SPECIAL CURRENT AFFAIRS (G.S.) 2018-2019

🔵 Fecal Coliform a bacteria that propagate in the digestive tracts of humans and animals, it can enter a waterway usually by animal / human waste and septic tanks. 🔵 BOD is a measure of oxygen removed from an aquatic environment by aerobic microorganisms. 🔵 Turbidity is the measure of relative clarity of a liquid. It’s measured in nephelometri can turbidity units (NTU). In ordinary river water, it’s usually less than 10 NTU. Bramhaputra has 290-400! 🔴 Experts previously blamed it on the construction of dams and tunnels in China but now it’s revealed that earthquake and landslides in Tibet are responsible behind this mudding of water.

Air-independent propulsion (AIP) is any marine propulsion technology that allows a non-nuclear submarine to operate without access to atmospheric oxygen.

Iran and Saudi Arabia produce methanol from Natural gas, where China produced it from coal. NITI Ayog has proposed creating “Methanol Economy Fund” to help setting up ‘coal to methane’ plants in India as we also have large coal reserves just like China. Methanol emits lesser NOx and Particulate matter (PM) than petrol, and produces no SOx as there is no sulphur in methanol. Eliminate accordingly.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has discovered the farthest individual star ever seen — an enormous blue stellar body nicknamed Icarus located over halfway across the universe. The scientists took advantage of a phenomenon called ”gravitational lensing” to spot the star About the Hubble Space Telescope:-- 🧐 The Hubble Space Telescope is a large telescope in space. NASA launched Hubble in 1990. 🧐 It was built by the United States space agency NASA, with contributions from the European Space Agency. 🧐 Hubble is the only telescope designed to be serviced in space by astronauts. 🧐 Expanding the frontiers of the visible Universe, the Hubble Space Telescope looks deep into space with cameras that can see across the entire optical spectrum from infrared to ultraviolet.

Bacteria are classified as Gram-positive and Gram-negative. Gram-negative bacteria are responsible for 20-25% of infections, and are multi drug resistant. All CARB-X funding so far is focused on projects to address the most resistant “Gram-negative” bacteria.

what is jet lag? * A sleep disorder that can affect those who travel quickly across multiple time zones. * Also called desynchronosis and flight fatigue, is a temporary disorder

The Gayal (Mithun) 🐃 Vulnerable — IUCN. 🐃 Semi domestic bovine 🐃 considered to be descendent from wild Indian gaur 🐃 State animal of Arunachal Pradesh & Nagaland ♣️ Habitat ♣️ 🔵 Forested hills and nearby grassy clearings at elevations of up to 5,900 feet. 🔵 Distributed in north-eastern hill region of India and also of China, Myanmar, Bhutan and Bangladesh 🐃 Gayal is a social animal, they found in small groups and usually contain one adult male and several females and juveniles ♣️ Economic importance ♣️ 🍗Mainly reared for meat, which is considered to be more tender and superior over the meat of any other species 🥛 Mithun milk, though produced less in quantity, is of high quality and can be used for preparation of various milk products 🥛 👢 Leather obtained from this species has been found to be superior to cattle. 👢 ♣️ Socio-cultural significance ♣️ 🐃 Ownership of Mithun is considered to be the sign of prosperity and superiority of an individual in the society 🐃 Also used as marriage gift 💝 and sacrificial animal for different social and cultural ceremonies. National Research Centre on Mithun  — for developing the scientific and sustainable mithun rearing system and for catering the needs of mithun farmers with the following mandates: 🧣 Identification, evaluation and characterization of mithun germplasm available in the country. 🧣 Conservation and improvement of mithun for meat and milk. 🧣 Act as a repository of germplasm and information centre on mithun.

Oxytocin💎💎 💎Oxytocin is a powerful hormone that acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain 💎It regulates social interaction and sexual reproduction, playing a role in behaviors from maternal-infant bonding and milk release to empathy, generosity, and orgasm.-Acumenias 💎It is also an antidote to depressive feelings.-Acumenias 💎The hormone plays a huge role in all pair bonding.

