News In Short-09-09-2024

Galathea Bay

Syllabus :GS 1/Geography /GS3/Economy 

In News

• The Indian government has designated the international trans-shipment hub at Galathea Bay as a ‘Major Port’.
  • India currently has 12 operational Major Ports and around 200 non-major ports, with approximately 65 handling cargo and others serving fishing vessels and ferries.

About Galathea Bay 

• Galathea Bay is located in Great Nicobar Island of the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India which lie in the eastern Indian Ocean (Bay of Bengal).
  • These islands are an archipelago of about 836 offshore islands &Great Nicobar is the southernmost island of the archipelago. 
• It is one of the “Important Marine Turtle Habitats in India.
• The Galathea Bay project will be developed in four phases, with Phase 1 expected to be operational by 2028, handling about 4 million TEUs and increasing to 16 million TEUs by 2058.
  • This facility aims to capture a significant portion of the transshipped cargo currently handled at foreign ports.
• It  will be managed by the union ports, shipping, and waterways ministry, and will receive central funding under a public-private partnership model.

Source:ET

Why are cyclones in the Arabian Sea not so common?

Syllabus: GS1/ Geography

Context

• A rare August cyclone, named ‘Asna’, in the Arabian Sea after crossing Gujarat’s shore has left meteorologists baffled.

Background

• Historically, the North Indian Ocean, which includes both the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, experiences about five tropical cyclones annually. 
• The Bay of Bengal typically sees four times as many cyclones as the Arabian Sea, with most occurring in May and November.
• The western Arabian Sea is usually inhospitable to cyclone formation due to cooler sea temperatures and dry air from the Arabian Peninsula. 
• These conditions contrast sharply with the more cyclone-friendly environments of the Bay of Bengal.

The ocean’s response to climate change

• Due to climate change more heat is coming in from the Pacific Ocean now while the Southern Ocean is also pushing in warmer waters. 
• The Indian Ocean is warming rapidly due to these inputs, plus atmospheric changes in winds and humidity.
• The North Indian Ocean and the monsoon are now responding to the related climate change drivers from tropical oceans as well as from pole-to-pole influences.
• All these region-specific idiosyncrasies play into cyclogenesis, cyclone numbers, and their responses to climate change over the Indian Ocean.

Source: TH

Swachh Vayu Survekshan Awards

Syllabus: GS2/ Governance

In News

• Nine best performing NCAP cities were awarded on the occasion of International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies which is also celebrated as Swachh Vayu Diwas.

About

• The Swachh Vayu Survekshan Awards is a new initiative launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) under the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) to rank and recognize cities based on their efforts to improve air quality. 
• Criterias: Solid Waste Management, industrial emissions, road dust etc.
• Awards Given: Under Category-1 (population over 10 Lakhs) to Surat, Jabalpur, and Agra; Category-2 (population between  3 and 10 Lakhs) to Firozabad, Amravati, and Jhansi; and Category-3 (population under 3 Lakhs) to Raebareli, Nalgonda, and Nalagarh.

Source: PIB

Samagra Shiksha scheme

Syllabus: GS2/Education

Context

• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin wrote to PM Modi, seeking the expedition of the release of pending grants under the Samagra Shiksha scheme.

About

• Under the scheme for 2024-25, an allocation of ₹3,586 crore was made for the State, out of which the Union Government’s share is ₹2,152 crore (60%). 
• The release of the first installment of Rs.573 crore is overdue.

Samagra Shiksha scheme

• It is a central government-sponsored scheme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class XII and aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education.
• The Scheme subsumes the three erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Schemes viz;
  • Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), 
  • Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and 
  • Teacher Education (TE). 
• Major objectives of the Scheme are:
  • Support States and UTs in implementing the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020); 
  • Support States in implementation of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009; 
  • Focus on Early Childhood Care and  Education; 
  • Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy etc.

Source: TH

BRICS Employment Working Group Meeting 2024 

Syllabus: GS2/IR

Context

• The second and final BRICS Employment Working Group (EWG) Meeting under Russian Presidency was held in Sochi, Russia.
  • The priority areas for the discussions were strategies for life-long learning, vocational guidance, modernisation of employment services, ensuring safe and healthy working conditions, and social support mechanisms.

About BRICS

• BRICS is an acronym that refers to a group of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. 
  • Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates have joined BRICS as new full members this year.
• The term was originally coined by economist Jim O’Neill in 2001.
• BRICS brings together five of the largest developing countries of the world, representing around 41% of the global population, around 24% of the global GDP and around 16% of global trade.
• Origin: As a formal grouping, BRIC started after the meeting of the Leaders of Russia, India and China in St. Petersburg on the margins of the G8 Outreach Summit in 2006. 
  • The grouping was formalized during the 1st meeting of BRIC Foreign Ministers on the margins of UNGA in New York in 2006. 
  • The success of the meet led to the crystallisation of an annual summit under the aegis of BRIC.
  • Initially, the grouping was termed BRIC as South Africa was inducted in 2010 and from there on it has been referred to as BRICS.
• Summits:  The governments of the BRICS states have met annually at formal summits since 2009.
• Over a period of time, BRICS countries have come together to deliberate on important issues under the three pillars of:
  • political and security, 
  • economic and financial and 
  • cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
• New Development Bank: Formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states.
  • The Bank shall support public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments.

