'Glacial Burst' in Uttarakhand Why in the News?
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www.gradeup.co ‘Glacial burst’ in Uttarakhand Why in the news? • Many people have lost their lives, and over 125 reported missing after a “glacial burst” on Nanda Devi triggered an avalanche and caused flash floods in Rishiganga and Dhauliganga rivers in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. • Two hydel power projects — the Rishiganga small hydro project and National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) Tapovan project on the Dhauliganga River banks in north Uttarakhand were extensively damaged with scores of labourers trapped in tunnels as the water came rushing in. About Glacial lake outburst flood • A glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) is a type of outburst flood that occurs when the dam containing a glacial lake fails. www.gradeup.co • An event similar to a GLOF, where a body of water contained by a glacier melts or overflows the glacier, is called a jökulhlaup. The dam can consist of glacier ice or a terminal moraine. • Failure can happen due to erosion, a build-up of water pressure, an avalanche of rock or heavy snow, an earthquake or cryoseism, volcanic eruptions under the ice, or massive water displacement in a glacial lake when a large portion of an adjacent glacier collapses into it. Related Information Tapovan Vishnugad Hydropower Plant • The Tapovan Vishnugad Hydropower Plant is a 520 MW run-of- river hydroelectric project constructed on Dhauliganga River in Chamoli District Uttarakhand, India. • The plant is expected to generate over 2.5k GWh of electricity annually. • The power plant is located downstream on the Alaknanda River. • The barrage is being constructed across the Dhauliganga River and has a catchment area of 3,100 km2. Topic- GS Paper III– Disaster Management Source-The Hindu 'Kiran' service Why in the news? • According to an internal report of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, seventy per cent of callers to a mental health rehabilitation helpline were men. • About 32% of those who reached out were students. www.gradeup.co About Kiran Services • The Kiran helpline (1800-599-0019) has been launched by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD). • A 24/7 helpline offers early screening, psychological first-aid, psychological support, distress management, mental well-being, psychological crisis management services and referrals to mental health experts. • It is operated by 81 front-line professionals, apart from volunteer psychiatrists, clinical and rehabilitation psychologists, Highlights of the report • The majority of callers (75.5%) were in the age group of 15 to 40 years, while 18.1% were older and 41 to 60. Categorising of the callers o 65.9% had a "milder nature of distress". o 26.5% were "moderately distressed. o 7.6% were "severely distressed. • The report said 32.3% of the callers were students, 15.2% were self-employed, 27.1% were employed, 23.3% were unemployed, 1.4% were homemakers and 0.7% did not reveal the information. • Majorly the challenges faced by the callers were related to anxiety (28.5%) and depression (25.5%); while few others included pandemic-related challenges (7.8%), suicidal tendency (2.8%), substance abuse (3.4%) and miscellaneous (32%). Reasons • According to the psychologist, students were facing anxiety and depression due to the uncertainty about their future and lack of interaction with peers during the COVID-19 pandemic. • The women from rural areas had reached out to the helpline with complaints of anxiety and disturbances within families. Topic- GS Paper II–Health Source-The Hindu www.gradeup.co FSSAI caps trans fats in foods Why in the news? • The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has amended its rules to cap trans-fatty acids (TFAs) in food products, just weeks after it tightened the norms for oils and fats. Amendments • Food products in which edible oils and fats are used as an ingredient shall not contain industrial trans fatty acids more than 2% by mass of the total oils/fats present in the product, from 1st January 2022. • In December, the FSSAI had capped TFAs in oils and fats to 3% by 2021, and 2% by 2022 from the current levels of 5%. WHO initiative to eliminate Trans fat • The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a comprehensive plan called 'REPLACE' to eliminate industrially produced artificial Trans fats from the global food supply by 2023. The UN body has released a step-by- step guide for the industry to eliminate trans fats from the food. The guide, called REPLACE, has six actions, which include- (a) Review of dietary sources of trans fats (b) Promoting replacement with healthier fats (c) Setting up a regulatory framework (d) Assessing and monitoring trans fats content in food (e) Creating awareness and enforcing the regulation (f) Enforce compliance with policies and regulations India and Trans fat • The government aims to make India, Trans Fat-free by 2022, and a year ahead of the World