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TPS 19 Daily Current Affairs 20th January, 2019 | Prelims Countdown: 133 Days

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Government Interventions National Testing Agency

Environment Black Pepper Bandipur Tiger Reserve

Science and Technology Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Thermo luminescence dating (TL) Electroreception (or Electroception) Dark Web/Net and Deep Web/Net

Map Aided Programme Lothal

Previous Year Questions Revision Series (Pqrs)-(2016) GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS

NATIONAL TESTING AGENCY

Why in news? National Testing Agency declares results of JEE (Main) January-2019. About NTA National Testing Agency (NTA) has been established as a premier,

specialist, autonomous and self-sustained testing organization to conduct entrance examinations for admission/fellowship in higher educational institutions.

It is to assess competence of candidates for admissions and recruitment matching with research based international standards, efficiency, transparency and error free delivery.

The National Testing Agency is entrusted to address all such issues using best in every field, from test preparation, to test delivery and to test marking.

It has been approved by the Union Council of Ministers and established in November 2017.

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NTA will be holding 1. The Joint Entrance Examination – Main (JEE Main) twice a year 2. The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 3. National Eligibility Test (NET) 4. Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) 5. Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT)

Organisation The NTA will be chaired by an eminent educationist who will be

appointed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. There will be a Board of Governors comprising members from user

institutions. The CEO will be Director General (DG) appointed by Government and

will be assisted by 9 verticals of academicians and experts. The administration of the NTA has been entrusted to the Governing

Body.

ENVIRONMENT

BLACK PEPPER

Why in news? The domestic black pepper market is witnessing lower prices and subdued demand, and the growers attribute it to a surge in imports. About Black pepper Black pepper is a perennial flowering vine in the family Piperaceae

grown for its berries extensively used as spice and in medicine. Vine is a plant whose stem requires support and that climbs by tendrils

or twining or creeps along the ground. Climate and soil Black pepper is a plant of humid tropics requiring high rainfall and

humidity. The hot and humid climate of sub mountainous tracts of Western Ghats

is ideal for its cultivation. It grows successfully between 20° North and South latitude, and from

sea level up to 1500 m above sea level. The ideal temperature is 23 -32°C with an average of 28°C. A well distributed annual rainfall of 125-200 cm is considered ideal for

black pepper. Black pepper can be grown in a wide range of soils with a pH of 5.5 to

6.5, though in its natural habitat it thrives well in red laterite soils. Location India is one of the major producer, consumer and exporter of black

pepper in the world. Black pepper is cultivated to a large extent in Kerala, Karnataka and

Tamil Nadu and to a limited extent in Maharashtra, North eastern states and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Kerala and Karnataka account for a major portion of production of black pepper in the country.

Varieties Over 75 cultivars of black pepper are being cultivated in India. Karimunda is the most popular cultivar in Kerala.



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The other important cultivars are Kottanadan (South Kerala), Narayakodi (Central Kerala), Aimpiriyan (Wynad), Neelamundi (Idukki), Kuthiravally (Kozhikode and Idukki), Balancotta, Kalluvally (North Kerala), Malligesara and Uddagare (Karnataka).

Panniyur-1, Panniyur-3 and Panniyur-8 are hybrids evolved at the Pepper Research Station, Panniyur (Kerala Agricultural University).

IISR Girimunda and IISR Malabar Excel are the two hybrids released from Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode, Kerala.

BANDIPUR TIGER RESERVE

Why in news? The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has opposed a proposal to construct elevated roads over the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. About the news The project was proposed and supported by the Ministry of Road

Transport and Highways, which was part of the committee constituted by the Supreme Court to examine the disputes between Karnataka and Kerala over Bandipur.

It was proposed after a section of stakeholders, including the Kerala government challenged the Karnataka High Court order of banning night traffic through Bandipur, in the Supreme Court on the grounds that it was impeding economic growth of the region.

