Daily Prelims Notes 22 March 2021
- March 22, 2021
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN
Daily Prelims Notes
22 March 2021
Table Of Contents
- SCRAMBLE CROSSING
- LARGEST TULIP GARDEN
- NOWRUZ FESTIVAL
- KEN BETWA LINK
- ODISSI DANCE
- KAMBALA
- RIGHT TO COUNSEL IN CUSTODY
- INDO ISRAEL VACCINE
- IAEA
- REDSANDERS
- WHITSUN REEF
Subject : Current Events
Context : A scramble crossing or X-crossing is going to come up in front of the Red Fort under the Chandni Chowk Redevelopment project.
Concept :
- A pedestrian scramble, also known as scramble intersection and scramble corner (Canada), ‘X’ Crossing (UK), diagonal crossing (US), exclusive pedestrian interval, or Barnes Dance, is a type of traffic signal movement that temporarily stops all vehicular traffic, thereby allowing pedestrians to cross an intersection in every direction, including diagonally, at the same time.
- It was first used in Canada and the United States in the late 1940s, but it later fell out of favor with traffic engineers there, as it was seen as prioritizing flow of pedestrians over flow of car traffic.
- Its benefits for pedestrian amenity and safety have led to new examples being installed in many countries in recent years.
Subject : Environment
Context : Asia’s largest tulip garden in srinagar gets high tech cold storage facility.
Concept :
- Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip garden, previously Model Floriculture Center, is a tulip garden in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is the largest tulip garden in Asia spread over an area of about 30 ha (74 acres).
- It is situated on the foothills of Zabarwan Range with an overview of Dal Lake. The garden was opened in 2007 with the aim to boost floriculture and tourism in Kashmir Valley.
- The garden is built on a sloping ground in a terraced fashion consisting of seven terraces. Apart from tulips, many other species of flowers – hyacinths, daffodils and ranunculus have been added as well.
- Tulip festival is an annual celebration that aims to showcase the range of flowers in the garden as a part of tourism efforts by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir. It is organized during the onset of spring season in Kashmir valley.
Subject : Culture
Concept :
- Nawruz is the new year celebrations for Parsis (Zoroastrians) and Muslims (both Shia and Sunni).
- It is celebrated on 21st March every year.
- In 1079 AD, a Persian (Iranian) king named JalaluddinMalekshah introduced this festival to generate revenue and collect taxes from people.
- It was observed on March 21 to mark the beginning of spring and the day of equinox.
- The equinoxes are the only time when both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere experience roughly equal amounts of daytime and nighttime.
- The equinoxes happen in March (about March 21) and September (about September 23). These are the days when the Sun is exactly above the Equator, which makes day and night of equal length.
- March equinox is also known as vernal or spring equinox and the September equinox is also known as autumnal or fall equinox.
- It is inscribed in the list of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of India.
- In India it is known as JamshedNavroz
Subject : Economy
Context : Memorandum of Agreement between the Union Minister of Jal Shakti and the Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to implement the Ken Betwa Link Project, the first project of the National Perspective Plan for interlinking of rivers, will take place on 22nd March 2021.
Concept :
- This project involves transfer of water from the Ken to the Betwa River through the construction of Daudhan Dam and a canal linking the two rivers, the Lower Orr Project, Kotha Barrage and Bina Complex Multipurpose Project.
- It will provide annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh ha, drinking water supply to about 62 lakh people and also generate 103 MW of hydropower.
- The Project will be of immense benefit to the water starved region of Bundelkhand, especially to the districts of Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri and Raisen of Madhya Pradesh and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur of Uttar Pradesh.
Subject : Culture
Context : Noted odissi dancer LaxmipriyaMohapatra dies at 86 ; Naveen patnaik condoles.
Concept :
- Odissi dance is one of the classical dances of India.
- It is indigenous to Orissa, eastern India, and follows the principles of the Natya-shastra.
Evolution
- The dance has its origin in the temples.
- The carvings found at the Udayagiri Monastery denote that Odissi was patronised as early as the 2nd Century BCE and the trend continued unabated until about the 16th Century AD.
- After surviving the tumultuous years from 16th century AD till independence, Odissi underwent a renaissance of sorts which helped it become the global phenomenon it is today.
- The classical music and dance form of Odisha was prefixed with “Odissi” by noted Odia poet KabichandraKalicharanPattanayak, who was the centre of the cultural revival of Odisha post-independence, to retain its distinct identity.
Dance Techniques
- Odissi dance form can be broken down to the movement of the head, bust and torso and the accompanying gestures and expressions.
- The techniques of movement are built around the two basic postures of the Chowk and the Tribhanga. The chowk is a position imitating a square – a very masculine stance with the weight of the body equally balanced. The tribhanga is a very feminine stance where the body is deflected at the neck, torso and the knees.
- Odissi dance deals largely with the love theme of Radha and Krishna.
Subject : Culture
Context :Srinivasa Gowda sets new record in Kambala racing.