Health Organization target set. About Trans fats • These are a form of unsaturated fat associated with a number of negative health effects. • These fats are largely produced artificially, but a small amount also occurs naturally. www.gradeup.co Types of Trans fats • Naturally occurring trans fats are produced in some animals' gut, and foods made from these animals (e.g., milk and meat products) may contain small quantities of these fats. • Artificial trans-fat is created during hydrogenation, which converts liquid vegetable oils into semi-solid partially hydrogenated oil. • Since they are easy to use, inexpensive to produce and last a long time, and give foods a desirable taste and texture, they are still widely used despite their harmful effects being well-known. Harmful Effects of Trans Fats • Trans fats are associated with increased risk of heart attacks and death from coronary heart disease. • As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), approximately 5.4 lakh deaths occur each year globally because of the intake of industrially produced trans- fatty acids. Topic- GS Paper III–Science and Technology Source-The Hindu Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 Why in the news? • Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district has booked the mother and brother of a farmer. They had died during the farmers’ agitation in Delhi, under The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, after his body was allegedly draped in the national flag. About Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act • The law, enacted on December 23, 1971, penalises the desecration of or insult to Indian national symbols, such as the National Flag, the Constitution, the National Anthem, and the Indian map and contempt of the Constitution of India. • Section 2 of the Act says that whoever disrespects the Indian National Flag or the Constitution of India shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both. • As per the Act, “disrespect to the Indian National Flag means and includes”, among other things, “using the Indian National Flag as a www.gradeup.co drapery in any form whatsoever except in State funerals or armed forces or other para-military forces funerals”. • Section 3.22 of The Flag Code of India, 2002 reads: “The Flag shall not be used as a drapery in any form whatsoever except in State/Military/Central Paramilitary Forces funerals hereinafter provided.” • Apart from police and armed forces, state funerals are held when people holding or have held the office of President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Cabinet Minister, and Chief Minister pass away. Topic- GS Paper III–Internal Security Source-The Hindu Magnetic fields in plants Why in the news? • A recent study (Scientific Reports) from Germany found that the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) plant can generate small magnetic fields. About the study • When these plants send electrical signals to trigger their traps' closure, to catch an insect, a biomagnetism phenomenon was observed. www.gradeup.co • The leaf stalk, or petiole, is not excitable and is electrically insulated from the trap. How is it measured? • It has been measured by atomic magnetometers. The team measured the magnetic signals, which had an amplitude of up to 0.5 picotesla, which is millions of times weaker than the Earth's magnetic field. • The signal magnitude recorded is similar to what is observed during surface measurements of nerve impulses in animals. Topic- GS Paper III–Science and technology Source-The Hindu Currency Swap Why in the news? • The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) settled a $400 million currency swap facility from the Reserve Bank (RBI) of India. • This swap facility was drawn by CBSL on July 31, 2020, for an initial period of three months. A three-month rollover was provided at CBSL's request till February 1, 2021. About Currency swap agreements • It involves trade in local currencies, where countries pay for imports and exports at pre-determined exchange rates without the involvement of a third country currency like the US dollar. • It reduces the risk of volatility against the third currency and does away with the charges involved in multiple currency exchanges. Currency swap agreements between SAARC countries • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revised the framework on currency swap arrangement for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries for 2019-2022. • The SAARC currency swap framework came into operation on November 15, 2012. • It helps provide a backstop line of funding for short term foreign exchange liquidity requirements or short-term balance of payments stress until longer- term arrangements are made. • The facility is available to all SAARC member countries, subject to their signing the bilateral swap agreements. About South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation • It was established with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka (Bangladesh) on December 8, 1985.