Post on 17-Feb-2020
ETEN Enlightens -Daily Current Capsules (Prelims Prep. Prominence) 17th September 2018
Environment More river stretches are now critically polluted: CPCB
What
The number of polluted stretches in India’s rivers has increased to 351
from 302 two years ago
The number of critically polluted stretches — where water quality
indicators are the poorest — has gone up to 45 from 34, according to an
assessment by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
The CPCB says several of the river’s stretches — in Bihar and Uttar
Pradesh — are actually far less polluted than many rivers in Maharashtra,
Assam and Gujarat.
These three States account for 117 of the 351 polluted river stretches.
Based on the recommendations of the National Green Tribunal, the
CPCB last month apprised the States of the extent of pollution in their
rivers.
Mithi among the worst
The most significant stretches of pollution highlighted by the CPCB
assessment (which is yet to be published) include the
Mithi river — from Powai to Dharavi — with a BOD (Biochemical
Oxygen Demand) of 250 mg/l,
The Godavari — from Someshwar to Rahed — with a BOD of 5.0-80
mg/L
The Sabarmati — Kheroj to Vautha — with a BOD from 4.0-147 mg/l
The Hindon — Saharanpur to Ghaziabad — with a BOD of 48-120 mg/l.
Biochemical Oxygen Demand
The CPCB, since the 1990s, has a programme to monitor the quality of
rivers primarily by measuring BOD, which is a proxy for organic
pollution — the higher it is, the worse the river.
The health of a river and the efficacy of water treatment measures by the
States and municipal bodies are classified depending on BOD, with a
BOD greater than or equal to 30 mg/l termed ‘priority 1,’ while that
between 3.1-6 mg/l is ‘priority 5.’
The CPCB considers a BOD less than 3 mg/l an indicator of a healthy
river.
State Specific U.P. to launch first-ever dial-FIR
WHAT
The Uttar Pradesh Police are set to launch a first of its kind dial-FIR
scheme in the country where a common man can register regular crimes
without going to a police station even as it is preparing an online
photographic dossier of criminals that will be provided to policemen on
22,000 new i-pads.
The Uttar Pradesh Police is also expanding the counter-terror combat and
response grid in the State by training over 100 fresh commandos in
special skills including a maiden batch of women personnel
The aim is to enhance the strength of the ATS both qualitatively and
quantitatively, he said.
The state is soon going to start an e-FIR or dial-FIR scheme in the state.
Ease of doing it online
All the small paper application-based things like getting domestic help
verification, lost and found complaint, obtaining permission for taking
out a procession, getting character certificate from police...a total of 22
domains of police permissions can be obtained from home online,
without the citizen coming to the police station, he said.
Online dossier of criminals
To combat crime, an online dossier of criminals in the state has also been
prepared
The investigating officers in various districts of the state will be given
22,000 new i-pads soon on which we have fed a dossier of over 1-lakh
small and big criminals.
Once they reach a crime spot they will show photos of the probable
suspects of the area and other places, based on initial leads.
This dossier would help in solving a case fast as the suspects can be
identified quickly
U.P. is the only second state to prepare such a localised online criminal
database after Punjab.
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ISRO launches two U.K. satellites
The PSLV-C42 carrying the two satellites from the U.K. in Sriharikota
What
The PSLV-C42 lifted off and vanished into the thick black clouds,
carrying two satellites from the United Kingdom – NovaSAR and S1-4
from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre
The lightest version of the PSLV, flying in its core-alone version without
the six strap-on motors, the PSLV-C-42 rose into the skies
The two satellites were placed in the desired orbit by ISRO.
This was the 12th such launch of a core-alone version of the PSLV by
ISRO.
The two satellites, owned by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL)
were placed in a circular orbit around the poles, 583 km from Earth.
The commercial arm of ISRO, Antrix Corporation earned more than ₹220
crore on this launch.
Enlighten about the NovaSAR technology
The NovaSAR is a technology demonstration mission designed to test the
capabilities of a new low cost S-band SAR platform.
It will be used for ship detection and maritime monitoring and also flood
monitoring, besides agricultural and forestry applications.
The S1-4 will be used for environment monitoring, urban management,
and tackling disasters.
