Daily Current Affairs : 08 September 2020

1. Pothos Boyceanus

Recently, the researchers at the scientists at the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI) have identified Pothos Boyceanus in Western Ghats.

About Pothos Boyceanus

• It is a rare species of climber of the genus Pothos (family Araceae).

• The species has been christened Pothos boyceanus after Peter C. Boyce, an expert on Araceae of southeast Asia.

• Pothos boyceanus belongs to the same family as Colocasia.

• It is characterised by a ligule, slightly-winged petiole, asymmetric lamina, cylindric spadix and ovoid, milky-white berries.

• Pothos boyceanus belongs to the subgenus Allopothos and is closely related to Pothos crassipedunculatus.

• The surveys could locate fewer than 100 individuals found scattered in a 10-sq km area which qualifies it for categorisation as Critically Endangered as per IUCN.

Source: The Hindu

2. Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle

Recently, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully flight tested Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV).

• India became the fourth country after US, Russia and China to develop and successfully test hypersonic technology.

About Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV)

• It is an unmanned scramjet demonstration aircraft for hypersonic speed flight.

• It can cruise at a speed of mach 6 and move up to an altitude of 32.5 km (20 miles) in 20 seconds.

• Besides its utility for long-range cruise missiles of the future, it can be used for launching satellites at low cost.

• The HSTDV cruise vehicle is mounted on a solid rocket motor, which will take it to a required altitude.

Source: The Hindu

3. National Tribal Research Conclave

Recently, the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs chaired the National Tribal Research Conclave.

Key Highlights of the National Tribal Research Conclave

• It was jointly organised by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA).

• An agreement has been signed between Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) for setting up National Tribal Research Institute (NTRI).

  • The NTRI would help in better coordination and management among Tribal Research Institute (TRIs).

  • The NTRI would go a long way in improving tribal research resulting in evidence based planning and development of tribal areas across the country.

Source: PIB

4. Ground Level-Ozone

Recently, the scientists at the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) have evaluated the near surface ozone in the Brahmaputra River Valley (BRV) and found relatively low concentration of Ozone over Guwahati.

About Ground Level-Ozone

• The Ground Level-Ozone, also known as Tropospheric, is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

• It usually increases when pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants, and other sources chemically react in the presence of sunlight, impacting human health.

• It is a short-lived climate pollutant with an atmospheric lifetime of hours to weeks. 

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About Brahmaputra River

• Its source is the Chemayungdung Glacier, which covers the slopes of the Himalayas southeast of Lake Mapam in southwestern Tibet.
• It passes through the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh & Assam, and Bangladesh.
• In Arunachal Pradesh, it is known as Dihang (or Siang) River.
• Its left-bank tributaries are Dibang River, Lohit River, Dhansiri River and Kolong River.
• Its right-bank tributaries are Kameng River, Manas River, Beki River, Raidak River, Jaldhaka River, Teesta River and Subansiri River.

Source: PIB

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Start-Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) has extended business support services and capital infusion to 153 blocks of 23 states.

About Start-Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP)

• It is a sub-scheme under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).

• It is a flagship rural livelihood mission of Ministry of Rural Development.

• It has the objective of helping rural households including women to set-up enterprises.

• It was approved during 2015-16 and the enterprise formation started in 2017-18.

• The skill building support is provided to all the entrepreneurs supported under Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme through Community Resource Persons for Enterprise Promotion (CRP-EP).

• It focusses on providing self-employment opportunities with financial assistance and training in business management and soft skills.

Source: PIB

6. Business Reform Action Plan

Recently, the Union Minister of Finance has announced the 4th edition of Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) ranking of states for the year 2019.

Key Highlights of Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) ranking of states 2019

• The Business Reform Action Plan 2018-19 includes 180 reform points covering 12 business regulatory areas such as Access to Information, Single Window System, Labour, Environment, etc.

• The top ten states under State Reform Action Plan 2019 are Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Gujarat.

• Andhra Pradesh is the first State to take measures to revive the economy hit by the global pandemic and revive the small and medium scale industries with a ReSTART package.

• Among the Union Territories, Delhi bagged the top spot.

About Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) Ranking of States

• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has spearheaded a dynamic national level exercise that commenced in 2014 to rank all the States/UTs in the country on the reforms undertaken by them on designated parameters.

• The Ease of Doing Business is a joint initiative of DPIIT and the World Bank to improve the overall business environment in the States.

• The larger objective of attracting investments and increasing Ease of Doing Business in each State was sought to be achieved by introducing an element of healthy competition through a system of ranking states based on their performance in the implementation of Business Reform Action Plan.

  • The state rankings will help attract investments, foster healthy competition and increase Ease of Doing Business in each State.

Source: The Hindu

7. International Day of Clean Air For Blue Skies

Recently, the Union Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change will be chairing a webinar of the International Day of Clean Air For Blue Skies.

About International Day of Clean Air For Blue Skies

• The General Assembly of United Nations in 2019 adopted a resolution to observe the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies on 07th September.

  • The UNGA invited the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to facilitate the observance of the International Day, in collaboration with other relevant organizations.

• The very first International Day of Clean Air for blue skies will be held on 7th September 2020.

• The aims of the International Day of Clean Air For Blue Skies are:

  • Raise public awareness at all levels i.e. individual, community, corporate and government, that clean air is important for health, productivity, the economy and the environment.

  • Demonstrate the close link of air quality to other environmental/developmental challenges such as climate change and the global Sustainable Development Goals.  

  • Promote and facilitate solutions that improve air quality by sharing actionable knowledge best practices, innovations, and success stories.

  • Bring together diverse international actors working on this topic to form a strategic alliance to gain momentum for concerted national, regional and international approaches for effective air quality management.

• The theme of the first International Day of Clean Air for blue skies is "Clean Air for All".

Source: PIB

8. India's maiden mission-'Chandrayaan-1'

Recently, the Department of Space has said that the India's maiden mission to moon 'Chandrayaan-1' has sent images which show that Moon may be rusting along the poles.

Key Highlights

• The sign of the images sent by ISRO's Chandrayaan-1 is that even though the surface of the Moon is known to have iron-rich rocks, it is not known for the presence of water and oxygen, which are the two elements needed to interact with iron to create rust.

• The scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have given their opinion that the rusting near Moon's pole could be because the Earth's own atmosphere is lending a helping hand which i.e. the Earth's atmosphere could be protecting the Moon as well.

  • The discovery found more hematite on the Moon's Earth-facing near side than on its far side and it is suggested that Earth's oxygen could be driving the formation of hematite.

• The mediating effect of the Earth's magnetic field has led to blocking of almost 99% of hydrogen being delivered by the solar wind which could have precented the oxidation process on Moon's poles.

• The Chandrayaan-1 Moon data indicates that the Moon's poles are home to water.

  • The fast-moving dust particles that regularly pelt the Moon could release the surface-borne water molecules on Moon, mixing them with iron in the lunar soil and the heat from these impacts could increase the oxidation rate.

Chandrayaan-1

It is India's first mission to Moon which was launched in 2008, aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket.

The spacecraft was orbiting around the Moon at a height of 100 km from the lunar surface for chemical, mineralogical and photo-geologic mapping of the Moon.

It performed high-resolution remote sensing of the moon in visible, near infrared (NIR), low energy X-rays and high-energy X-ray regions.

It was based on an Indian meteorological satellite called Kalpansat.

Source: The Hindu

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