Juna Khatiya village Excavation
Relevance:
Recent excavations at Gujarat’s Harappan necropolis revealed the death rituals of 5,000 years ago.
Key Findings:
- Excavations at Juna Khatiya village (Kutch district) found rows of graves with skeletal remains, ceramic pots, beaded jewellery, animal bones etc.
- These are from 3,200 BCE to 2,600 BCE, (pre-urban Harappan) predating several other Harappan sites in the state.
- Other sites like Dholavira have a cemetery in and around the town, but no major habitation has been discovered here.
- Transition from earth-mound burials to stone graves.
- Pottery – Similar to those excavated from early Harappan sites in Sindh and Balochistan.
- Construction materials – Pebbles of local rock, basalt, clay etc.
- Major burial practises –
- 3 known types of burial customs: complete burial, fractional burial and urn burial (Burial of the ashes after cremation).
- Most common burial method: Placing body with head towards north in a simple pit or brick chamber.
- Grave goods including food, pottery, tools and ornaments can be found along with the body.
- Lothal – Evidence of burial of pairs of male and female together.
Which of the following characterizes/ characterize the people of Indus Civilization? (2013)
- They possessed great palaces and temples.
- They worshipped both male and female deities.
- They employed horse-drawn chariots in warfare.
Select the correct statement/ statements using the codes given below.
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 only
- 1, 2 and 3
- None of the statements given above is correct
Reference: Times of India
Land Subsidence in Joshimath
Relevance:
Due to land subsidence, Joshimath – a key transit point for tourists travelling to Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib – developed cracks, causing panic and protests among the local population.
About Joshimath:
- Location – Rishikesh–Badrinath NH-7 (Uttarakhand)
- It is traversed by running streams with a high gradient from Vishnuprayag.
- Bordering Rivers –
- Dhaknala (East)
- Karmanasa (West)
- Alaknanda (Noth)
- Dhauliganga (South)
- 1976 Mishra Commission – Reported 1st instance of subsidence
- Importance –
- Nearest Tourist centres: Badrinath, Auli, Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib
- Indian armed forces cantonment
- One of the four cardinal monasteries established by Adi Shankara (Others: Sringeri in Karnataka, Dwarka in Gujarat, Puri in Odisha)
- Natural factors for subsidence –
- Located on the Vaikrita Thurst (VT), a tectonic fault line and is also very close to main geological fault lines, Main Central Thrust (MCT) and Pandukeshwar Thrust (PT).
- It falls in Zone V of the Seismic Zonation Map.
- The area around it is covered with a thick layer of overburden material making it vulnerable to sinking.
- High snowfall and highly weathered gneissic rocks.
- Extreme rainfall events impacting the stability of the slope.
- Anthropogenic factors –
- Unplanned construction and Improper water drainage
- Hydroelectric schemes around Joshimath and Tapovan (E.g. Vishnugad HE Project).
- Increase in ground seepage of water from surface, a probable cause for subsidence.
Reference: The Hindu
Digital India Awards 2022
Relevance:
Recently, the President of India has conferred Digital India Awards 2022.
News Summary:
- It is a Flagship Project under National Portal of India to facilitate single window access to Government Information and Services in cyberspace.
- Aim – To encourage and honour innovative digital solutions/ exemplary initiatives by various government entities (startups also for 2022) at all levels.
- Conducted by – National Informatics Centre (Minister for Electronics & Information Technology)
- Former Name – Web Ratna Awards (until 2014)
- Winners for 2022 –
- e-NAM: Pan-India electronic trading portal to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.
- e-Vivechna App (Madhya Pradesh): To help in crime investigation.
- Mine Mitra (Uttar Pradesh): For online approval of Mining plan.
- DUARE SARKAR (West Bengal): For service delivery and welfare schemes at peoples’ doorsteps.
- Ksheerasree Portal (Kerala): To unite all of the state’s dairy producers.