Rydberg Polarons ● What : It is a new state of matter discovered. It is a giant atom with full of atoms inside. ● Where : These are formed at very cold temperatures and are held by a weak bond. ● How : It was created by Bose Einstein Condensates (BEC) of Strontium atoms when impinged with laser, creates a rydberg atom. As the electron moves around many strontium atoms, it generates ripples of the BEC. The Rydberg atom becomes inextricably mixed with these ripples and forms a new super-atom called a ‘Rydberg polaron’. These combine the two concepts of BEC and Rydberg atom. ● These will be useful in cosmology. Our universe is believed to be filled with a mysterious ‘dark matter’ which exerts a gravitational force on other matter.Some theories of dark matter postulate that it is a cosmic Bose Einstein Condensate. This experiment would help to understand the same. - acumenias ● What is a polaron? ○ A polaron is a quasiparticle used in condensed matter physics to understand the interactions between electrons and atoms in a solid material.- acumenias ● What are BEC ? ○ BEC is the state of matter that at temperatures close to absolute zero. ○ In 1924, Albert Einstein and Satyendra Nath Bose predicted the same which was discovered in 1995 ● What are Rydberg Atom? ○ A Rydberg atom is an excited atom with one or more electrons that have a very high principal quantum number. ● What is a quantum number? ○ In case of electrons, Quantum numbers can be defined as the sets of numerical values which give acceptable solutions to the Schrödinger wave equation for the hydrogen atom.- acumenias ○ I.e. it refers to the size of the orbital and the energy level an electron is placed in. ● What is Schrödinger wave equation? ○ The Schrodinger equation is used to find the allowed energy levels of an atom.The associated wave function gives the probability of finding the particle at a certain position.

Soil Parameters

🦅🦅 Great Indian Bustard 🦅🦅 🦅1. Critically endangered — IUCN Red data list 🦅 2. Heaviest of the flying birds 🦅 3. These birds are often found associated in the same habitat as blackbuck. 4. Habitat 🦅 Arid and semi-arid grasslands with scattered short scrub, bushes and low intensity cultivation in flat or gently undulating terrain. It avoids irrigated areas 🦅 Found in India and the adjoining regions of Pakistan 🦅 In India, the bird was historically found in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Today the bustard is restricted to isolated pockets in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan 5. Threats 🦅 widespread hunting for sport and food 🦅 Activities such as mining, stone quarrying, growth of industries, heavy pesticide use, grassland conversion and power projects along with the expansion of roads, electricity pylons, wind turbines, solar energy projects and other infrastructures have increased the severity of habitat degradation and disturbance 6. Protection 🦅 CITES Appendix I. 🦅 Schedule 1 (Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 2002 ) 🦅 Project Great Indian Bustard — state of Rajasthan — identifying and fencing off bustard breeding grounds in existing protected areas as well as provide secure breeding enclosures in areas outside protected areas 7. Protected areas Desert National Park Sanctuary — Rajasthan 🦅🦆 Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary – Andhra Pradesh🦆🦅 🦅🦆 Karera Wildlife Sanctuary– Madhya Pradesh🦆🦅

Some Important Pass:- Himachal Pradesh 🌐 Baralacha PassLadakh – Himachal Pradesh 🌐 Rohtang Pass - Himachal Pradesh 🌐 Shipki LaIndia - Tibet border Uttarakhand 🌐 Mana Pass - India-Tibet border (Also known as Dungri La) 🌐 Niti Pass - India-Tibet border 🌐 Lipulek Have Pass - India-Tibet border

Index Of Economic Freedom 2018: India Ranks 130th, Hong Kong Tops 🔻India has jumped 13 places in the last one year to 130th spot in the latest annual Index of Economic Freedom released by a top American think-tank the Heritage Foundation. As per the latest Index of Economic Freedom, China has jumped one spot to 110th and Pakistan is now at 131 position. 🔻Economic freedom is the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property. The top 5 countries in the list are- 1. Hong Kong 2. Singapore 3. New Zealand 4. Switzerland 5. Australia.

