DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS -1ST AUGUST 2019- 10 MOST IMPORTANT TOPICS FROM THE HINDU

IMPORTANT TOPICS FOR TODAY 

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BY SUMIT BHARDWAJ                                         1st AUGUST 2019

1.Officials keep vigil as Godavari rises at Bhadrachalam                   (GS-1,3)

• CONTEXT: Telangana irrigation officials are maintaining a vigil on the water levels in the Godavari with the river at the famous temple town of Bhadrachalam reaching 39 feet, just four feet below the first flood warning level, on Wednesday evening.
• The levels are likely to rise further with water being released from five dams in north and western Maharashtra into the Mutha and Godavari rivers. The reservoirs have recorded good inflows owing to heavy rain in catchments, officials said. Warnings have been issued to villages on the banks of the two rivers.
• RIVER GODAVARI :The Godavari is India's second longest river after the Ganga. Its source is in Triambakeshwar, Maharashtra. It flows east for 1,465 kilometres, draining the states of Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, ultimately emptying into the Bay of Bengal through its extensive network of tributaries.
• Bhadrachalam:Bhadrachalam is a town, known as a Hindu pilgrimage site, in the south Indian state of Telangana. Beside the Godavari River, the huge 17th-century Bhadrachalam (or Sita Ramachandraswamy) Temple complex is dedicated to Lord Rama and has many ornate carvings. Other nearby temples include Abhaya Anjaneya Temple, with large painted statues of Hindu gods and goddesses. Passenger boats travel the river to nearby towns.

2.‘Segment of rapid rail corridor to be operational by March 2023’  (GS-3)

• CONTEXT: Commuters will be able to travel on the country’s first rapid rail transit corridor in just four years as its 17-km-long Duhai-Sahibabad section in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad is expected to be operational by early 2023, an official said on Wednesday.
• Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) is a rail-based high-speed regional transit system. RRTS will be implemented for the first time in India in the New Delhi-Meerut stretch. It aims to provide the fastest, comfortable and safest mode of commuter transport in the National Capital Region (NCR).

3.Good July rains bring monsoon deficit to 9%(GS-1,3)

• CONTEXT: India’s monsoon deficit percentage has for the first time this year narrowed down to single digits thanks to better-than-expected July rainfall.
• As of July 31, data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) says that the country got 28.5 cm of rainfall in July, about 4% more than what’s normal for the month. This has reduced the seasonal deficit (calculated from June 1 to July 31) from 32.8% as on June 30 to 9%, as July’s numbers suggest.
• The improvement in rainfall was distributed in all regions except the southern peninsula, which got 10% less rain than what’s normal for July
• The pessimism by forecasters in May was due to the looming fear of an El Niño, a climate phenomenon known to dry up monsoon rainfall. The threat of an El Niño has now largely receded. “Currently, weak El Niño conditions are prevailing over equatorial Pacific Ocean and forecasts indicate that transition of El Niño conditions to El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) neutral conditions is likely during the end of the monsoon season,” the IMD’s latest outlook indicates.
• Monsoon deficit :WHEN THE LPA IS BELOW NORMAL RANGE THEN IT IS MONSOON DEFECIT.
• India Meteorological Department (IMD) :The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. IMD is headquartered in Delhi and operates hundreds of observation stations across India and Antarctica.Regional offices are at Mumbai, Kolkata, Nagpur and Pune.
• IMD is also one of the six Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres of the World Meteorological Organization. It has the responsibility for forecasting, naming and distribution of warnings for tropical cyclones in the Northern Indian Ocean region, including the Malacca Straits, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
• El Niño: is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (between approximately the International Date Line and 120°W), including the area off the Pacific coast of South America. The ENSO is the cycle of warm and cold sea surface temperature (SST) of the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean. El Niño is accompanied by high air pressure in the western Pacific and low air pressure in the eastern Pacific. El Niño phases are known to occur close to four years, however, records demonstrate that the cycles have lasted between two and seven years. During the development of El Niño, rainfall develops between September–November. The cool phase of ENSO is La Niña, with SSTs in the eastern Pacific below average, and air pressure high in the eastern Pacific and low in the western Pacific. The ENSO cycle, including both El Niño and La Niña, causes global changes in temperature and rainfall

