• The Union Minister of State (IC) for Tourism & Culture Shri Prahlad Singh Patel virtually inaugurated the “Tourist Facilitation Centre” facility at Guruvayur, in Kerala on 04 November 2020.
• The facility has been constructed under the project “Development of Guruvayur, Kerala” under PRASHAD Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism, at the cost of Rs. 11.57 Crores.  .
• The ‘National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive’ (PRASHAD) was launched by the Ministry of Tourism in the year 2014-15.
• The objective of PRASHAD scheme is integrated development of identified pilgrimage and heritage destinations.  
• It includes infrastructure development such as entry points (Road, Rail and Water Transport), last mile connectivity, basic tourism facilities like Information/ Interpretation Centers, ATM/ Money exchange, eco-friendly modes of transport, area Lighting and illumination with renewable sources of energy, parking, drinking water, toilets, cloak room, waiting rooms, first aid centers, craft bazars /haats/ souvenir shops/ cafeteria, rain shelters, Telecom facilities, internet connectivity etc.  

• Noted Malayalam filmmaker Hariharan has been selected for the prestigious JC Daniel Award for 2019.
• He has been bestowed with the award for his contribution to Malayalam cinema during the past five decades.
• The award comprises of cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, a citation, and a plaque.

J. C. Daniel Award :

• The J. C. Daniel Award is the Kerala’s highest award in Malayalam cinema.
• It is presented annually by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, a non-profit institution under the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Kerala.
• The award is named after JC Daniel, who is regarded as the Father of Malayalam cinema.

• Noted Malayalam writer Paul Zacharia has been selected for 2020 Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, for his contribution to Malayalam literature during the past five decades.
• Ezhuthachan Puraskaram is the Kerala government’s highest literary honour, named after Ezhuthachan, the father of the Malayalam language.
• The award carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh and a citation.

• Tamal Bandyopadhyay has authored a book titled “Pandemonium: The Great Indian Banking Tragedy” and will be released on November 09, 2020.
• This book is a bird’s-eye view of Indian banking and also a fly-on-wall documentary.

• The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) conducted a joint tri-service exercise code-named ‘Bull Strike’ from 03 to 05 November 2020, at the remotely located Teressa Island, in the strategically important Nicobar group of Islands.
• All the three Services components of ANC, including the Army, Navy and Air Force, got together for the war games for enhancing interoperability and test synergy among the three Services, to maximise combat potential.
• In addition, Search and Rescue (SAR) and Medical Evacuation procedures were practiced by participating troops.
• The military exercise also involved special forces including elements of Indian Army’s Parachute Brigade, MARCOS and Special Forces.
• The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is India’s first and only geographical operational tri-service theater command.

• The second batch of three Rafale jets landed in Jamnagar, Gujarat, after flying non-stop from France.
• Earlier, the first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 28 and they were officially inducted in the Indian Air Force on 10 September at Ambala Air Base in Haryana. Read more about it here
• With the arrival of the second batch, the IAF now has a total of eight Rafale fighter aircraft.
• As per the information by Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, the induction of all 36 jets will be completed by 2023.

• The enhanced version of PINAKA rocket, was successfully flight tested by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha on 4th November 2020.
• This enhanced version of the Pinaka rocket would replace the existing Pinaka Mk-I rockets.
• While Mk-1 had a range of 40 km, the new variant can hit a target 45 to 60 km away.
• The design and development of Pinaka was done by DRDO laboratories based in Pune, namely  Armament Research and Development Establishment, ARDE and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, HEMRL.

• As a part of Mission Sagar-II, the Indian Naval Ship (INS) Airavat reached Sudan on 2nd November 2020 with 100 tonnes of food aid.
• Under Mission Sagar-II, INS Airavat will deliver food aid to Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The government of India has launched this initiative to provide assistance to friendly foreign countries to overcome natural calamities and COVID-19 pandemic.
• Mission Sagar-II follows the Mission Sagar-I, which was undertaken in May-June 2020, wherein India provided food and medicines to Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros.
• It is in line 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 maritime neighbours and further strengthens the existing bond.

• The Indian Army has developed and launched an in-house messaging application called the ‘Secure Application for Internet (SAI)’, similar to commercially available messaging applications like WhatsApp, Telegram.
• This messaging application supports an end-to-end encryption messaging protocol for voice, text and video calling services for Android platform over Internet.
• The application has been specially designed by the Indian Army for its personnel to facilitate secure messaging within the service and to prevent leaking of any classified information. 

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully test-fired an air launched version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a Sukhoi fighter aircraft in the Bay of Bengal.
• The aircraft took off from an airbase in Punjab & reached the Bay of Bengal after mid-air refuelling. 
• The missile successfully hit a sinking ship in the Bay of Bengal, with deadly accuracy.
• This test was the longest range BrahMos strike that was undertaken by the Sukhoi 30 MKI platform.
• Developed by DRDO, the air-launched version of nuclear capable BrahMos has a strike range of 300 km with the capability to hit targets at sea or land in all weather conditions. 

• In Madhya Pradesh, the Panna Tiger Reserve has been included in the ‘World Network of Biosphere Reserves’ list of the UNESCO.
• Currently, Panna Tiger Reserve is home to 54 tigers.
• This is the 12th biosphere reserve from India to be included in the ‘World Network of Biosphere Reserves’, and third from Madhya Pradesh, after Pachmarhi and Amarkantak.
• The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) covers internationally designated protected areas (known as biosphere reserves) that demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature (like encourage sustainable development).

• Ministry of AYUSH has collaborated with M/s Invest India to set up a strategic policy unit called “Strategic Policy & Facilitation Bureau (SPFB)”.
• The role of the “Strategic Policy & Facilitation Bureau (SPFB)” will be to facilitate planned and systematic growth of the Ayush Sector.
• Under the collaboration, Invest India would deploy highly trained and expert resources to implement and execute the plans of the Ministry of AYUSH.

• Every year on November 7, India observes National Cancer Awareness Day to create awareness about the prevention and early detection of cancer.
• The day was first observed in 2014 and coincides with the birth anniversary of the eminent and renowned scientist Marie Curie.

• The International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict is an international day observed annually on November 6.
• It was established on November 5, 2001 by the United Nations General Assembly, during Kofi Atta Annan’s tenure as Secretary-General.

• The World Tsunami Awareness Day is observed ever year on November 5.
• In 2020, World Tsunami Awareness Day will promote target (e) of the “Sendai Seven Campaign,” which encourages countries and communities to have national and local disaster risk reduction strategies in place to save more lives against disasters by the end of 2020.
• The day was designated by the UN General Assembly in December  2015.
• The World Tsunami Awareness Day aims to raise awareness in areas such as tsunami early warning, public action and building back better after a disaster to reduce future impacts.
• It was on December 26, 2004 that a devastating Tsunami in the Indian ocean created havoc in 14 countries, killing over 230,000 people.

• The International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists is observed annually on 2 November.
• Theme 2020: Protect Journalists, Protect the Truth.
• The main aim of the day is to prevent all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, and to ensure accountability, bring to justice perpetrators of crimes against journalists and media workers, and ensure that victims have access to appropriate remedies.
• The day was recognized by the UN General Assembly in December 2013.
• The date chosen by the UN marks the death of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, two French journalists killed while reporting in Mali earlier that year.

• World Vegan Day is held every year on November 1 to spread benefits of veganism for humans, non-human animals, and the natural environment.
• The day was established in 1994 by Louise Wallis, then Chair of The Vegan Society in the United Kingdom, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the organisation and the coining of the terms “vegan” and “veganism”.

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved funding to the tune of Rs.1,810.56 crore for the 210 megawatt (MW) Luhri hydropower project on the Satluj river in Himachal Pradesh.
• The CCEA, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the investment for the project that is located in Shimla and Kullu districts.
• The project will take 62 months to be completed and will generate 758.20 million units of electricity a year.
• The project will be implemented by the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited on the “build-own-operate-maintain” model and would be supported by the Central and State governments.

• Commercial vehicles (CV) volumes are expected to shrink 25-28 per cent this fiscal amid multiple headwinds along with the pandemic impact, and the outlook for the sector remains "negative" on the back of continuing challenges, ratings agency Icra.
• In the previous fiscal, CV domestic volumes stood at 7,17,688 units as against an all-time high of 10,07,311 vehicles in 2018-19.
• The outlook for the commercial vehicles (CV) sector remains 'negative' on the back of continuing challenges such as over-capacity, subdued freight availability, financing constraints, among others, all of which have compounded due to the pandemic.
• The ratings agency expects that the volumes in FY2021 to contract by 25-28 per cent, which would bring industry volumes down to the lowest levels in more than a decade.

• India’s first of its kind solar energy-driven miniature train was inaugurated at the Veli Tourist Village, Kerala by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
• It is a Rs 10 crore project and covers a distance of 2.5 km with 3 bogies. It features a fully- equipped rail system, including a tunnel, station and a ticket office.

• Central Government has extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by one month till November 30th, 2020, or till such time that an amount of Rs. 3 lakh crore is sanctioned under the Scheme.
• The ECLGS was announced as part of the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package of Central Government to provide fully guaranteed and collateral-free additional credit to MSMEs, business enterprises, individual loans for business purposes and MUDRA borrowers.
• 100% guarantee coverage is being provided by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company, whereas Banks and Non Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) provide loans.
• Borrowers with credit outstanding up to Rs. 50 crore as on 29th February, 2020, and with an annual turnover of up to Rs. 250 crore are eligible under the Scheme.
• Tenor of loans provided under the Scheme is four years, including a moratorium of one year on principal repayment.
• Interest rates under the Scheme are capped at 9.25% for Banks and Financial Institutions (FIs), and 14% for NBFCs.
• The limit of credit be upto 20 % of their credit outstanding as on 29.2.2020. Till now Rs. 2.03 lakh crore has been sanctioned under the Scheme.

• Ministry of Electronics & IT along with NIC had launched the e-invoice system for GST for the businesses with aggregate turnover of more than Rs. 500 Crores in the financial year. 
• The system has completed one month and will be a milestone in India’s journey in enhancing the ease of doing business.

• The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has handed over the Lucknow airport to the Adani group on lease for a period of 50 years. Apart from this, Adani group has taken over/will take over operations of 5 more airports.
• In February 2019, the Central Govt had privatised six major airports of the country namely Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati.
• The right to run all these 6 airports has been won by Adani Group for 50 years.
• Adani group has taken over the operations of Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram in September 2020, Mangaluru on October 31, 2020, Lucknow on November 02, 2020 and will take on the operations of Ahmedabad Airport on November 11, 2020.

• Union government notified new land laws for Jammu and Kashmir, ending the abrogated Article 370 and presently, common people and investors outside Jammu & Kashmir can purchase land in the region of J and K.
• This notification ended the exclusive rights of locals of Jammu and Kashmir over the land granted under Article 370.
• The new Jammu and Kashmir Development Act rejected the ‘being a permanent resident of the State’ as criteria to purchase land. 
• The Centre soon going to notify land laws separately for the Ladakh Union Territory.
• The Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, Samvat, 1996 -only agriculturists of the region can buy agriculture land, and no exchange, sale, gift and mortgage shall be valid by a non-agriculturist. 
• The MHA - Ministry of Home Affairs introduced the UT of J&K Reorganization, Adaption of Central Laws, Third Order, 2020 resulted in the repeal of 26 state laws.
• This included the J&K Big Landed Estates Abolition Act which resulted in the ‘Land of tiller rights’.

• The Ministry of Labour recently notified the draft rules for the Industrial Relations Code, 2020.
• The rules are to be implemented by April, 2021.
• The Industrial Relations Rules, 2020 is to supersede the Industrial Tribunal (Central Procedure) Rules, 1949, Industrial Tribunal (Central Procedure) Rules, 1954, Industrial Employment (Standing Order) Central Rules, 1946 and Industrial Disputes (Central) Rules, 1957.
• Under the new Industrial Relations Rules, 2020, the establishments with more than 300 workers will have to seek Government Approval to lay 15 days in prior to the lay off of the intended actions. Earlier, the limit was 100 employees. This means the doing business is being eased under the new rules.
• The rules restrict the workers from going on strike. It also prescribes subscription charges to the trade unions. This will make it difficult for the unions to go for collective bargaining.
• Also, the closure of establishments should be done after seeking 60 or 90 days prior approval from the Government.
• Also, the code tweaked the definition of industry. IT took out the eminent institutes, especially those related to defence and space such as DRDO and ISRO out of its purview.