Sangai (brow-antlered deer or dancing deer or Eld’s deer ) 🦌 Endangered (EN) — IUCN 🦌.Endemic species found only in Manipur, India. 🦌 State animal of Manipur Habitat: 🌿 Floating marshy grasslands, Phumids, of the Keibul Lamjao National Park, located in the southern parts of the Loktak Lake (largest freshwater lake in eastern India) 🌿 Phumdi — floating mass of entangled vegetation formed by the accumulation of organic debris and biomass with soil Threats 😣 Shrinking habitat due to continuous inundation and flooding by high water caused as the result of artificial reservoir of the National Hydroelectric Power CorporationLoktak Poaching Conservation 🥀 Schedule – I animal in wildlife (Protection) act, 1972 🥀 Keibul Lamjao National Park – Manipur Sangai & Manipur society 🦌 Sangai is interpreted as the binding soul between humans and the nature❤️ 🦌 Socially, the sangai is the symbol of a prized possession of the state. 🦌 Name — sangai (sa“animal” and ngai “in awaiting”) 😆👉By nature, the deer, particularly the males, even when running for its life stops occasionally and looks back as if he is waiting for someone and hence the name 📚 Return of Sangai— documentary about Keibul Lamjao National Park and Sangai 🎈🎉Sangai festival— annual cultural festival organised by Manipur Tourism Department

T cells, B cells: Human immune system consists of macrophages, T cells and B cells to carry out its function efficiently and effectively. T cells are responsible for the cellular immunity, while B cells produce antibodies that circulate in the blood stream and attach to foreign bodies to mark them for destruction.Macrophages act as scavengers, getting rid of the worn out cells and debris. They are also responsible for producing the cytokines, which are vital to the immune system.

H-1B visa is an employment-based, non-immigrant visa category for temporary workers. The H-1B visa allows companies to hire highly-skilled foreign professionals working in areas where there is a shortage of qualified American workers. H-1B visas are valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years although various exceptions remain to the period under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The foreign worker must possess at least a bachelor's degree or its equivalent and state licensure if required to practice in that field. A change in the visa policy could affect India‘s services sector which is reliant on the outsourcing of technology solutions, and whose business model involves coupling the development of technology in India with a client-side design of the product.Indian companies like Infosys, Wipro, TCS will be negatively affected if H-1B visas are reduced.

South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN) is an intergovernmental wildlife law enforcement support body of South Asian countries namely - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAWEN was officially launched in January, 2011 in Paro Bhutan. It promotes regional cooperation to combat wildlife crime in South Asia. It focuses on policy harmonization; institutional capacity strengthening through knowledge and intelligence sharing; and collaboration with regional and international partners to enhance wildlife law enforcement in the member countries. SAWEN operates its activities from the Secretariat based in Kathmandu, Nepal. It does not work under South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

BrahMos BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is designed and developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture of India and Russia. It is capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against sea and land targets. It is capable of carrying a warhead of 300 kilogram and can be launched from ships, land and submarines. It has top supersonic speed of Mach 2.8. It can strike a target at maximum range of 290-km. It is two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant. BrahMos II It is a hypersonic cruise missile and it is the second of the BrahMos series of cruise missiles. It is expected to have a range of 290 km and a speed of Mach 7. It will be powered by a scramjet engine instead of a ramjet one. Nirbhay It is long range subsonic cruise missile. The low altitude flying missile can evade detection by radars by flying at tree top level. It can strike targets that are more than 700 km away also and is capable of carrying nuclear warheads. It can also hover over targets, unlike other missile. It also has a “fire and forget” system which cannot be jammed by the enemy. Prahaar It is a solid fuelled surface-to-surface guided short-range ballistic missile. It would be equipped with omni-directional warheads and could be used for strike both tactical and strategic targets. Its operational range is 150km. Astra It is India’s first beyond–visual-range air-to-air missile designed and developed indigenously by DRDO. It is capable of attacking targets with varying range and altitudes allowing for engagement of both short-range targets (up to 20 km) and long-range targets (up to 80 km) using alternative propulsion modes. Its test flights are launched from Su-30Mki. Barak-8 It is a long-range anti-air and anti-missile naval defence system jointly developed by India and Israel. It is a surface-to-air missile. Anti-Radiation Missile It is designed to detect and home in on an enemy radio emission source. Anti-Satellite Missile It is under consideration for development. Indian Ballistic Missile Defense Program The program aims to develop and deploy a multi-layered ballistic missile defence system to protect from ballistic missile attacks. It is a double-tiered system consisting of the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) missile for high altitude interception, and the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) Missile for lower altitude interception. Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) It is an anti-ballistic missile developed to intercept incoming ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere (exo-atmospheric). PAD is a two-stage missile with a maximum interception altitude of 80 km. Advanced Air Defence (AAD) It is an anti-ballistic missile developed to intercept incoming ballistic missiles in the endo-atmosphere at an altitude of 30 km.

