Vizag Choked

Recently, a gas leak has affected five villages in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

• The source of the gas leak was a styrene plant owned by South Korean electronics giant LG located in the area.
• The possible reason for gas leak is stagnation and changes in temperature inside the storage tank that could have resulted in auto polymerization (chemical reaction) and vapourisation of the styrene.

Styrene

• Styrene is an organic compound with the formula C₈H₈.
  • It is a derivative of benzene (C₆H₆).
  • It is stored in factories as a liquid, but evaporates easily, and has to be kept at temperatures under 20°C.
• Sources:
  • Styrene is found in vehicle exhaust, cigarette smoke, and in natural foods like fruits and vegetables.
• Uses:
  • It is a flammable liquid that is used in the manufacturing of polystyrene plastics, fiberglass, rubber, and latex.
• Risk of Exposure:
  • Short Term Exposure: It can result in respiratory problems, irritation in the eyes, irritation in the mucous membrane, and gastrointestinal issues.
  • Long-Term Exposure: It could drastically affect the central nervous system and lead to other related problems like peripheral neuropathy. It could also lead to cancer and depression in some cases.
    • However, there is no sufficient evidence of an association between styrene exposure and an increased risk of leukemia and lymphoma.

State of Chemical Disaster Risk in India

• According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in the recent past, over 130 significant chemical accidents have been reported in the country.
• Further, there are thousands of registered hazardous factories and unorganised sectors dealing with numerous ranges of hazardous material posing serious and complex levels of disaster risks.
• There are over 1861 Major Accident Hazard (MAH) units spread across 301 districts and 25 states and three Union Territories in all zones of the country.
  • The Major Accident is defined as an incident involving loss of life inside or outside the site or ten or more injuries.
  • Further it also involves the release of toxic chemical or explosion or fire of spillage of hazardous chemical resulting in ‘on-site’ or ‘off-site’ emergencies leading to adverse effects to the environment.

Laws to Protect Against Chemical Disasters in India

• Laws Before and During Bhopal Gas Tragedy (1984):
  • At the time of the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was the only relevant law specifying criminal liability for such incidents.
• Laws After Bhopal Gas Tragedy (1984):
  • Bhopal Gas Leak (Processing of Claims) Act, 1985 : It gives powers to the central government to secure the claims arising out of or connected with the Bhopal gas tragedy.
    • Under the provisions of this Act, such claims are dealt with speedily and equitably.
  • The Environment Protection Act, 1986: It gives powers to the central government to undertake measures for improving the environment and set standards and inspect industrial units.
  • The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991: It is an insurance meant to provide relief to persons affected by accidents that occur while handling hazardous substances.
  • The National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997: Under this Act, the National Environment Appellate Authority can hear appeals regarding the restriction of areas in which any industries, operations or processes or class of industries shall not be carried out or shall be carried out subject to certain safeguards under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
  • National Green Tribunal, 2010: It provided for the establishment of the National Green Tribunal for effective and expeditious disposal of cases related to environmental protection and conservation of forests.
    • According to PRS legislative, any incident similar to the Bhopal gas tragedy will be tried in the National Green Tribunal and most likely under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
    • If an offence is committed by a company then every person directly in charge and responsible will be deemed guilty, unless he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such an offence.

COVID-19: Labour laws diluted as states seek to revive economy

Amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, an increasing number of states that include Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat have pushed through changes to their labour laws by way of ordinances or executive orders.

• Since labour is a concurrent subject under the Constitution of India, states can frame their own laws but need the approval of the Central government.

