Tags :GS 3/Indigenisation of Technology/Science & Technology

Advanced Antiquities Management System

In News

The Directorate of Archives and Archaeology (DAA) of the Goa government inaugurated the

Advanced Antiquities Management System.

About the Advanced Antiquities Management System

● The AAMS is software-driven automated storage used for the storage of various

objects.

○ So far it has been used for the storage of industrial equipment but the decision

of Goa’s DAA to use it for storing valuable antiquities is the first such in the

country.

● The design was completely indigenous. The system, however, is so far available

offline as required by the DAA. It cannot be remotely accessed.

● Objective & significance: The AAMS will ensure the safety of antiquities, clean

storage space, access control and data management and also enhance the utilisation of

space.

○ It will also provide information about the age of antiquity, the material it is made

of and its brief history.

○ It is aimed at providing quick information about antiquity linked to the

software, saving storage space and ensuring improved preservation of the

objects of historical significance.

● Various antiquities stored in the system

● At present, there are 83 antiquities in the system, the oldest one being a tenth-

century Shivlinga.

● It also includes 12 sculptures found under a waterfall in the Ladfem village in

North Goa’s Bicholim, remains of a 13th-century temple in South Goa’s Navelim.

● There are also 18th-century artifacts found at the Allorna Fort including glasses

made in Germany and Holland.

● Benefits

○ The system will mostly benefit researchers and students.

○ Unlike a manual log of these antiquities, a click on the screen attached to the

system will give the user information about the antiquity immediately and it can

also be updated based on the latest information about the antiquity.

○ This is also expected to benefit the DAA as it will save storage space, provide

protection from dust and temperature control.

Source :IE

Broad Topic: GS 2, Government Policies & Interventions, Issues Arising out of their

Design & Implementation

Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN)

In News

The Nagaland government has reportedly been trying to revive the Register of Indigenous

Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) exercise.

● Nagaland government has earlier set a Committee on Inner Line Permit (ILP) which

has recommended coming up with a master list which will be known as RIIN.

Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN)

● It was launched in July 2019.

● Objectives:To prevent outsiders from obtaining fake indigenous certificates for seeking

jobs and benefits of government schemes.

○ The RIIN will be the master list of all indigenous inhabitants of the state.

○ The RIIN list will be based on “an extensive survey”.

○ It will involve official records of indigenous residents from rural and (urban) wards

and would be prepared under the supervision of the district administration.

○ Once the process is completed persons whose names are included in the RIIN

will be issued indigenous inhabitant certificates.

Concerns

● Locals are apprehensive of “dreadful consequences” if the “advocates of RIIN”

implement the identification process with December 1, 1963 – the day Nagaland attained

statehood – as the cut-off date for determining the “permanent residents” of the State.

This date is likely to exclude Nagas who have come from beyond the boundaries of

Nagaland.

● They also fear that the non-indigenous Nagas could be treated as “illegal immigrants”

and their lands and property confiscated.

Inner Line Permit (ILP)

● An Inner Line Permit is a travel document that is required by non-natives to visit four Northeastern states, namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland.

● Both the duration of stay and the areas allowed to be accessed for any non-native are determined by the ILP.

● The ILP is issued by the concerned state government and can be availed both by applying online or in person.

History

● The Inner Line Permit is an extension of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act 1873.

● The Britishers framed regulations restricting entry in certain designated areas. ● This was done to protect the Crown’s interest in certain states by preventing “British

subjects” (Indians) from trading within these regions. In 1950, the term ‘British subjects’ was replaced with ‘Citizens of India’.

● Today, all non-natives require the permit. This was done to protect the indigenous tribal communities of these states from exploitation.

Source: TH

Broad Topic: GS 3, Conservation, Species in News , Environmental Pollution &

Degradation,

Separate Species of South Asian River Dolphins

In News

Recently, the detailed analysis of South Asian river dolphins has revealed that the Indus and

Ganges River dolphins are not one, but two separate species.

