Jallikattu Festival
Syllabus :GS 1/Culture
In News
- Six people were killed during Jallikattu and other bull-related sports such as Eruthattam and Manjuvirattu in Tamil Nadu.
About Jallikattu Festival
- Brief: Jallikattu is a traditional bull-taming sport held during the Tamil harvest festival of Pongal.
- It is most prominent in districts like Madurai, Pudukottai, Tiruchirapalli, and Thanjavur.
- Name and Meaning: The term “Jallikattu” combines two Tamil words:
- Jalli: Refers to silver or gold coins.
- Kattu: Means tied.
- Coins are tied to the bull’s horn, and participants who tame the bull win the prize.
- Historical Origins: The sport dates back nearly 2000 years, with evidence from 400-100 BCE.
- It was originally played by the Ayars, an ethnic group in South India.
- Sport Details: Participants try to hold onto the bull’s hump or run alongside to stop it.
- Bulls used for Jallikattu include the Pulikulam or Kangayam breeds, which are also valued for breeding.
- Successful bulls are highly prized in the market.
- Judiciary View: In 2023, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court upheld Jallikattu as a part of the cultural heritage and tradition of Tamil Nadu, acknowledging its historical and cultural importance.
Source: TH
Musi River
Syllabus: GS1/ Geography
In News
- The Musi River Historic Buildings in Hyderabad, Telangana, have been included in the prestigious 2025 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund (WMF).
About
- 2025 World Monuments Watch: It is a biennial program by the World Monuments Fund (WMF) (New York based non-profit organization) that seeks to raise awareness and mobilize action for the preservation of cultural heritage under threat due to challenges like climate change, urbanization, and natural disasters.
- Musi River: The River originates in the Ananthagiri Hills in Rangareddy district, Telangana. It is one of the major tributaries of the Krishna River.
- The river flows into the Osmansagar and Himayatsagar reservoirs, which were constructed to control flooding and serve as drinking water sources for Hyderabad.
Source: TH
Hydroclimate Whiplash
Syllabus: GS1/ Geography
In News
- The devastating wildfires in Los Angeles were driven by rare meteorological conditions known as ‘hydroclimate whiplash.’
Hydroclimate Whiplash and Global Climatic Patterns
- Disruption of Weather Cycles: Hydroclimate whiplash leads to erratic precipitation patterns, causing unseasonal and unpredictable weather.
- Wet periods promote excessive vegetation growth. Sudden droughts dry out the vegetation, creating fuel for wildfires.
- Climate Amplification: Warmer global temperatures enhance evaporation rates, intensifying both precipitation and aridity phases.
Factors Behind Hydroclimate Whiplash
- Hydroclimate whiplash is driven by both natural and human-induced factors.
- Variations in atmospheric circulation, such as changes in jet streams and ocean currents like ENSO, and topography that traps moisture can lead to extreme precipitation and dry spells.
- Human activities, including global warming from greenhouse gas emissions and land-use changes like urbanization and deforestation, exacerbate these fluctuations by disrupting local hydrological cycles.
Source: DTE
Eighth Pay Commission
Syllabus :GS 2/Governance
In News
- The Union government has approved the establishment of the Eighth Pay Commission.
About the Pay Commission
- Purpose: The Pay Commission determines the salary, compensation, and allowances for central government employees and pensioners.
- Proposing formulas for dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) adjustments to mitigate inflation’s impact.
- Recommendation of Pay commission is non binding in nature.
- Timeline: Pay Commissions are generally constituted every 10 years. The 8th Pay Commission is being set up well before the term of the 7th Pay Commission ends in 2025, allowing sufficient time for review and implementation.
- The 7th pay commission headed by Justice A.K. Mathur was implemented in 2016 and introduced Pay Matrix; Min: Rs 18,000/month, Max: Rs 2,50,000/month.
- Composition: Usually headed by a retired Supreme Court judge.