Key Points

• The Uttar Pradesh government has approved an Ordinance exempting businesses from the purview of all the labour laws except few for the next three years.
  • The labour laws related to settling industrial disputes, occupational safety, health and working conditions of workers, and those related to trade unions, contract workers, and migrant labourers will become defunct.
  • However, laws related to bonded labour, deployment of women and children and timely payment of salaries will not be relaxed.
• The changes in the labour laws will apply to both the existing businesses and the new factories being set up in the state.
• Similarly, the Madhya Pradesh government has also suspended many labour laws for the next 1000 days. Few important amendments are:
  • Employers can increase working hours in factories from 8 to 12 hours and are also allowed up to 72 hours a week in overtime, subject to the will of employees.
  • The factory registration now will be done in a day, instead of 30 days. And the licence should be renewed after 10 years, instead of a year. There is also the provision of penalty on officials not complying with the deadline.
  • Industrial Units will be exempted from majority of the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
    • Organisations will be able to keep workers in service at their convenience.
    • The Labour Department or the labour court will not interfere in the action taken by industries.
  • Contractors employing less than 50 workers will be able to work without registration under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970.
  • Major relaxations to new industrial units are:
    • Exempted from provisions on ‘right of workers’, which includes obtaining details of their health and safety at work, to get a better work environment which include drinking water, ventilation, crèches, weekly holidays and interval of rest, etc.
    • Exempted from the requirement of keeping registers and inspections and can change shifts at their convenience.
    • Employers are exempt from penalties in case of violation of labour laws.

Rationale Behind the Changes in Labour Laws

• States have begun easing labour laws to attract investment and encourage industrial activity.
• To protect the existing employment, and to provide employment to workers who have migrated back to their respective states.
• Bring about transparency in the administrative procedures and convert the challenges of a distressed economy into opportunities.
• To increase the revenue of states which have fallen due to closure of industrial units during Covid-19 lockdown.
• Labour reform has been a demand of Industries for a long time. The changes became necessary as investors were stuck in a web of laws and red-tapism.

Issues Involved

• The labour law changes will allow more factories to operate without following safety and health norms and give a free hand to new companies to “keep labourers in service as per their convenience”.
• Denying the rights of workers is a violation of human and fundamental rights.
• It may create insecurity among the workers.
• The changes may lead to desperate conditions for workers.

Luhman 16: Binary Brown Dwarf System

Recently, a group of astrophysicists have found that the closest known brown dwarf, Luhman 16A which shows signs of cloud bands similar to those seen on Jupiter and Saturn.

• They used the technique of polarimetry to determine the properties of atmospheric clouds outside of the solar system.

Polarimetry

• The concept of polarimetry technique was put forth by Indian astrophysicist Sujan Sengupta, that the light emitted by a cloudy brown dwarf, or reflected off an extrasolar planet, will be polarised.
• Polarimetry is the study of polarization. Polarization is a property of light that represents the direction that the light wave oscillates.
• When light is reflected off of particles it can favor a certain angle of polarization. By measuring the preferred polarization of light from a distant system, astronomers can deduce the presence of clouds.
  • However, in case of Luhman 16A, the researchers have found the actual structure of the clouds (not only their presence).
• The polarimetry technique isn't limited to brown dwarfs. It can also be applied to exoplanets orbiting distant stars, or even stars. However, light from brown dwarfs is ideal for the study.

Luhman 16

• Luhman 16A is part of a binary system (Luhman 16) containing a second brown dwarf, Luhman 16B. This pair of brown dwarfs Luhman 16A and Luhman 16B orbit each other.
• It is situated at a distance of about 6.5 light years from the Sun and the third closest system to the Sun after Alpha Centauri and Barnard’s star.
• Despite the fact that Luhman 16A and 16B have similar masses and temperatures and presumably formed at the same time, they show markedly different weather.
• Luhman 16B shows no sign of stationary cloud bands, instead showing evidence of more irregular, patchy clouds.
  • Luhman 16B, therefore, has noticeable brightness variations as a result of its cloudy features, unlike Luhman 16A which has less brightness variation due to a band of clouds.
• Understanding the cloud system over a brown dwarf can shed light on the pressure, temperature and climate on the surface of the celestial body.