About Bandipur Tiger Reserve The tiger reserve, spread over nearly 912 sq km, is located in

Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka, constitutes an important component of a forest landscape comprising o Nagarahole (Karnataka), o Mudumalai and Sathyamangalam (Tamil Nadu) and o Wayanad (Kerala)

It is home to nearly 120 to 150 tigers as per the 2014 estimates made by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

Bandipur also supports nearly 1,600 elephants, according to a 2012 count by the Karnataka Forest Department. (Single largest Asian Elephant population in the world)

More about Bandipur National Park It was once a private hunting reserve for the Maharaja of the Kingdom

of Mysore. Other natural inhabitants of this forest are gaur (a type of bull),

sambhar, chital, mouse deer, four-horned antelope, wild dogs, wild boar, jackal, sloth bear, panther, malabar squirrel and porcupines.

It is surrounded by Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in the South, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in the South West & on the North West Side the Kabini Reservoir separates the Bandipur and Nagarahole Tiger Reserve. The Northern side of the Tiger Reserve is surrounded by human dominated landscape with villages and agricultural lands.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER Why in news? Scientists have used photos captured by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to further pinpoint the landing locale of China's Chang'e 4 far-side mission.



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About the news The Chang'e 4 lander-rover duo named Yutu 2 safely set down on the plains

of Von Kármán Crater. About LRO Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is a robotic spacecraft, now orbiting the Moon

at an altitude of 50-200 km. LRO's primary objective is to make fundamental scientific discoveries about

the Moon. The Exploration Mission was focused on supporting the extension of human

presence in the solar system. It is launched in conjunction with the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing

Satellite (LCROSS), as the vanguard of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program.

LRO and LCROSS were launched as part of the United States's Vision for Space Exploration program.

It was launched by NASA in June of 2009. What is LROC? The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, or LROC, is a system of three

cameras mounted on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). It capture high resolution black and white images and moderate resolution

multi-spectral images of the lunar surface.

THERMO LUMINESCENCE DATING (TL) Why in news? Recent floods in Kerala unearthed a site filled with ancient terracotta figures. About the news Iconographic studies and thermo luminescence dating (TL) of the pieces are expected to tell us more about their age and the lives of people who lived here and worshipped these gods. About Thermo luminescence It is a dating method that measures the amount of light released when an

object is heated. It has been used since the 1950s to determine the approximated firing date of

pottery and burnt silicate materials. TL has a wide dating range. It has been used to date ceramics from a few hundred years old to geologic

formations that are half a million years old. What is the technique? The technique measures the small amount of energy that continually builds up

in the mineral crystal lattice. When heated, this energy is released as a burst of light. The intensity of the light is proportional to the amount of energy, which in turn

corresponds to the length of accumulation time. Thus the time can be approximated for original firing date.

ELECTRORECEPTION (OR ELECTROCEPTION)

Why in news? Electroreception was covered in the Hindu Sunday Quiz. About Electroreception It is the biological ability to perceive electrical impulses, used for

electro-location and electro-communication and particularly common among aquatic creatures as salt water is an excellent conductor.

It simply means the ability to detect electrical currents. It is also found in some mammals like echidnas (spiny anteaters) and

Platypuses and insects like cockroaches and bees.



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Electroreception is an ancient sensory modality, having evolved more than 500Mya, and has been lost and subsequently re-evolved a number of times in various vertebrate and invertebrate groups.

The most common electroreception in vertebrates is called ampullary electroreception with the electroreceptor organs called Ampullae of Lorenzini.

However, not all vertebrates that possess electroreception have Ampullae of Lorenzini.

It is most common in cartilaginous fishes (sharks, rays, and chimaeras), lungfishes, coelacanths, sturgeons, paddlefish, aquatic salamanders, and caecilians.

How does Sharks use Electroreception? Electroreceptors are most often used to capture prey, by the

detection of electrical fields generated by the prey. The electroreceptors (known as ampullae of Lorenzini) are jelly-filled

tubes that open on the surface of sharks' skin. Inside, each tube ends in a bulb known as the ampulla. If you remove

the skin from the head of a shark, hundreds of these bulbs can be seen.

The jelly in the tube is highly conductive, which allows the electrical potential at the pore opening to be transferred to the ampulla at the base of the tube.

