UPSC

10TH NOVEMBER DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

Seaweed Extract Shows Anti-Retroviral Activity

W hy In News:
A team from Chennai has extracted one such sulphated polysaccharide known
as fucoidan from two seaweed species.

In Brief:
 Two seaweed species collected from the Mandapam, Thondi and Rameswaram
regions along the coast of Tamil Nadu.
 Two species of marine brown algae, also known as macroalgae (seaweed),
Dictiyotabartaysiana and Turbinariadecurrence were chosen by the team for
extraction of the bioactive compound.
 The idea that sulphated polysaccharides can inhibit the activity of viral strains
and arrest their growth has been known for some time now.
 HIV-1 and HIV-2, are two strains of HIV and the former strain is more
widespread and this is the strain that the group studied. The proliferation of
HIV in cells is related to the expression of a protein called gagP24.
 The bioactive compound extracted from the seaweed and purified was used to
treat cell lines (in vitro) and these were compared with two types of control
cells.
 One set of controls were not treated with any chemical, and the second set
was treated with tenofovir. The HIV cell lines treated with fucoidan did show a
high percentage of inhibition (close to 90%) of the expression of the protein as
compared with untreated controls.

Bheemli Utsav
W hy In News:
A two-day annual event ‗BheemiliUtsav 2019‘ going to held in Bhimunipatnam
in Visakhapatnam district.

About Bheemli Utsav:

 Bheemili, is the second oldest municipality of India,.The district administration

and department of tourism have jointly organising a two-day Bheemili Utsav to
promote tourism in the state.
 Several cultural and folk activities, involving local talent, will be lighting up the
festivities on the first day. The second day of the Utsav will be witnessing
traditional boating competitions, musical night and other carnival events.

SAI IAS ACADEMY, No: 1339A, RR Sri Sai Complex, 2nd & 3rd Floor, 18th Main Road, Annanagar West,
Chennai - 600040. www.saiias.in, E -mail: info@saiias.in Ph: 9344800900/044 – 45512063.
1
 Children, youngsters, and women in the constituency are also being
encouraged to organise different events at the Bheemili Utsav.
 Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA )bazaar would
be the highlights of the ‗Bheemili Utsav 2019‘

Cyclone „Bulbul‟
W hy In News:

Cyclone 'Bulbul', which made landfall between Bengal and Bangladesh coasts,
brought in its wake heavy rain coupled with strong winds affecting normal life in
several parts of the city and the coastal districts of the state.

 The depression over the east-central and southeast Bay of Bengal and North
Andaman Sea has turned into a severe cyclonic storm.
 The landfall of the cyclone is expected between Sagar Islands (West Bengal) and
Khepupara (Bangladesh).

W hy Bulbul?

 The storm has been named by Pakistan. Bulbul is the name of a bird
species.
 In 2000, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Sri Lanka
and Thailand had come together to assign names to tropical cyclones
originating over the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
 The storm before Bulbul was named Maha by Oman. The one after this will
be called Pawan, named bySri Lanka

PM Modi Inaugurates Corridor ,Flags Off Jatha

W hy In News:

Indian Prime Minister inaugurated the Kartarpur corridor, flagging off the first
batch of more than 500 Indian pilgrims.
In Brief:

 The corridor links GurdwaraDarbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting

place of Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab‘s
Gurdaspur district.
 He inaugurated the passenger terminal building of the corridor on the
Indian side, also known as the Integrated Check Post, where pilgrims will
get clearance to travel through the 4.5-km corridor.
 The state-of-the-art passenger terminal building, its design inspired by

SAI IAS ACADEMY, No: 1339A, RR Sri Sai Complex, 2nd & 3rd Floor, 18th Main Road, Annanagar West,
Chennai - 600040. www.saiias.in, E -mail: info@saiias.in Ph: 9344800900/044 – 45512063.
2
 'khanda', which a symbol of faith in Sikh community, has been constructed
on 18 acres of land.

