Daily Prelims Notes 5 August 2020
- August 5, 2020
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN
Table Of Contents
- Biofuel
- International Court of Justice (ICJ)
- City gas distribution and CNG
- Ammonium nitrate
- Indian theatre
1. Biofuel
Subject: Environment
Context:
Plastic from used personal protective equipment (PPE) can be transformed into renewable liquid fuels, according to a new study in the journal
Concept:
- PPE waste to be converted into fuel using chemical a process called pyrolysis.
- This breaks down plastic at high temperature – between 300-400°C for an hour – without oxygen.
- Biofuels are transportation fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel that are made from biomass materials.
- These fuels are usually blended with petroleum fuels (gasoline and diesel fuel), but they can also be used on their own.
- Using ethanol or biodiesel reduces the consumption of gasoline and diesel fuel made from crude oil, which can reduce the amount of crude oil imported from other countries. Ethanol and biodiesel are also cleaner-burning fuels than pure gasoline and diesel fuel.
- Ethanol is an alcohol fuel made from the sugars found in grains such as corn, sorghum, and barley.
- Biodiesel is a fuel made from vegetable oils, fats, or greases—such as recycled restaurant grease. Biodiesel fuel can be used in diesel engines without changing the engine. Pure biodiesel is non-toxic and biodegradable
2. International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Subject: IR
Context:
India approached the International Court of Justice against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and challenging the death sentence.
Concept:
- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.
- The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
- The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
- The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council.
- In order to ensure a degree of continuity, one third of the Court is elected every three years. Judges are eligible for re-election.
- It is assisted by a Registry, its administrative organ. Its official languages are English and French.
3. City gas distribution and CNG
Subject: Economy
Context:
Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) set to notify regulations to allow competition for city gas distribution companies
Concept:
CNG Vs H-CNG
- CNG is compressed natural gas. With natural gas mainly composed of methane, CNG emits less air pollutants — carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter — than petrol or diesel.
- Environmental Benefits: No impurities, No Sulphur (S), No lead (Pb) and Very low levels of polluting gaseous emissions without smell and dust. Molecular structure compactness prevents the reactive processes which lead to the formation of Ozone (O3) in the troposphere
- Safety Benefits: Lighter than air – in case of leak no dangerous puddles Unlikely to ignite due to: High ignition temperature, Narrow range of ignition
- H-CNG is a blend of hydrogen and CNG, the ideal hydrogen concentration being 18%. Compared to conventional CNG, use of H-CNG can reduce emission of carbon monoxide up to 70%, besides enabling up to 5% savings in fuel.
- While recommending the use of H-CNG as an alternative fuel, the NITI Aayog-CII Action Plan for Clean Fuel notes that physical blending of CNG and hydrogen involves a series of energy-intensive steps that would make H-CNG more expensive than CNG.
City gas distribution network
- Purpose for development of CGD networks is to increase the availability of cleaner cooking fuel (i.e. Piped Natural Gas) and transportation fuel(i.e. Compressed Natural Gas) in the country.
- The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) authorizes entities to develop Natural Gas Distribution Network as per PNGRB Act, 2006 and the Regulations notified thereunder. PNGRB identifies the Geographical Areas (GAs) for the development of City Gas Distribution (CGD) network depending on the natural gas pipeline connectivity/natural gas availability and techno-commercial viability
Subject: Science and tech
Context:
The catastrophic explosion at Beirut port has so far killed at least 100 people and injured around 4,000
Concept:
- Ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) is a white, crystalline chemical which is soluble in water.
- It is common chemical ingredient of agricultural fertilisers, the nitrogen rich compound is also the main component of the explosive composition known as ANFO — ammonium nitrate fuel oil.
- Large quantities of stored ammonium nitrate are regarded as a major fire hazard, with multiple reported cases across the world. The explosion of large storage can happen primarily in two ways.
- One is by some type detonation or initiation because the storage comes in contact with explosive mixture.
- Second, the blast can result due to a fire which starts in the ammonium nitrate store because of the heat generated due to the oxidation process at large scale.
Subject: Arts and culture
Context:
Theatre director EbrahimAlkazi, who revolutionised Indian theatre and was the longest-serving director of the National School of Drama, passed away
Concept:
- Traditional art forms reflect the ideals of the society, its determination to survive, its ethos, emotions, fellow-feelings, and so on. Drama in itself is a complete form of arts. It includes in its framework acting, dialogue, poetry, music, etc.
- Development of traditional theatre forms is based on such local and regional peculiarities which are not bound and restricted by social and economic divisions, limitations, etc. Tradional art forms have influenced classical art forms and vice-versa. It is an eternal journey in the sphere of ‘culture’. Some theatre forms are:
- Therukoothu, the most popular form of folk drama of Tamil Nadu, literally means “street play”. It is mostly performed at the time of annual temple festivals of Mariamman (Rain goddess) to achieve rich harvest.
- Yakshagaana, traditional theatre form of Karnataka, is based on mythological stories and Puranas. The most popular episodes are from the Mahabharata
- Koodiyaattam, one of the oldest traditional theatre forms of Kerala, is based on Sanskrit theatre traditions
- Mudiyettu, traditional folk theatre form of Kerala is celebrated in the month of Vrischikam (November-December). It is usually performed only in the Kali temples of Kerala, as an oblation to the Goddess.
- Krishnattam, folk theatre of Kerala, came into existence in the middle of 17th century A.D. under the patronage of King Manavada of Calicut. Krishnattam is a cycle of eight plays performed for eight consecutive days.
- Dashavatar is the most developed theatre form of the Konkan and Goa regions. The performers personify the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu-the god of preservation and creativity.
- Tamaasha is a traditional folk theatre form of Maharashtra. It has evolved from the folk forms such as Gondhal, Jagran and Kirtan. Unlike other theatre forms, in Tamaasha the female actress is the chief exponent of dance movements in the play.
- Maach is the traditional theatre form of Madhya Pradesh. The term Maach is used for the stage itself as also for the play. In this theatre form songs are given prominence in between the dialogues.
- Bhaona is a presentation of the AnkiaNaat of Assam. In Bhaona cultural glimpses of Assam, Bengal Orissa, Mathura and Brindavan can be seen. The Sutradhaar, or narrator begins the story, first in Sanskrit and then in either Brajboli or Assamese.
- Bhavai is the traditional theatre form of Gujarat. The centers of this form are Kutch and Kathiawar.
- Nautanki is usually associated with Uttar Pradesh. The most popular centres of this traditional theatre form are Kanpur, Lucknow and Haathras.
- Raasleela is based exclusively on Lord Krishna legends; it is believed that Nand Das wrote the initial plays based on the life of Krishna. In this theatre form the dialogues in prose combined beautifully with songs and scenes from Krishna’s pranks.
- BhandPather, the traditional theatre form of Kashmir, is a unique combination of dance, music and acting. Satire, wit and parody are preferred for inducing laughter. In this theatre form, music is provided with surnai, nagaara and dhol. Since the actors of BhandPather are mainly from the farming community, the impact of their way of living, ideals and sensitivity is discernible.