Voltage differences across the membrane lining each ampulla then cause nerves to be activated, sending signals to the brain.

About Electro-location It is the ability of locating objects around them by Electro receptive

animals in ecological niches where the animal cannot depend on vision.

The animal generates electric fields by means of a specialised electric organ and detect distortions using the electro receptor organs. This type of electro location is called active electro-location.

When the locating is done through sensing weak bioelectric fields generated by other animals (due to the activity of their nerves and muscles), it is called passive electro-location.

About Electro-communication It is the ability of electro-receptive animals to communicate by

modulating the electrical waveform they generate. Did you know? Some shark species are very sensitive to electric fields - Great White

Sharks are known to react to charges of one millionth of a volt in water.

DARK WEB/NET AND DEEP WEB/NET

Why in news? Use of bitcoin as a form of payment doubled in 2018 on darknet market sites though the price of the cryptocurrency crashed, according to a study by data firm Chainalysis.

About Dark Web Darknet, or dark web, is an internet network that inaccessible by

internet service providers (ISPs) or government authorities. It can be accessed only using specialised software, configurations

and authorisations as it generally uses non-standard communication protocols.



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It is not indexed by search engines like Google or Yahoo. It is under security scrutiny as it’s used for illegal activities, which is

usually purchased through Bitcoins or other digital currencies. It is used to access blocked content, sex trafficking, selling banned

drugs and for sensitive communication by malicious actors like terrorists, spies.

Users generally access dark web through special software like The Onion Router (Tor), which protects one’s identity online ie. IP address.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, is a popular form of payment on darknet markets because users do not need to reveal their identities.

CURRENT AFFAIRS CAPSULES

KAVERI CRATER

Two earth scientists claim in a scientific paper that southern peninsular India was hit by an asteroid larger than the one that wiped out dinosaurs formig a crater, named ‘Kaveri Crater’, between Nilgiris and Kodaikanal- both Palghat gap and Dhimbam Ghats a part of it and geological evidence stretching up to Belakavadi and Shivanasamudra in Karnataka.

The study says the crater, possibly the fourth largest in the world, would have been formed after an asteroid at least 5 km in diameter hit about 800 million to 550 million years ago, when there were very primitive life forms and can be visualised only through satellite images.

MAP AIDED PROGRAMME

LOTHAL

Why in news? The Hindu published an article on the ancient port city of Lothal.

About Lothal Lothal was a port city that belonged to the Harappan Civilisation

(Indus Valley) located in present day Saurashtra, Gujarat. The word Lothal, like Mohenjo-daro, means the mound of the dead. Lothal is located between the Bhogavo and Sabarmati rivers near

the Gulf of Khambat. Lothal had the world's earliest known dock, which connected the

city to an ancient course of the Sabarmati River on the trade route between Harappan cities in Sindh and the peninsula of Saurashtra.

However, this interpretation has been challenged by other archaeologists, who argue that the "dock" was actually an irrigation tank.

The city is 4500 years old and was mathematically planned. It had a grid pattern with proper streets crossing atright angles,

drainage systems, and a great bath. The city was divided into two parts: the upper town (or citadel) and

the lower town. There was a bead making factory in Lothal and bead-makers were

highly skilled. Lothal was in the thick of Harappan maritime trade, and beads

made from semi-precious stones, terracotta, gold, etc. were popular in areas as far as Sumer (modern-day Iraq), Bahrain and Iran.



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The Unicorn seal was also recovered from Lothal. pitcher with a deer looking back at it which reminds one of the tale of the thirsty crow in the Panchatantra.

The Lothal site has been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its application is pending on the tentative list of UNESCO.

PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS REVISION SERIES (PQRS)-(2016)

1. With reference to an initiative called “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)’, which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. It is an initiative hosted by UNEP, IMF and World Economic Forum. 2. It is a global initiative that focuses on drawing attention to the economic benefits of biodiversity. 3. It presents an approach that can help decision-makers recognize, demonstrate and capture the value of

ecosystems and biodiversity. Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1 and 2 only (b) 3 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3



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