• The United States has officially withdrawn from the Paris climate accord on 04 November 2020.
• With this, the US has now become the only country to formally pull out of the deal since it was adopted in 2015.
• The landmark Paris climate agreement was signed in 2015 to protect the planet from the worsening impacts of the climate crisis.
• As per the rules of the agreement, a country cannot officially leave before one full year of notifying the UN of its intent to withdraw.
• The United States notified the United Nations of its withdrawal on November 4, 2019.

• The Bilateral Summit between India and Italy was held virtually on 6th November, 2020.
• The Summit was attended by the Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Italy Prof. Giuseppe Conte.
• The two leaders reviewed the broad framework of the bilateral relationship and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen cooperation against common global challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic.
• A wide range of issues were discussed including political, economic, scientific & technological, space and defence cooperation.
• 15 MoUs/Agreements were signed during the Summit in various sectors such as energy, fisheries, ship building, design etc.

• The world’s largest pink diamond mine, Argyle mine, in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia, has announced that it is shutting down its business, after 40 years of a successful operation.
• The iconic mine has exhausted all its economic reserves, hence it is shutting down its business.
• The seam was discovered in 1979 and the Anglo-Australian firm began mining operations in 1983.
• It produced more than 90 percent of the world’s pink diamonds.
• Globally, Argyle is the fourth-largest diamond-producing mine in the world by volume.

• The Bangladesh and US Navies launched the ‘Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Bangladesh-2020’ to expand relationships and broaden maritime awareness between the two countries.
• Historically, the CARAT exercises involve people to people interactions and a variety of professional exchanges.
• These will take place online this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The sea-phase of the exercise will take place in the Bay of Bengal with ships from both countries.
• The events are designed to enhance interoperability between the two navies.
• US and Bangladesh will work through coordinated deployment of surface ships, to include tactical maneuvers among other activities.

• Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga has stated that the country will achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050.
• The Prime Minister stated he intends to make a sustainable economy a pillar of his growth strategy and put maximum effort into achieving a green society.
• Suga emphasized the need to shift away from fossil fuels to counter climate change as an opportunity rather than a burden. As per Japan’s current energy plan, 56 per cent of its energy requirements come from fossil fuels.

• India slammed Pakistan's attempts to convert Gilgit Baltistan as the country's fifth province through an official statement on November 1, 2020.
• India's statement was released hours after the Pakistani government led by Imran Khan accorded “provisional provincial status” to Gilgit-Baltistan.
• The Union Ministry of External Affairs in a strongly worded statement said that India firmly rejects the attempt made by Pakistan to bring material changes to a part of the Indian Territory, under its illegal and forcible occupation. 
• The External Affairs Ministry reiterated in the statement that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the so-called area 'Gilgit Baltistan' are an integral part of India by the virtue of complete, legal and irrevocable accession of J&K into the Indian Union in 1947. 
• India further stated that the Pakistani government has no locus standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it. The External Affairs Ministry said that such attempts by Pakistan to camouflage its illegal occupation cannot hide the grave the human rights violations and denial of freedom to the people living in these Pakistan-occupied territories for over seven decades.
• India then called upon Pakistan to immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation, instead of seeking to alter the status of these Indian territories.

Gilgit-Baltistan :

• The so-called area of Gilgit-Baltistan was formerly known as the Northern Areas. It is currently under the illegal occupation of Pakistan, as part of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
• The area borders Azad Kashmir to the south, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to the west, Xinjiang region of China, to the east and northeast, Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor to the north and Indian-administered union territories of J&K and Ladakh to the southeast.
• Gilgit-Baltistan is almost six times the size of Azad Kashmir.
  

• The Bangladeshi Government-led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has adopted “No Mask, No Service” policy to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Under the policy, no service will be provided to people who don’t wear mask, and even no one will be allowed to enter offices (public and private) without the mask.
• All offices must also install notice boards saying ‘no mask, no service’ in order to control the spread of COVID 19 virus in the country.
• The mask-wearing at all public and private institutions, market places and other places of worship has been made mandatory from now on.

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved USD 132.8 million loan to Meghalaya, to improve and upgrade the power distribution network in the state.
• The fund will help in improving the distribution system & financial sustainability of the Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited (MePDCL).
• The MePDCL has a huge outstanding against the power purchased from central power generating stations and to the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL).
• The loan loan will support in clearing the power outstanding dues.

• The 4th High-Level Meeting of the OPEC-India Dialogue was hosted by the OPEC Secretariat.
• The Meeting was co-chaired by HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, Secretary General of OPEC and Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister of Steel.
• This was the first time that the meeting of this Institutional Dialogue was held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The virtual meeting was joined by OPEC Member countries, Secretary Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India and CMD & MDs of India’s oil and gas industry from both the public and the private sector.
• Key matters discussed at the meeting included rapidly changing global energy landscape, overcoming energy challenges, global oil price mechanisms, measures being taken by OPEC and its partners for balancing oil markets, and on ensuring oil supply security for India. 
• The first such dialogue was held in 2015. It was informed that the next High-Level Meeting of the OPEC-India Dialogue will be held in 2021, and if possible in person, in New Delhi.
• The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) headquarter- Vienna, Austria.

• The iconic Indian superhero, Chacha Chaudhary, whose brain works faster than a computer, has been selected as the brand ambassador for the centrally-sponsored Namami Gange Programme.
• Diamond Toons, which launches the comic books of Chacha Chaudhary, will conceptualize and publish this new ‘Talking Comics’.
• In this comics Chacha Chaudhary character will spread awareness on the cultural and spiritual significance of River Ganga and deploy best available knowledge across the masses for Ganga rejuvenation.

• Dilip Rath, the Chairman of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has been unanimously elected to the Board of International Dairy Federation (IDF).
• The International Dairy Federation (IDF) represents the global dairy sector and ensures the best scientific expertise is used to support high quality milk and nutritious, safe and sustainable dairy products.

• The President of Tanzania, John Pombe Magufuli has been sworn for a second five-year term.
• He took the oath of the office on 05 November 2020.
• Magufuli won 84% of the total votes in elections held on October 28.
• He was elected as the fifth President of Tanzania, and is in office since 2015.
• Capital of Tanzania - Dodoma
• Currency of Tanzania - Tanzanian shilling

• Noted actor, filmmaker and voiceover artiste, Ashish Kakkad, has passed away after suffering a massive cardiac arrest. He was 49.
• He was one of the most prominent artist from Gujarati film industry. As a filmmaker, Ashish was known for his Gujarati projects namely Better Half (2010) and Mission Mummy (2016).
• As an actor, he was seen in several Hindi films such as Kai Po Che! in 2013, and psychological thriller ‘Beyond Blue: An Unnerving Tale of a Demented Mind’ in 2015, including other Gujarati films.

• The incumbent President of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, has won a third 5-year term in a landslide victory, gaining more than 94 percent of the votes polled.
• The 78-year-old, Mr. Ouattara was first sworn in as the president in 2010 and then re-elected in 2015.
• Apart from this, he has also served as the Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire from November 1990 to December 1993.

Ivory Coast :

• Capital: Yamoussoukro
• Currency: West African CFA franc

• Hollywood legend, Sir Sean Connery, the Scottish star who was best known for his portrayal of James Bond, has passed away. He was 90.
• He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in film, and had appeared in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983.
• His acting career spanned seven decades during which he won his first and only Oscar trophy in 1988 for his role as Irish cop Jimmy Malone in The Untouchables.

• Indian-origin New Zealand politician Priyanca Radhakrishnan has created history by becoming the first Indian-Kiwi woman to become a minister in New Zealand.
• On 2 November 2020, Radhakrishnan was appointed as Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, Minister for Youth and Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment in Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s cabinet.
• The 41-year-old was one of five new ministers inducted into the Cabinet.
• Radhakrishnan was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

• The shortest-serving former Chief Minister of Bihar, Satish Prasad Singh has passed away due to Covid-19. He was 87.
• Singh was appointed as the sixth Chief Minister of Bihar in 1968 for only five days.
• He served as the CM from January 28, 1968 to February 1, 1968.
• He was also Bihar’s first non-upper caste Chief Minister.

• Bollywood actor Faraaz Khan has passed away. He was undergoing treatment for neurological disorder.in Bengaluru. The actor was 50.
• Faraaz Khan had acted in several popular Bollywood films in the late 1990s and early 2000s. 
• Some of them includes Mehndi (1998), Fareb (1996), Dulhan Banoo Main Teri (1999) and Chand Bujh Gaya (2005) among others.

• Veteran Kannada theatre and film actor HG Somashekar Rao has passed away in Bengaluru following a heart attack. He was 86.
• Somashekar had appeared in more than 60 movies during his career spanning about five decades. He made his big screen debut with 1975 Kannada film Geejagana Goodu.
• Apart from this, HG Somashekar Rao was also a published author. He has written 25 books, including an autobiography.

• Noted violin maestro and Padma awardee TN Krishnan has passed away at the age of 92.
• His full name was Tripunithura Narayanaiyer Krishnan. He was born on 6 October 1928, in Tripunithura, Kerala and later around 1942, he settled in Chennai. 
• He was conferred with many prestigious awards such as the Padma Shri (1973), the Padma Bhushan (1992) and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1974) among others.
• Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has also expressed grief over the passing away of noted violinist.

• Agriculture Minister of Tamil Nadu, R. Doraikkannu, passed away at 72 due to COVID-19.
• R Doraikannu entered Tamil Nadu Assembly in 2006 elected from the Papanasam seat and retained the same in 2011 and 2016 polls.

• Portugal has won the elections for the post the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the voting of which was held on 2nd November 2020.
• Duarte Pacheco of Portugal has been elected as the new President of IPU. The term of the Duarte Pacheco will be from 2020-2023. 
• He will be the 30th President of the IPU, and will succeed Mexican MP Gabriela Cuevas Barron who completed the tenure in October 2020.
• Candidates from four countries were in the race for elections. The other three participants were Pakistan’s Muhammad Sanjrani, Uzbekistan’s Akmal Saidov and Canada’s Pakistani origin Salma Ataullahjan.
• Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is based in Geneva, Switzerland, founded in 1889. It consists of representatives from the National Parliaments of 179 countries. 

• Former CEO of HDFC Bank Aditya Puri has joined global investment firm Carlyle as senior adviser.
• Aditya Puri retired as the CEO of HDFC Bank on October 26.
• Puri was the first CEO of HDFC Bank when it was set up in 1994 and ran the bank for 26 years before retiring on October 26, 2020. Puri grew HDFC Bank into the largest private sector bank in India with over $210 billion of assets, and the most valuable bank in India with a market cap of over $90 billion.

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Rajiv Jalota (IAS) as the new Chairperson of Mumbai Port Trust, under the Ministry of Shipping on 31st October 2020.
• Jalota has been appointed for a period up to September 30, 2024.
• Jalota will take over the post from JNPT’s Chairman Sanjay Sethi (IAS), who is holding additional charge of the post since July 31.

• The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has constituted a four-member committee to review the guidelines on television rating agencies.
• The Panel will be headed by Shashi Shekhar Vempati, CEO of Prasar Bharati. 
• This comes after the Mumbai police investigations that revealed that a few news channels had tampered with the ratings.
• The committee will carry out an appraisal of the existing system, examine TRAI recommendations notified from time to time, overall industry scenario and address the needs of the stakeholders.
• Dr. Shalabh, Professor of Statistics from IIT Kanpur, Rajkumar Upadhyay, Executive Director of C-Dot and Professor Pulak Ghosh of Decision Sciences Centre for Public Policy are the other members of the committee.

