Daily Prelims Notes 27 February 2022

Daily Prelims Notes

27 February 2022

Table Of Contents

1. UNSC RESOLUTIONS
2. OPERATION GANGA
3. CHEETAH REINTRODUCTION
4. CARBON CAPTURE BY FORESTS
5. How Fish swim?
6. TIME DILATION
7. FASTING & CALORIE RESTRICTION FOR HEALTHY LIFESPAN
8. Ukraine: A short history of its creation
9. P-8I- the Indian Navy’s frontline multi-mission aircraft
10. WHO GETS VIP SECURITY COVER & HOW?
11. CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR DISASTER
12. ANTARCTIC MELTING

1. UNSC RESOLUTIONS

TOPIC: IR

Context- India, along with China and the UAE, abstained from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution spon­sored by the U.S. and Alba­nia on Saturday, that sought to con­demn Russian aggression and called for the immediate withdrawal of Russian mili­tary from Ukraine.

Concept-

About UNSC Resolutions:

• United Nations resolutions are formal expressions of the opinion or will of United Nations organs.
• A United Nations Security Council resolution is a United Nations resolution adopted by the fifteen members of the Security Council (UNSC), the United Nations (UN) body charged with “primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security”.
• The UN Charter specifies in Article 27 passing and voting on the resolutions.

About UNSC:

• The Security Council was established by the UN Charter in 1945.
• The council is headquartered at New York.
• It is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
  • The other 5 organs of the United Nations are—the General Assembly (UNGA), the Trusteeship Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat.
• Its primary responsibility is to work to maintain international peace and security.
• The council has 15 members: the five permanent members and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.
  • The five permanent members are the United States, the Russian Federation, France, China and the United Kingdom.
  • Each year, the General Assembly elects five non-permanent members (out of ten in total) for a two-year term. The ten non-permanent seats are distributed on a regional basis.
• Voting Powers:
  • Each member of the Security Council has one vote.
  • Decisions of the Security Council on matters are made by an affirmative vote of nine members including the concurring votes of the permanent members.
  • A “No” vote from one of the five permanent members blocks the passage of the resolution.
  • Any member of the United Nations which is not a member of the Security Council may participate, without vote.

2. OPERATION GANGA

TOPIC: IR

Context- Centre launches Operation Ganga to bring back citizens stranded in Ukraine via Romania, Hungary.

Concept-

• The Indian government has successfully brought back 250 more citizens from Ukraine in the evacuation mission named Operation Ganga.
• Air India is also operating a flight from Hungary
  • The Air India (AI)-192 special flight from the Romanian capital Bucharest.

3. CHEETAH REINTRODUCTION

TOPIC: Environment

Context- An expert team of wildlife officials from Madhya Pradesh, the Indian Forest Department and the Wildlife Institute of India that visited Namibia but a formal Memorandum of Under­ standing (MoU) regarding the transfer is yet to be signed.

Concept-

Action Plan for Reintroduction of cheetah in India:

• With help from the Wildlife Institute of India and the Wildlife Trust of India, the ministry of Environment will be translocating around 10-12 young cheetahs from Namibia ,South Africa and Botswana.
• These countries have the world’s largest populations of the animal.
• The proposed site for in­troduction is the Kuno Pal­ pur National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh, though at least three other reserves in Central India are being considered.
  • The Kuno National Park was also supposed to be a site for the Asiatic Lion that is now confined to Gir.

About Cheetah:

• The cheetah, Acinonyxjubatus, is one of the oldest of the big cat species, with ancestors that can be traced back more than five million years to the Miocene era.
• The cheetah is also the world’s fastest land mammal.
• It is listed as vulnerable in IUCN red listed species.
• The country’s last spotted feline died in Chhattisgarh in 1947. Later, the cheetah — which is the fastest land animal — was declared extinct in India in 1952.
• The Asiatic cheetah is classified as a “critically endangered” species by the IUCN Red List is believed to survive only in Iran.

*** For further information Please refer to DPN 16 February 2022.

4. CARBON CAPTURE BY FORESTS

TOPIC: Environment

Context- Conservationists have noted plantations outside forest don’t capture carbon efficiently or make up for biodiversity losses.

• Trees on forest edges may grow faster than those inside.

Concept-

Forests as Storehouses of carbon:

• The forest in the world that are major storehouses of carbon.
• In net, forests store more carbon dioxide than they release and an estimated 30% of carbon emissions from emitting fossil fuels are absorbed by the forest, mak­ing them a terrestrial carbon sink.
• Trees absorb carbon diox­ide (CO2), release oxygen by way of photosynthesis, and store carbon in their trunks.
• When they shed, soil mi­crobes work to decompose the leaves and other organic matter that releases the trapped carbon dioxide.

Differential growth:

• Data from the U.S. De­partment of Agriculture’s Forest Inventory and Analy­sis program found trees on the forest edges grow nearly twice as fast as interior trees.
• This is likely because the trees on the edge don’t have competition with interior forest, so they get more light.