Brown Dwarfs

• Brown dwarfs are also called failed stars, because their masses are heavier than planets but lighter than stars.
• Due to their small masses, they are unable to sustain fusion of their hydrogen to produce energy.
• It is believed that some of the more massive brown dwarfs fuse deuterium or lithium and glow faintly.

Binary Stars System

• Binary stars are two stars orbiting a common center of mass.
• The brighter star is officially classified as the primary star, while the dimmer of the two is the secondary star. In cases where the stars are of equal brightness, the designation given by the discoverer is respected.
• They are very important in astrophysics because calculations of their orbits allow the masses of their component stars to be directly determined, which in turn allows other stellar parameters, such as radius and density, to be indirectly estimated.

Seasonal rapid advancement of surging glaciers in Karakoram Range: A potential natural hazard

Scientists from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Dehradun have found a seasonal advancement in 220 surging or surge-type glaciers in the Karakoram Range of Ladakh.

• WIHG is an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
• Surging or Surge-type glaciers are a certain type of glaciers that have shown advancement in volume and length over a period of time.
  • Such glaciers go against the normal trend of considerable reduction in volume and length of most glaciers in the Himalaya in recent decades.
• Surging glaciers represent 40% of the total glaciated area of the Karakoram range.
• Surging glaciers do not flow at a constant speed, rather are subjected to cyclical flow instabilities.
• The oscillation of such glaciers have been broadly classified into two phases:
  • Active (Surge) Phase- brief (months to years) rapid flow.
  • Quiescent Phase- lengthy (tens to hundreds of years) slow flow or stagnation.
• It was inferred that surge during winter is more controlled because there is low amount of meltwater which flows unsteadily underneath the glaciers.
• The surging stops in summer because of the channelised flow of the melted water.

Significance of Studying Surging Glaciers

• Surging glaciers can lead to the destruction of villages, roads and bridges.
• They can also advance across a river valley and form an ice-dammed lake. These lakes can form catastrophic outburst floods.
• Therefore, monitoring of glacier surges, ice-dammed lake formation and drainage is of paramount importance.

Glaciers

• Masses of ice moving as sheets over the land (continental glacier or piedmont glacier if a vast sheet of ice is spread over the plains at the foot of mountains) or as linear flows down the slopes of mountains in broad trough-like valleys (mountain and valley glaciers) are called glaciers.
• The movement of glaciers is slow unlike water flow ranging from a few centimetres to a few meters per day. Glaciers move basically because of the force of gravity.
• Erosion by glaciers is tremendous because of friction caused by sheer weight of the ice.
  • The material plucked from the land by glaciers (usually large-sized angular blocks and fragments) get dragged along the floors or sides of the valleys and cause great damage through abrasion and plucking.
  • Glaciers can cause significant damage to even un-weathered rocks and can reduce high mountains into low hills and plains.
• As glaciers continue to move, debris gets removed, divides get lowered and eventually the slope is reduced to such an extent that glaciers stop moving, leaving only a mass of low hills and vast outwash plains along with other depositional features.

India enforced one of the strongest lockdowns, here’s how it stacks up against other countries

The Oxford University has created a Stringency Index which shows how strict a country’s measures were and at what stage of the Covid-19 spread, it enforced these.

• India enforced one of the strongest lockdowns at an early phase of case growth.