• The state-owned Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) has collaborated with the tech giant IBM to digitally transform the customer experience using digital tools.
• Under this partnership, IBM Services will develop mobile app and portal of IndianOil, which will be named as ‘IndianOil One’ mobile app and portal.
• This initiative is part of Indian Oil’s ‘Project ePIC’ (Electronic Platform for Indian Oil customers), an integrated platform for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Distribution Management System (DMS).
• The platform will ensures real-time updates to inventory, orders, and invoices, and hence will reduce the time to order fulfillment.
• Besides, the Indian Oil can respond more quickly to customer service requests, including grievances using the platform.

• The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Research and Development Centre of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) have signed an MoU to develop and demonstrate biomass gasification-based hydrogen generation technology.
• This technology will be used for producing fuel cell-grade hydrogen at an affordable price.
• Under the MOU, the IISc and IndianOil will work jointly on the optimisation of both biomass gasification and hydrogen purification processes,
• The developed technology will be scaled up and demonstrated at IndianOils R&D Centre at Faridabad.
• Hydrogen generated from this demonstration plant will be used to power fuel cell buses. 

• The Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde and Justice DY Chandrachud of the Supreme Court, jointly inaugurated India’s first-ever E-resource centre and virtual court called “Nyay Kaushal” at Judicial Officers Training Institute in Nagpur.
• The Nyay Kaushal will facilitate electronic-filling of cases in the Supreme Court, any High Court as well as district courts across the country to enable speedy justice for litigants, by utilising technology.
• The virtual court will be working from Katol in Nagpur district of Maharashtra.

• West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels has announced his retirement from all forms of professional cricket.
• Samuels last represented his country in December 2018, against Bangladesh in ODI match.
• Overall, he has played 71 Tests, 207 ODIs, and 67 T20s for West Indies.
• He was a right-handed middle order batsman and played as an off-spinner.
• He was the top-scorer for the West Indies team that won the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 and 2016 ICC World Twenty20, and was named man of the match in the final of both tournaments, becoming first man to achieve the feat.
• He also represented several T20 franchises, including Pune Warriors, Delhi Daredevils in Indian Premier League (IPL).

• The former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has announced retirement from all forms of cricket.
• With this, he ends his 20 year long illustrious career during which he was one of the world’s premier white-ball all-rounders.
• Watson had already ended his international career in March 2016 and had only been playing in overseas T20 leagues.
• He was the first overseas cricketer to score a century and take a hat-trick in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
• Currently, he was playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL.

• Indian boxers Amit Panghal, Sanjeet and Ashish Kumar have claimed gold medals at the 2020 Alexis Valentine International Boxing Tournament held in Nantes, France.
• This was the first international tournament in which Indian boxers were a part, since the lockdown.
• Amit Panghal won the gold in the 52 kg-weight category,
• Sanjeet won in the 91 kg final bout,
• Ashish Kumar won the gold medal in the 75 kg weight category.
• Apart from this, Kavinder Singh Bisht, won silver in the 57 kg weight category.
• Three Indian boxers namely Shiva Thapa (63 kg), Sumit Sangwan (81 kg) and Satish Kumar (Over 91 kg) had secured the bronze medals for India. 

• Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) has won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 2020 held on November 01, 2020. This was his 9th win of the season and 93rd F1 win of his career.
• Valtteri Bottas finished second while Daniel Ricciardo finished third.
• Mercedes won the seventh consecutive constructors’ title for 2020.

• MPL Sports Apparel and Accessories will be the sponsors of the new kit of the Indian cricket team. MPL replaces Nike, who have been partners with the Indian cricket Board since 2006.
• 
• MPL and BCCI has signed a three-year deal worth Rs 120 crores.
• BCCI will also get revenue share of 10 per cent of every jersey or merchandise sold by MPL.

• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced Jio as the Title Sponsor of the 2020 edition of the Women’s T20 Challenge.
• The partnership will also have the support of Reliance Foundation Education and Sports For All (RF ESA).
• This is a historic partnership, as for the first time a sponsor has signed with BCCI exclusively for the women’s matches.
• The Jio Women’s T20 Challenge to be played from 4th November to 9th November will be held in Sharjah. Three teams are Velocity, Supernovas and Trailblazers will play each other once to decide the finalists on November 9, a day before the IPL final.
• BCCI was Founded in December 1928.
• President of BCCI: Sourav Ganguly.

• The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot informed on November 2, 2020, that he has issued directions of banning the sale of firecrackers in the state.
• The step by the government has been taken to restrict their use to protect the COVID-19 patients as well as the public from their ill effects.
• Mr. Gehlot has directed the officials to put a blanket ban on the sale of firecrackers as a preventive measure against the spread of Coronavirus. He encouraged people to avoid using firecrackers on Diwali amid the health crisis.
• There has also been a direction to take strict action against the fireworks and the sale of firecrackers as well as the polluting vehicles who will be running without fitness in order to protect the COVID-19 patients as well as the public from the toxic smoke emitting from the vehicles.

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chaired the Virtual Global Investor Roundtable (VGIR) 2020 Conference on 05 November 2020, aimed at attracting investment in the country.
• The conference focused on discussions around India’s economic and investment outlook, structural reforms and the government’s vision for making the country a $5 trillion economy.
• The Virtual Global Investor Roundtable (VGIR) was organised by the Ministry of Finance and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund.
• It provided a platform for exclusive dialogue between leading global institutional investors, Indian business leaders and the highest decision makers from the government of India and financial market regulators.
• The roundtable witnessed participation from 20 of the world’s largest pension and sovereign wealth funds with a total assets under management of about USD 6 trillion.
• These global institutional investors represent key regions including the US, Europe, Canada, Korea, Japan, Middle East, Australia, and Singapore.
• The Indian side included business leaders, financial market regulators, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and RBI governor Shaktikanta Das.

• The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a subsidiary of NTPC Ltd. to promote usage of electric vehicles and set up solar power plants at the airports managed and operated by AAI.
• Under the MoU, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), a subsidiary of NTPC, will be provided adequate land and rooftop space by AAI, free of cost, at identified AAI airports to set up solar power plants.
• Initially, NVVN will begin working on the projects at airports in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.
• The solar capacity required at airports in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan is around 55 MW and 8 MW, respectively to become 100% solar powered airports.
• Apart from this, AAI and NVVN will jointly work towards supporting the government of India’s initiatives for adoption of electric vehicles by creation of public charging infrastructure and promoting usage of electric vehicles at airports.

• Typhoon Goni, claimed as the world’s strongest typhoon of 2020 has hit the south of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon.
• Goni is one of the strongest storms to hit the Philippines since 2013’s Haiyan, which killed more than 6,300 people.
• Goni formed as a tropical depression and later became a tropical storm Goni. It has now intensified into Category 5 equivalent super typhoon. 
• It is called Typhoon Rollyin in Philippines. This is the second super typhoon in the Pacific Ocean in 2020. 
• Haishen was the first super typhoon to strike the Pacific in 2020.

Context: According to a provision in the Code on Wages 2019, ‘conviction for sexual harassment’ can be a ground for denying bonus payouts to employees.

• The Central government published the Draft Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2020 in July 2020 and placed it in the public domain inviting objections and suggestions.

Key Points

• The Code lays down norms for annual bonus dues that accrue to employees, replacing the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, which bars bonus dues only in case of fraud, violent conduct and theft or sabotage.

Payment of Bonus Act, 1965

• The minimum bonus payable is 8.33% of the salary or wage earned by the employee during the accounting year subject to a maximum of 20% of such salary or wage and is applicable to all employees earning a salary of up to Rs. 21,000 a month.
• Section 29 of the Code states that “Notwithstanding anything contained in this Code, an employee shall be disqualified from receiving bonus under this Code, if he is dismissed from service for fraud or riotous or violent behaviour while on the premises of the establishment or theft, misappropriation or sabotage of any property of the establishment or conviction for sexual harassment.”
• The salary and bonus payment limits are yet to be notified under the Code on Wages.
• Other disqualification triggers are explicitly restricted to actions on an employer's premises, the trigger referring to conviction under sexual harassment does not include such a condition about the location of the incident.
• As of now, it is not clear if sexual harassment incidents or related crimes against women outside the workplace could lead to dismissal of employees with loss of bonus payments but it should come under the purview irrespective of where it is done.

Significance of the Move

• This is a huge step to get people to be on their best behaviour in the workplace as the prospect of losing one’s benefits may make employees more careful of their conduct.
• This is also a step forward towards creating seriousness about instances of sexual harassment at the workplace and in general.

This move will serve as an additional deterrent apart from the Prevention Of Sexual Harassment (POSH) law of 2013.
Code on Wages Act, 2019

• The new wage code removes the multiplicity of wage definitions, which can significantly reduce litigation as well as compliance cost for employers.
• It links minimum wage across the country to the skills of the employee and the place of employment.
• It seeks to universalise the provisions of minimum wages and their timely payment to all employees irrespective of the sector and wage ceiling.
• It seeks to ensure Right to Sustenance for every worker and intends to increase the legislative protection of minimum wage.
• A National Floor Level Minimum Wage will be set by the Centre and will be revised every five years, while states will fix minimum wages for their regions, which cannot be lower than the floor wage.

It subsumes the following four labour laws:

• Payment of Wages Act, 1936
• Minimum Wages Act, 1948
• Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
• Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
• Prevention Of Sexual Harassment Law 2013

Under it, sexual harassment includes any one or more of the following unwelcome acts or behaviour (whether directly or by implication):
Physical contact and advances.

• Demand or request for sexual favours.
• Making sexually coloured remarks.
• Showing pornography.
• Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.

As per the POSH law guidelines, firms are required to form an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) to inquire into complaints of sexual harassment at the workplace.

• ICC is required to make recommendations to employers on the action required pursuant to its inquiry in such complaints.
• If the ICC upholds a complaint, it could be interpreted as a conviction and ICC has the powers to decide if someone is guilty and report it further to the police, though not all sexual harassment cases translate into a police case.

Context: Prime Minister of India, through video conferencing, distributed loans to nearly 300,000 street vendors under the Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors’ Atmanirbhar Nidhi Yojana, and also interacted with its beneficiaries.
Background 

• The PM SVANidhi scheme, funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, was launched in June, with an aim to provide credit for working capital to street vendors who have been affected due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Who is Street Vendor?

• “Street vendor” as a person engaged in vending of articles… of everyday use or offering services to the general public, in…any public place or private area, from a temporary built up structure or by moving from place to place”.
• Anyone who doesn’t have a permanent shop is considered a street vendor. According to government estimates, street-vending accounts for 14 per cent of the total (non-agricultural) urban informal employment in the country.
• Over the years, street vendors have organised themselves into trade unions and associations, and numerous NGOs have started working for them. For eg:- National Hawker Federation (NHF) is a federation of 1,400 street vendor organisations and trade unions that has a presence in 28 states.

Status of Street vendors in India

• There are an estimated 50-60 lakh street vendors in India, with the largest concentrations in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad. Most of them are migrants who typically work for 10–12 hours every day on average.
• The sector is riddled with problems. Licence caps are unrealistic in most cities — Mumbai for example, has a ceiling of around 15,000 licences as against an estimated 2.5 lakh vendors. This means most vendors hawk their goods illegally, which makes them vulnerable to exploitation and extortion by local police and municipal authorities.
• Often, local bodies conduct eviction drives to clear the pavements of encroachers, and confiscate their goods. Fines for recovery are heavy.

Street Vendors Act
Background

• The National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI), which pushed to get the landmark Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act of 2014 through Parliament, is working to provide hygiene and social distancing training to cooked food vendors in the wake of the pandemic.

About the Act

• It was enacted to regulate street vendors in public areas and protect their rights. It was introduced in Lok Sabha on September 6, 2012 by then Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja.
• The Act defines a “street vendor” as a person engaged in vending of articles… of everyday use or offering services to the general public, in…any public place or private area, from a temporary built up structure or by moving from place to place”.
• It envisages the formation of Town Vending Committees in various districts to ensure that all street vendors identified by the government are accommodated in the vending zones subject to norms.
• The implementation of the Act has been patchy. According to NASVI, barring in a few districts in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra, town vending committees haven’t been formed, and street vendors continue to have to fend for themselves.

