy Component that includes workshops, advertisement campaigns to create awareness, etc., •Health of the Community Component which covers Childcare and Creche support, assistance to elderly, etc. •Medical Component includes financial assistance for the detection and treatment of infertility, fertility treatment, etc.

Parsi community follow Zoroastrianism, which is one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions. It was founded by the Prophet Zoroaster (or Zarathustra) in ancient Iran around the 6th-7th century. •Zoroastrians believe in one God called Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord) who created the world. Their holy scripture is called Avesta
•March 21, Nowruz (also spelled as Navroz), the Iranian New Year

Zoroastrians are split into two groups: the Iranians and the Parsis. •The followers of the religion who exiled from Iran in the 7th century AD arrived in Gujarat region of India.