UPSC Prelims News 30 January 2023

UPSC Prelims News of 30 January 2023

Soliga Ecarinata Wasp

Context: Researchers have named a new genus of wasp after Soliga indigenous community of Biligiri Ranga Hills (B.R. Hills) of Karnataka.

• The wasp has been named Soliga ecarinata in an acknowledgement of the Soliga lifestyle which is rooted in the philosophy of sustainability.
• The species is named as ‘ecarinata’ denoting the absence of ridges in certain body regions. It is strikingly colourful and distinct from all its relatives.
• The wasp belongs to the subfamily Metopiinae of Darwin wasps family Ichneumonidae. It is the second genus of this subfamily reported from India and the first from South India.
• Soliga community
  • Soligas are the indigenous dwellers of BR Hills. They are dependent on collecting a wide range of non-timber forest products (NTFP), small game hunting and shifting cultivations for their livelihood.
  • After BR Hills was designated a wildlife sanctuary, shifting cultivation and hunting were completely banned and the Soligas were allocated small pieces of land to practice settled agriculture.
• BR Hills
  • BR Hills falls under the confluence of the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats and the unique geographical positioning makes it one of the richest areas for biodiversity in India.
  • The Biligiri Ranganatha Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary or BRT Wildlife Sanctuary is located near BR Hills. It is a protected reserve under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 and also a tiger reserve.

UPSC Prelims News 28 January 2023

Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas

Context: A politician from Bihar has raised controversy on Goswami Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas.

About Goswami Tulsidas (1511–1623)

• Tulsidas, whose original name was Ram Bola Dubey, is believed to have been born in Rajapur in the Banda district, Uttar Pradesh.
• He composed the Ramcharitmanas on the bank of the Ganga in Varanasi.
  • Ramcharitmanas, is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, based on the Ramayana.
  • It is a retelling of the life and teachings of Lord Rama, the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu, as described in the Hindu epic the Ramayana.
  • The sacred chant ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ is a part of it.
• Tulsidas lived in the time of Emperor Akbar, and some believe that he was in touch with Abdurrahim Khan-e-Khanan, the son of Akbar’s commander Bairam Khan.
• He established the Sankat Mochan temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman in Varanasi.
• His other important literary works include Vinaya Patrika and Kavitavali

Startup20

Why in News? Hyderabad will be hosting a two-day inception meeting of the Startup 20 Engagement Group, set up under India’s G20 presidency.

About:

• Startup20 aspires to create a global narrative for supporting start-ups and enabling synergies between start-ups, corporates, investors, innovation agencies and other key ecosystem stakeholders.
• Startup20 has three different tracks, namely, foundation and alliance, finance and inclusivity and sustainability.
• The purpose of this group is to provide a common platform for start-ups from G20 member countries to come together to develop actionable guidance in the form of building of enabler’s capacities, identification of funding gaps, enhancement of employment opportunities, achievement of SDG targets and climate resilience, and growth of an inclusive ecosystem.

Section 126 of RPA, 1951

Why in News? Recently, the schedule for holding the General Election to the Legislative Assemblies of Meghalaya, Nagaland & Tripura, 2023 has been announced.

About:

• Section 126 of the RP Act prohibits displaying any election matter by means, inter alia, of television or similar apparatus, during the period of 48 hours before the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll in a constituency.
• The provision prohibits the conduct of Exit polls and dissemination of their results during the period mentioned therein, in the hour fixed for the commencement of polls in the first phase and half hour after the time fixed for the close of poll for the last phase in all the States.
• Violation of the provisions of Section 126 is punishable with imprisonment up to a period of two years, or with a fine or both.

HSTDV

Why in News? Recently,DRDO tested the hypersonic technology demonstrator vehicle (HSTDV) powered by a scramjet engine.

About:

• HSTDV is an unmanned scramjet demonstration aircraft that can travel at hypersonic speed.
• It uses hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology.
• HSTDV will serve as a critical building block for hypersonic weapons (Speed > 5 Mach or 5 times the speed of sound).
• Like a ramjet engine, scramjet uses atmospheric air for oxidiser and compresses incoming air before it enters the combustion chamber.

Short Selling

Tags: General Studies – 3 Indian Economy & Related Issues

Why in News? Short seller Hindenburg Research disclosed short positions in Adani Group, alleging stock manipulation and accounting fraud in its latest investigative report.

About:

• It is a trading strategy based on the expectation that the price of the security will fall.
• While fundamentally it is based on the “buy low, sell high” approach, the sequence of transactions is reversed in short selling — to sell high first and buy low later.
• It occurs when an investor borrows a security and sells it on the open market, planning to buy it back later for less money.
• Short sellers bet on, and profit from, a drop in a security’s price. This can be contrasted with long investors who want the price to go up.
• Short selling has a high risk/reward ratio: It can offer big profits, but losses can mount quickly and infinitely due to margin calls.

Etikoppaka Wooden Toy Craft

Why in News? The Union government on January 26, 2023, conferred Padma Shri on C.V. Raju in the art category.

About:

• These are traditional toys made by artisans of Etikoppaka village located on the banks of Varaha River in the Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh.
• These toys are made out of wood and are coloured with natural dyes derived from seeds, lacquer, bark, roots and leaves.
• The artisans mainly use the wood from trees known as ‘ankudu‘(Wrightia Tinctoria) that is soft in nature.
• These toys have no sharp edges. They are rounded on all sides.
• Etikoppaka toys received Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2017.

Aditya L1

Why in News? The Aditya-L1 mission will be launched by ISRO to the L1 orbit (which is the first Lagrangian point of the Sun-Earth system).

About:

• Aditya-L1 is a spacecraft mission to study the Sun.
• It will be built in collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and various Indian research institutes.
• It is planned to be launched on the It is India’s first solar mission.
• ISRO categorizes Aditya L1 as a 400 kg-class satellite that will be launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in XL configuration.
• Objective: To research the Sun’s corona (Visible and Near-infrared rays), photosphere (soft and hard X-ray), chromosphere (Ultraviolet rays), solar emissions, solar winds and flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), as well as conduct round-the-clock imaging of the Sun.

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