Additional Information

• About PM SVANidhi Scheme [https://abhipedia.abhimanu.com/Article/IAS/MTczMzIw/PM-SVANidhi-Scheme-for-street-vendors-Economic-Affairs-IAS]

Context: Recently, Six women led startups have won COVID-19 Shri Shakti Challenge organized by MyGov in collaboration with UN Women.

• With an objective to encourage and involve women led startups to come up with innovative solutions that can help in the fight against COVID19 or solve problems that impact a large number of women, MyGov in collaboration with UN Women, launched the COVID-19 Shri Shakti Challenge in April 2020.

About Shri Shakti Challenge 2020

• A COVID-19 Solution Challenge had been launched by the Government of India towards the beginning of 2020 to encourage Startups, Entrepreneurs, and Individuals for introducing technology solutions that could strengthen the fight against Corona
• The Shri Shakti Challenge is part of this same initiative and was supported by UN Women.
• This comes under the Ministry of Electronics and IT.
• A total of 1265 entries were received from across the nation for this challenge
• This challenge was launched on the Innovative platform of the MyGov website and only application from women-led startups were invited, who had issues faced by a larger number of women.
• The Shri Shakti Challenge brought many women to the forefront of Indian entrepreneurship and gave them a platform to share their expertise and knowledge to curb the situation of COVID-19 in the country.

Eligibility Criteria

• Individuals or Startups that comply with the definition of a startup as notified by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) vide order, were only eligible to apply.
• Legitimate rights and patents must be provided by the participants for the product to be developed under the COVID-19 Solution Challenge.
• Participants must be citizens of India.
• Only the Organisations registered in India will be eligible to apply for the competition.
• Women Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs with solutions impacting a large number of women will be eligible for the Prizes sponsored by UN Women. 
• In case there is a tie in scores, startups led by women will be given preference

Prize for the Winners

• The top three winners were awarded a prize money of Rs.5 lakhs each
• The three entries who won ‘Promising Solutions’ were given Rs. 2 lakhs each

Context: Recently, Prime Minister of India inaugurated 17 tourism projects around the Statue of Unity complex, at Kevadia in Narmada District, Gujarat. Sardar Patel’s birthday is being celebrated as Ekta Divas. The Prime Minister inaugurated the projects on the same day, and the 17 tourism projects are called the “Kevadia tourism circuit” have been themed around “Unity”.
About Kevadia Tourism Circuit

• Kevadia, a village in the tribal Narmada district, is home to the Sardar Sarovar Dam reservoir on the Narmada river, and was a popular picnic spot even before the Statue of Unity(SoU) came up.
• The circuit covers 35 tourist spots, out of which the Valley of Flowers, Vishwa Van, Jungle Safari, Cactus Garden, Butterfly Garden, Ekta Nursery, Tent City, Khalvani Eco-tourism, Zarwani Eco-tourism, Nauka Vihar and River Rafting, located around the periphery of the statue and the Narmada Dam, are already open.
• Last year, the Gujarat Assembly passed a Bill to establish the Statue of Unity Area Development and Tourism Governance Authority (SoUTA) that will have powers ranging from acquiring land for any development project in the area, which is predominantly tribal, to taking punitive action against those violating it or encroaching on it.

Some of the major attractions of the Circuit

• Sardar Patel Zoological Park and Jungle Safari
• Children’s Nutrition Park
• The Mirror Maze
• Carnival look
• Riverfront cycling tour
• The Gardens
• The cruises
• Dynamic lighting on Sardar Sarovar Dam

Also Read: https://abhipedia.abhimanu.com/Article/IAS/MjMyNDAw/India-s-first-seaplane-project-Geography-IAS

Additional Information

National Unity Day 2020

• Every year, the National Unity Day (Rashtriya Ekta Diwas) is celebrated on 31st October to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
• The day was celebrated for the first time in 2014, when the Government of India decided to celebrate Patel’s birthday as the National Unity Day to recognise his monumental contribution and service to the nation.
• On this day, several events like Run For Unity, a nationwide marathon to increase awareness about Patel’s contributions, National Unity pledge, Ekta Parade, etc. are organised.
• In 2018, the Government unveiled the Statue of Unity in Gujarat in Patel’s honour.
• It is the tallest statue (182-meter) in the world.
• In January 2020, it was added in the ‘Eight Wonders’ of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

• Born: 31st October 1875 in Nadiad, Gujarat.

Achievements

• First Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India.

Headed various Committees of the Constituent Assembly of India, namely

• Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights.
• Committee on Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas.
• Provincial Constitution Committee.
• Integrated the farmer’s cause in Kheda Satyagraha (1918) and Bardoli Satyagraha (1928) with the national freedom movement.
• Women of Bardoli bestowed the title ‘Sardar’ on Vallabhbhai Patel, which means ‘a Chief or a Leader’.
• Known as the “Iron Man of India” for playing an important role in unification and integration of Indian princely states into the Indian federation and for convincing princely states to align with the Indian Union.
• Requested the people of India to live together by uniting (Ek Bharat) in order to create a foremost India (Shresth Bharat).
• This ideology still reflects in the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative which seeks to make India self-reliant.
• Remembered as the ‘Patron Saint of India’s Civil Servants’ as he established the modern all-India services system.
• Death: 15th December 1950 in Bombay.

Context: As per a study, 28 % of particles collected from the air samples from a research station in the Himalaya-Tibetan Plateau were tarballs.
About Tarballs

• Tarballs are small light-absorbing, carbonaceous particles.
• They are formed due to burning of biomass or fossil fuels that deposit on snow and ice.
• They could contribute to hastening of glacial melt and global warming.

Key highlights of the study

• Until now, black carbon was found to be transported long distances by the wind to the Himalayan atmosphere.
• The study revealed that a dense array of active fire spots — corresponding to large-scale wheat-residue burning on the Indo-Gangetic Plain — occurred along the pathways of Himalaya.
• The percentage of the tarballs increased on days of higher levels of pollution and could contribute to the hastening of glacial melt and global warming.
• The researchers concluded that tarballs from long-range transport can be an important factor in the climatic effect and would correspond to a substantial influence on glacial melting in the Himalaya region.

Its Impact on environment

• BrC co-emitted with black carbon from biomass burning is an important light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosol.
• Such aerosols from the Indo-Gangetic Plain can reach the Himalaya region and influence glacial melting as they can deposit on snow and ice.

Context: Recently, Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Madhya Pradesh (MP) was included in the global network of biosphere reserves by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) .

• The reserve has joined world network of biosphere reserves. 
• This is the third biosphere in State following Pachmarhi and Amarkantak, the first two. 
• Panna was notified as biosphere reserve by Ministry of Environment and Forest in the Year 2011.

Reason behind this tag

• UNESCO has allotted the reserve as Biosphere Reserve status after it brought the tiger population back from zero to 54 within ten years. 
• About ten years back, tigers were vanished from the reserve and then forest department re-introduced the big cats in its ambitious plan.

Panna tiger reserve

• It is situated in the Vindhyan mountain range of Panna and Chhatarpur districts in Madhya Pradesh.
• In 1994, this park was included as India’s 22nd tiger reserve.
• Panna was notified a biosphere reserve by the Ministry of Environment in 2011.
• River Ken flows through the panna tiger reserve.
• It links the eastern and western populations of wild animals through the Vindhyan ranges.
• It is home to the World Heritage site of Khajuraho temples.
• Concern: Ken-Betwa linking project requires diversion of forest land of Panna Tiger Reserve.

Flora

• The reserve has dry and short grass habitat with extensive open woodlands. 
• The tree species Khair dominates the dry steep slopes of the plateaus in this park.
• It is characterized by forests and marshy vegetation, with an abundance of rare medicinal plants and non-timber forest products, such as kattha, gum and resin.

Fauna

• Tiger, leopard, nilgai, chinkara, chousinga, chital, rusty spotted cat, porcupine, and sambhar.
• Gharials (long snouted crocodiles) and muggars (marsh crocodiles) can be found in River Ken. 

About UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme

• UNESCO’s (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an Intergovernmental Scientific Programme that was launched in 1971.
• Aim: To establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environments.
• It proposes interdisciplinary research, demonstration and training in natural resources management.
• It provides a unique platform for cooperation on three interlinked issues: biodiversity loss, climate change and sustainable development.
• There are 714 biosphere reserves in 129 countries, including 21 transboundary sites.
• Under the programme, Protection is granted not only to the flora and fauna of the protected region, but also to the human communities who inhabit these regions, and their ways of life.
• Tamil Nadu’s Niligiri Biosphere Reserve was the first of India’s reserves to make it to UNESCO’s list in 2000.

India's list of world network of biosphere reserves under MAB

NOTE: Kindly considered Panna under UNESCO list.
What are Biosphere Reserves? 

• UNESCO launched the Man and Biosphere (MAB) program in 1975 which introduced the concept of Biosphere Reserves.
• Biosphere reserves are the protected areas which aims to preserve the genetic diversity of the ecosystem. It helps to protect not only the flora and fauna of the region, but also the inhabitants (tribal people) who live in the protected area.
• They are included in IUCN Category V Protected Area. They remain under national government's jurisdiction.
• A biosphere reserve generally included one or more national parks or wildlife sanctuaries.

A biosphere consists of three zone
a) Core zone 

• Inner most part of biosphere reserve
• Legally protected,
• Completely undisturbed from human intervention

b) Buffer zone

• surrounds core zone,
• research and educational activities are allowed
• Promote eco-tourism activities

c) Transition zone

• outermost part of biosphere reserve
• there exist cooperation between local people and management of reserve.
• Human activities like cropping, afforestation, settlement, plantation of medicinal hers, soil conservation and recreation is allowed  

Key Facts

• How many biosphere reserves are there in India?  18
• How many biosphere reserves are part of World Network of Biosphere Reserve?  12
• Which is the first biosphere reserve in India?  Nilgiri (1986)
• Which Biosphere Reserve from India was most recently included in World Network of Biosphere Reserve?  Panna (2020)
• Which is the smallest biosphere reserve in India?   Panna 
• Which is the largest biosphere reserve in India?   Rann Of Kutch
• Which is the first marine biosphere reserve in India?  Gulf Of Mannar

Context: A recent global analysis by Norwegian University of Science and Technology said, top biodiversity hotspots of the world lost 148 million hectares (mha) of land to agriculture and urbanisation between 1992 and 2015.

• Under this a global analysis on 34 biodiversity hotspots are considered.

Key Findings

• Most of the land lost — nearly 40 per cent, or 54 mha — was in the form of forests. 
• The three largest losses in forest area occurred in the biodiversity hotspots of Sundaland (Indonesia), Indo-Burma (mainland southeast Asia) and Mesoamerica.
• The three hotspots accounted for forest losses of 11 mha, 6 mha, and 5 mha respectively. 
• This corresponds to a relative loss of 13 per cent, six per cent and seven per cent, respectively, of the forest area originally present in 1992, the study showed.
• However, some hotspots did gain forest cover including the mountains of Central Asia, the Irano-Anatolian area and the Atlantic forest in North America due to reforestation of agricultural land.

About Biodiversity hotspot

• A ‘biodiversity hotspot’ was defined as an area that contained “exceptional concentrations of endemic species that were undergoing exceptional loss of habitat”.
• Biodiversity hotspots cover 2.3 per cent of the Earth’s surface but have more than half of the world’s endemic plant species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Why are we losing biodiversity hotspots?

• Sundaland, Indo-Burma and Mesoamerica lie in the tropical region of earth.

As per the study report, they lost forests due to three important factors

• The need to grow more food to feed an ever-growing population and the need to increase income
• The high fertility of soil in these areas
• Weak environmental protection laws and regulations

Status of Protected Areas

• The protected areas lost an equivalent of 5% of their forest cover during past 24 years.
• However, protected areas within hotspots lost less forest cover than the land outside protected areas, especially during the last five years of the study (2010-2015).

Key Suggestion

• The report found that saving our forests and its endemic species would go a long way in preventing pandemics in the future such as the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Road Ahead

• The Norwegian University of Science and Technology report suggests immediate measures to control and reverse the biodiversity hotspot losses. The steps, the report says, included efficiency in agricultural production, food value chain and distribution, less food wastage and changes in diet.
• Saving our forests and its endemic species would also prevent more pandemics in the future such as the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as outlined by a recent report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

Context: Australian scientists found a detached coral reef on the Great Barrier Reef that exceeds the height of the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower.   
Background 

• A team of scientists were mapping the northern seafloor of the Great Barrier Reef on board the institutes research vessel Falkor, when they found the reef.   