Source: TH
Fast Track Immigration – Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP)
Syllabus: GS3/Infrastructure
Context
- The Union Home Minister will inaugurate the Fast Track Immigration – Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP).
About
- First Launched: At the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi in 2024.
- Nodal Agency: The Bureau of Immigration under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- Features:
- Registered travellers will be able to scan their boarding pass and passport at airport e-gates.
- After biometric authentication, the gates will automatically open, granting immigration clearance.
- It will be implemented in two phases. The first will cover Indian citizens and OCI cardholders and in the second phase, foreign travellers will be covered.
- In total, it will be implemented at 21 major airports in the country.
- In the first phase, this facility is being introduced at seven major airports—Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi, and Ahmedabad.
- Registered travellers will be able to scan their boarding pass and passport at airport e-gates.
Source: IE
New Definition for Obesity
Syllabus: GS2/Health
Context
- A new definition and method for diagnosing obesity has been proposed by a commission of the medical journal The Lancet.
- Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Commission is a group of 58 leading experts from various medical specialities and countries.
About New Definition
- It replaces the overweight category with a category called Preclinical Obesity.
- It is where a person has excess body fat but no associated ongoing illness.
- Preclinical obesity is defined as a physical attribute but not an illness.
- For Preclinical Obesity the focus has to be on risk reduction and prevention of progression to clinical obesity.
- Diagnosis: It would require confirming the levels of excess fat and clinical assessments of organ function instead of just meeting a BMI cut-off.
- Clinical obesity: It has been defined as a chronic illness that results in alteration in organ functions regardless of other conditions a person might have.
Body Mass Index (BMI)
- It is a person’s weight in kilograms (or pounds) divided by the square of height in meters (or feet).
- A high BMI can indicate high body fatness.
- BMI screens for weight categories that may lead to health problems, but it does not diagnose the body fatness or health of an individual.
- It rose to prominence for clinicians in the 1990s following the World Health Organisation’s adoption of the metric as the official screening index for obesity.
- For most adults, an ideal BMI is in the 18.5 to 24.9 range.
Source: IE
Data Embassies
Syllabus :GS 2/IR and GS 3/S&T
In News
- India is in discussions with multiple nations to establish data embassies, creating a new dimension in international relations and data sovereignty.
What are Data Embassies?
- Data embassies are secure facilities where countries can store sovereign data in another nation’s territory while maintaining complete control over it. They provide:
- Backup and Contingency Storage: Ensuring data availability during natural disasters or geopolitical crises.
- Independence in Operations: Each data embassy independently handles data management, and access controls, while the host country ensures data security.
- Regulatory Flexibility: Nations can store data abroad without being subject to local data regulations.
- India plans to set up special strategic zones to house these embassies, hosting data centers dedicated to storing sovereign data for multiple nations.
- Andhra Pradesh, with its advanced data center infrastructure, is expected to host the first data embassy.
Do you Know?
- Estonia was the first country to establish a data embassy in Luxembourg after a 2007 cyberattack.
Source: LM
QS World Future Skills Index 2025
Syllabus: GS3/ Economy
Context
- India’s position as a leading job market for in-demand future skills, including AI, digital, and green technologies, was highlighted in the inaugural QS World Future Skills Index.
About
- The inaugural Future Skills Index, released by London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), evaluates countries on their readiness to meet evolving job market demands.
- The index assesses four main areas: skills fit, academic readiness, future of work, and economic transformation.
- India’s outstanding GDP growth, youthful population, and burgeoning start-up culture position the country as a global leader in future-ready skills.
India’s performance in Skill Index
Indicator | Skills Fit | Academic Readiness | Future of Work | Economic Transformation | Overall |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Score | 59.1 | 89.9 | 99.1 | 58.3 | 76.6 |
Global Position | 37th | 26th | 2nd | 40th | 25th |
Opportunities for Improvement
- Enhancing Industry Collaboration: Bridging the gap between higher education institutions and industry needs.
- Equipping Graduates with In-Demand Skills: Expanding focus on digital, and AI to align with employer demands.
