31 MAY 2021 CURRENT AFFAIRS
1. HABITAT GUILDS
Uttarakhand is home to the Western Himalayan temperate forests which harbour a large number of endemic bird species. A new study that analysed these natural oak-dominated forests and modified forests has noted that there was a drastic loss of bird species in all modified landscapes.
About:
- Six major land-use types which included natural oak forest, degraded oak forest (lightly used), lopped oak forest (intensively used), pine forest, agricultural cultivation area and sites with buildings were studied.
- The results showed that there was a low diversity of species in monoculture areas and urban sites.
- It also noticed strong decline in some of the habitat guilds in the areas that experienced land-use change. Habitat guilds are groups of bird species that have common habitat preferences.
Source : The Hindu
2. SURYAKIRAN
The Suryakiran aerobatic display team of the Indian Air Force (IAF), which has enthralled crowds across the country with their hair-raising manoeuvres with their aircraft in red and white, has just completed 25 years.
About:
- One of the few nine aircraft display teams in the world and the only one in Asia, the team has carried out over 600 displays across the country and south east Asia.
- “Suryakiran”, which means ‘rays of the sun’ in Sanskrit, was raised in May 27, 1996, at the IAF air base in Bidar, Karnataka, with six Kiran MkII trainer aircraft.
- It carried out its first display on September 15, 1996 for the golden jubilee celebrations of the Air Force Administrative College in Coimbatore.
- However, the team was disbanded in 2011 after the Aero India show due to shortage of training aircraft in the IAF and was resurrected in 2015 on advanced jet trainer Hawk Mk-132 aircraft.
- This team, which has been the brand ambassador of the IAF, is also the 52 squadron of the IAF and is the youngest fighter squadron with the motto “Always the Best”.
Source : The Hindu
3. HERERO AND NAMA GENOCIDE
Germany for the first time has recognised that it committed genocide against the Herero and Nama people in present-day Namibia during its colonial rule over a century ago, and promised financial support of over a billion euros to the Southern African nation.
About:
- Between 1904 and 1908, German colonial settlers killed tens of thousands of men, women and children from the Herero and Nama tribes after they rebelled against colonial rule in what was then called German South West Africa.
- Between 1884 and 1890, Germany formally colonised parts of present-day Namibia — a territory which was roughly twice as large as the European nation, but not as densely populated. By 1903, around 3,000 German settlers had occupied the central high ground of the region.
- Tensions quickly rose as local tribes saw the German settlers as a threat to their land and resources. The conflict reached a boiling point in 1904, when the Herero nation — a primarily pastoral community — rebelled against the Germans, and were closely followed by the Nama tribe.
- During the Battle of Waterberg, around 80,000 Herero, including women and children, were chased across the desert by German troops. A mere 15,000 survived.
- The Germans continued to rule the region till 1915, following which it fell under South Africa’s control for 75 years. Namibia finally gained independence in 1990.
- The atrocities committed in what was then known as German South West Africa have been described by some historians as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Source : Indian Express
4. FLOATING JETTY
Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways inaugurated the second floating jetty at Old Goa.
About:
- The jetty will offer safe, hassle free transportation to the tourists. The Minister lauded the work done by Government of Goa in making tourism sector a growth engine of the state.
- The Government of India has approved setting up of two Concrete floating jetties on River Mondovi (NW-68) to connect Old Goa and Panjim.
- This is the second floating jetty constructed on River Mondovi (NW-68).
- Earlier, the first jetty located at Captain of Ports, Panjim Goa was inaugurated in February 2020 at Panjim.
Important Info :
Concrete floating jetties have many advantages over the fixed jetties.
- Their price is approximately 1/5th of the price of fixed jetty.
- Similarly, they are quicker to build and install, easier to use.
- The designed life of floating jetty is up to 50 years.
- Also, being floating structures they don't need CRZ clearances.
- They can be increased in size or reduced as per changes in users' requirement or the changes in jetty site's hydrographic profile.
Source : PIB
5. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS)
On June 3, NASA will send 128 glow-in-the-dark baby squids and some 5,000 tardigrades (also called water bears) to the International Space Station for research purposes.
About:
- The water animals, which will be launched aboard SpaceX’s 22nd cargo resupply mission to the ISS, are part of experiments that could help scientists design improved protective measures for astronauts going on long-duration space travel.
- One of these studies involves looking at how the water bears– tiny animals (around 1mm long) that can adapt to extreme conditions on Earth, including high pressure, temperature and radiation– would behave in a spaceflight environment.
- Scientists also want to look at how microgravity conditions affect the relationship between the bobtail squid –which are also tiny (3 mm long)– and beneficial microbes, as part of a study called UMAMI, short for Understanding of Microgravity on Animal-Microbe Interactions.
Important Info :
- The International Space Station (ISS) has been in space since 1998, and has been known for the exemplary cooperation between the five participating space agencies that run it: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada).
Source : Indian Express
6. HOW IAS OFFICERS ARE PUT ON CENTRAL DEPUTATION
West Bengal Chief Secretary Bandyopadhyay, an IAS officer of the 1987 batch, was due to begin an extension of three months after retiring. Instead, the Centre has asked him to join the Government of India.