Key Findings

• Researchers say the reef is around 1.5 kilometres (almost a mile) wide at its base, and that it rises to within 40 metres (131 feet) of the surface of the water. 
• Initial photography suggests that the natural phenomenon is home to an abundance of sponges, net-like sea fans, and soft corals. 
• The discovery comes after a study earlier this month found the Great Barrier Reef had lost more than half its coral in the last three decades. 
• Using the underwater robot known as SuBastian, the scientists filmed their exploration of the new reef, collecting marine samples on the way. 
• Although the northern section of the Great Barrier Reef suffered from bleaching in 2016, this detached reef didn't display any evidence of damage. 
• The Great Barrier Reef runs 2,300 km down Australia's northeast coast spanning an area half the size of Texas. 
• It was world heritage listed in 1981 by UNESCO as the most extensive and spectacular coral reef ecosystem on the planet.

Additional Information

About Bleaching 

• Bleaching occurs when healthy corals become stressed by changes in ocean temperatures, causing them to expel algae living in their tissues which drains them of their vibrant colours.
• Bleaching was first seen on the reef in 1998 — at the time, the hottest year on record — but as temperature records continue to tumble its frequency has increased, giving coral less time to recover.

Context: Scientists have warned that the Great Barrier Reef will face a critical period of heat stress over the coming weeks, following the most widespread coral bleaching the natural world has ever endured.
About the current scenario

• Warming ocean temperatures, a sign of climate change, is associated with the deteriorating health of the Reef. 
• The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which spreads across a length of over 2,300 km and is roughly the size of Italy, is home to about 3,000 coral reefs, 600 continental islands, 1,625 type of fish, 133 varieties of shark and rays and 600 types of soft and hard corals.

About Coral bleaching

• According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), when corals are stressed by changes in conditions such as temperature, light or nutrients, they expel the algae living in their tissue, causing them to turn white, hence bleached.
• Coral bleaching does not mean the corals are dead, but make them vulnerable, hence increasing their mortality. 
• Warm ocean temperatures are one condition that could lead to coral bleaching. For instance, in 2005, the US lost half of its coral reefs in the Caribbean in one year due to a massive bleaching event.
• Even so, NOAA says that not all bleaching events are due to warmer temperatures. In January 2010, cold water temperatures in the Florida Keys caused a coral bleaching event that resulted in some coral deaths.

How does it affect the Great Barrier Reef?

• The Great Barrier Reef, which covers an area of 344,400 sq km makes up roughly 10 per cent of the world’s coral reef ecosystems. Today, the reef is a Marine Park and World Heritage Area and supports a range of activities and contributes over AUD $5.6 billion each year to the Australian economy and is also responsible for creating over 70,000 jobs.
• In the 2019 Outlook Report prepared by the Australian government, it said that climate change was the greatest threat to the Reef. Other threats included coastal development, land-based run-off and direct human use, such as activities like illegal fishing.
• Significantly, coral bleaching events such as the ones that took place in 2016 and 2017 have had severe impacts on the Reef, causing changes in its ecosystem. However, some parts of the reef that escaped the impact of the bleaching and cyclones still remain in good condition, the report said.
• The 2016 bleaching caused by intense heat exposure affected the northern third region of the Reef, while the 2017 bleaching affected the central region.
• As per the latest Reef health update, while sea surface temperatures have remained relatively stable this week (until March 5, 2020), the temperature is still above normal for this time of the year. As of March 3, most of the marine park varies between 0.5 degree-1.5 degree Celsius above normal. In some inshore areas, the temperature is 2.5-3 degrees Celsius warmer.

Ways to maintain the balance between nature and human

• The world needs coral reefs, and decisive action will help ensure that we do not face a future without them.Adequate mitigation and adaptation measures must be put in place to arrest the effects of climate change
• We must devise policies to provide protection to existing carbon sinks such as corals like Reducing greenhouse emissions will be critical here.
• Effectively reducing local stresses to reefs, such as from land-based sources of pollution and overfishing.
• Increasing electricity generation from the renewable sources rather than depend on the artificial removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
• Conserving water. The less it is used, the less runoff and wastewater that will eventually find its way back into the ocean.
• Educating people about why healthy coral reefs are valuable to the people, fish, plants, and animals that depend on them.

Context: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister, has approved that 100% of the foodgrains and 20% of the sugar shall be mandatorily packed in jute bags.

• The decision will give an impetus to the diversification of the jute industry.

Key Points
Extended Norms

• The decision mandates that initially 10% of the orders of jute bags for packing food grains would be placed through a reverse auction on the GeM portal, which will gradually help in a regime of price discovery.
• In a reverse auction, the sellers compete to obtain business from the buyer and prices will typically decrease as the sellers underbid each other.
• Price discovery is the process of determining the price of an asset in the marketplace through the interactions of buyers and sellers.

Statutory Provision

• Government has expanded the scope of mandatory packaging norms under the Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory Use in Packing Commodities) Act, 1987, also known as the JPM Act.
• Under it, the Government is required to consider and provide for the compulsory use of jute packaging material in the supply and distribution of certain commodities.

Importance of this move

• The jute industry is predominantly dependent on the Government sector which purchases jute bags of value of more than Rs. 7,500 crore every year for packing foodgrains.
• This is done in order to sustain the core demand for the jute sector and to support the livelihood of the workers and farmers dependent on the sector.
• Nearly 3.7 lakh workers and several lakh farm families are dependent for their livelihood on the jute sectors so the government has been making concerted efforts for the development of the jute sector by:
• Increasing the quality and productivity of raw jute.
• Diversifying the jute sector.
• Boosting and sustaining demand for jute products.

Benefits

• The move will benefit farmers and workers located in the Eastern and North-Eastern regions of the country particularly in the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura.
• The reservation norms in the present proposal would further the interest of domestic production of raw jute and jute packaging material in India, thereby, making India self-reliant in consonance with Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

Government Initiatives for Promoting Jute Industry

Jute-Improved Cultivation and Advanced Retting Exercise

• Jute ICARE aims to improve the productivity and quality of raw jute.
• Under it, the Government is disseminating improved agronomic practices such as line sowing using seed drills, distribution of quality certified seeds, etc.

Jute SMART

• It is an e-govt initiative which was launched in December 2016 to promote transparency in the jute sector.
• It provides an integrated platform for procurement of sacking by Government agencies.

Definitive Anti-Dumping Duty

• It has been imposed on import of jute goods from Bangladesh and Nepal with effect from 5th January 2017 to protect the domestic sector.

Incentive Scheme for Acquisition of Plants and Machinery

• Launched in 2013, it aims to facilitate modernisation in existing and new jute mills and up- gradation of technology in existing jute mills.

Collaboration between the National Jute Board and the National Institute of Design

• It aims to support the diversification of the jute sector through a Jute Design Cell.
• National Jute Board under the Ministry of Textiles, acts as the apex body for the promotion of the products in India and abroad.
• Jute is included in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) regime of the country.

About Jute

• Known as the ‘golden fibre’, jute is one of the longest and most used natural fibre for various textile applications.
• It thrives in tropical lowland areas with humidity of 60% to 90%. Jute is a rain-fed crop with little need for fertilizer or pesticides.
• Temperature: Between 25-35°C.
• Rainfall: Around 150-250 cm.
• Soil Type: Well-drained alluvial soil.
• Top Jute Producing States: West Bengal > Bihar > Assam > Andhra Pradesh > Odisha.
• It is mainly concentrated in eastern India because of the rich alluvial soil of Ganga-Brahmaputra delta.
• The world's largest jute producing countries are India, Bangladesh, China and Thailand
• India is the world’s largest producer of raw jute and jute goods.
• The cultivation of jute in India is mainly confined to the eastern region of the country.
• The first jute mill was established at Rishra (Bengal – now in West Bengal), on the river Hooghly near Calcutta in the year 1855, by Mr. George Aclend.
• In 1959, the first power driven weaving factory was set up.

Context: Recently, Union Minister of Science and Technology released the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) Report on "Estimating the economic benefits of Investment in Monsoon Mission and High Performance Computing (HPC) Facilities".
About the report

• The report analyses data for both pre and post National Monsoon Mission periods. 
• The report was prepared by NCAER based on face-to-face survey. Around 6,098 respondents were surveyed. 
• This included 757 marine fishermen and 1,376 livestock owners. Also, responses were collected from two lakh farmers through Interactive Voice Response System. 
• The IVRS allows computers to interact with humans via keyboard and use of voice input.
• India is divided into 15 major agro-climatic zones. Of these 15, ten experience all monsoon events and were covered by the NCAER study. 
• Agro-climatic zone is a geographical area with similar rainfall, soil type, temperature and water availability.

Key Highlights

• According to the report, 1000 crores of investment in High Performance computing facilities in India will bring in 50,000 crores of benefits. 
• This is to mainly get reflected in livelihood of 1.07 crores of people Below Poverty Line and 53 lakhs Below Poverty Line fisher folk households.
• 76% of the livestock owners are using weather information for taking decisions on modification of shelter; vaccination against seasonal disease; and fodder management. 
• 82% of fishermen reported using Ocean State Forecast (OSF) advisories every time before venturing into sea.
• Annual income gained by 53 Lakh BPL fisher households is estimated to be Rs. 663 Crores and the present value of benefits accruing to fisher-folk works out to be Rs. 2,391 Crores over a period of 5 years.
• With an initial investment of Rs. 1,000 Crores, NMM and HPC facilities result in a 50-fold increase in its economic benefits. Derived estimated benefits realized by the women works out to be Rs. 13,447 Crores, which is 26.6 percent of the total benefit.

About National Monsoon Mission (NMM)

• It was has launched by Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
• The Ministry has bestowed the responsibility of execution and coordination of this mission to Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune.

Mission Objective
To build an ocean atmospheric model for

• Improved prediction of monsoon rainfall on extended range to seasonal time scale of up to 16 days to about one season
• Improved prediction of rainfall, temperature as well as extreme weather events on short to medium range time scale up to 15 days.

About National Council for Applied and Economic Research (NCAER)

• Established in 1956, NCAER is India’s oldest and largest independent, non-profit, economic policy research institute.
• It is one of a handful of think tanks globally that combine rigorous analysis and policy outreach with deep data collection capabilities, especially for household surveys.

Also Read: https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/userfiles/ncaer.pdf

Context: Ice loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet has accelerated significantly over the past two decades, transforming the shape of the ice sheet edge and therefore coastal Greenland.
Issue 

• Rapid melt is reshaping coastal Greenland, potentially altering the human and animal ecosystems along the country's coast. 

Background 

• New research finds that the ice retreat in Greenland has changed the way glaciers flow and where they dump into the sea. These changes could impact ice loss from Greenland in the future.

Key Finding

• Recent studies have shown that Greenland is losing 500 gigatons of ice each year, more than can be replenished by new snowfall. 
• Annual ice loss is 14 percent greater today than it was between 1985 and 1999. And the meltwater from this ice loss is lubricating the ice sheet so that it slides more easily on its underlying bedrock, hastening the continued melt. 
• Researchers combined two types of data from satellite imagery: how fast the ice sheet is moving and where glaciers terminate on their path downhill.  
• Researchers found that glacier retreat is now the norm in Greenland. Eighty-nine percent of glaciers had retreated substantially within the last decade.
• As per Researchers, Glaciers are rivers of ice, so their flow is partially determined not just by how quickly they're melting, but by what's underneath them.
• For example, the Kjer and Hayes glaciers in northwestern Greenland sped up at their primary outlets to the sea from the 1990s to 2010, but other ice outlets to the ocean nearby slowed down. In one case, the southerly portion of one of those outlets sped up, then slowed again.
• The researchers saw evidence of ice channels narrowing, of re-routing meltwater paths, and even of the slowing of new ice so that glaciers are stranded in place, more like lakes than rivers. 
• All of this local variation may be very important for predicting how quickly Greenland's ice will disappear in the future. The changes will also likely affect how and where nutrients enter the water. 
• Understanding the complexity of individual glacier response is critical to improving projections of ice sheet change and the associated sea level rise that will arrive at our shores.

