Insights Daily Current Events, 17 February 2015
16 new entries in Kaiga bird census
According to a report, 16 new birds have been spotted during the Kaiga Bird Marathon 2015 organised by the Kaiga Atomic Power Centre. Till last year, the bird census had recorded 229 species of birds. But, this year, the census report has registered 245 bird entries.
- The bird census is being conducted by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) since 2011 under an environmental awareness programme.
- The bird survey covers the areas surrounding Kaiga in Uttara Kannada district.
The names of 15 birds of the 16 are:
- Alpine swift, Malabar trogon, Booted warbler, White-bellied woodpecker, Oriental turtle dove, Indian pitta, Brown hawk eagle, White-spotted pintail, Indian blackbird, Lesser adjutant stork, Common wood stork, Greater painted-snipe, Paddyfield warbler, White cheeked pintail and Oriental white-eye.
Sources: The Hindu.
India inks nuclear pact with Sri Lanka
A civil nuclear cooperation agreement was signed between India and Sri Lanka recently. This is Sri Lanka’s first nuclear partnership with any country.
- India and Sri Lanka have also agreed to expand defence and strategic cooperation, including a “trilateral format” with the Maldives.
About the Nuclear agreement:
- The agreement on nuclear cooperation is an initial one and would not lead to the construction of nuclear energy reactors immediately.
- It would facilitate cooperation in the transfer and exchange of knowledge and expertise, sharing of resources, capacity building and training of personnel in peaceful uses of nuclear energy, including use of radioisotopes, nuclear safety, radiation safety, nuclear security, radioactive waste management and nuclear and radiological disaster mitigation and environmental protection.
- Under this deal, India will basically help Sri Lanka build its nuclear energy capacity and not supply nuclear reactors or uranium.
Sources: The Hindu.
Samudra Ratnakar in quest for energy security
Geological Survey of India (GSI)’s state-of-the-art research ship Samudra Ratnakar recently set sail to locate gas hydrates below the sea-bed off the east coast and off Kanyakumari.
- The ship uses multi-channel seismic survey technique. Under this the ship will be capable to send high-energy sound waves deep into the sea-bed and record the waves that echo back through hundreds of hydro phones laid on the surface of the sea.
Uses of Gas Hydrates:
- Experts say that the gas hydrates, which resemble blocks of ice, contain methane that occur below the sea-bed with their low temperature and hidden high pressure.
- Once exposed to normal temperature and pressure, it would expand 140 times, and if even 10 per cent of the gas hydrates available in India’s oceans is exploited, they would meet the country’s energy requirement for a century.
Japan has successfully produced energy from gas hydrates.
Concern:
There is also a concern that methane from hydrates cannot be allowed to escape into the air as it is a greenhouse gas and could be a cause for global warming.
Sources: The Hindu.
Wholesale price index slips into negative zone
According to the recently released data India’s wholesale price inflation decelerated by 0.39% in January from an increase of 5.11% in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.
- India’s wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation had fallen to 0.11% in December 2014.
Reasons for fall in Inflation:
- The main reason for the slowdown in WPI-based inflation is the decline in fuel and power prices.
Impacts:
- Lower WPI inflation will impact the production process positively and enhance the domestic demand scenario vis-a-vis low priced availability of goods.
- Since the wholesale price index in India mainly reflects the costs of production of the manufacturers with at around 65% weight of the manufactured products in WPI containing mostly basic and intermediate goods, the costs of manufactured goods is expected to decline further.
WPI in India:
- In India, the wholesale price index (WPI) is the main measure of inflation.
- The WPI measures the price of a representative basket of wholesale goods.
- In India, wholesale price index is divided into three groups: Primary Articles (20.1 percent of total weight), Fuel and Power (14.9 percent) and Manufactured Products (65 percent).
Sources: The Hindu, BS.
Mealy bug makes a feast of fruit trees
Scientists of Kerala Agriculture University (KAU) have confirmed mealy bug infestation in the fruit plants of Idukki district.
About the Disease and the Bug:
- The disease can easily spread to a wide area and the infestation, carried through ants, can destroy plants, including trees.
- This is for the first time that the Mealy bug is spotted in Kerala State. It was earlier reported in Odisha.
- The root mealy bug sucks moisture out of plant’s roots causing the plant to die. The symptoms are not noticed initially and the infestation spreads fast.
- The ant, Acropyga acutiventris, carries the bug across plantations.
Bug control:
- Elimination of the bug would not be easy. Continuous effort from six months to one year is needed to control it in an area. If it spreads, containing the bug would be hard.
- The main step is to identify the disease early and destroy the affected plants, thus avoiding the bug’s spread.
Treatment:
- The first step in disease control is prevention of ants’ movement.
- Since the bug affects weeds, destroying of weeds followed by lime application are recommended as primary steps. In severely affected areas, Chlorpyriphos and Bio-agent Verticillium are also used for the treatment.
