Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 10th Nov 2021

NEWS

A recent Study has said Climate change to impact vegetation in 7 Karnataka districts

DETAILS

• Conducted by - The Karnataka state action plan on climate change
• 38 per cent of forest area in the state would be hit by climate change by the 2030s.
• Forests in the central and northern parts of the Western Ghats would be impacted by climate change.
• Predicted change in vegetation largely in the scrub and open forest areas of seven districts — Bijapur, Raichur, Koppal, Bellary, Chitradurga, Kodagu and Hassan — in both short term (2030) and long term (2080s).
• Forested grids in these seven districts will be impacted by climate change.
• Future climate at such locations would not be suitable for the existing vegetation or forest type and biodiversity.
• Forest type change may be accompanied by forest dieback (a condition in which a tree or a shrub begins to die from the tip of its leaves or roots due to unfavourable environment) and mortality
• Change in the very dense and moderately dense forest is projected only for the Western Ghats district of Udupi in the short as well as long term periods.
• The experts have used the dynamic global vegetation model which takes into account large scale terrestrial vegetation dynamics and land-atmosphere carbon and water exchanges to study the impact of climate change on forests.
• NOTE : According to the State of Forest Report (2019) of the Forest Survey of India, the recorded forest area in Karnataka is 38,57,548 sq km, which is 20.11 per cent of the geographical area of the state. According to forest canopy density classes, the state has 4,501 sq km under very dense forest, 21,048 sq km under moderately dense forest and 13,026 sq km under open forest.

NEWS

SC collegium recommends transfer of Madras HC Chief Justice to Meghalaya HC

TRANSFER OF JUDGES

• According to article 222
• The initiation of the proposal for the transfer of a Judge should be made by the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
• The opinion of the CJI “is determinative”.
• Consent of the Judge for his first or subsequent transfer would not be required.
• CJI is expected to take into account the views of the Chief Justice of the High Court from which the Judge is to be transferred and Chief Justice of the High Court to which the transfer is to be effected.
• The views of one or more Supreme Court Judges who are in a position to offer his/their views are also taken into account.
• In the case of transfer of a Chief Justice, only the views of one or more knowledgeable Supreme Court Judges need to be taken into account.
• The views on the proposed transfer of a Judge or a Chief Justice of the High Court should be expressed in writing and should be considered by the CJI and the four senior most Judges of the Supreme Court.
• The proposal once referred to the Government, the Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs would submit a recommendation to the Prime Minister who will then advise the President as to the transfer of the Judge concerned.
• After the President approves the transfer, the notification will be gazetted and the judge remains transferred.

NEWS

National legal services day is celebrated every year on November 9

DETAILS

• By all Legal Services Authorities
• To commemorate the enactment of the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987
• On 11 October 1987, the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 was enacted, while the act took effect on 9 November 1995. The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) was constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 on 5 December 1995, to provide free Legal Services to the weaker sections of the society and to organize Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes.

Legal Services Authorities Act 1987

• It is an act of the Parliament of India to enforce the provisions of Article 39 A of the Constitution. The Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 guarantees the fundamental rights to all the citizens of the country.
• Article 39 A of the Constitution is related to the promotion of justice on the basis of equal opportunity by providing free legal aid to the unaffordable sections of the society like the poor and economically weaker sections.

ENVIRONMENT & GEOGRAPHY

NEWS

A layer of froth was seen floating over parts of the Yamuna river near Kalindi Kunj on the eve of Chhath pooja

What causes frothing in the Yamuna

• The froth is a sign of a polluted river
• Release of untreated or poorly treated effluents, including sewage from those parts of the city that are not connected to the sewerage network and industrial waste, could lead to frothing.
• Phosphates in the river form the froth
• Surfactants and phosphates from detergents in households and industrial laundry find their way into the river, as all the sewage is not treated
• Around this time of the year, the river is in a lean phase and the water flow is less. Pollutants, therefore, are not diluted.
• The turbulence at the barrage near Okhla generates foam from the phosphates

What has been done about it

• Officials banned the sale, storage and transportation of soaps and detergents not conforming to the quality standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
• The fifth report of the NGT-appointed Yamuna Monitoring Committee notes that though BIS standards for detergents have been improved, it is not clear whether these standards will actually be enforced
• Samples are being collected from the river near the Okhla barrage to check phosphate levels.