Stringency Index

• The Government Response Stringency Index is a composite measure based on various response indicators including school and workplace closures, stay-at-home policies and travel bans, rescaled to a value from 0 to 100.
  • A higher index score indicates a higher level of stringency (100 = strictest response).
• It is among the metrics used by the Oxford Coronavirus Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT).
• The Tracker has a team of 100 Oxford community members who update a database of 17 indicators of government response.
• The Index has found that India has one of the strongest lockdown measures in the world, at a 100 score since 22^nd March, when the nationwide lockdown was first imposed.
  • It was slightly relaxed on 20^th April after the government eased norms for certain workplaces in regions outside the red zones (zones with increasing rate of active cases).
• Other countries with a 100 score are Honduras, Argentina, Jordan, Libya, Sri Lanka, Serbia and Rwanda.
• Death Curve and Stringency Score:
  • The Index also provides an overlay of countries’ death curve and their stringency score.
  • Eighteen countries were compared for the highest death count at the strongest measures.
    • Italy, Spain or France saw their deaths just begin to flatten as they reached their highest stringency
    • China’s death curve saw a little or no change after it put stronger measures.
    • In the UK, the US and India, the death curve has not flattened even after imposition of the strictest measures.
• India’s Comparison:
  • India called its strict lockdown at a much earlier point on its case and death curves when compared to other countries with similar or higher case load.
    • While imposing lockdown, India had around 320 cases while others had more than 500 cases.
    • By 22^nd March, India saw only 4 deaths while others saw more deaths.
  • Spain called for its strictest measures later in its case and death count than all others.
  • Sweden has had the most liberal measures in this set and Iran the second most liberal.
• Response on WHO’s Recommendations
  • The researchers also examined if countries meet four of the six World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations for relaxing physical distancing measures. The four of them are:
    • Control transmission to a level the healthcare system can manage.
    • The healthcare system can detect and isolate all cases (not just serious ones).
    • Manage transfer to and from high-risk transmission zones.
    • Community engagement.
  • It was found that no countries meet the four measured recommendations, but 20 are close.
    • India scored 0.7 (below Australia, Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea) because it scored 0 for controlling its cases.
    • The highest scorers on this index, at 0.9, were Iceland, Hong Kong, Croatia and Trinidad & Tobago.

MHRD announces modifications in PMRF Scheme to boost research in country

Recently, the Ministry of Human Resources and Development has carried out various amendments in the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship Scheme to boost research in the country.

Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) Scheme

• In order to attract meritorious students into research, Government of India, in 2018 launched Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF) Scheme, which offers direct admission to such students in the Ph.D programmes in various higher educational institutions in the country.
• The scheme is aimed at attracting the talent pool of the country to doctoral (Ph.D.) programmes for carrying out research in cutting edge science and technology domains, with focus on national priorities.
• The institutes which can offer PMRF include all the IITs, IISERs, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and some of the top Central Universities/NITs that offer science and/or technology degrees.
• A fellowship of Rs.70,000/- per month for the first two years, Rs.75,000/- per month for the 3^rd year, and Rs.80,000/- per month in the 4^th and 5^th year is provided under the scheme.
• Apart from this, a research grant of Rs. 2 lakh per year is provided to each of the Fellows for a period of 5 years to cover their academic contingency expenses and for foreign/national travel expenses.

Amendments

• Now, students from any recognized university can apply for the fellowship.
  
  • Earlier the fellowship scheme was open only for students from Central Universities, IITs, IISc, NITs, IISERs, IIEST and IIITs.
• The requirement of GATE score has also been reduced from 750 to 600.
• As per new guidelines there will be two channels of entries i.e direct entry and lateral entry.
  • In lateral entry, the students, who are pursuing PhD in PMRF granting institutions, and have completed 12 months or 24 months as per certain requirements, can also apply to become fellow under the scheme.
• National Institute of Technologies (NITs) which appear in top 25 institutions in the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranking can also become PMRF Granting institution.
• To boost research a dedicated Division is being created in the MHRD with the name of "Research and Innovation Division".
  
  • This division will be headed by a director who will be coordinating research work of various institutions coming under MHRD.

JNCASR scientists fabricate energy-efficient photodetector for security application

Recently, scientists from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) have fabricated a wafer-scale photodetector (thin slice-based) device, using gold-silicon interface.