About Greenland

• Location: Greenland, an autonomous province of Denmark, is located to the north east of Canada.
• Demography: Most of its inhabitants are Inuit whose ancestors migrated from Canada.
• Capital: Nuuk. 
• Governance: The autonomous Danish dependent territory has limited self-government and its own parliament. While its government decides on domestic matters, foreign and security policy is handled by Denmark.
• Economy: Denmark contributes two thirds of Greenland's budget revenue, the rest coming mainly from fishing. 

Context: Recently, a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.0 strikes Aegean Sea, shaking Turkey and Greece.

• At least 14 people were killed in Turkey and Greece after a strong earthquake struck the Aegean Sea in October 2020, bringing buildings crashing down and setting off tidal waves which slammed into coastal areas and islands.

Turkey and Earthquakes

• Crisscrossed by major fault lines, Turkey is among the most earthquake-prone countries in the world.
• More than 17,000 people were killed in 1999 when a 7.6 magnitude quake struck Izmit, a city southeast of Istanbul.
• In 2011, a quake in the eastern city of Van killed more than 500.

Aegean Sea

• The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the Greek and Anatolian peninsulas.
• In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea and the Black Sea by the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus.
• The Aegean Islands are located within the sea and some bound it on its southern periphery, including Crete and Rhodes.
• The Thracian Sea and the Myrtoan Sea are subdivisions of the Aegean Sea.
• The Aegean Sea has been historically important, especially in regards to the civilization of Ancient Greece, who inhabited the area around the coast of the Aegean and the Aegean islands.
• The rocks making up the floor of the Aegean are mainly limestone, though often greatly altered by volcanic activity that has convulsed the region in relatively recent geologic times.

Earthquake

• An earthquake is shaking of the earth. It is a natural event. It is caused due to release of energy, which generates waves that travel in all directions.
• The release of energy occurs along a fault. Rocks along a fault tend to move in opposite directions. This causes a release of energy, and the energy waves travel in all directions.
• The point where the energy is released is called the focus of an earthquake, alternatively, it is called the hypocentre.
• The point on the surface, nearest to the focus, is called epicentre. It is the first one to experience the waves. It is a point directly above the focus.

Earthquake Waves

• All the natural earthquakes take place in the lithosphere.
• Earthquake waves are basically of two types Body Waves and Surface Waves.

Body waves

• Body Waves are generated due to the release of energy at the focus and move in all directions travelling through the body of the earth.
• There are 2 types of body waves and they are, Primary waves [P] and Secondary [S] waves.
• Primary waves are the first to appear on the surface and hence the name P waves.
• P-waves vibrate parallel to the direction of the wave.
• This exerts pressure on the material in the direction of the propagation.
• P waves can travel through gaseous, liquid and solid materials.
• Secondary waves (S waves) appear after P waves.
• The direction of vibrations of S-waves is perpendicular to the wave direction in the vertical plane.
• Hence, they create troughs and crests in the material through which they pass.

Surface waves

• The body waves interact with the surface rocks and generate new set of waves called surface waves. These waves move along the surface.
• The velocity of waves changes as they travel through materials with different densities. The denser the material, the higher is the velocity.
• Their direction also changes as they reflect or refract when coming across materials with different densities.
• Surface waves are considered to be the most damaging waves.

Measurement of earthquakes
The earthquake events are scaled either according to the magnitude or intensity of the shock.

• Richter scale: The magnitude scale is known as the Richter scale. The magnitude relates to the energy released during the quake. The magnitude is expressed in absolute numbers, 0-10.
• Mercalli scale: The intensity scale is named after Mercalli, an Italian seismologist. The intensity scale takes into account the visible damage caused by the event. The range of intensity scale is from 1-12.
• Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale: This is a macroseismic intensity scale used to evaluate the severity of ground shaking on the basis of observed effects in an area of the earthquake occurrence.

Context: Typhoon Rolly or Goni, as it is called internationally, made landfall in the eastern Philippines on Sunday. Over a million people in the typhoon’s projected path have been evacuated, including in the capital, where the international airport is now closed. This is the 18th typhoon to hit the country this year.

How severe is Typhoon Goni, which made landfall in Philippines?

• As of now, the country’s weather bureau has downgraded the tropical storm from a Super Typhoon to a typhoon, which is maintaining wind speeds of over 215 km per hour (135 mph) near the centre and gusts of about 295 kph. 
• As per PAGASA, the typhoon will bring light to moderate rainfall with heavy rainfall in some areas including the capital.

Types of Tropical Cyclones

• There are five categories of tropical cyclones, depending on the wind speeds. When winds in the rotating systems reach 39 mph, the storm is called a tropical storm and when they reach 74 mph, the tropical storm can be classified as a tropical cyclone or a hurricane and is also given a name.
• Once tropical cyclones make landfall, they become weaker since they are no longer fed by the heat of the ocean, but before dying out completely, they move far inland dumping inches of rainwater and causing wind damage.

What is the impact of such a typhoon?

• As per PAGASA, strong winds associated with the storm have damaged high-risk structures and have partially damaged houses made with “first-class” materials. 
• In addition, while some banana plantations have suffered total damage, coconut plantations are expected to suffer extensive damage. Rice and corn plantations also may suffer severe losses.

What is the difference between a hurricane and a typhoon?

• There is no difference. 
• Depending on where they occur, hurricanes may be called typhoons or cyclones. 
• As per NASA, the scientific name for all these kinds of storms is tropical cyclones. 
• The tropical cyclones that form over the Atlantic Ocean or the eastern Pacific Ocean are called hurricanes and the ones that form in the Northwest Pacific are called typhoons.

What are hurricanes and how do they form?

• Tropical cyclones or hurricanes use warm, moist air as fuel and therefore form over warm ocean waters near the equator. 
• As NASA describes it, when the warm, moist air rises upward from the surface of the ocean, it creates an area of low air pressure below. When this happens, the air from the surrounding areas, which has higher pressure, enters this space, eventually rising when it becomes warm and moist too.
• As the warm and moist air continues to rise, the surrounding air will keep entering the area of low air pressure. 
• When the warm air rises and cools off, the water in the air forms clouds and this system of clouds and winds continues to grow and spin, fuelled by the ocean’s heat and the water that evaporates from its surface.
• As such storm systems rotate faster and faster, an eye forms in the centre. Storms that form towards the north of the equator rotate counterclockwise and those that form south of the equator spin clockwise because of the rotation of the Earth on its axis.

Context: Recently, the Union Cabinet  approved a proposal to invest Rs 1,810 crore for 210 MW Luhri Stage-I hydropower project on river Satluj in Himachal Pradesh. 

About Luhri Stage-I hydropower project 

• It is located on river Satluj which is situated in Shimla and Kullu districts of Himachal Pradesh." 
• This project will generate 758.20 million units of electricity annually.
• The project will be implemented by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) on the Build-Own-Operate-Maintain (BOOM) basis in next five years.
• The power generated from the project will help in providing grid stability and will improve the power supply position.

Importance of this Project

• “Besides adding valuable renewable energy to the grid, the project would also lead to reduction of 6.1 lakh tons of carbon dioxide from environment annually, thus contributing to improvement in air quality,”

About Satluj River

• The Satluj rises from the Manasarovar-Rakas Lakes in western Tibet at a height of 4,570 m within 80 km of the source of the Indus.
• Like the Indus, it takes a north-westerly course upto the Shipki La on the Tibet-Himachal Pradesh boundary.
• It cuts deep gorges where it pierces the Great Himalaya and the other Himalayan ranges.
• Before entering the Punjab plain, it cuts a gorge in Naina Devi Dhar, where the famous Bhakra dam has been constructed.
• After entering the plain at Rupnagar (Ropar), it turns westwards and is joined by the Beas at Harike.
• From near Ferozepur to Fazilka it forms the boundary between India and Pakistan for nearly 120 km.
• During its onward journey it receives the collective drainage of the Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum rivers. It joins the Indus a few kilometres above Mithankot.
• Out of its total length of 1,450 km, it flows for 1,050 km in Indian territory. It is the longest of the five tributaries of the Indus River that give the Punjab (meaning “Five Rivers”) its name.?

Context: Recently, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) organised three-day `Ganga Utsav 2020' to celebrates the glory of the National river Ganga.
About Ganga Utsav 2020

• It is a cultural and educational festival to celebrate the glory of holy river Ganga. 
• On 4th November 2008, Ganga was declared “National River”. 
• Since 2016, every year the National Mission for Clean Ganga has been celebrating Ganga Utsav on November 4.
• The aim is to connect masses to the cause of river rejuvenation and sensitive them about ecological issues through conversations and entertainment. 
• Ganga Utsav has received support from different countries.
• This year’s Utsav will be a fun-filled occasion with a variety of events which includes storytelling, folklores, dialogues with eminent personalities, quizzes, displaying traditional artforms, dance & music performance by renowned artists, photo galleries, exhibitions and much more.

About Namami Gange Programme

• It is a flagship programme of the government and is implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), and State Programme Management Groups in the states. 
• NMCG is the implementation wing of National Ganga Council established in 2016 which replaced the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA).
• It works under the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• It integrates previous and currently ongoing initiatives by enhancing efficiency, extracting synergies and supplementing them with more comprehensive & better-coordinated interventions.

The main pillars of the programme are

• Sewerage Treatment Infrastructure & Industrial Effluent Monitoring.
• River-Front Development & River-Surface Cleaning
• Bio-Diversity & Afforestation
• Public Awareness

Steps were taken by Government for Conservation of GANGA 

• Ganga Action Plan: It was the first river action plan which was taken up by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 1985, to improve the water quality by the interception, diversion and treatment of domestic sewage. 
• Clean Ganga Fund: In 2014, it was formed for cleaning up of the Ganga, setting up of waste treatment plants and conservation of biotic diversity of the river.
• Bhuvan-Ganga Web App: It ensures the involvement of the public in the monitoring of pollution entering into the river Ganga.
• Ban on Waste Disposal: In 2017, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned the disposal of any waste in the Ganga.

About Ganga River System

• It originates in the snowfields of the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas as the Bhagirathi River and is joined by other rivers such as the Alaknanda, Yamuna, Son, Gumti, Kosi and Ghagra.
• The total length of the Ganga is about 2,510 km. 
• The river basin is bounded by the Himalayas on the north, by the Aravalli on the west, by the Vindhyas and Chota Nagpur plateau on the south and by the Brahmaputra Ridge on the east.
• The basin covers states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. 

Significance

• River Ganga holds a significant economic, environmental and cultural value in India.
• The Ganga Basin supports numerous diverse ecosystems, from the alpine forests near Gaumukh to the plains of northern India to the mangrove forests and saline mudflats of West Bengal.
• The mouth of River Ganga forms the world’s largest delta, known as Sunderbans, and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.

Additional Information
National Identities

• The National River, National Flag, National Flower (lotus), National bird (peacock), National Tree (Banyan), National Animal (Tiger), National Anthem, National Song (Vande Mataram), National Calendar (Gregorian Calendar) are the National Identities of India.

Context: In a move to increase tourism in the Jammu & Kashmir, the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region inaugurated the Mansar Lake Development Plan.

About Mansar Lake Development Plan

• The aim & objective of the project is to enhance the tourism flow in the UT and attract almost 20 lakh tourists every year.
• This will further increase employment opportunities also.
• With all religions belief and heritage behind the Mansar Lake is also picking up its fame among the tourists with all its flora & fauna.

About Surinsar-Mansar Lakes

• It is one of the 39 Ramsar Sites designated as Wetlands of International importance in India , located in Jammu & Kashmir UT.
• Surinsar Lake and Mansar Lake are considered to be twin lakes.
• Mansar Lake an estimated 12,000 years of existence.
• Mansar Lake, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the Shivalik range of the Jammu region, is facing an existential threat due to human intervention and climate change.
• The Surinsar Mansar Wildlife Sanctuary is nestled in the midst of both the lakes.
• The site is socially and culturally very important with many temples around owing to its mythical origin from the Mahabharata period.
• River Devika said to be the sister of mother Ganga, the Mansar lake finds reference in the ancient writings of Mahabharata.
• Surinsar is rain-fed without permanent discharge, and Mansar is primarily fed by surface runoff and partially by mineralized water through paddy fields, with inflow increasing in the rainy season.
• Currently, it is facing an existential threat due to human intervention and climate change.