NEWS

The fourth submarine of the Project – 75, VELA  was delivered to the Indian Navy today recently

ABOUT THE PROJECT

• First approved by the defence ministry in 2007 but has been delayed
• It will take at least two years for the manufacturer to be down-selected under the SP model.
• six new-generation conventional diesel-electric submarines will be constructed.
• The submarines
  • Will have advanced Air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems to enable them to stay submerged for longer duration and substantially increase their operational range.
  • Will have a vertical launch system (VLS) to enable them to carry multiple Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles, making them capable of anti-surface and anti-ship warfare missions.
  • Will feature advanced stealth capabilities such as a greater ability to suppress noise and acoustic signatures.

NEWS

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has picked Srinagar among 49 cities as part of the creative city network under the Crafts and Folk Arts category.

WHY SRINAGAR

• The Indian National Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO had recommended Srinagar and Gwalior for inclusion in the list; only Srinagar made it this time.
• While the entire central Kashmir is known for its varied craft traditions, the UCCN allows only individual cities to file nominations.
• Srinagar, Ganderbal and Budgam are the main districts of Kashmir that have for ages been involved in making handicrafts products — such as textiles, carpets and rugs, crewel embroidery, silverware, woodwork and papier-mâché. In fact, after tourism, handicraft is a major source of livelihood for many artisans in Kashmir. There is already a huge demand for Kashmiri handcrafted products abroad, even as it is not benefiting the artisans directly.
• Papier-mâché is said to have been brought to Kashmir by saint Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani from Persia in the 14th century. It is based primarily on creating colourful utility and decorative objects using paper pulp — vases, bowls, cups, boxes, trays and lamp bases. The art is concentrated mainly around downtown Srinagar and employs around 35,000 artisans — big and small, traders and kaarigars.
• The wood comes from walnut trees, which grow at 7,000 feet above sea level here, and is used to make tables, jewellery boxes and trays.
• Downtown Srinagar is dotted with shops where one finds craftsmen chiselling and polishing wood. These items are an essential attraction for tourists visiting Kashmir, besides being in great demand locally.
• The best-quality shawls in the world are still made of pashmina, the wool of the wild Asian mountain goat. The region is also the epicentre of high-quality, intricately woven woollen material like shawls, carpets and rugs. This is the only craft — unlike walnut carving and papier-mâché — that sees extensive participation by women artisans as well.

• A project called ‘Waste solutions for a circular economy in India’, funded by the EU and the German Federal Ministry of the Environment and Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), will provide the BBMP technical and financial support in setting up compost facilities and bio-methanation plants.
• Political party Janata Dal is all set to start 'Janata Jaladhare' soon, which is expected to raise awareness among people about the rivers in the state and the water utility.
• Eminent academician and psychologist Koneru Ramakrishna Rao recently passed away. He served as the Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University and Chancellor of GITAM deemed-to-be university

• Alternative to a traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose).
• People keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life
• Fundamentally a prescription for creation of a highly resource efficient economy where carbon footprint will get automatically reduced.
• As for metals, CE prescription is that when products reach their end of life, they should be productively used again by way of recirculation and recycling.
• Goes beyond end-of-life metal products recycling to the use of by-products such as steel slag for cement making and laying of roads and pavements.

• Process by which organic material is microbiologically converted under anaerobic conditions to biogas.
• Microorganisms degrade organic matter via cascades of biochemical conversions to methane and carbon dioxide.
• A wide variety of process applications for biomethanation of wastewaters, slurries, and solid waste have been developed.
• They utilize different reactor types and process conditions (retention times, loading rates, temperatures, etc.) in order to maximize the energy output from the waste and also to decrease retention time and enhance process stability
• Three main physiological groups of microorganisms are involved: fermenting bacteria, organic acid oxidizing bacteria, and methanogenic archaea.
• Has strong potential for the production of energy from organic residues and wastes. It will help to reduce the use of fossil fuels and thus reduce CO(2) emission.

Syntrophic relationships between hydrogen producers (acetogens) and hydrogen scavengers (homoacetogens, hydrogenotrophic methanogens, etc.) are critical to the process.