About the Study

● The landmark study was carried out for 20 years and has been published in the

Marine Mammal Science.

● The international team studied body growth, skull morphology, tooth counts,

colouration and genetic makeup.

● Challenges in the Study

○ Researchers did not have access to fresh tissue samples so they used DNA

out of skulls and skeletons, which were 20 to 30 to even 150 years old.

○ Due to the protection status of Ganges Dolphin, one cannot transfer any

tissue or sample to foreign countries without getting the Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) permission from the

Competent Authority of Government of India.

○ Both species occur in neighboring countries separated by an unfriendly

international border so sharing of samples or data was a challenge.

○ Finding dead animals was uncommon because they either float downstream

or sink, and museum collections worldwide contain only a few specimens and

most of them are damaged.

● Findings

○ It estimates that Indus and Ganges river dolphins may have diverged around

550,000 years ago.

○ The dolphins in the Indus river basin and those in the Ganges-Brahmaputra river

basins are sufficiently distinct to be classified as species in their own right

and the older status needs revision.

(Image Courtesy: WOL)

South Asian River Dolphins

● Presently, both are classified as two subspecies under Platanista gangetica.

○ The two subspecies Indus and Ganges river dolphins (P. g. minor and P. g.

gangetica) belong to the family Platanistidae.

● These are often referred to as blind dolphins because they live in naturally muddy

rivers and, over millions of years of evolution, have lost their eyesight and instead rely

on a sophisticated sonar or echolocation system to navigate and catch prey.

● The population of Ganges river dolphins is declining and estimated at several

thousand individuals spread across rivers systems in Bangladesh, India and Nepal.

● Meanwhile, Indus river dolphins, which occur primarily in Pakistan, have achieved an

impressive recovery over the last 20 years, with an 80 per cent decline in the extent of

their range.

● Concerns

● Physical barriers such as dams and barrages created across the river reduced

the gene flow to a great extent making the species vulnerable.

● River flow is also declining very fast as river water is being diverted through

the barrages and this has affected the dolphin habitats.

● Previously, fishermen used to hunt dolphins and use their oil as bait. Now the

practice of direct killing has stopped but they end up being accidental catches.

● Mechanised boats and fishing nets also cause accidental injury to the dolphins.

● Both point and nonpoint sources of pollution affect the dolphin habitat.

● Conservation

○ Both are classified as ‘Endangered’ species under the International Union for

Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

○ Dolphins have been included in Schedule I of the Indian WildLife (Protection)

Act 1972, in Appendix I of the CITES, in Appendix II of the Convention on

Migratory Species (CMS).

● Suggestions

○ Though the Indian government has given legal protection to the dolphin, more

ground action and close work with local communities are needed to help

them survive.

○ The freshwater systems they inhabit must be managed with biodiversity as a

top priority.

(Image Courtesy: WWF)

Source: TH

Tags :GS 3/Species in News

WWF Report on Sturgeon

In News

The illegal sale of sturgeon is rampant in the lower Danube region, especially in Bulgaria,

Romania, Serbia and Ukraine, according to a report released by the World Wildlife Fund

(WWF).

● Danube is the second longest river in Europe after the Volga. It rises in the Black

Forest mountains of western Germany and flows for some 2,850 km to its mouth on the

Black Sea.

Recommendations made

● Enhanced controls of domestic trade;

● Control of CITES caviar labelling requirements;

● Improved inter-agency cooperation and coordination;

● Increased border controls;

● Use of State-of-the-art forensic analysis; and

● Conducting more and recurrent market surveys

About Sturgeon

History

● Sturgeons have existed since the time of dinosaurs, for about 200 million years.

Some of the species can grow up to eight metre in length and live more than a century.

○ They are called ‘living fossils’ because their appearance has altered very little

over the years.

○ Living Fossil is an organism that has remained unchanged from earlier geologic

times and whose close relatives are usually extinct.

