Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 10th Feb 2022
KARNATAKA ISSUES
TIGER CENSUS IN MM HILLS
NEWS
The 11-day tiger census was conducted at Male Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary
TIGER CENSUS
WHAT – Estimation of tiger statistics in India
WHO CONDUCTS - National Tiger Conservation Authority
CONDUCTED – Once in 4 years
OTHER DETAILS
- Enumeration exercise entails the use of MSTRIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers Intensive Protection and Ecological Status) app and apart from the tiger counts, the exercise will also throw up data on mega herbivores, including elephants and gaurs.
- The use of apps ensures that the data is not only digitised but is uploaded on a real-time basis and is robust.
- Sign survey of tiger scat, pug marks etc., for carnivores will also be taken
- Enumeration would also throw up data of the tiger numbers in non-protected areas.
MM HILLS
LOCATION – Chamarajanagara
SIGNIFICANCE - Major pilgrim center for Lord Shiva
OTHER DETAILS
- Dense evergreen forest
- Abundant resource of flora and fauna
- Great resource of sandalwoods
- Catchment area by the river Kaveri in the north-east and River Palar in the South.
NANNA SHALE NANNA KODUGE
NEWS
According to Karnataka education ministry , ‘Nanna Shale Nanna Koduge’ app to be launched soon
NANNA SHALE NANNA KODUGE
WHAT – Scheme for school adoption
BY - Department of Primary and Secondary Education
AIM - Address infrastructure needs of government schools, shortage of teachers, optimal use of learning aids and utilisation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds.
ENVIRONMENT & GEOGRAPHY
WHITE CHEEKED MACAQUE
NEWS
Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have found a new mammal species in the country — the White Cheeked Macaque.
ABOUT
First discovered in China in 2015
WHERE IN INDIA - Anjaw district in central Arunachal Pradesh.
FEATURES -
- Distinct white cheeks
- Long and thick hair on the neck
- Longer tail than other Macaque species
OTHER INFO
- Last mammal to have been discovered in Southeast Asia.
- Exist in biodiversity hotspot of eastern Himalayas.
- Species is threatened and requires immediate attention and protection
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
NUCLEAR FUSION
NEWS
Recently, A team at the Joint European Torus (JET) facility near Oxford in central England generated 59 megajoules of sustained energy during an experiment in December, more than doubling a 1997 record
NUCLEAR FUSION
WHAT - Two or more atomic nuclei fuse to form a single heavier nucleus
OTHER DETAILS
- The nucleus made by fusion is heavier than either of the starting nuclei.
- It releases a large amount of energy.
- Fusion is what powers the sun. Atoms of Tritium and Deuterium (isotopes of hydrogen, Hydrogen-3 and Hydrogen-2, respectively) unite under extreme pressure and temperature to produce a neutron and a helium isotope.
- Along with this, an enormous amount of energy is released, which is several times the amount produced by fission.
- Scientists continue to work on controlling nuclear fusion in an effort to make a fusion reactor to produce electricity.
GEOMAGNETIC STORM
NEWS
Elon Musk's Starlink has lost dozens of satellites that were caught in a geomagnetic storm a day after they were launched
DETAILS
WHAT IS GEOMAGNETIC/SOLAR STORM:
- Magnetic plasma
- Ejected at great speed from the solar surface
- Occur during the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots
- Can last for a few minutes or hours
- Travel at millions of miles an hour
HOW DOES IT AFFECT EARTH
- Not all solar flares reach Earth
- Hit operations of space-dependent services like global positioning systems (GPS), radio, and satellite communications
- Create disturbances in the magnetosphere
- Astronauts on spacewalks face health risks
WHAT ARE SUN SPOTS - ‘Dark’ regions on the Sun that are cooler than the surrounding photosphere
HISTORY – ART - CULTURE
CHINTAMANI PADYA NATAKAM
NEWS
Recently, Andhra Pradesh government banned a 100-year-old play named ‘Chintamani Padya Natakam’
ABOUT THE PLAY
- Written in 1920 by playwright Kallakuri Narayana Rao, who was also a social reformer.
- Is about Chintamani, a courtesan and a devotee of Lord Krishna, who finds salvation by singing bhajans.
- Chintamani is courted by Subbi Shetty, a businessman from the Arya Vysya community, who loses his wealth and family due to his attraction to Chintamani.
- The original play had a social message, but over the years, it has been modified purely for entertainment.
WHY WAS IT BANNED
- Arya Vysya community leaders say the content and dialogues are offensive, and they are ridiculed about their appearance through the character, who is always portrayed as a short and dark-coloured person.
- The play has undergone many changes over the decades, and to make it more entertaining and funny, crude and vulgar language is used in many places, drawing the ire of the community.
SNIPPETS
- Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has carried out coastal vulnerability assessment for entire Indian coast at States level to bring out an Atlas comprising 156 maps on 1:1,00,000 scales to prepare a Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI).
- The President of India paid floral tributes to Dr Zakir Hussain, former President of India, on his birth anniversary
- New Delhi and Colombo are discussing a proposal for the supply of two Dornier aircraft for the Sri Lankan military. The Dornier is a twin-engine multi-purpose aircraft, used by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard for maritime surveillance. It is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd under licence from Swiss company RUAG, and is a showpiece of the government’s “Make In India” programme.