Context: Recenty, PM has virtually inaugurated the Ghogha-Hazira Ro-Pax ferry service in Gujarat.

Ghogha-Hazira Ferry Service

• It will work as a Gateway to South Gujarat and Saurashtra region. It will reduce the distance between Ghogha and Hazira from 370 km to 90 km.
• It has a load capacity of 30 trucks (of 50 MT each) on the main deck, 100 passenger cars on the upper deck and 500 passengers plus 34 crew and hospitality staff on the passenger deck.
• The reduced cargo travel time from 10 to 12 hours to about four hours will result in huge savings of fuel (approx 9,000 litres per day) and lower the maintenance cost of vehicles drastically.
• The ferry service, while making three round trips per day on the route, would annually transport about 5 lakh passengers, 80,000 passenger vehicles, 50,000 two-wheelers and 30,000 trucks.

Benefits

• It will reduce the fatigue of truck drivers and enhance their incomes by giving them more opportunity to do extra trips.
• It will give an impetus to the tourism industry with ease of access to the Saurashtra region and lead to the creation of new job opportunities.
• With the onset of ferry services, the port sector, furniture and fertilizer industries in Saurashtra and Kutch region will get a big boost.
• Eco-tourism and religious-tourism in Gujarat, especially in Porbandar, Somnath, Dwarka and Palitana will grow exponentially.
• The benefits of enhanced connectivity through this ferry service will also result in increased inflow of tourists in the famous Asiatic lion wildlife sanctuary at Gir.

Context: Recently, Pakistan’s Ministry of Climate Change opened the 129-year-old Moto Tunnel for tourists after its revival at the Ayubia National Park in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Background

• The tunnel is part of the longer a walk through the forests in the Ayubia National Park of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan.   

Key Points

• The ‘Moto Tunnel’ built by the British. A water pipeline runs through it and it was probably built to solve water problem in the nearby Murree. 
• The main track of the walk is 4-kms from Dunga Gali to Ayubia. The tunnel was constructed to connect Ayubia with Khaira Gali. 
• Since the water pipeline runs through it and the tunnel was used for water transportation, it is a completely flat walk through the tunnel.

About Khyber Pakhtunkhwa  

• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-western region of the country along the International border with Afghanistan. 
• It was previously known as the North-West Frontier Province until 2010 when the name was changed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the 18th Amendment to Pakistan's Constitution. 
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the third-largest province of Pakistan by the size of both population and economy, though it is geographically the smallest of four. 
• Within Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa shares border with Punjab, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Islamabad. 
• It is home to 17.9% of Pakistan's total population, with the majority of the inhabitants being Pashtuns and Hindko speakers. 
• The province is the site of the ancient kingdom Gandhara. Once a stronghold of Buddhism, the history of the region was characterized by frequent invasions by various empires due to its geographical proximity to the Khyber Pass.

Context: According to the World Meteorological Organization(WMO), the La Nina weather phenomenon is back in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean after nearly a decade’s absence.
Key Facts

• La-Nina: It means the large-scale cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean together with changes in the tropical atmospheric circulation namely winds, pressure and rainfall.
• It has the opposite impacts on weather and climate as El Nino which is the warm phase of the El Nino Southern Oscillation(ENSO).

Weather Changes in Asia and Africa due to La-Nina

• In India, La-Nina means the country will receive more rainfall than normal leading to floods.
• The Horn of Africa and central Asia will see below average rainfall due to La-Nina.
• East Africa is forecast to see drier-than-usual conditions which together with the existing impacts of the desert locust invasion may add to regional food insecurity.
• La-Nina could also lead to increased rainfall in southern Africa.
• La-Nina could also affect the South West Indian Ocean Tropical Cyclone season reducing the intensity.
• Southeast Asia, Pacific Islands and the northern region of South America are expected to receive above-average rainfall.

Also Read: https://abhipedia.abhimanu.com/Article/IAS/MTUzMTgy/IMD-forecasts-normal-monsoon-across-India-Geography-IAS

• It is an initiative aimed at supporting early childhood- friendly neighbourhoods under the government’s Smart Cities Mission.
• By focusing on the needs of young children aged 0 – 5 years and their caregivers in the public realm, the initiative marks an important step towards making Indian cities sustainable, inclusive, and family-friendly.

• re-imagine parks and open spaces; 
• improve access to early childhood facilities; 
• adapt public spaces with early childhood-oriented amenities; and create accessible, safe, walkable streets for young children and families. 

• The challenge is conducted with the support of the Bernard van Leer Foundation, Netherlands with technical support from WRI lndia.
• Under this the Data Maturity Assessment Framework will support cities in the creation of 'culture of data'. 
• The government aims to enable cities to assess their own data maturity with respect to a standardized framework covering aspects of enabling policies, governance structures, data management, capacity building, and stakeholder engagement at the city level.

• “The urban environment shapes a young child’s health and development, particularly in the crucial and vulnerable first five years of life. 
• During the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, more than 1 million new neural connections are formed every second. 
• By enhancing the primary public domain of young children and their families to be safer and more stimulating for early childhood, the Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge can help lay the foundation for more robust social and economic development outcomes in Indian cities for decades to come.

• “Families are challenged by inadequate public transport, as well as food, healthcare and childcare ‘deserts’. 
• Thoughtful urban planning and design can play a major role in addressing such challenges and in giving children a good start in life. 

• Walkable, mixed-use neighbourhoods that cater to the basics a young family needs within 15 minutes on foot; 
• lively, green public spaces close to home that offer amenities for caregivers while allowing small children to explore safely; 
• safe transport routes and transit systems that make it easy, affordable and enjoyable for families with young children to travel; and 
• healthy environments with safe levels of air quality and low noise pollution; and lastly a vibrant community life that supports family well-being.”

Road Ahead

• A focus on public spaces, mobility, access to services for young children, and other similar aspects supports their health and well-being. Cities that work for very young children are likely to work for all. Hence with this important initiative we look forward to the collaboration with World Resources Institute India and the participating cities.”
• Incorporating an early childhood lens in city planning will support more holistic, people-oriented urban development.

• The Smart Cities Mission is a bold and innovative initiative launched by the Government of India in June 2015. 
• The objective is to promote sustainable and inclusive cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and application of ‘Smart’ Solutions. 
• With a focus on sustainable and inclusive development, the Smart Cities Mission is meant to set examples that can be replicated both within and outside the Smart City, catalysing the creation of similar Smart Cities in various regions and parts of the country.

• BvLF is an independent foundation working worldwide to inspire and inform large scale action to improve the health and well-being of babies, toddlers and the people who care for them. 
• It provides financial support and expertise to partners in government, civil society and business to help test and scale effective services for young children and families.

• Urban95 is an initiative created in 2016 by the Bernard van Leer Foundation to help change the landscapes and opportunities that shape young children’s lives. 
• Central to this initiative is the question “If you could experience the city from 95cm, what would you change?” Working with city leaders, planners, architects, and innovators, Urban95 is helping bring this perspective to the center of design decisions in cities around the world.

• WRI India, an independent charity legally registered as the India Resources Trust, provides objective information and practical proposals to foster environmentally sound and socially equitable development. 
• Their work focuses on building sustainable and liveable cities and working towards a low carbon economy. 
• Through research, analysis, and recommendations, WRI India puts ideas into action to build transformative solutions to protect the earth, promote livelihoods, and enhance human well-being. 
• They are inspired by and associated with World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research organization.

Context: Recently, the WorldWide Fund for Nature (WWF) has released the WWF Water Risk Filter.
About Water Risk Filter 

• It is an online tool that helps evaluate the severity of risk of various places that can contribute to water risk.

Key highlights of the Water Risk Filter 2020
Global scenario

• 100 cities worldwide, including 30 in India, face the risk of ‘severe water scarcity’ by 2050.

These 100 cities are

• home to 350 million people
• Globally important economies.
• Populations could rise from 17% in 2020 to 51% by 2050.
• China accounts for almost half the cities.

Indian scenario

• Top 3 Indian cities facing severe water scarcity by 2050: i) Jaipur, ii) Indore and iii) Thane.
• Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi also featured on the list.

Suggestions for India

• Nature-based solutions like restoration of urban watersheds and wetlands could be used against flooding and water scarcity.
• Smart Cities initiative could offer an integrated urban water management framework combining urban planning and ecosystem restoration for building water smart and climate resilient cities.
• Urban planning and wetland conservation needed to be integrated to ensure zero loss of freshwater systems in the urban areas.
• Scale up Local initiatives: There are many initiatives in India that could be scaled up where local groups have come together and revived wetlands such as Bashettihalli wetland in Bengaluru and the Sirpur Lake in Indore.
• Public funding pool: A public funding pool needed to be created in collaboration with the private sector to fuel sustainable economic growth.

Water Management in India

• Under the Indian Constitution, water is the responsibility of the states.
• The Inter-State Water Disputes Act of 1956 provides a framework for the resolution of possible conflicts on water disputes between states.
• Central government is responsible for water management in UTs and in charge of developing policy for all the states.

Main institutions involved in water resources management

• Ministry of Water Resources (MWR): Responsible for laying down policy guidelines for the country’s water resources
• Planning Commission: Responsible for the allocation of financial resources required for various programmes of water resources development to the states as well as to the MWR.
• Ministry of Agriculture: Promotes irrigated agriculture through its Department of Agriculture and Cooperation.
• Indian National Committee of Irrigation and Drainage (INCID): Coordinates with the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) and promotes research in the relevant areas.
• Central Pollution Control Board: In charge of water quality monitoring, and the preparation and implementation of action plans to solve pollution problems.
• Central Groundwater Authority: Established in 1996 to regulate groundwater development.

Command Area Development (CAD) Programme

• The centrally sponsored Command Area Development (CAD) Programme was launched in 1974-75.
• It has been restructured and renamed as the ‘Command Area Development and Water Management (CADWM)’ Programme in 2004.
• Objective: Improving the utilization of the area equipped for irrigation and optimizing agricultural production and productivity from irrigated agriculture.

National Water Policy 2002

• It seeks to address issues such as the scarcity of water, inequities in its distribution and the lack of a unified perspective in planning of water resources.
• It proposes a legal framework of general principles on water that can used by states to draft their own legislation on water governance.
• Objective: to take cognizance of the existing situation and to propose a framework for creation laws and institutions and for a plan of action with a unified national perspective

Context: The Election Commission (EC) revoked the status of a Congress leader as a star campaigner for the party in the ongoing State Assembly by-polls citing repeated violation of Model Code of Conduct while campaigning.
Star campaigner

• According to ECI, no specific definition of a “star campaigner”.
• They are nominated by parties to campaign in a given set of constituencies.
• These persons are, in almost all cases, prominent and popular faces within the party.
• All major parties have their loyal star campaigners.
• A recognised political party can have 40-star campaigners and an unrecognised (but registered) political party can have 20.
• List of star campaigners has to be communicated to the Chief Electoral Officer and EC within a week from the date of notification of an election.

Additional Information
Model Code of Conduct (MCC)

• Set of guidelines issued by the EC to regulate political parties and candidates before elections. 
• Article 324 of the Constitution gives EC the power to supervise elections to the Parliament and state legislatures. 
• Objective: Overseeing to conduct free and fair elections, level playing field for all political parties.
• The MCC is operational from the date that the election schedule is announced till the date that results are announced.
• It is not enforceable by law because the MCC code does not have any statutory backing.
• However, certain provisions of the MCC may be enforced through other statutes such as the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Context: Recently, President of India promulgated the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 to further amend Arbitration and Conciliation Act.

• This will apply to cases where the ‘arbitration agreement or contract is induced by fraud or corruption’.

Need

• To address the concerns raised by stakeholders after the enactment of the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019.

What has changed?