Sources: The Hindu.
China’s ‘Silk Road fund’ becomes operational
China recently put into operation its $40 billion infrastructure fund for Silk Road Initiative. The Silk Road Economic Belt is an initiative by China to integrate the economies of Asia and Europe along the Eurasian corridor.
About the Fund:
- The Fund is meant to finance development of roads, rail tracks, fibre optic highways, and much more, that would connect South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Europe along an integrated land corridor.
- The fund has started functioning on the lines of Private Equity (PE) venture.
- Funds can also be allocated for the Maritime Silk Road (MSR), which envisions development of ports and facilities, mainly in the Indian Ocean. These ports will be connected to the hinterland by a string of land arteries, which will eventually hook up with the main Silk Road Economic Belt at specific junctions.
- The main purpose of the fund is to “break the connectivity bottleneck” in Asia.
- The $40 billion fund was in addition to the decision to establish a $50 billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is also meant to help finance construction in the region.
Silk Road Initiative:
The Silk Road, or Silk Route, is a series of trade and cultural transmission routes that were central to cultural interaction through regions of the Asian continent connecting the West and East by linking traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads, and urban dwellers from China to the Mediterranean Sea during various periods of time.
- The new project is an initiative by China to resurrect the ancient maritime Silk Road. It is perceived to be an attempt by China to ameliorate relations with South and Southeast Asia
- The new initiative is a pet project of President Xi Jinping for connecting Asia with Europe along a land corridor, with China as its hub.
- Under the new Silk Route, the Chinese want to open up the transportation channel from the Pacific to the Baltic Sea, from which would radiate rail and road routes, which would also connect with East Asia, West Asia, and South Asia.
- The Silk Road strategy’s ambitious vision aligns with Beijing’s goals much more closely than the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which is a reflection of the U.S. international trade model writ large.
- The Silk Road strategy aims to facilitate large-scale infrastructure construction, energy sale and transport, and relocation of manufacturing industries.
- This initiative aspires to deepen linkages between China and its neighbours via trade, investment, energy, infrastructure, and internationalization of China’s currency, the renminbi.
Indian and Silk Road Initiative:
- Aware of India’s sensitivities regarding the perceived expansion of Chinese influence, a Beijing-Kathmandu-New Delhi trilateral development partnership is proposed as a confidence building step.
- Relations between China and India are mutually reinforcing. From a historical point of view India is the converging point of the Maritime Silk Road and the Silk Road on land.
- Based on that, the Chinese government believes inevitably that naturally India is one of the important partners to build one belt and one road.
- India also benefits from at least reasonable ties with most stakeholders in the New Silk Road, including Iran, where India has invested heavily in the Chabahar Port. But India must also make serious efforts to strengthen its links with Southeast Asia, and for this it must develop stronger ties with Bangladesh.
- India will also need to work towards a manageable relationship with Pakistan, which would not only facilitate pipeline projects like TAPI, but also enable access to Afghanistan and Central Asia.
- India needs to change its approach towards border regions, and not allow security to cloud its overarching vision. One of the important cornerstones of China’s Silk Road vision has been its emphasis on utilizing border regions, while also making use of their strategic location.
Sources: The Hindu, Wiki, Diplomat.
Mock Questions:
1)Consider the following statements regarding Kaiga Bird Census:
- 16 new birds have been spotted during the Kaiga Bird Marathon 2015.
- The bird census is conducted by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) since 2011 under an environmental awareness programme.
Which of the above statements are true?
a)Only 1.
b)Only 2.
c)Both.
d)None.
2)Consider the following statements regarding the recently signed civil nuclear cooperation agreement between India and Sri Lanka:
- This is Sri Lanka’s first nuclear partnership with any country.
- Under this deal, India will supply nuclear reactors to Sri Lanka.
- Under the deal, India will also supply Uranium to Sri Lanka.
Which of the above statements are true?
a)Only 1.
b)Only 2 & 3.
c)All.
d)None.
3)Consider the following statements regarding Samudra Ratnakar:
- It is a new oceanographic research vessel owned by Geological Survey of India and is used to locate gas hydrates below sea bed.
- The ship uses multi-channel seismic survey technique.
Which of the above statements are true?
a)Only 1.
b)Only 2.
c)Both.
d)None.
4)Consider the following statements regarding WPI in India:
- Fuel and Power are not included under WPI in India.
- The weightage of Manufactured Products is the highest in WPI.
Which of the above statements are true?
a)Only 1.
b)Only 2.
c)Both.
d)None.
5)Consider the following statements regarding mealy bug infestation:
- The disease is spread through ants.
- The mealy bug sucks moisture out of plant’s roots causing the plant to die.
- It was recently observed in Kerala.
Which of the above statements are true?
a)Only 1 & 2.
b)Only 2 & 3.
c)All.
d)None.