About Kartarpur Corridor::

 GurdwaraDarbar Sahib Kartarpur called Kartarpur Sahib, is a World's

biggest gurdwara in Kartarpur, Shakargarh, Narowal District, Pakistan.
 The first guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, founded Kartarpur in 1504 CE on
the right bank of the Ravi River and established the first Sikh commune th
 The present gurdwara is built on the site where Guru Nanak DevJidied,on
22 September 1539.
 The gurdwara is also notable for its location near the border between
Pakistan and India. The shrine is visible from the Indian side of the border.
 Indian Sikhs gather in large numbers on bluffs to perform darshan, or
sacred viewing of the site, from the Indian side of the border.
 The corridor is intended to allow religious devotees from India to visit the
Gurdwara in Kartarpur, 4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles) from the Pakistan-India
border, without a visa.
 The Kartarpur Corridor was first proposed in early 1999 by the prime
ministers of India and Pakistan, AtalBihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif,
respectively, as part of the Delhi–Lahore Bus diplomacy.
 On 26 November 2018, the foundation stone for the Kartarpur corridor was
laid down on the Pakistani side by Prime Minister Imran Khan. Two days
later, the foundation stone was laid down on the Indian side. The corridor
is completed For Sikh Pilgrim for the 550th birth anniversary of Guru
Nanak Dev in 12 November 2019.

NCMC Holds Review Meeting For Cyclone Bulbul

W hy In news:

 The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) the country's apex body
to handle any emergency reviewed the preparedness to deal with the very
severe cyclone 'Bulbul' over the Bay of Bengal which is likely to affect coastal
districts of West Bengal and Odisha.
 It was headed by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba.

In brief:

Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, accompanied by winds reaching upto 120

Kmph and tidal waves upto one to two meter are expected while the cyclone is
expected to make a landfall at the West Bengal coast.

SAI IAS ACADEMY, No: 1339A, RR Sri Sai Complex, 2nd & 3rd Floor, 18th Main Road, Annanagar West,
Chennai - 600040. www.saiias.in, E -mail: info@saiias.in Ph: 9344800900/044 – 45512063.
3
About NCM C:

 It was set up by the Government of India in the wake of a natural calamity for
effective coordination and implementation of relief measures and operations.

 The composition of the Committee is as under:-

o Cabinet Secretary - Chairman
o Secretary to Prime Minister Member
o Secretary (MHA)
o Secretary (MCD)
o Director (IB)
o Secretary (R&AW)
o Secretary (Agri&Coopn.) Co-opted
o An officer of Cabinet Secretariat - Convenor

Ain-i-Akbari
W hy In news:

According to the Supreme Court Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th century document which

deals with the administration of Mughal Emperor Akbar, mentions the time of birth
of Lord Ram in the Treta Yuga in the city of Ayodhya.

Excerpts from the 116-page addendum:

 the belief that Lord Ram was born exactly at the spot under the central dome of
the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
 faith and belief of Hindus prior to construction of the mosque and after has
always been that Janmaasthan of Lord Ram is the place where Babri mosque
has been constructed
 the faith of the Hindus is based on religious documents, scriptures and books,
including Valmiki Ramayana and SkandaPurana.

About Ain-i-Akbari:

 The Ain-i-Akbari or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed

document recording the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor
Akbar,
 It is written by his court historian, Abu'lFazl in the Persian language
 It forms Volume III and the final part of the much larger document, the
Akbarnama (Account of Akbar), also by Abu'l-Fazl, and is itself in three
volumes.

SAI IAS ACADEMY, No: 1339A, RR Sri Sai Complex, 2nd & 3rd Floor, 18th Main Road, Annanagar West,
Chennai - 600040. www.saiias.in, E -mail: info@saiias.in Ph: 9344800900/044 – 45512063.
4
 Geochemical Baseline Atlas
W hy In news:

CSIR - National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) has developed for the
first time, a ‗Geochemical Baseline Atlas ofIndia‘. This can be used by policy makers
to assess environmental damage.

About the map:

 It consists of 45maps of metals, oxides andelements present in top andbottom

soils across India
 It will serve as a referenceagainst which future generations would be able to
assessthe chemical compositionalchanges on Earth‘s surface.
 These maps help in assessing the contamination by industries or other
pollutingsources
 Theglobe was divided into5,000 cells of 160 km by 160km each. Of it, India has
122cells.
 The work began in 2007 andendedin 2011.

India, EU To Push For Free Trade Pact Again

W hy in News?

 India and the European Union committed once again to restarting talks on a
free trade agreement, but did not spell out a roadmap on how to break the six-
year old logjam in talks.

India-Europe Union Economic Relations:

 The EU as a bloc of 28 countries is India‘s largest regional trading partner

while India was the EU‘s 9th largest trading partner in 2015.
 India and the EU are in the process of negotiating a bilateral Broad-based
Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) since 2007.

