May 10th Current Affairs

1. Arctic Science Ministerial.

IN NEWS:

• Recently, India participated in the 3rd Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM) and shared plans for research and long-term cooperation in the Arctic Region.

KEY POINTS:

• The first two meetings—ASM1 and ASM2—were held in the USA in 2016 and Germany in 2018, respectively.
• ASM3 is jointly organised by: Iceland and Japan.
• The meeting is designed to provide opportunities to various stakeholders to enhance collective understanding of the Arctic region, emphasize and engage in constant monitoring, and strengthen observations.
• Theme: ‘Knowledge for a Sustainable Arctic’.

India and Arctic

• India’s engagement with the Arctic began in 1920 with the signing of the Svalbard Treaty in Paris.
• Since July 2008, India has a permanent research station in the Arctic called Himadari at Ny Alesund, Svalbard Area in Norway.
• Since 2013, India enjoys ‘Observer’ status in the Arctic Council with twelve other countries (Japan, China, France, Germany, UK, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Spain, Netherlands, Singapore, and South Korea).
• It has also deployed a multi-sensor moored observatory called IndARC in the Kongsfjorden fjord since July 2014.
• The launch of NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite mission by India, in collaboration with the USA, is underway.
• India also contributes to the Sustained Arctic Observational Network (SAON).
• The research in the Arctic region from India is coordinated, conducted, and promoted by the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences

SOURCE:PIB

2. Re-entry of Long March 5B Rocket

In news

Debris from a Chinese Long March 5B Rocket made uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated over the Indian Ocean.

Key takeaways

• Long March 5B rocket had been launched into space on April 29 for putting into orbit a core module of the new Tianhe space station, which is expected to become operational in 2022.
• For days, there had been speculation on whether the debris would hit a populated area on the Earth’s surface.

Why did the rocket cause worry?

• When a rocket is launched, its discarded booster stages re-enter the atmosphere soon after liftoff and harmlessly fall into the ocean
• In this case, however, a 10-floor large vehicle of the rocket weighing 18 metric tonnes went into orbit along with the section of the under-construction space station that it was carrying.
• While in orbit, this vehicle kept rubbing against the air at the top of the atmosphere, and the resulting friction caused it to start losing altitude.
• The piece hurtled through a low-Earth orbit at roughly 25,490 km/hr.
• An “uncontrolled re-entry” thus became inevitable, but China did not admit this fact to the world until 8th May.
• The chance of humans getting hurt were low because most of the debris burnt up in the atmosphere and large parts of the Earth are covered by oceans and massive land areas lie uninhabited.

Important information:

• When rockets carry their payload into space, their booster stages that reach orbit fire the engine again after completing their job so as to drop back to Earth and not remain in orbit.
• Space agencies plan this process to ensure that such rocket parts end up in uninhabited areas, such as the middle of the ocean.
• China chose not to do this for its Long March rocket, leading to its vehicle crashing back uncontrollably.

SOURCE:IE

3. The green panel allows Great Nicobar plan to advance

IN NEWS:

The Environment Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had flagged serious concerns about NITI Aayog’s ambitious project for Great Nicobar Island. The committee has, however, removed the first hurdle faced by the project. It has “recommended” it “for grant of terms of reference (TOR)” for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies, which in the first instance will include baseline studies over three months.

Key Highlights:

The proposal includes an international container transhipment terminal, a greenfield international airport, a power plant and a township complex spread over 166 sq. km. (mainly pristine coastal systems and tropical forests), and is estimated to cost ₹75,000 crores.

Concerns on site

• Seismic and tsunami hazards,
• freshwater requirement
• Number of trees to be felled could run into millions since 130 sq. km. of the project area has some of the finest tropical forests in India.
• The impact on the Giant Leatherback turtle: Galathea Bay is an iconic nesting site in India of the enigmatic Giant Leatherback, the world’s largest marine turtle. Project want to develop this area.
• The committee noted that the site selection for the port had been done mainly on technical and financial criteria, ignoring the environmental aspects.
• It has now asked for an independent study/ evaluation for the suitability of the proposed port site with a specific focus on Leatherback Turtle, Nicobar Magapod (sic) and Dugong.
• Ecological surveys in the last few years have reported a number of new species, many restricted to just the Galathea region. These include the critically endangered Nicobar shrew, the Great Nicobar crake, the Nicobar frog, the Nicobar cat snake etc

Way Forward:

• They include the need for an independent assessment of terrestrial and marine
• biodiversity,
• A study on the impact of dredging, reclamation and port operations, including
• oil spills,
• The need for studies of alternative sites for the port with a focus on environmental and ecological impact, especially on turtles,
• Analysis of risk-handling capabilities, a seismic and tsunami hazard map, a disaster management plan,
• Details of labour, labour camps and their requirements, an assessment of the cumulative impact, and
• A hydro-geological study to assess the impact on round and surface water regimes.

SOURCE:TH

4. Black fungus.

IN NEWS:

A number of Covid-19 patients are developing a serious fungal infection known as Mucormycosis also called black fungus.

Key Points

Mucormycosis:

• It is a serious but rare fungal infection caused by a group of molds called mucormycetes, which is abundant in the environment.
• It mainly affects people who have health problems or take medicines that lower the body’s ability to fight germs and sickness.
• The types of Mucormycosis are: Rhinocerebral (Sinus and Brain), Pulmonary (Lung), Gastrointestinal, Cutaneous (Skin), and disseminated Mucormycosis.

Transmission:

It occurs through inhalation, inoculation, or ingestion of spores from the environment. Mucormycosis does not spread between people or between people and animals.

Symptoms:

These include pain and redness around eyes and/or nose, fever, headache, coughing, shortness of breath, bloody vomits, and altered mental status.

Warning signs can include toothache, loosening of teeth, blurred or double vision with pain.

Prevention:

Avoiding areas with a lot of dust like construction or excavation sites, avoiding direct contact with water-damaged buildings and flood water after hurricanes and natural disasters and avoiding activities that involve close contact to soil.

Treatment:

Mucormycosis needs to be treated with prescription antifungal medicine. In some cases, it can require surgery.

SOURCE:TH

5. Maharana Pratap

IN NEWS:

The Prime Minister of India paid tributes to Maharana Pratap on his Jayanti.

Key Points

• Rana Pratap Singh also known as Maharana Pratap was born on 9th May 1540 in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan.
• He was the 13th King of Mewar and was the eldest son of Udai Singh II
• Maharana Udai Singh II ruled the kingdom of Mewar, with his capital at Chittor.
• Udai Singh II was also a founder of the city of Udaipur (Rajasthan).
• The Battle of Haldighati was fought in 1576 between Rana Pratap Singh of Mewar and Raja Man Singh of Amber who was the general of the Mughal emperor Akbar.
• Maharana Pratap fought a brave war, but was defeated by Mughal forces.
• It is said that Maharana Pratap’s loyal horse named Chetak, gave up his life as the Maharana was leaving the battlefield.

Reconquest:

• After 1579, the Mughal pressure relaxed over Mewar and Pratap recovered Western Mewar including Kumbhalgarh, Udaipur and Gogunda.
• During this period, he also built a new capital, Chavand, near modern Dungarpur.

Death:

He died on 19th January, 1597. He was succeeded by his son Amar Singh, who submitted in 1614 to Emperor Jahāngīr, son of Akbar.

SOURCE:PIB