Daily Prelims Notes 23 December 2020

December 23, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

Subject: Environment

Context: The Ministry of Environment along with the Wildlife Conservation Society, India, has come up with a unique initiative — a “firefly bird diverter” for overhead power lines in areas where Great Indian Bustard (GIB) populations are found in the wild.

Concept:

The GIB is one of the most critically threatened species in India, with fewer than 150 birds left in the wild. It is listed as Critically Endangered in IUCN Red List.
A 2019 report by the Ministry pointed out that power lines, especially high-voltage transmission lines with multiple overhead wires, are the most important current threat for GIBs in the Thar region, and are causing unsustainably high mortality in about 15% of their population.

Why GIB prone to collision?

Bustards have wide sideways vision to maximize predator detection, at the cost of narrow frontal vision.
Because of this, and a habit of scanning the ground while flying, they cannot detect power-lines ahead of them, from far.
Being heavy fliers, they fail to manoeuvre across power lines within close distances. The combination of these traits make them vulnerable to collision with power-lines. As a result, they collide with power lines and die from the impact, injuries/trauma or electrocution
Firefly bird diverters are flaps installed on power lines. They work as reflectors for bird species like the GIB. Birds can spot them from a distance of about 50 metres and change their path of flight to avoid collision with power lines.
The firefly detectors have been installed along two stretches of approximately 6.5 km, selected between Chacha to Dholiya villages in the Pokhran tehsil, Rajasthan.
The diverters are called fireflies because they look like fireflies from a distance, shining on power lines in the night.

2. GREAT CONJUNCTION

Subject : Geography

Context : On 21 December 2020, almost all the viewers across the world seen the two gas giants very close to each other, while they will still be hundreds of millions of miles apart in space.

Concept :

After nearly 400 years, Saturn and Jupiter – the two largest planets in our solar system were brought closest in the night sky by an astronomical event called the “great conjunction” and popularly referred to as the “Christmas Star”.
The event coincided with the winter solstice (shortest day of the year in terms of hours of sunlight received) in the Northern Hemisphere and summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.

Great Conjunction

A conjunction is not unique to Saturn and Jupiter however, it is the name given to any event where planets or asteroids appear to be very close together in the sky when viewed from the Earth.
In June 2005 for instance, as a result of the “spectacular” conjunction, Mercury, Venus and Saturn appeared so close together in the sky that the patch of sky where the three planets were could be covered by a thumb.
Astronomers use the word “great” for the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn because of the planets’ sizes.
The “Great Conjunction” happens once in about 20 years because of the time each of the planets take to orbit around the Sun. Jupiter takes roughly 12 years to complete one lap around the Sun and Saturn takes 30 years (Saturn has a larger orbit and moves more slowly because it is not as strongly influenced by the Sun’s gravitational force as planets that are closer to the Sun).
As the two planets move along their orbits, every two decades, Jupiter catches up with Saturn resulting in what astronomers call the great conjunction.
Every two decades Jupiter–which can be thought of as a fast runner on the inside track of a racecourse–will overtake Saturn.
This overtaking is what viewers on Earth witnessed on the night of 21 December 2020, when the planets appeared aligned in the sky, while they will still be millions of miles apart in space.

3. NATIONAL FARMERS DAY

Subject : Current Events

Context :This year, Kisan Diwas takes place against the backdrop of intensifying farmers’ protests on the borders of the national capital.

Concept :

The National Famers Days or Kisan Diwas is celebrated every year in India on the 23rd of December. 23rd December was chosen to honour the birth anniversary of the fifth Prime Minister of India, Choudhary Charan Singh.
Born on 23rd December 1902, the former Prime Minister was also known as a Kisan Leader and followed the slogan of 2nd Prime Minister of India, Lal Bahadur Shashtri’s ‘JaiJawan Jai Kisan’.
From pre-Independence to the post Independence era, Chaudhary Charan Singh played a pivotal role in the Agricultural Sector of India by drafting and enacting various bills for farmer’s reforms.
The day is celebrated to promote awareness among the citizens of the country to understand the importance of the contributions of the farmers to the society and overall economic and social development of a country.
By celebrating the National Farmers Day, the government also aims to encourage the farmers across the country by organizing various activities for farmers were the winners are rewarded with prizes.

4. FSSAI NOTIFICATION

Subject : Economy

Context : In the wake of setting stronghold principles for staples, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has advised standards for passable degrees of micronutrients for fortifying food items that are processed.