This unique mission is mainly for ‘ascending daytime node’ launch.
Chandrayaan-2 is planned for a window from January 3 to February 16,
2019 that we are targeting.
Report Family-owned firms fare better: CSRI
What
Indian family-owned businesses are among the best in Asia, accounting
for more than 50% of the top 30 performers in terms of growth and
profitability.
India is the third largest market globally in terms of number of family-
owned companies, according to a latest study.
Enlighten about the study
Shares of Indian family-owned companies generated an average annual
return of 13.9% since 2006, compared to 6% recorded by their non-
family-owned peers, and such Indian firms, on an average, generated
some of the highest absolute cash flow returns on investment across Asia-
ex Japan group, showed an analysis by Credit Suisse Research Institute
(CSRI).
India was ranked number three with 111 companies, with the top spot
being occupied by China with 159 companies, followed by the U.S. with
121.
The surveys show that family-owned companies have a greater focus on
long-term quality growth than non-family-owned companies.
Greater family ownership also tends to increase the use of longer-term
financial targets for management remuneration and family-owned
companies prefer conservative funding structures for investments
The study defines a family business as one where either direct
shareholding by founders or descendants is at least 20% or the voting
rights held by the founders or descendants is at least 20%.
Interestingly, the study further found that family-owned companies across
emerging markets were much younger than their peers in developed
markets.
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research CSIR
It was established by the Government of India in September of 1942 as an
autonomous body that has emerged as the largest research and
development organisation in India.
It runs 38 laboratories/institutes, 39 outreach centers, 3 Innovation
Centers and 5 units throughout the nation, with a collective staff of over
14,000, including a total of 3987 scientists and 6454 technical and
support personnel.
Although it is mainly funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology,
it operates as an autonomous body through the Societies Registration Act,
1860.
The research and development activities of CSIR include aerospace
engineering, structural engineering, ocean sciences, life sciences,
metallurgy, chemicals, mining, food, petroleum, leather, and
environmental science
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Environment Pollution cools monsoon days
Study says aerosol emissions cause temperature drop of 1 degree
Celsius
What
Increased emissions of aerosols into the atmosphere due to pollution are
beginning to have a definite cooling effect of 1 degree C during the
Indian summer monsoon period
The increased cooling is seen during the day, while the night time
temperature is increasing, thus shrinking the diurnal temperature
difference.
Diurnal temperature
The diurnal temperature difference is what drives the convection process
(where water evaporates and reaches the atmosphere as water vapour),
and development of clouds.
Enlighten about how it happened
As diurnal temperature difference decreases, the lower layer of the
atmosphere will reduce in height and come closer to the earth’s surface.
This will cause more aerosols to get into the atmosphere, thus impacting
the lower atmospheric turbulence, which may eventually affect the
distribution of moisture and rainfall.
The increased concentration of aerosols in the atmosphere also tends to
change the shape and characteristics of rain-bearing clouds, leading to
extreme rainfall events but weakened monsoon rainfall
Rain-bearing clouds were found to increase in number and height when
aerosol emission is higher.
The clouds also tend to have a far higher number of ice particles that are
smaller in size when aerosol loading is higher, thus reducing the
efficiency of water droplet growth
The report found that when there is high aerosol loading, there will be
more water droplets in the atmosphere.
Once the droplets reach above the freezing level, ice formation begins.
Heat is given off when ice formation processes begin. This acts as a fuel
to make the cloud grow taller and thicker
When aerosol loading is higher, the anvil (cloud top) contains more
number of smaller ice particles, which tend to reflect the shortwave
radiation from the top of the cloud, leading to increased cooling of the
earth’s surface.
Cooling by shortwave radiation surpasses warming by longwave
radiation, leading to net reduction in daytime temperature during the
summer monsoon
© 2017 All Rights Reserved. Powered by Summit exclusively for The Hindu
National
PM attends Ashara Mubaraka – commemoration of martyrdom of
Imam Husain (SA) in Indore
What
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed a huge gathering of
Dawoodi Bohra community, at Ashara Mubaraka, the commemoration of
the martyrdom of Imam Husain (SA), in Indore.