● Sturgeons are economically and culturally important in every river basin and country

across their traditional range.

Habitat

● There are 27 species of sturgeons and paddlefishes distributed across the Northern

hemisphere.

● While some species inhabit the only freshwater, most species are anadromous,

spawning in freshwater but spending much of their life history in marine or brackish

environments.

● All species are late-maturing and slow-growing and do not reproduce annually,

making them slow to rebound from exploitation.

Threats

● Habitat degradation, primarily due to damming of large rivers that many migratory

sturgeons use for reproduction, has been a major driver of species decline.

● Dams have restricted access to spawning habitats and altered the flow and

temperature regimes required for migration and rearing.

● Estuary habitat transformation and degradation have negatively affected juvenile

recruitment.

● The fish species are poached for their meat and caviar, which is considered a

delicacy.

Protection status

● There are 6 species of sturgeon in the Danube River. Five of them are now listed as

critically endangered.

Image Courtesy :WWF

About World Wildlife Fund

● WWF was established in 1961 by a group of passionate and committed individuals

who sought to secure the funding necessary to protect places and species that were

threatened by human development.

● It was established in 1961 and is headquartered at Gland, Switzerland.

Source: DTH

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Tags: GS 1/History

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

In News

Recently, the Prime Minister paid tributes to the victims of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Key Points

Background

● The massacre of April 1919 wasn't an isolated incident, rather an incident that happened

with a multitude of factors working in the background.

● To understand what transpired on April 13, 1919, one must look at the events preceding

it.

Rowlatt Act

● The Rowlatt Act (Black Act) was passed on March 10, 1919, authorizing the

government to imprison or confine, without a trial, any person associated with

seditious activities. This led to nationwide unrest.

● Gandhi Ji initiated Satyagraha to protest against the Rowlatt Act.

● On April 7, 1919, Gandhi published an article called Satyagrahi, describing ways to

oppose the Rowlatt Act.

● The British authorities discussed amongst themselves the actions to be taken against

Gandhi and any other leaders who were participating in the Satyagraha.

● Orders were issued to prohibit Gandhi from entering Punjab and to arrest him if he

disobeyed the orde

● Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satyapal, the two prominent leaders who were a symbol

of Hindu-Muslim unity, organised a peaceful protest against the Rowlatt Act in Amritsar.

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

● The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on April 13, 1919, when troops of the British

Indian Army, under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer, fired machine guns into a

crowd of unarmed protesters and pilgrims who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh in

Punjab's Amritsar on the occasion of Baisakhi.

● The crowd had assembled peacefully at the venue to condemn the arrest of two

national leaders -- Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew as they were a symbol of Hindu-

Muslim unity, organising a peaceful protest against the Rowlatt Act in Amritsar.

● The official figure released by the British claimed that a little over 350 people were killed

in the massacre, the Congress party claimed that the number was as high as 1,000.

Post Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

● Two days after the massacre, Martial Law was clamped down on five districts - Lahore,

Amritsar, Gujranwala, Gujarat and Lyallpore.

● The declaration of Martial Law was to empower the Viceroy to direct immediate trial by

court-martial of any person involved in the revolutionary activities. As the news of the

massacre spread across the nation, Tagore renounced his Knighthood.

Hunter Commission

● On October 14, 1919, the Disorders Inquiry Committee was formed to inquire about

the massacre. It later came to be known as the Hunter Commission.

● The Hunter Commission was directed to announce their verdict on the justifiability, or

otherwise, of the steps taken by the government. All the British officials involved in the

administration during the disturbances in Amritsar were interrogated including General

Dyer and Mr Irving.

Source :TOI

Broad Topic: GS 1, Population & Associated Issues, Regionalism, GS 2, Management of

Social Sector

Discrimination Against North-easterns Amid Covid-19

In News

Recently, a study commissioned by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)

has highlighted racial discrimination, prejudices and hate crimes against people from the

northeast States.