Soil behaviour:

• Warmer tempera­tures at the edge of the forest caused leaves and organic matter to decompose faster, as it forced soil microorgan­isms to work harder and re­lease more carbon dioxide than their cooler, more shad­ed peers in the forest inte­rior.

Role of plantations:

• Plantations like western ghats de­plete groundwater, have higher surface water runoff, poorer soil infiltration, com­pared to trees in natural for­ests.
• The carbon stocks in plantations such as teak and eucalyptus were 30% to 50% lower than in natural evergreen forests.
• They are generally less sta­ble and resilient.
• The biggest loss, however, is that of spe­cies dependent on forests— from insects to primates— are ripped apart from their natural habitats and planta­tions, which are mostly monocultures, rarely had the capacity to support a rich, biodiverse system.

5. How Fish swim?

TOPIC: Science & Tech

Context- In a new study, researchers at the Harbin Engineering University in China have unravelled the mechanism that drives the fish forward while swimming.

Concept-

• Through precise control of body fluctuations, pressure fields are created in the form of movable vortex pairs of high­ and low pressure regions that enable them to swim.
• This can be explained by physics of fluids
• A fish accelerates when it bends its caudal fin — attached to the vertebral column — to one side and then returns to the neutral position as the fish straightens its body.
• This causes the formation of two vortex cores with low pressure and high pressure regions on opposite sides of the fish.
• The caudal fin used the low pressure area to drive the fluid toward the body and generate a vertical upward pull on the fin.
• The high pressure area pushed the fluid away at the crest and generated an upward thrust on the caudal fin.
• Repetition of this process enabled the fish to move continuously.

6. TIME DILATION

TOPIC: Science & Tech

Context- In a feat of measurement science, physicists, publishing in Nature, have shown that two tiny atomic clocks placed a millimeter away from each other tick at different rates.

Concept-

About Time Dilation:

• Time dilation is a phenomenon predicted by Albert Einstein
• It refers to the stretching of time intervals when moving at high speeds or passing near intense gravitational fields.
• Time dilation is the difference in the elapsed time as measured by two clocks.
• It is either due to a relative velocity between them or to a difference in gravitational potential between their locations.
• These can be used for the predictions of the theory of relativity.

7. FASTING & CALORIE RESTRICTION FOR HEALTHY LIFESPAN

TOPIC: Science & Tech

Context- A study of data from 186 countries in the journal The Lancet revealed that obese people now out­ number underweight indivi­duals.

Concept-

Fasting versus CR:

• We store glucose in the form of glycogen in the liver, and the energy demands of the body are met from this reser­voir.
• One day of fasting leads to a 20% decrease in blood sugar levels and depleted gly­cogen reserves.
• The body switches to a metabolic mode where energy is ob­tained from fat ­derived ke­ tone bodies and from glu­cose outside the liver.
• In the fruit fly, prolonged overnight fasting promotes a recycling process inside cells called autophagy.
  • Autophagy mostly occurs at night and is modulated by the body’s circadian clock.
  • Autophagy is essential for the fitness and survival of neuron.
• It has also been shown to cause a remodelling of the gut microbiome increasing Bacteria diversity.

8. Ukraine: A short history of its creation

TOPIC: Geography

Context-  According to Putin, modern Ukraine was entirely and fully created by Russia, more specifically the Bolshevik, communist Russia.

Concept-

About Ukraine:

• Ukraine is in the east of Europe, and is bound by Russia to its northeast, east, and southeast, and the Black Sea in the south. In the southwest, west, and north.
• Ukraine shares borders, in the clockwise direction, with Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, and Belarus.
• It is the largest country in Europe after Russia itself, with an area of 603,550 sq km, or about 6% of the continent.
• Ukraine is, of course, dwarfed by Russia, which sprawls over almost 4 million sq km and 40% of Europe.
• Ukraine is the poorest country in Europe in terms of gross domestic product and gross national income per capita.
• It has deposits of iron ore and coal, and exports corn, sunflower oil, iron and iron products, and wheat.
• India is Ukraine’s largest export destination in the Asia Pacific region. The country’s major export to India is sunflower oil, followed by inorganic chemicals, iron and steel, plastics, and chemicals.
• Ukraine’s major import from India is pharmaceutical products.
• Early history of Ukraine: Modern Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus all trace their cultural ancestry to the KyivanRus’.
• Post world war I, In 1922, Ukraine became part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
• In 1991, the USSR was dissolved. Demands for independence had been growing in Ukraine for a couple of years previously, and in 1990, over 300,000 Ukrainians created a human chain in support of freedom, and the so-called Granite Revolution of students sought to prevent the signing of a new agreement with the USSR.
• On August 24, 1991 the parliament of Ukraine adopted the country’s Act of Independence. Subsequently, Leonid Kravchuk, head of the parliament, was elected Ukraine’s first President.
• In December 1991, the leaders of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine formally dissolved the Soviet Union and formed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). However, Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, never ratified the accession, so Ukraine was legally never a member of the CIS.