Concept :

The FSSAI has confined the measure of fortification to be added to 15 to 30 % of the normal day to day dietary input levels. This has been done to guarantee balanced utilization of micronutrients fortified items.
The processed food that is fortified shall give 15 to 30 % of the Indian grown-up RDA (Recommended dietary Allowance) of micro-nutrient, that is based on a normal calorie intake of 600 kcal from processed nourishments (around 33% of day to day energy prerequisite for a grown-up) .
Organizations will have the option to sustain the items with iron, folic acid, zinc, nutrient B12, vitamin A, among several other micronutrients. The issued notification has characterized the degrees of these vitamins along with minerals for every 100 gm. For example, iron levels have been set at 1.4-1.7 milligram per 100 grams of grains. These standards will become effective from July 1, 2021.
Essentially, reasonable degrees of supplements, for example, iron, zinc, nutrient B1, nutrient B12 and nutrient B3 have been indicated in the guidelines for rusks, biscuits, breads and buns. “Fruit juices when sustained will contain Vitamin C at the degrees of 6 to 12 mg for each 100 ml,” the guideline added.
Effectively, many food organizations sell packaged items, for example, noodles and rusks sustained with nutrients and minerals. They should abide by the set standards by next year.
Recently, the FSSAI had additionally delivered a draft notice looking for stakeholder remarks on making fortification with nutrient A and D obligatory for edible oils and milk.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)

The FSSAI is an autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.
It has been established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which is a consolidating statute related to food safety and regulation in India.
It is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.
It is headed by a non-executive Chairperson, appointed by the Central Government, either holding or has held the position of not below the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.

5. NANOBODIES

Subject: Science & tech

Context: From a llama named Cormac, researchers at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) have isolated a set of tiny antibodies, or “nanobodies”, that hold promise against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

Concept:

At least one of these nanobodies could prevent infections and detect virus particles by grabbing hold of SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins, the researchers suggest in the journal Scientific Reports.
This nanobody, called NIH-CoVnb-112, appeared to work equally well in either liquid or aerosol form, which suggests it could remain effective after inhalation.
A nanobody is a special type of antibody naturally produced by the immune systems of camelids, a group of animals that includes camels, llamas, and alpacas. They are called nanobodies because they are tiny, about a tenth the weight of most human antibodies.
Because nanobodies are more stable, less expensive to produce, and easier to engineer than typical antibodies, researchers have been using them for medical research.
Since the pandemic broke, several researchers have produced llama nanobodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that may be effective at preventing infections.
In the current study, the researchers used a slightly different strategy than others to find nanobodies that may work especially well, NIH said in a statement.
The spike protein acts like a key during coronavirus infection. It “unlocks” the door to infections when it binds to a human protein called ACE2 receptor on the cell surface.
The NIH scientists developed a method that would isolate nanobodies that block infections by covering part of the spike protein that bind to and unlock the ACE2 receptor.

6. F/A-18 SUPER HORNET FIGHTER JETS

Subject: Defence

Context: Boeing announced the successful demonstration of the compatibility of its F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets with the Indian Navy’s aircraft carriers as part of its pitch for the Navy’s fighter procurement.

Concept :

The demonstrations were held in coordination with U.S. Navy on a shore-based facility at the Naval Air Station Patuxent river in Maryland, U.S.
The demonstrations show that the F-18 Super Hornet would do well with the Indian Navy’s Short Take-off but Arrested Recovery (STOBAR) system and validate earlier simulation studies done over the last two years.
As a part of Boeing’s proposed “By India, for India” sustainment program, the Block III Super Hornets could be serviced in partnership with the Indian Navy as well as India and U.S. based partners throughout the life cycle of the aircraft.

Significance:

The F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet would not only provide superior war-fighting capability to the Indian Navy but also create opportunities for cooperation in naval aviation between the U.S. and India.
F/A-18 can also interface with the Navy’s P-8I as a “force multiplier” and also with other platforms under induction.

7. UN POPULATION AWARD FOR 2020

Subject: Current Events

Context: Help Age India has been presented the UN Population Award for 2020 (institutional category), according to a release issued by UNFPA.

Concept:

Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981, the United Nations Population Award recognises contributions in the fields of population and reproductive health.
The Committee for the United Nations Population Award, which made the selections, is chaired by Ion Jinga, the permanent representative of Romania to the United Nations, and is composed of representatives of nine other UN Member States.
For the first time in the history of the UN Population Award, the honour is being conferred on an Indian institution.
Help Age India, which has been working for ‘the cause and care of disadvantaged older persons to improve their quality of life’ for over four decades, is the first Indian institution to receive this award.
The last time the Award came to an Indian was 28 years ago, back in 1992, when it was awarded to Mr. J.R.D. Tata as an individual laureate.