How officers get an extension
- Rule 16(1) of DCRB (Death-cum-Retirement Benefit) Rules says that “a member of the Service dealing with budget work or working as a full-time member of a Committee may be given extension of service for three months, with the prior approval of the Central Government”.
- For an officer posted as Chief Secretary of a state, this extension can be for six months.
Central deputation
- In normal practice, the Centre asks every year for an “offer list” of officers of the All India Services (IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service) willing to go on central deputation, after which it selects officers from that list.
- Rule 6(1) of the IAS Cadre Rules says an officer may, “with the concurrence of the State Governments concerned and the Central Government, be deputed for service under the Central Government or another State Government…”
- It says “in case of any disagreement, the matter shall be decided by the Central Government and the State Government or State Governments concerned shall give effect to the decision of the Central Government.”
Source : Indian Express
7. EDIBLE OILS
Edible oil prices have risen sharply in recent months.
About:
- The prices of six edible oils — groundnut oil, mustard oil, vanaspati, soya oil, sunflower oil and palm oil — have risen between 20% and 56% at all-India levels in the last one year, data on the Department of Consumer Affairs website show.
- With rising incomes and changing food habits, consumption of edible oils has been rising over the years. While mustard oil is consumed mostly in rural areas, the share of refined oils —sunflower oil and soyabean oil — is higher in urban areas.
Important Info :
How much is produced domestically and how much is imported?
- In 2019-20, domestic availability of edible oils from both primary sources (oilseeds like mustard, groundnut etc.) and secondary sources (such as coconut, oil palm, rice bran oil, cotton seed) was only 10.65 million tonnes against the total domestic demand of 24 million tonnes — a gap of over 13 million tonnes.
- Thus, India depends on imports to meet its demand. In 2019-20, the country imported about 13.35 million tonnes of edible oils worth Rs 61,559 crore, or about 56% of the demand.
- The major sources of these imports are Argentina and Brazil for soyabeen oil; Indonesia and Malaysia palm oil; and Ukraine and Argentina again for sunflower oil.
Source : Indian Express
8. EMERGENCY CREDIT LINE GUARANTEE SCHEME (ECLGS)
On account of the disruptions caused by the second wave of COVID 19 pandemic to businesses across various sectors of the economy, Government has further enlarged the scope of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme as under.
About:
- ECLGS 4.0: 100% guarantee cover to loans up to Rs.2 crore to hospitals/nursing homes/clinics/medical colleges for setting up on-site oxygen generation plants, interest rate capped at 7.5%;
- Additional ECLGS assistance of upto 10% of the outstanding as on February 29, 2020 to borrowers covered under ECLGS 1.0, in tandem with restructuring as per RBI guidelines of May 05, 2021;
- Current ceiling of Rs. 500 Cr. of loan outstanding for eligibility under ECLGS 3.0 to be removed, subject to maximum additional ECLGS assistance to each borrower being limited to 40% or Rs.200 crore, whichever is lower;
- Civil Aviation sector to be eligible under ECLGS 3.0
- Validity of ECLGS extended to 30.09.2021 or till guarantees for an amount of Rs.3 lakh crore are issued. Disbursement under the scheme permitted up to31.12.2021.
- Detailed operational guidelines in this regard are being separately issued by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC).
Source : PIB
9. TIANZHOU-2 CARGO SPACECRAFT
China took another step towards completing the construction of its first space station by the end of next year following the launch and docking of a cargo spacecraft.
About:
- The Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft, described by as “the delivery guy for China’s space station”, was launched on a Long March-7 rocket from the island of Hainan, and docked eight hours later with the space station’s first core module called Tianhe, or “heavenly harmony”.
- The Tianzhou-2 spacecraft carried a range of supplies, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said, and will be followed by the launch of another cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-3, and two manned missions, Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-13, this year, each carrying three astronauts who will spend several months in orbit. The Shenzhou-12 launch is slated for mid-June.
Important Info :
The launch was a third landmark for China’s space programme in recent weeks.
- China landed a spacecraft in Mars on May 15 carrying its first Mars rover, Zhurong.
- The Tianhe module, which the cargo spacecraft docked with on Sunday, was launched on April 29.
Source : The Hindu
10. MONSOON
The arrival of the southwest monsoon over Kerala has been delayed to June 3, the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The agency had last month forecast that the onset would be on May 31.
About:
- Skymet, a private weather forecast agency, however, said the monsoon had arrived.
- This was because two of the three criteria — as defined by the IMD — had been met.
-
- rain-bearing westerlies being at a minimum depth and speed;
- at least 60% of the available 14 stations in Kerala and coastal Karnataka reporting rainfall of 2.5 mm or more for two consecutive days after May 10; and
- a certain degree of clouding, indicated by a parameter called ‘outgoing longwave radiation’ (OLR), being below 200 W/square metre.
The criteria are
- rain-bearing westerlies being at a minimum depth and speed;
- IMD’s own data indicated that except for the OLR, the other criteria were met.
- The IMD and Skymet have forecast normal monsoon from June-September this year.
- To herald the onset, initial rains first occur over south Andaman Sea and the monsoon winds then advance across the Bay of Bengal.
- Since 2005, the monsoon has arrived within the error margin of the IMD’s weather models, except in 2015.
Source : The Hindu
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