Enlighten about The Dawoodi Bohras community
They are a sect within the Ismā'īlī branch of Shia Islam.
They fast in the month of Ramadan, perform Haj and Umrah and give
Zakat.
The Dawoodi Bohras, being Ismailis and thus Jafaris, were included as
Muslims in the Amman Message.There are some criticisms of the
Amman message.
In all matters of prayer, dress, physical comportment and even avoidance
of financial interest, they are highly conservative.
At the same time, they eagerly adopt any and every aspect of modern or
Western culture that is not specifically forbidden.
Far from displaying the anti-Western attitudes sometimes found among
other revivalist groups, Bohras proudly send their children to Britain or
the United States for education, exhibit greater gender equality than most
communities of the subcontinent and have become Internet pioneers
uniting members of their far flung denomination into a worldwide cyber
congregation
Defence
ICGS Vijaya
What
Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has commissioned indigenously built patrol
vessel ICGS Vijaya in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
It is second in the series of 98 m offshore patrol vessels (OPVs)
commissioned by ICG.
ICGS Vijaya It has been designed and built indigenously by Larsen &
Toubro (L&T).
Enlighten about ICGS Vijay
It is 98-metre long ship.
It can carry one twin engine helicopter and four high speed boats,
including two inflatable boats for boarding.
It is fitted with advanced technology navigation and communication
equipment and sensors.
ICGS Vijaya will be based at Paradip, Odisha.
It will be deployed extensively for Exclusive Economic Zone surveillance
and other duties as enshrined in Coast Guard charter.
It will also undertake search and rescue, law enforcement and maritime
patrol operations.
Environment Chiller Star Labelling Program
Launched by
Union Ministry of Power
What
The ministry has launched Chiller Star Labelling Program to encourage
deployment of energy efficient chiller systems in the country.
Why
It was launched as part of occasion of 24th World Ozone Day and 31st
Anniversary of Montreal Protocol, which will be observed on 16th
September 2018.
Enlighten about Chiller Star Labelling Program
The program was formulated by Bureau of Energy Efciency (BEE).
It envisages providing star rating in terms of its energy performance.
Initially, the program has been launched on voluntary basis and will be
valid upto 31st December 2020.
BEE has developed online registration platform for easy and expeditious
approval under this program.
It will allow manufacturers to register online for availing appropriate star
rating of chiller equipment.
The star labelling chillers will help promote advancement technology for
central HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems and
will also facilitate energy efficient solutions for large commercial and
industrial applications.
Enlighten about Chillers
Chillers are used extensively for space conditioning of buildings and for
industrial process cooling applications.
The size of Indian chiller market which stood at 1 Million Tonne per year
at 2017 and is projected to grow at CAGR of 3.6% fuelled by growth in
the retail, hospitality and infrastructure projects.
Chillers, being energy intensive system, contribute more than 40% of
total energy consumption in commercial buildings.
Hence it is important to optimize energy performance of chillers and
create awareness amongst the end users to adopt transition towards
energy efficient chillers
State Specific Nahargarh Biological Park
Rajasthan’s first lion safari was inaugurated
Where
The park is located on Delhi-Jaipur National Highway in the Aravalli
foothills, nearly 12 kilometers from state capital Jaipur
Lion safari
The lion safari project is located at biological park spread across 38
hectare.
Lions in this park were brought from Junagarh, Gujarat under an
exchange programme.
Total of 10 lions will be released in the park in a phased manner.
The park will serve for breeding lions and also centre of attraction for
tourists.
Defence EyeROV TUNA
India’s first underwater robotic drone
Recently it was handed over to Naval Physical and Oceanographic
Laboratory (NPOL) of Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO).
This underwater drone will be used by NPOL for research and
development activities
EyeROV TUNA
It has been designed and developed indigenously by Kochi-based start-
up IROV Technologies Pvt Ltd (EyeROV).
It is smart micro-ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) or underwater
drone.
It design is at par with global standard and has operational capabilities to
work in harsh and critical underwater environment.
It is also equipped to perform variety of functions, including inspection
of ship hulls, undersea cables or bridge moorings, ship farms, dams, port
structure and bridge foundations and also in various underwater research
operations.
Sources – The Hindu , PIB , Indianexpress