• JNCASR is an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
• The scientists have fabricated gold (Au)-silicon (n-Si) interface, which shows high sensitivity towards light demonstrating the photodetection action.
  • The Au-Si interface was brought about by galvanic deposition (a technique for electroplating of metals) wherein water-based solutions (electrolytes) are used, which contain the metals to be deposited as ions.
  • A nanostructured Au film was deposited on top of p-type silicide (compound that has silicon with more electropositive elements), which acts as a charge collector.
• The metal nanostructures enhance the performance of the fabricated detector through trapping the incoming light.
• The detector exhibits a rapid response of 40 microseconds and can detect low light intensities.
• The device covers a broad spectral range from Ultraviolet to Infrared and shows excellent uniformity throughout the entire active area with less than 5% variation in response.
• Photodetectors:
  • These are an important part of an optoelectronic circuit that can detect light.
  • These are employed for a wide variety of applications like:
    • Controlling automatic lighting in supermarkets.
    • Detecting radiation from the outer galaxy.
    • Being used in security-related applications.
  • However, due to high material cost and the intricate fabrication processes, photodetectors become unaffordable for daily applications.

Advantages of Au-Si interface Photodetector

• Quick & Simple: The process of fabricating a detector takes only a few minutes, making it a quick and simple process.
• Cost-effective: Being a solution-based technique, the method is highly economical and enables large-area fabrication without compromising the detector response.
• Highly Capable: The device can help detect weak scattered light as an indication of unwanted activity.
• Energy Efficient: The detector operates in self-powered mode, which means the device does not require external power for its operation.
• Environmentally Stable: With a commonly available protective coating, the device shows a long-term environmental stability, under harsh conditions.
• Multiple Usage: It can also be used as a prototype imaging system, lux and power meter and as a tool for security applications.

Covid-19: Construction of chariots for Puri’s Rath Yatra begins in restricted zone after MHA nod

he Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has allowed the construction of chariots for the annual Rath Yatra at Jagannath Puri in Odisha.

• It has also said that the complete segregation of the construction site should be ensured and social-distancing norms be followed.
• The Rath Yatra is expected to be held on 23^rd June 2020.

Jagannath Rath Yatra

• Ratha Jatra, also called as Chariot Festival, is a Hindu festival associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri, Odisha.
• The festival is celebrated on the 2^nd day of Shukla Paksha of Ashadh, the third month, according to the traditional Oriya calendar.
• It is a 9 day-long event and marks the return of Lord Krishna to Vrindavan with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra to Gundicha Temple via Mausi Maa Temple (maternal aunt's home) near Saradha Bali, Puri.
• During the festival, the three holy chariots carrying idols of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balaram (Balabhadra) and sister Subhadra are pulled by thousands of devotees from India and abroad.

Jagannath Temple

• The temple is believed to be constructed in the 12^th century by King Anatavarman Chodaganga Deva of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty.
• Jagannath Puri temple is called ‘Yamanika Tirtha’ where, according to the Hindu beliefs, the power of ‘Yama’, the god of death has been nullified in Puri due to the presence of Lord Jagannath.
• This temple was called the “White Pagoda” and is a part of Char Dham pilgrimages (Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri, Rameswaram).
• There are four gates to the temple- Eastern ‘Singhdwara’ which is the main gate with two crouching lions, Southern ‘Ashwadwara’, Western 'Vyaghra Dwara and Northern ‘Hastidwara’. There is a carving of each form at each gate.
• In front of the entrance stands the Aruna stambha or sun pillar, which was originally at the Sun Temple in Konark.

India to expand 'Vande Bharat Mission' beginning May 15

The Indian nationals stranded overseas due to the global coronavirus lockdown are expected to return under the Vande Bharat Mission.

• Further, the Indian Navy has also launched Operation “Samudra Setu” (sea bridge) to repatriate Indian citizens from overseas.
• Vande Bharat Mission is the biggest evacuation exercise to bring back Indian citizens stranded abroad amidst the coronavirus-induced travel restrictions.
  • It is also considered as the largest exercise to bring back Indian citizens since the evacuation of 177,000 from the Gulf region in the early 1990s at the start of hostilities between Iraq and Kuwait during the first Gulf War.
• The mission has given priority to Indian citizens with “compelling reasons to return" – like those whose employment have been terminated, those whose visas have expired and not expected to be renewed under the present circumstances and those who have lost family members in recent times.
• Under the repatriation plan, the government will be facilitating the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad on compelling grounds in a phased manner.
• Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express will operate 64 flights to bring back stranded Indians from 12 countries.
• The entire cost of travel will be borne by the passengers under the mission.