4.Logged out: On protecting Amazon rainforest

(GS-1,3)

• CONTEXT:ACCORDING TO THE WRITER OF THE ARTICLE Brazil must recognise that the Amazon rainforest is a universal treasure
• It is a matter of global concern that deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil is increasing rapidly since January, when Jair Bolsonaro took office as President. Satellite images show that about 4,200 sq km of forests have been destroyed up to July 24 under the new government. 
• The Amazon basin, spread across millions of hectares in multiple countries, hosts massive sinks of sequestered carbon, and the forests are a key factor in regulating monsoon systems. The rainforests harbour rich biodiversity and about 400 known indigenous groups whose presence has prevented commercial interests from overrunning the lands. Much of the Amazon has survived, despite relentless pressure to convert forests into farmlands, pastures and gold mines, and to build roads. That fragile legacy is now imperilled, as Mr. Bolsonaro has spoken in favour of “reasonable” exploitation of these lands. Although the forest code has not been changed, his comments have emboldened illegal expansion into forests. Armed gold-hunting gangs have reached tribal areas and the leader of one tribe has been murdered in Amapa in an incursion. These are depressing developments, and the Brazilian leader’s criticism of satellite data and denial of the violence are not convincing at all.
• Amazon rainforest :
• The Amazon rainforest, also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin encompasses 7,000,000 km2 (2,700,000 sq mi), of which 5,500,000 km2 (2,100,000 sq mi) are covered by the rainforest. This region includes territory belonging to nine nations.
• The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest, followed by Peru with 13%, Colombia with 10%, and with minor amounts in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and France (French Guiana). Four nations have "Amazonas" as the name of one of their first-level administrative regions. The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests,[1] and comprises the largest and most biodiverse tract of tropical rainforest in the world, with an estimated 390 billion individual trees divided into 16,000 species



5. Fortifying the Africa outreach (GS-1,2)

• CONTEXT:NEWS ARTICLE IS BASED ON THE AFRICA VISIT BY THE PRESIDENT AND THE DEFENSE MINISTER.
• This week two important Indian dignitaries began their respective visits to Africa. President Ram Nath Kovind commenced his seven-day state visit to Benin, Gambia and Guinea-Conakry (July 28 to August 3) and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Maputo on a three-day visit (July 28 to July 30) to Mozambique. The simultaneity of the two visits may be a coincidence, but it also indicates enhanced priority to Africa. This should be welcomed.
• Economic links:
• By 2017, India had cumulatively extended 152 Lines of Credit worth $8 billion to 44 African countries. India has also unilaterally provided free access to its market for the exports of 33 least developed African countries
• TEAM–9 in context with India-Africa Relations …In a bid to expand its economic reach, India launched an initiative in 2004 called Techno-Economic Approach for Africa–India Movement (TEAM–9), together with eight energy- and resource-rich West African countries viz. Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote D'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Senegal, and India. The initiative was part of a broader policy to engage the underdeveloped, yet resource-wealthy countries of West Africa, which required both low-cost technology and investment to develop their infrastructure. In particular, India increasingly wants to play an important role in helping Ivory Coast and other West African countries channel their energy resources more efficiently

6.Transforming livelihoods through farm ponds              (GS-3)