Concept :
- Kambala is a traditional buffalo race in paddy fields filled with slush and mud which generally takes place in coastal Karnataka (Udupi and Dakshina Kannada) from November to March.
- Traditionally, it is sponsored by local Tuluva landlords and households in the coastal districts.Tuluva people are an ethnic group native to Southern India. They are native speakers of the Tulu language.
- During the race, the racers try to bring the buffaloes under control by holding their reins tight and whipping them.
- In its traditional form, Kambala was non-competitive and buffalo pairs raced one after another in paddy fields.
- It was also observed as thanksgiving to gods for protecting the animals from diseases.
7. RIGHT TO COUNSEL IN CUSTODY
Subject : Polity
Context : National Investigation Agency (NIA) told a special court in Mumbai that the arrested assistant police inspector Sachin Waze, now suspended from Mumbai Police, was not cooperating in the probe against him and was insisting on his lawyer being present during interrogation
Concept :
- Right to counsel means a defendant has a right to have the assistance of counsel (i.e., lawyers) and, if the defendant cannot afford a lawyer, requires that the government appoint one or pay the defendant’s legal expenses.
- The right to counsel is generally regarded as a constituent of the right to a fair trial.
In India
- Article 22 of the Constitution of India states that “No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice.”
- Section 41D of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) states that an accused is entitled to “meet an advocate of his choice during interrogation, though not throughout interrogation”
- In 2011, the Supreme Court of India ruled that a court could not decide a case without a lawyer present for the defendant, and mandated that a court must appoint a lawyer when the defendant cannot afford one.
- Public legal assistance is provided through the National Legal Services Authority and state-level legal services organizations.
- Courts appoint legal aid lawyers in both civil and criminal case
Subject : Science & tech
Context : India’s Premas Biotech, Israel’s Oramed jointly develop oral vaccine for COVID-19.
Concept :
- An Indian-Israeli collaboration has reportedly developed an oral vaccine, one that can be swallowed like a pill instead of being injected as is the norm, for COVID-19.
- A preliminary test in animals showed that the vaccine produced the expected antibodies that confer protection.
- However the findings have not been reported in a scientific publication yet and can’t be independently verified.
- The nascent COVID-19 vaccine candidate is a “protein-based VLP (Virus Like Particle) vaccine candidate” that generates “triple protection” against the SARS CoV-2 virus, that is, it is able to target the spike, membrane, and envelope proteins of the coronavirus.
- These three proteins are critical to the structure of the coronavirus and give it form as well as the ability to replicate inside the body.
Subject : International Organisations
Context : A new initiative by IAEA may help to find an alternative to JCPOA in the changed circumstances.
Concept :
About IAEA:
- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an UN agency is the world’s central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the nuclear field.
- It works for the safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology, contributing to international peace and security and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
- It was formed in 1957 as a result of Conference on the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency held at the UN headquarters. Initially it was known as ‘Atoms for peace’.
- It is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
- It has 172 members (Comoros being most recent member).
- Though it is and independent international agencies, yet, it reports annually to UNGA.
- It along with its Director General won Nobel Peace prize in 2005.
- The IAEA’s policy-making bodies decide on the Agency’s programmes and budgets. They comprise the General Conference of all Member States and the 35-member Board of Governors.
Funding of IAEA:
- The IAEA carries out its work in two main areas: the regular programme and the Technical Cooperation programme. These two programmes are financed from separate funds.
- They are additionally supported by extra-budgetary contributions from Member States and non-member states donors. The IAEA’s budget is approved annually by the IAEA General Conference.
Subject : Environment
Context : The Forest Department has prepared a schedule for the global e-auction of the seized red sanders logs.
Concept :
About Red Sanders:
- Pterocarpussantalinus or Red Sanders is an endemic tree of South India
- They are found in Tropical Dry Deciduous forest of the Palakonda and Seshachalam hill ranges of Andhra Pradesh and also found in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
- Red Sanders usually grow in the rocky, degraded and fallow lands with Red Soil and hot and dry climate.
- IUCN has put it under the category of endangered species in the Red List due to the dwindling population because of illegal felling and smuggling.
- Its export is banned in India in accordance with the CITES and Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
- It is used for various purposes such as immunity medicine, furniture, radiation absorbent, musical instrument, food dyes and spices, Ayurveda and Siddha medicine, decorative and ornamental purposes etc.
Subject : Environment
Context : The Philippines government has claimed that around 220 Chinese boats have been spotted at a reef in the South China Sea waters controlled by Manila.
Concept :
- It urged China to recall the boats saying the presence of the vessels violated Manila’s maritime rights by encroaching into the Philippines’ sovereign territory.
- The boats are believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel. The boats were spotted on March 7 at the Whitsun Reef, which Manila calls the Julian Felipe Reef.
Whitsun Reef
- Whitsun Reef (also known as Whitsum Reef, Whitson Reef, in Mandarin Chinese) is a reef at the northeast extreme limit of the Union Banks in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea.
- It is the largest reef of the Union Banks.