About the Study

● The Centre for Criminology and Victimology at the National Law University (NLU),

Delhi conducted the study under the aegis of the ICSSR, Delhi.

● It was on the prevalence of hate crimes against the people of the region in six

metropolitan cities (Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad).

● Around 1200 persons, mostly women from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya,

Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura were interviewed for the research.

● It examined various kinds of security concerns and experiences faced in their daily life.

● However, the study has not been published yet.

Findings and Concerns

● The people of Northeast India have mostly borne the brunt of racism and

discrimination and have been often regarded as foreigners in their own country.

● The majority faced discrimination when it came to renting an accommodation, visit to

a restaurant and even transportation.

● They believed that physical appearance was the most important reason for prejudice

against them.

○ The residents from Northeast India have been the targets of racism from the

mainlanders in India for a long time as they have typical mongoloid

features, which are similar to the features of Chinese individuals.

● Amid the Covid-19 outbreak, people from the region faced an increased number of

acts of hate and prejudices against them.

○ A series of attacks were reported in various parts of the country where people

from the region were harassed, abused, traumatised and were disparagingly

called “coronavirus”.

○ The experience of stigma has mostly been due to their association and facial

similarities with Chinese individuals who are also stigmatized by many to be

the reason for the origin of this pandemic.

● The hate crime and racial discrimination against people from the northeast is deep-

rooted even in the cosmopolitan cities.

● Offensive and abusive language were reported to be most common across all the six

cities.

Data Analysis

● Offensive and abusive language related crime:

Mumbai>Chennai>Pune>Delhi>Hyderabad>Bengaluru.

● >60 per cent said their studies and work were hampered.

● Most pervasive reasons behind hate crime were public attitude and insensitivity

(44.5 per cent).

● Incidence of non-reporting: 32.3 per cent.

● Refusal to file FIR by the police: 34 per cent.

● Fear of hate crime: Particularly high in Chennai (74 per cent).

Suggestions

● It highlighted the need to materialise the recommendations of the M.P. Bezbaruah

Committee, 2014.

○ It recommended amendments to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by creating new

offences under Section 153C and 509A to to deal with comments, gestures and

acts intended to insult a member of a particular racial group.

○ It suggested making such offences as gender-neutral, cognizable and non-

bailable with imprisonment extendable up to three or five years with fine.

● The study also emphasised upon the Supreme Court (SC) recommendations in

Karma Dorji & Others vs Union of India & Others (2014).

○ In the case, the SC made several recommendations for the prevention and

monitoring of racial hatred and violence.

● Suitable innovative ways should be devised to integrate each and every aspect of the

North East into the consciousness of people from mainland India.

● A detailed socio-economic study of the nature of student migration from the North

East would be worthwhile as it will provide valuable insight for planning of higher

education in the region.

● Legal awareness campaigns should be carried out in neighbourhoods that have a

significant presence of members from the North East community and lectures on legal

rights should be introduced for university students.

● Also, laws against discrimination, fast-track courts and special police squads,

education interventions, social media outreach and using sports as a bonding tool

should be the other stapes taken into consideration.

●

Indian Council of Social Science Research

● It was established in 1969 by the Government of India.

● Aim: To promote research in social sciences in the country.

● Functions

○ Advise the Government on all matters pertaining to social science research

from time to time.

○ Sponsor social science research programmes and administer grants to

institutions/individuals.

○ Indicate areas in which social science research is to be promoted and adopt

special measures for development of research in neglected or new areas.

Source: TH

Facts in News

Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR)

● In 1970, the forest area of Nagzira was declared a Wildlife

Sanctuary. It was notified as the 46 Tiger Reserve (TR) of

India in December 2013.

● Location: Gondia and Bhandara Districts in the North-

Eastern Maharashtra.

● Nagzira got its name from the snake or nag temple here

and zira, which means a perennial source of water

referring to the stream from a hill in Pongezara.