• CONTEXT:With an increased variability of monsoons and rapidly depleting groundwater tables, large parts of India are reeling under water stress. A number of peninsular regions like Bundelkhand, Vidarbha and Marathwada have been facing recurring drought-like situations. Given the enormity of the crisis, at a recent NITI Aayog meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi explicated the need to implement innovative water management measures, stressing particularly the importance of rainwater harvesting both at the household and community levels. Here, one intervention that has been tried out in various States, and perhaps needs to be taken up on a bigger scale, is the construction of farm ponds.
• Farm ponds can be cost-effective structures that transform rural livelihoods. They can help enhance water control, contribute to agriculture intensification and boost farm incomes. However, this is possible only if they act as rainwater harvesting structures and not as intermediate storage points for an increased extraction of groundwater or diversion of canal water. The latter will cause greater groundwater depletion and inequitable water distribution.
• MICRO IRRIGATION:
• Micro irrigation is a modern method of irrigation; by this method water is irrigated through drippers, sprinklers, foggers and by other emitters on surface or subsurface of the land. Major components of a micro irrigation system is as follows.
• Water source, pumping devices (motor and pump), ball valves, fertigation equipments, filters, control valves, PVC joining accessories (Main and sub main) and emitters.
• In this system water is applied drop by drop nearer the root zone area of the crop. 
• The drippers are fixed based on the spacing of crop.  Many different types of emitters are available in the market. They are classified as Inline drippers, on line drippers, Micro tubes, Pressed compensated drippers.
• Drip irrigation is most suitable for wider spacing crops. Micro sprinkler irrigation system is mostly followed in sandy or loamy soils.  This system is most suitable to horticultural crops and small grasses. In this method water is sprinkled in a lower height at various directions.
• Portable micro sprinklers are also available. They distribute slightly more water than drippers and micro sprinklers. They spray water in not more than one meter. It is used for preparing nursery and lawns in soils with low water holding capacity. 
• Advantages of drip irrigation system
• Water saving and higher yield
• High quality and increased fruit size
• Suitable for all types of soil
• Easy method of fertigation and chemigation
• Saving in labour and field preparation cost
• Disadvantage of drip irrigation system
• High initial investment
• Clogging of emitters
• Possible damage of system components due to animals, etc.
• An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, rock fractures or unconsolidated materials. Groundwater can be extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology.

7.Thailand in talks with India to buy BrahMos cruise missiles     (GS-3)

• CONTEXT: The two navies are working closely in the areas of disaster risk management, maritime security safety, information sharing and interoperability.
• In possibly the first sale of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to another country, Thailand is in talks with India for their purchase, official sources said. A few other countries have also expressed interest in BrahMos but nothing has fructified yet.
• BrahMos cruise missile:
• The BrahMos (designated PJ-10)is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarine, ships, aircraft, or land. It is the fastest supersonic cruise missile in the world. It is a joint venture between the Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroyeniya and India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace. It is based on the Russian P-800 Oniks cruise missile and other similar sea-skimming Russian cruise missile technology. The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.

8.Motor Vehicle Bill won’t infringe on rights of States: Gadkari        (GS-2)

• Legislation seeks to improve road safety through increase in penalities; aims to streamline licensing and permit process
• Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill 2019:



SOURCE:The Financial Express

9.Core sector growth slows to 0.2% in June

(GS-3)

• Growth of eight core industries dropped to 0.2% in June mainly due to a contraction in oil-related sectors as well as in cement production, according to official data.
• CORE SECTORS:
• Core sectors or industry can be defined as the main industry of the economy. In most countries, particular industry qualifying to be the core industry are said to be the backbone of all other industries. In India, there are eight core sectors comprising of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity. The electricity has maximum weight of 10.32% followed by Steel (6.68%), Petroleum Refinery (5.94%), Crude Oil production (5.22 %), Coal production (4.38 %), Cement (2.41%), Natural Gas production (1.71 %) and Fertilizer production (1.25%). These eight Core Industries comprise nearly 40.27% of weight of items included in IIP, which measures factory output.

10.ICRA puts Coffee Day ratings under watch (GS-3)

• Rating agency ICRA has placed term loan rating of Coffee Day Enterprises Limited (CDEL) under rating watch with negative implications after the group’s promoter V.G. Siddhartha went missing and was found dead on Wednesday morning.
• ICRA:ICRA Limited (ICRA) is an Indian independent and professional investment information and credit rating agency. It was established in 1991, and was originally named Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India Limited (IICRA India).
• It was a joint-venture between Moody's and various Indian commercial banks and financial services companies. The company changed its name to ICRA Limited, and went public on 13 April 2007, with a listing on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange

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