• Until recently, an arbitration award was enforceable even if an appeal was filed against it in the court under Section 36 of the law.
• However, the court could grant a stay on the award on conditions as it deemed fit.

Now, as per the amendment, if the award is being given on the basis of a fraudulent agreement or corruption, then the court will:

• Not impose a condition to stay the award and
• Grant an unconditional stay as long as an appeal under Section 34 of the arbitration law is pending.
• The ordinance also does away with the 8th Schedule of the Act that contained the necessary qualifications for accreditation of arbitrators.
• The provision will come into effect retrospectively from October 23, 2015.

Criticism
The conditions prescribed in the law came in way of India getting the benefit of having foreign arbitrators.
The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019

• The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019 was introduced by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

It seeks to amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 that contains provisions:

• To deal with domestic and international arbitration
• Defines the law for conducting conciliation proceedings

Key features:

• Arbitration Council of India: The Act seeks to establish an independent body called the Arbitration Council of India (ACI) for the promotion of arbitration, mediation, conciliation and other alternative dispute redressal mechanisms.  

Composition of the ACI: The ACI will consist of a Chairperson who is either:

• A Judge of the Supreme Court; or
• A Judge of a High Court; or
• Chief Justice of a High Court; or
• An eminent person with expert knowledge in conduct of arbitration.  

Other members will include an eminent arbitration practitioner, an academician with experience in arbitration, and government appointees.

Appointment of arbitrators: Under the act, the Supreme Court and High Courts may designate arbitral institutions, which parties can approach for the appointment of arbitrators.

• For international commercial arbitration, appointments will be made by the institution designated by the Supreme Court. 
• For domestic arbitration, appointments will be made by the institution designated by the concerned High Court.  
• In case there are no arbitral institutions available, the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court may maintain a panel of arbitrators to perform the functions of the arbitral institutions. 
• An application for appointment of an arbitrator is required to be disposed of within 30 days.

Relaxation of time limits: Further, arbitral awards, other than in international commercial arbitration, will need to be made within a period of 12 months from the date of completion of pleadings.

• Completion of written submissions: The Act requires that the written claim and the defence to the claim in an arbitration proceeding, should be completed within six months of the appointment of the arbitrators.
• Confidentiality of proceedings: The act provides that all details of arbitration proceedings will be kept confidential except for the details of the arbitral award in certain circumstances. 
• Disclosure of the arbitral award will only be made where it is necessary for implementing or enforcing the award.

Context: Recently, NITI Aayog released a draft model Act and rules for states on conclusive land titling.

• A conclusive title may be defined as unassailable and conclusive proof of ownership of property.

The aim is to

• Reduce land related litigations.
• Ease the land acquisition process for infrastructure projects.

Under The Model Act

• State governments will have the power to order for establishment, administration and management of a system of title registration of immovable properties.
• The land dispute resolution officer and land title appellate tribunal are one-shot institutions which will fade away as the work reduces.
• After three years of its notification, the register of title attains conclusivity without any external action.
• Conclusive land titles are guaranteed by the state for correctness and entail provision for compensation by the state in case of any dispute.
• Any person aggrieved may file an objection before the Title Registration Officer within three years from the date of such notification. Following this, the Title Registration Officer shall make an entry to that effect in Register of Titles and in the Register of Disputes and refer the case to the land dispute resolution officer.
• A party aggrieved with an order of the land dispute resolution officer may file an appeal before the Land Titling Appellate Tribunal within 30 days of passing of such an order.
• A special bench of High court shall be designated to deal with appeals against the orders passed by the Land Titling Appellate Tribunal.

Significance

• Conclusive land titles are guaranteed by the state for their correctness and entail provision for compensation by the state in case of any disputes.
• Conclusive land titling will facilitate easy access of credit to farmers and reduce a large number of land-related litigations.
• It will also enable transparent real estate transactions and land acquisition for infrastructure development.
• Guaranteed title systems have been developed and adopted in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

What is Land Title?

• A land title determines the ownership of land or immovable property.
• In India, Land is a State subject and the Central government cannot legislate on it.
• Land ownership is established through registered sale deeds, record of rights, property tax receipts and government survey documents. This means, land ownership is presumptive in nature, and subject to challenge. 

Context: A team of physicists in New York has discovered a material that conducts electricity with perfect efficiency at room temperature — a long-sought scientific milestone. 

• The hydrogen, carbon and sulfur compound operates as a superconductor at up to 59 degrees Fahrenheit, the team reported today in Nature. That’s more than 50 degrees hotter than the previous high-temperature superconductivity record set last year.

About the new material

• A new material composed of carbon, hydrogen and sulphur superconducts at 15 degrees Celsius.
• However, it needs ultrahigh pressure of about 2 million atmospheres to achieve this transition, putting off any thoughts of application to the future.
• The pressure they needed was 267 Gigapascals (GPa), or 2.6 million atmospheres.
• The pressure at the centre of the Earth is 360 GPa, so it is 75% of the pressure at the centre of the Earth.

Key findings

• A mixture of carbon, hydrogen and sulfur was put in a microscopic niche carved between the tips of two diamonds (diamond anvil) and laser light was used on them to trigger chemical reactions.
• To verify that this phase was indeed a superconductor, the group ascertained that the magnetic susceptibility of the superconductor was that of a diamagnet.
• A superconducting material kept in a magnetic field expels the magnetic flux out its body when cooled below the critical temperature and exhibits perfect diamagnetism.
• It is also called the Meissner effect which simply means that magnetic lines do not pass through superconductors in a magnetic field.
• If researchers can stabilise the material at ambient pressure, applications of superconductivity at room temperatures could be achieved and will be within reach.
• Superconductors that work at room temperature could have a big technological impact, for example in electronics that run faster without overheating.

Note: Meissner Effect: When a material makes the transition from the normal to the superconducting state, it actively excludes magnetic fields from its interior.
About Superconductivity

• A superconductor is a material, such as a pure metal like aluminium or lead, that when cooled to ultra-low temperatures allows electricity to move through it with absolutely zero resistance.
• Kamerlingh Onnes was the first scientist who figured out exactly how superconductor works in 1911.
• Simply put, superconductivity occurs when two electrons bind together at low temperatures.
• They form the building block of superconductors, the Cooper pair.
• This holds true even for a potential superconductor like lead when it is above a certain temperature.

About Superconductors

• Superconductors are materials that address this problem by allowing energy to flow efficiently through them without generating unwanted heat.
• They have great potential and many cost-effective applications.
• They operate magnetically levitated trains, generate magnetic fields for MRI machines and recently have been used to build quantum computers, though a fully operating one does not yet exist.

Issues with superconductors

• They have an essential problem when it comes to other practical applications: They operate at ultra-low temperatures.
• There are no room-temperature superconductors. That “room-temperature” part is what scientists have been working on for more than a century.
• The amount of energy needed to cool a material down to its superconducting state is too expensive for daily applications.

Context: Recently, NASA has reported that it observed a mix of X-ray and radio signals never observed before in the Milky Way.
Fast Radio Burst

• FRB are bright bursts of radio waves (radio waves can be produced by astronomical objects with changing magnetic fields) whose durations lie in the millisecond-scale, because of which it is difficult to detect them and determine their position in the sky.
• It was first discovered in 2007.

Discovery of FRB in Milky Way

• NASA observed a mix of X-ray and radio signals never observed before in the Milky Way.
• The X-ray portion of the simultaneous bursts was detected by several satellites, including NASA’s Wind mission.
• NASA’s Wind is a spin stabilized spacecraft launched on 1st November, 1994. After several orbits through the magnetosphere, Wind was placed in a halo orbit around the L1 Lagrange point in early 2004 to observe the unperturbed solar wind that is about to impact the magnetosphere of Earth.
• The radio component was discovered by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), a radio telescope located at Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory in British Columbia, which is led by McGill University in Montreal, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Toronto.
• CHIME is a novel radio telescope that has no moving parts. Originally conceived to map the most abundant element in the universe - hydrogen - over a good fraction of the observable universe, this unusual telescope is optimized to have a high "mapping speed".

Source of FRB in Milky Way

• The source of the FRB detected recently in the Milky Way is a very powerful magnetic neutron star referred to as a magnetar, called SGR 1935+2154 or SGR 1935, which is located in the constellation Vulpecula and is estimated to be between 14,000-41,000 light-years away.
• The FRB was part of one of the magnetar’s most prolific flare-ups, with the X-ray bursts lasting less than a second.
• The radio burst, on the other hand, lasted for a thousandth of a second and was thousands of times brighter than any other radio emissions from magnetars seen in the Milky Way previously.
• It is possible that the FRB-associated burst was exceptional because it likely occurred at or close to the magnetar’s magnetic pole.
• This flare-up, which lasted for hours, was picked up by NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space telescope and NASA’s Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER).
• The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, formerly called the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), is a space observatory being used to perform gamma-ray astronomy observations from low Earth orbit.
• NASA’s Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer is an International Space Station (ISS) payload devoted to the study of neutron stars through soft X-ray timing.

What is a magnetar?

• A magnetar is a type of neutron star believed to have an extremely powerful magnetic field which can be up to a thousand times stronger than a typical neutron star.
• The magnetic field decay powers the emission of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, particularly X-rays and gamma rays. 
• Neutron stars are formed when the core of a massive star undergoes gravitational collapse when it reaches the end of its life.
• Magnetars are a subclass of these neutrons and occasionally release flares with more energy in a fraction of a second than the Sun is capable of emitting in tens of thousands of years.

Simultaneous bursts in the Milky Way

• The X-ray portion of the simultaneous bursts was detected by NASA’s Wind mission and the radio component was discovered by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME- telescope).
• Further, a NASA-funded project called Survey for Transient Astronomical Radio Emission 2 (STARE2) also detected the radio burst seen by CHIME.
• STARE2 is operated by Caltech and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, determined that the burst’s energy was comparable to FRBs.

Why is this observation significant?

• Until now, there were various theories that tried to explain what the possible sources of an FRB could be. One of the sources proposed by the theories has been magnetars.
• Before this discovery, scientists did not have any evidence to show that FRBs could be blasted out of a magnetar. Therefore, the observation is especially significant.

Context: A recent study has found that asteroid 16 Psyche, which orbits between Mars and Jupiter, could be made entirely of metal.

About Asteroid 16 Psyche

• Asteroid 16 Psyche is located 370 million kilometers away from earth between Mars and Jupiter and has a diameter of 140 miles.
• It was discovered in the year 1853 by the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gaspard and was named after the ancient Greek goddess of the soul, Psyche.
• Unlike most asteroids that are made up of rocks or ice, scientists believe that Psyche is a dense and largely metallic object thought to be the core of an earlier planet that failed formation.
• Psyche’s shape is like a potato which takes about five earth years to complete one orbit of the sun but only a bit over 4 hours to rotate once on its axis.

Key Findings

• Researchers observed the asteroid through the Hubble Space Telescope.
• Ultraviolet observation: The scientists noted that the manner in which ultraviolet light was reflected from Psyche was very similar to the way in which iron reflects sunlight.
• Presence of iron oxide ultraviolet absorption bands: This is an indication that oxidation is happening on the asteroid, which could be a result of the solar wind hitting the surface.
• The term ‘solar wind’ refers to a stream of charged particles emitted from the sun’s hot outer atmosphere, which is known as its Corona.
• Metallic asteroid: NASA scientists believe that the asteroid is made up of almost entirely of iron, nickel and several other rare materials like gold, platinum, cobalt, iridium and rhenium. 
• Most asteroids that are made up of rocks or ice. Metal asteroids are not commonly found in the solar system.
• It is thought to be the core of an earlier planet that failed in formation
• Highly valuable: Hypothetically, if it was to be transported to Earth, NASA has calculated that the iron alone would be worth more than $10,000 quadrillion.

NASA’s Psyche mission

• NASA plans to launch a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to study Psyche. 
• The unmanned spacecraft will reach the asteroid in January, 2026. 
• The first objective of the mission is to capture a photograph of the metallic asteroid, after which the spacecraft will study and map it from a distance.
• Another objective of the mission is to determine whether the asteroid is, in fact, the core of an earlier planet or if it is merely made up of unmelted material.