- Future-Oriented Innovation and Sustainability: India scores low on this metric, indicating a need to prioritize sustainable practices and forward-looking solutions.
Source: AIR
Interest Equalisation Scheme
Syllabus: GS3/ Economy
Context
- The commerce Ministry in India is expected to seek an extension of the interest equalisation scheme for five more years in the upcoming Budget.
About
- The Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES) was introduced in 2015 to provide financial support to exporters through subsidised export credit.
- Initially valid for five years, the scheme has since been extended multiple times, including a one-year extension during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Coverage: Initially, it covered non-MSME exporters of about 410 identified tariff lines and all exporters from the MSME sector.
- Subsidy Rate: The scheme provides;
- 2% interest equalisation benefit for merchant and manufacturer exporters of 410 identified tariff lines.
- 3% interest equalisation benefit for all MSME manufacturer exporters.
- Mechanism: Export credit is provided by banks at a subsidised interest rate. The government compensates banks for the reduced interest charged to beneficiaries.
Source: BL
SpaceX Launches Two Lunar Landers Toward Moon
Syllabus: GS3/ Science and Technology
Context
- SpaceX has launched two private lunar landers, Blue Ghost by Firefly Aerospace and Resilience by Japan’s ispace, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
About Blue Ghost
- Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
- This initiative supports NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon. Blue Ghost will carry 10 scientific payloads, including:
- A vacuum device for lunar soil collection.
- A drill to measure subsurface temperatures.
- A device to prevent lunar dust from damaging equipment.
About Resilience
- The second payload, Resilience, is developed by Japan’s ispace.
- Resilience will carry six scientific payloads and a small rover capable of collecting lunar soil samples.
- It targets a landing at Mare Frigoris, further north on the Moon’s near side.
Source: TH
Space Docking Technology
Syllabus: GS3/ Science and Technology
Context
- ISRO launched the PSLV-C60 mission, carrying a pair of satellites for the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) to demonstrate orbital rendezvous and docking.
Space Docking Technology
- Docking technology allows the assembly of larger space modules by launching components separately and assembling them in orbit.
- It is crucial for interplanetary missions where the spacecraft may exceed the payload capacity of current launch vehicles.
Significance
- The Chandrayaan-4 lunar sample return mission exemplifies the potential application of docking capabilities for advanced exploration missions.
- ISRO plans to launch the ‘Bharatiya Antariksh Station’ (BAS) later this decade, which would benefit significantly from advancements in docking technology.
Source: TH
SVAMITVA Scheme
Syllabus: GS2/ Governance
Context
- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, will preside over the e-Distribution of SVAMITVA Property Cards on 18th January 2025.
SVAMITVA Scheme
- The SVAMITVA Scheme (Survey of Villages Abadi and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) was launched on 24th April, 2020 (National Panchayati Raj Day).
- It is a Central Sector Scheme under the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
- The scheme aims to provide legal ownership records to rural property owners by issuing Property Cards, thereby enhancing rural governance and financial inclusion.
Implementation of the scheme
- Accurate Land Demarcation: The scheme ensures precise demarcation of land parcels in rural areas using drone technology and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, reducing disputes over land boundaries.
- Property Ownership Rights: It provides Record of Rights (RoR) through SVAMITVA Property Cards, granting legal recognition to property owners in inhabited rural areas (Abadi).
Source: PIB
New Glenn Rocket
Syllabus: GS3/ S&T, Space
In News
- Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket on its inaugural mission (NG-1).
- Blue Origin is a private space exploration company founded by Jeff Bezos in 2000.
About NG-1 Mission
- The mission would successfully deploy the “Blue Ring Pathfinder” test satellite into its intended orbit.
- Also, it will demonstrate the reusability of the rocket’s booster stage by landing it on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Reusability is crucial for reducing launch costs and making space exploration more affordable and sustainable.
- It would strengthen Blue Origin’s position against competitors like SpaceX and ULA in the commercial spaceflight sector.
Source: IE
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