Source: PIB

BepiColombo

Syllabus: GS3/Science and Technology

Context

• The spacecraft, BepiColombo, gave scientists their first clear view of Mercury’s south pole.
  • It also captured several of the planet’s craters, including those with unusual rings of peaks within the basin’s rim.

BepiColombo

• It is a joint mission between the European and Japanese space agencies, launched in 2018. 
• It will go into orbit around Mercury in 2026, about a year after its original arrival time.
  • The delay was prompted by efforts to overcome problems with the spacecraft’s thrusters.
• It has two orbiters, one more focused on Mercury’s landscape and the other collecting data about its surrounding space environment.
  • Scientists hope to use the BepiColombo mission to learn about the planet’s origins and evolution by studying its composition, geology and magnetic field.

Mercury

• Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, and the smallest planet in solar system – only slightly larger than Earth’s Moon.
• Despite its proximity to the Sun, Mercury is not the hottest planet in solar system – it is Venus. 
• A day on Mercury lasts 59 Earth days.
• A year on Mercury lasts 88 Earth days.
• Along with Venus, Earth, and Mars, Mercury is one of the rocky planets. 
• Instead of an atmosphere, Mercury possesses a thin exosphere made up of atoms blasted off the surface by the solar wind and striking meteoroids. 
• Mercury’s exosphere is composed mostly of oxygen, sodium, hydrogen, helium, and potassium. 
• Mercury doesn’t have any moons.

Source: IE

India’s first study on ‘teal carbon’, Undertaken at Keoladeo National Park (KNP) 

Syllabus: GS3/ Environment

In News

• India’s first study on teal carbon, conducted at Keoladeo National Park (KNP) in Rajasthan, highlights the importance of wetland conservation in addressing climate change.
  • Keoladeo National Park was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

About

• Teal carbon, as a color-based terminology, classifies organic carbon based on its functions and location within non-tidal freshwater wetlands (e.g., peatlands, swamps, and marshes) rather than its physical properties. It represents carbon stored in wetland vegetation, microbial biomass, and dissolved organic matter, contributing significantly to climate change mitigation by sequestering carbon dioxide.
• These wetlands play a crucial role in regulating greenhouse gases but are vulnerable to pollution and degradation.

Key Findings of the Study

• Teal Carbon Ecosystems: Wetlands, if degraded, can release greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The study calls for urgent conservation and management to maintain the ecological balance.
• Methane Emissions: The study found elevated levels of methane in KNP’s wetlands, stressing the need for measures like biochar application to reduce emissions.
• Global Importance: Globally, teal carbon ecosystems store approximately 500.21 petagrams of carbon (PgC), contributing significantly to mitigating climate change.

Source: TH

Nilgiri Mountain Railway

Syllabus: GS3/ Infrastructure

In News

• The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, initiated to modernize and upgrade railway stations, threatens the historical and architectural value of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway station. 

About

• The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) is an iconic heritage railway in Tamil Nadu, India, known for its historical and architectural significance. 
• First proposed in 1854 and completed in 1908, this 46-kilometer-long metre-gauge railway showcases late 19th-century engineering, with a rack and pinion traction system to navigate the steep gradients of the Nilgiri Hills. 
• In 2005, UNESCO recognized the NMR as a World Heritage Site.
• Other Mountain Railways of India are Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and the Kalka Shimla Railway. 

Source: TH

INDIAsize Initiative

Miscellaneous

In News

• The Indian government is set to launch the ‘INDIAsize’ initiative to establish standardized body measurements tailored to Indian body types. 

About INDIAsize Initiative

• The Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, has approved the INDIAsize project.
• INDIAsize is a scientific research project focused on collecting anthropometric data from a representative sample of the Indian population. 
• This data will be used to develop a Size Identification Number for individuals by mapping and categorizing their body shape and size, establishing standardized body size standards for India.
• It aims to establish standardized body measurements tailored to Indian body types.
  • Current sizing systems are based on US or UK standards, which may not fit Indian body types well.
• Purpose of INDIAsize: To address fitting issues by developing body size standards specific to the Indian apparel sector.
  • To rectify disparities and inconsistencies in garment fits.

Source:ET

Union govt. to launch rankings for working women’s hostels

Context

• Amid cases of violence against women, the Centre is all set to launch a ranking system (a one-stop portal) for working women’s hostels across the country.

About

• The portal would list and rank all existing hostels run by private players, institutions and Central and State governments in each city across the country, based on certain parameters, mostly relating to their security.
• The move is aimed at ensuring better female work force participation, especially in urban areas.
• The portal would also eventually make similar rankings of all creches in each city of the country.

Do you Know?

• The Centre has an existing scheme to provide hostel facilities for working women, called ‘Sakhi Nivas’ launched under Mission Shakti.
• To implement this scheme, financial assistance for working women hostels is directly released to State governments. 

Source:TH