Fish ladders:  A fish ladder, or fishway, is essentially a structure that allows migrating fish passage over or around an obstacle like dams, culverts, waterfalls on a river. The ladder contains a series of ascending pools that are reached by swimming against a stream of water. Fish leap through the cascade of rushing water, rest in a pool, and then repeat the process until they are out of the ladder  Fishways give fish whose survival depends on migration a detour, and have been considered critical in keeping up fish stocks.  Fish ladders are common in the US, and are of designs that depend on the obstruction, river flow, and species of affected fish. Positives:  Ecologically designed fish ladders do help the fish get across the impediment of dams in some cases.  For example, a weir on River Elbe in Germany counted its Millionth migrating fish in January 2013, 3 years after it was built.  Following the construction of Farakka Barrage, the number of hilsa available in the Ganga has gone down dramatically, as the sea water which seeps in, created hurdles in its breeding. The fish breeds in fresh water. Fish ladders can ensure that hilsa gets fresh water to breed. Concerns:  Actual numbers of fish who make it to their spawning grounds above dams with fish passages is a small fraction of targeted goals of these facilities.  species such as Atlantic sturgeon cannot pass fish ladders. So for certain species, fishways do not work at all.  water released from the fish ladders is not enough for the fish species to survive in the downstream. Suggestions:  Dams should not be built in ecologically important regions with documented fish diversity like in Western Ghats, Eastern Himalayas, near river confluences and near estuaries.  Existing dams should have fish ladders and passages designed for Indian species, these should be monitored by independent committees with local participation

A #geographical_indication (GI) is a sign used on certain goods that have a specific geographical origin and which possesses certain qualities, merits, and features that are essentially attributed to their place of origin. Most commonly, a geographical indication includes the name of the place of origin of the goods. #GI is an aspect of industrial property which refer to the country or place of origin of a product indicating an assurance of quality and distinctiveness which is essentially attributable to the fact of its origin in that defined geographical locality, region or country. Under Articles 1 (2) and 10 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Geographical Indications are covered as an element of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). GI is also covered under Articles 22 to 24 of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (#TRIPS) Agreement, which was part of the Agreements concluding the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations. as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), India enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 and it has come into force with effect from 15th September 2003. The GI tag ensures that no one other than the registered users (or at least those residing inside the geographic territory) are allowed to use the popular product name. Darjeeling Tea became the first GI tagged product in India in 2004-05. Since then 194 items have been added to the list. Some of them include Aranmula Kannadi (Mirror), Chanderi Fabric, Kancheepuram Silk, Kashmir Paper Machie, Kashmir Pashmina among others. Recent GI Tags · August 2017 - Geographical Indication (GI) tag has been given to Gobindobhog rice, a speciality from Burdwan district of WestBengal. The state government had applied for GI status for Gobindobhog rice in August 2015. · November 2017 - Geographical Indication (GI) tag has been given to traditional Etikoppaka toys (Etikoppaka Bommalu) from Andhra Pradesh.