9. P-8I- the Indian Navy’s frontline multi-mission aircraft

TOPIC: Science & Tech

Context- Aviation and defence colossus Boeing delivered India’s 12th maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare P-8I aircraft on February 24.

Concept-

About P-8I Aircraft:

• It is a long-range Maritime Reconnaissance and Anti-Submarine Warfare
• It is an Indian variant of the P-8A Poseidon aircraft that Boeing company developed as a replacement for the US Navy’s ageing P-3 fleet.
• The aircraft comes with one of the most advanced weapon systems in the world, and has a life of around 25 years, or 25,000 hours in the “harshest maritime flight regimes, including extended operations in icing environments”.
• The P-8I can fly as high as 41,000 feet, and has a short transit time, which reduces the size of the “Area of Probability when searching for submarines, surface vessels or search and rescue survivors”.
• It is also used for low altitude, and humanitarian, and search and rescue missions.
• The Indian Navy became the first international customer for the P-8 aircraft in 2009.
• The P-8Is will come installed with encrypted communication systems since India has now signed the foundational agreement Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) with the US.
• The first eight of these aircraft are stationed at INS Rajali in Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu, on the eastern coast. The batch of the additional four are part of another squadron at INS Hansa in Goa, named Indian Naval Air Squadron 316.

10. WHO GETS VIP SECURITY COVER & HOW?

TOPIC: Defence & Security

Context- Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been provided Z plus category security by the Haryana government.

Concept-

• In India, security details are provided to some high-risk individuals by the police and state government.
• Depending on the threat perception to the person, the category is divided into four tiers: Z+ (highest level), Z, Y and X.
• Individuals under this security blanket include the President, Vice-President, Prime-Minister, Supreme Court and High Court Judges, Service Chiefs of Indian Armed Forces, Governors of State, Chief Ministers and Cabinet Ministers.

SPG Category:

• Strength of security detail is classified (only provided to the Prime Minister of India.)
• The SPG (Special Protection Group), NSG (National Security Guards), ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) and CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) are the agencies responsible for providing securities to VVIPs, VIPs, politicians, high-profile celebrities and sportspersons.
• The NSG is used extensively to guard VIPs and VVIPs, especially those in the Z+ category.
• Many NSG personnel are seconded to the Special Protection Group (SPG) which guards the Prime Minister.

Z+ Category:

• It has a security cover of 55 personnel [Including 10+ NSG Commando] + [Police Personnel]
• The Z+ level of security is provided by National Security Guard commandos.

Z Category:

• It has a security cover of 22 personnel [Including 4 or 5 NSG Commando] + [Police Personnel]
• The ‘Z’ category entails security cover by the Delhi police or the ITBP or CRPF personnel and one escort car.

Y category:

• It has a security cover of 11 personnel [Including 1 or 2 Commando] + [Police Personnel]
• The ‘Y’ category encompasses two personal security officers (PSOs) and one PSO from the ‘X’ category.

X Category:

• It has a security cover of 2 personnel [No Commando, Only Armed Police Personnel]

11. CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR DISASTER

TOPIC: Science & Tech

Context- Russian troops seize control of Chernobyl nuclear disaster site.

Concept-

Chernobyl Disaster:

• On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in today’s Ukraine faced a fore explosion.
• The reactor began to emit radioactive materials.
• Though, the casualties are minimal, the radioactive materials are still present in the atmosphere and are posing challenges to human survival in the region.
• Due to the accident, several children even today are facing thyroid, cancer in the regions of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.
• The fire explosion spread huge radioactive cloud over Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. More than 8.4 million people were exposed to radioactive waves.

What Is the concern now?

• Since the Chernobyl is under Russia’s control now, damage to the nuclear waste storage facility could lead to radioactive dust spreading across Ukraine, Belarus and parts of Europe.

12. ANTARCTIC MELTING

TOPIC: Environment

Context- According to the study, increased human activity is leading to black carbon pollution, contributing to snow melting, a concern as loss of Antarctic ice accelerates global heating.

Concept-

• Black carbon or soot pollution from increased human activity at Antarctica’s tourist landing sites and research facilities is accelerating the melting of snow on the continent, an international collaborative study has found.
• Antarctica is estimated to be warming thrice as fast as the rest of the world on average.

Albedo and Antarctica

• Albedo is the property of any substance to reflect sunlight.
• Albedo is higher in Snow or Ice.
• On earth, the cloud cover and ice cover act as sources increasing Earth’s albedo.
• Increased soot accumulation would lower the albedo and aid in absorption of sunlight and further surface melting.
• As more ice melts, in the future, it will expose more land.
• These surfaces are darker than ice, hence lowering the albedo and absorbing more heat and accelerating warming further as more ice melts.