- eAbkari (Odisha): To control the manufacture, distribution and sale of Liquor through Government channels.
- ICEGATE Portal: Indian Customs Electronic Data Interchange Gateway
- eShram: Enrolment, registration, collection and identification of the required data of all the unorganised workers.
Consider the following: (2022)
- Aarogya Setu
- CoWIN
- DigiLocker
- DIKSHA
Which of the above are built on top of open-source digital platforms?
- 1 and 2 only
- 2, 3 and 4 only
- 1, 3 and 4 only
- 1, 2, 3 and 4
Reference: PIB
Bureau of Indian Standards
Relevance:
Recently, the 76th Foundation Day of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) was celebrated and various initiatives were launched by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
News Summary:
- Standards National Action Plan (SNAP) 2022-27 –
- It plays an important role in steering the national standardization efforts by meeting the emerging technologies and concerns of sustainability and climate change.
- Revised National Electrical Code of India 2023 or NEC 2023 –
- It provides guidelines for regulating Electrical Installations practices across country.
- Revision includes latest International best practices and addition of special locations like Hospitals, Community facilities, Hotels, etc. [India’s 1st NEC: 1985]
- Revision Exercise of National Building Code of India (NBC 2016) –
- Revision of NBC to include Sustainable city planning norms; New and sustainable building materials, etc.
- Standards Clubs in Schools –
- It aims to expose science students of class 9th and above to the concepts of Quality and Standardization through student centric activities.
- Training courses –
- Designed by National Institute of Training for Standardization (NITS) for national capacity building for judicious implementation of NBC 2016 and NEC 2023.
- Portal for Mapping of Industrial Units and Laboratories
Bureau of Indian Standards:
- Established under the BIS Act 1986, assuming the functions of the erstwhile Indian Standards Institution (ISI) which was established in 1947.
- Ministry – Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
- BIS Act 2016 established the BIS as the National Standards Body of India.
- Common BIS Standards –
- BIS Hallmark: Mandatory standard for gold and silver jewellery
- ISI Mark: Standards compliance mark for industrial products
- Ecomark: Labeling of environment friendly products.
- Product Certification Scheme: Applicable for tangible products.
- Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme: Overseas applicants/foreign manufacturers are granted a license for the use of the ISI mark.
- System Certification Scheme: Applicable for systems/processes.
Consider the following statements: (2017)
- The Standard Mark of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is mandatory for automotive tyres and tubes.
- AGMARK is a quality Certification Mark issued by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Reference: PIB
Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs)
Relevance:
For the first-time, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will issue Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs) worth ₹16,000 crores, in two tranches of ₹8,000 crores each in the current financial year. Also will issue 5-year and 10-year green bonds of ₹4,000 crores each in current financial year.
Green Bonds:
- Issued by – Any sovereign entity, inter-governmental groups or alliances and corporates
- Aim – Proceeds of bonds are utilised for environmentally sustainable projects.
- Announced in Union Budget 2022-23.
- Framework issued by Ministry of Finance.
- Features –
- Issued through Uniform Price Auction and 5% will be reserved for retail investors.
- Eligible for Repo and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) purpose.
- Eligible for trading in the secondary market.
- Designated as specified securities for investment in Government Securities by non-residents.
- Eligible projects under SGrBs framework – Projects of renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, climate change adaptation, sustainable water and waste management, pollution prevention and control, green buildings, and biodiversity conservation.
- Significance –
- To deal with threats of climate change and related challenges.
- Influence business strategy by offering investors a platform to engage in good practices.
- Will help India in tapping requisite finance for deployment in public sector projects aimed at reducing carbon intensity of economy.
What is/are the purpose/purposes of Government’s Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme’ and ‘Gold Monetization Scheme’? (2016)
- To bring the idle gold lying with Indian households into the economy
- To promote FDI in the gold and jewellery sector
- To reduce India’s dependence on gold imports
Select the correct answer using the code given below
- 1 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Reference: Indian Express