● Connectivity with: Kanha and Pench TR in Madhya

Pradesh, Pench and Tadoba-Andhari TR in Maharashtra,

Indravati TR in Chhattisgarh and indirectly with the Kawal &

Nagarjuna Sagar TR in Telangana & Andhra Pradesh and

Achanakmar TR in Chhattisgarh.

● Fauna

○ Home to a large variety of wildlife like Indian wild

boar, Mouse deer, Sambar deer, Bengal tiger,

leopard, chitkul and much more.

● Flora

○ Trees like Mahua, Bamboo, Jamun, Ain & Bombax

& grasslands, weeds, teak forests & around 200

species of plants of medicinal & economic

importance.

Pharmacovigilance

● It is the science and activities relating to the detection,

assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse

effects or any other medicine/vaccine related problem.

● All medicines and vaccines undergo rigorous testing for

safety and efficacy through clinical trials before they are

authorized for use.

● The clinical trial process involves studying these

products in a relatively small number of selected

individuals for a short period of time.

● Certain side effects may only emerge once these

products have been used by a heterogeneous population,

including people with other concurrent diseases, and over a

long period of time.

● Pharmacovigilance is vital as more vaccines become

available and new side-effects seen.

(Image Courtesy: NCBI)

Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API)

● The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines API as

“Any substance or combination of substances used in a

Finished Pharmaceutical Product (FPP), intended to furnish

pharmacological activity or to otherwise have direct effect

in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of

disease, or to have direct effect in restoring, correcting or

modifying physiological functions in human beings.”

● In simpler terms, API is the part of any drug that

produces the intended effects. Some drugs, such as

combination therapies, have multiple APIs to treat

different symptoms or act in different ways.

● It is one of the two core components of any drug with

another one being, the excipient.

○ It is the substances other than the drug that help

deliver the medication to the system.

○ Excipients are chemically inactive substances,

such as lactose or mineral oil in the pill.

Debt to GDP Ratio

● It is the ratio of a country's public debt to its gross domestic product (GDP).

● If a country is unable to pay its debt, it defaults, which could cause a financial panic in the domestic and international markets.

● The higher the debt-to-GDP ratio, the less likely the country will pay back its debt and the higher its risk of default.

● It indicates how strong a country's economy is and how likely it is that it will pay off its debt.

● Specifically, it's used to compare debt between countries, and to determine whether the country is headed for economic turmoil.

● It ratio is a useful tool for investors, leaders, and economists.

e-SANTA

● The Union Commerce and Industry Minister inaugurated e-SANTA.

● The term e-SANTA was coined for the web portal, meaning Electronic Solution for Augmenting NaCSA farmers' Trade-in Aquaculture.

○ National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture (NaCSA) is an extension arm of Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Govt. of India, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

● It is an electronic marketplace providing a platform to connect aqua farmers and buyers.

● It will enable the farmers to get a better price and the exporters to directly purchase quality products from the farmers enhancing traceability.

● e-SANTA will raise income, lifestyle, self-reliance, quality levels, and provide new options for our aqua farmers.

● The platform will change the traditional way of carrying out business from a word of mouth basis to become more formalised & legally binding.

● It will revolutionize traditional aquafarming by providing cashless, contactless and paperless electronic trade platforms between farmers and exporters.

● The Platform is available in many languages, which will help the local population.

Uruka (Rongali Bihu)

● Bihu, also called Rongali Bihu and Bohag Bihu, is Assam’s harvest festival which marks the beginning of the Assamese New Year

● The word Bihu is taken from the Sanskrit word Bishu meaning "to ask blessings and prosperity from the Gods" during harvesting season.

● Bihu, in Assam, is of three types: Rangoli Bihu, Magh Bihu and Maghar Domahi.

● Bihu falls on the first day of the Magh month, according to the Bengali calendar.

● During these days, people celebrate by wearing traditional clothes like a dhoti, gamosa, and sadar mekhela.

● People also sing traditional folk songs dedicated to Bihu.