Covid-19: 698 Indians stranded in Maldives sail back home under Operation Samudra Setu

• The program named Samudra Setu by Indian navy entails to bring back around two thousand Indians in two ships during the first phase of evacuation.
• INS Jalashwa and INS Magar are being operated as part of efforts to repatriate Indian nationals from foreign shores.

Black Panther spotted in Goa Netravali sanctuary is reminding netizens of Bagheera from Jungle Book

A black panther was spotted in Goa’s Netravali Sanctuary.

• While the area is a known habitat of tigers, this is for the first time a black panther has been captured on camera in the sanctuary.

Black Panther

• A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of any Panthera, particularly of the leopard in Asia and Africa, and the jaguar in the Americas.
  • Melanism is the increased development of the dark-colored pigment melanin in the skin or hair.
• It is as shy as a normal leopard and very difficult to detect. It is mostly found in densely forested areas of southern India.
• Areas where black panther has been spotted earlier:
  • Periyar Tiger Reserve (Kerala)
  • Bhadra Tiger Reserve, Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve and Kabini Wildlife Sanctuary (Karnataka)
  • Achanakmar Tiger Reserve (Chhattisgarh)
  • Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary (Goa)
  • Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu)

Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary

• Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary is located in South Eastern Goa and constitutes one of the vital corridors of the Western Ghats.
• It is bounded by Cotigao wildlife sanctuary on the eastern side and Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary and Mollem National Park on the northern side.
• Netravali or Neturli is an important tributary of River Zuari, which originates in the sanctuary.
• It has two important waterfalls namely, Savari and Mainapi.
• Forests mostly consist of moist deciduous vegetation interspersed with evergreen and semi-evergreen habitat.
• Fauna: Leopard, Giant Squirrel, Mouse Deer, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon and Ceylon Frogmouth.
• Other Protected Areas in Goa:
  • Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary
  • Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Mollem National Park
  • Dr Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary

Number of Tigers in the Sundarbans Rises From 88 to 96

As per the latest census conducted by the West Bengal Forest Department, the tiger count in the Sundarbans for 2019-20 has gone up to 96 from 88 in 2018-19.

• The increase in the number by eight is significant as it is the highest annual jump reported from the Sundarbans.

Sundarbans

• Sundarbans is a vast contiguous mangrove forest ecosystem in the coastal region of Bay of Bengal spread over India and Bangladesh on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers.
• The Sunderbans Delta is the only mangrove forest in the world inhabited by tigers.
• Indian Sundarbans constitute over 60% of the country’s total mangrove forest area.
• Indian Sundarbans has been recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and ‘Wetland of International Importance’ under the Ramsar Convention in January, 2019.
• It is home to rare and globally threatened species, such as theNorthern River Terrapin, Royal Bengal Tiger, Irrawaddy Dolphin, and the Fishing Cat.
• Estimation of the number of tigers in the Sunderbans has always been a challenge because of the difficult terrain that comprises dense mangrove forests, with creeks and rivulets, and floods twice a day during the high tides.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan launches the ‘AYUSH Sanjivani ’ App and inter-disciplinary studies involving AYUSH interventions for COVID 19

Recently, the government has launched the ‘AYUSH Sanjivani’ App.

• It is developed by the Ministry of AYUSH and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY).
• It targets to reach out to 50 lakh people in the country.
• The app intends to generate data on usage of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-rigpa and Homoeopathy) advocacies and measures among the population and its impact in prevention of Covid-19.
• The data collected through this app will be analyzed to find out usage of AYUSH interventions and its efficacy in maintaining health by enhancing immunity.