Issues in India-EU Trade Relations:

 Even after 13 rounds of negotiations, BTIA has not led to the signing of the
agreement.
 There is disagreement over Intellectual Property protection standards. The EU
is keen that India should adopt stringent IP protection standards. For India,
such a step could impact public health and seriously affect the Indian
pharmaceutical sector.

SAI IAS ACADEMY, No: 1339A, RR Sri Sai Complex, 2nd & 3rd Floor, 18th Main Road, Annanagar West,
Chennai - 600040. www.saiias.in, E -mail: info@saiias.in Ph: 9344800900/044 – 45512063.
5
  One of the major demands of the EU is that India should lower its tariff rates
on European dairy and poultry products, wines and spirits.
 Reduction of tariffs in the dairy sector and poultry industry could have a
serious impact on the Indian dairy industry, mainly on employment.
 India has demanded flexible regulations, greater access for Indian services and
an easy visa requirement for Indian professionals. Europe is cautious about
allowing this fearing an increased unemployment problem.

Meghalayan Rainforests Similar To Equatorial Ones

W hy in News?

 A new study discovers that the rainforest of Meghalaya, the

northernmost in the world, is similar in structure and diversity to the
other rainforests found near the Equator.

In Brief :

 A Team from the Department of Botany, North-eastern Hill University set

out to study the Namdapha rainforests in Arunachal Pradesh in late
1990s and in Meghalaya a few years ago.
 They wanted to note how far north, these rainforests extend and how
different they are from the ones found near the Equator.
 The team found that the climatic conditions in the region — high rainfall
and humidity, and perfect annual mean temperature — were conducive
for the survival of the rainforests. Since rainforests have a complicated
structure, the team looked at over two hectares of forest area, studying
nearly 2,500 individuals including trees, shrubs and herbs.

Tropical Rain Forests:

 Tropical rainforests are the terrestrial areas on the earth teemed with
enormous diversity of trees and other life-forms which make the largest
sink of carbon.
 Although these forests cover just about 6% of the Earth's land surface,
about four-fifth of world's documented species can be found in tropical
rainforests. Characteristically, tropical rainforests occur in ―hot and wet‖
habitats where all months receive precipitation and there is no dry
season.

SAI IAS ACADEMY, No: 1339A, RR Sri Sai Complex, 2nd & 3rd Floor, 18th Main Road, Annanagar West,
Chennai - 600040. www.saiias.in, E -mail: info@saiias.in Ph: 9344800900/044 – 45512063.
6
Equatorial Rain Forests:

 Rainforests usually occur near the Equator and about five degrees North
and South latitudes from the Equator are considered the real home of
the lowland tropical rainforest.
 The extreme spread of tropical rainforests in northern limits in the world
has been found in northeastern region of India where high rainfall-
receiving habitats with hot and humid climate, especially in Meghalaya
and Namdapha in Arunachal Pradesh are now known to boast species-
rich rainforests.

Namdapha National Park:

 Namdapha, a National Park and Tiger Reserve, a true wilderness and

enchanting beauty of lush green vegetation, impenetrable pristine and
virgin forests covered an area of 1985.23 square kilometres having
diverse flora and fauna lies in the international border between India and
Myanmar (Burma) within Changlang District in the state of Arunachal
Pradesh in the northeast India. Namdapha National Park is located at a
few kilometre away from Miao amidst misty blue hills along the turbulent
Noa-Dihing river lies in the sprawling tropical rain forest. It was declared
as Tiger Reserve by the Government in 1983.

PRELIMS BITS

Superbug Crisis Are Doctors Responsible

[

Anti Microbial Resistance (AMR) and Superbugs :

 Antimicrobial resistance (AM R) is the ability of a microorganism (like

bacteria, viruses, and some parasites) to stop an antimicrobial (such as
antibiotics, anti virals and anti malarials) from working against it.
Microorganisms that develop antimicrobial resistance are sometimes referred
to as “superbugs”. As a result, standard treatments become ineffective,
infections persist and may spread to others.

SAI IAS ACADEMY, No: 1339A, RR Sri Sai Complex, 2nd & 3rd Floor, 18th Main Road, Annanagar West,
Chennai - 600040. www.saiias.in, E -mail: info@saiias.in Ph: 9344800900/044 – 45512063.
7