Letter From Editor The first edition of snippet in the year 2018 was very productive about 28 questions were directly from our work. The attempt has been made to increas the coverage and make this years Snippet more comprehensive Snippet-365 has been prepared keeping in mind Civil Services Prelims Exam, 2019. Several topics have been chosen based on the type of questions asked by UPSC from nonstatic portion of syllabus in last four years. Here, it needs to be clarified that it is not merely a current affairs notes. It has certain issues covered which were not much in news but can be asked. It not only covers major important happenings in the last year but also includes important happenings beyond last one year. Also emphasis has been made to provide concise material from the static part which were in news. Efforts have been made to cover all those topics, which have very high probability of being asked. The topics, which have little chances, have been omitted to save the effort of students. We believe there is no point in investing too much of energy in mugging up everything under the sky, because it has dual risk. First, in the process of remembering a lot of things, one may miss on the most important things. Second, it’ll eat away vital time that can be given to static portion. Also this note has only that information, which can be asked in an objective kind of test. So, ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘what next’ kind of things have been avoided. Only objective and factual information has been put. At the same time, the note covers a topic comprehensively in the sense that several relevant aspect related to a topic is also covered. At some places, certain “related topics” from static portion has been mentioned. These topics have a high probability of being asked. So, students must revise them once while studying this note. We sincerely hope that Snippet-365 helps you clear the Civil Services Prelims – 2019. All the Best ! Team Dhyeya 25B, 2nd Floor, Pusa Road, Old Rajendra Nagar, Metro Pillar Number 117 • Tel. : 011-49274400, 9205274743 SCHEME OF THINGS IN SNIPPET 365 1. Environment: We have divided this section in 4 broad sub-sections. First, conceptual aspect. Here unconventional topics related to environment have been covered. Second, Global Initiatives. In this section, various international convention and initiatives have been covered. Third, Domestic Initiative. It includes legislations and projects undertaken by government of India related to environment. Fourth, Environment Related Organizations. This sub-section covers both domestic and international organizations. 2. Economy and Social Development: In this section a holistic coverage of all the basic concepts as well differents concepts in news have been covered. 3. Polity: It has been tried to avoid static part, which is available in standard text book, even if they were in news. Supreme Court judgments are also not asked in PT. So, they have also been avoided to save time of students. 4. International Relation: This section is prepared with a view to provide holistic perspective of International happenings. It covers major international events alongwith static part- Organisations, Groupings and Treaties. Organizations - UPSC frequently asks about organizations. We have extensively covered National and International Organizations including various UN bodies. Some of the national organizations have been included to help in comparative stduies. Index, Ranking and Reports: Various rankings which were in news or which are released by renowned Indian and International organizations have been covered. Some less significant one have been omitted as UPSC focuses on familiar ones. 5. Science and Technology: This section covers certain important technologies, which were in news. Some very technical things have been avoided as UPSC doesn’t ask them. Space mission have been given extensive coverage. 6. Government Schemes: This section has also been comprehensively covered. After this extensive coverage, it is believed that students won’t need to look after any other source for government schemes. It has been observed that apart from the schemes, certain important projects are asked by UPSC. We have put them together under one section 7. Defense Capability of India: This section covers Defense and security related aspects like missile capability, aircraft carriers etc. The coverage is comprehensive. 8. Miscellaneous Themes of Preliminary Examination: In recent years, UPSC is asking certain unconventional themes like committees, certifications, ratings etc. We have tried to capture certain trends. 25B, 2nd Floor, Pusa Road, Old Rajendra Nagar, Metro Pillar Number 117 • Tel. : 011-49274400, 9205274743 ENVIRONMENT NOTES BIOFUEL • A biofuel is a fuel that is produced through contemporary biological processes, such as agriculture and anaerobic digestion, rather than a fuel produced by geological processes such as those involved in the formation of fossil fuels like coal and Petroleum. • First Generation Biofuel- They are produced directly from food crops. Crops such as wheat and sugar are the most widely used feedstock. They have caused to food vs fuel debate. • Second Generation Biofuel- They are produced on marginal crop lands unsuitable for food production. They are produced from non-food crops such as wood, organic waste, food crop waste and specific biomass crops. For example-Jatropha. Thus, it overcomes over food vs fuel debate in first generation biofuel. It is also aimed at being cost competitive in relation to existing fossil fuels and increasing Net energy gains. • Third Generation Biofuels- It is based on biomass of specially engineered energy crops such as algae as its energy source. The algae are cultured to act as a low-cost, high- energy and entirely renewable feedstock. Algae will have the potential to produce more energy per acre than conventional crops. • Fourth Generation Biofuels- These are aimed at producing sustainable energy and also capturing and storing carbon dioxide. This process differs from second and third generation production as at all stages of production the carbon dioxide is captured which can be then geo-sequestered. This carbon capture makes fourth generation biofuel production carbon negative rather than simply carbon neutral, as it is ‘locks’ away more carbon than it produces. Sources of Ethanol and Bio-diesel are: Ethanol Bio-Diesel Sugar cane, Soy, Sugar Beet, Sweet Sorghum, Jatropha curcas, Castor bean, Corn, Cassava Rapeseed, Soybean National Policy on Biofuels - 2018 • The Union Cabinet has approved National Policy on Biofuels – 2018. Salient Features: i. The Policy categorises biofuels as “Basic Biofuels” viz. First Generation (1G) bioethanol & biodiesel and “Advanced Biofuels” - Second Generation (2G) ethanol, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to drop-in fuels, Third Generation (3G) biofuels, bio-CNG etc. to enable extension of appropriate financial and fiscal incentives under each category. ii. Farmers are at a risk of not getting appropriate price for their produce during the surplus production phase. Taking this into account, the Policy allows use of surplus food grains for production of ethanol for blending with petrol with the approval of National Biofuel Coordination Committee. iii. Damaged food grains like wheat, broken rice, Rotten Potatoes, unfit for human consumption may be allowed to be used for ethanol production. iv. Provisions for viability gap funding for setting up of 2G ethanol Bio refineries BIOREMEDIATION • Bio remediation is a treatment that uses naturally occurring organisms to break down hazardous substances into less toxic or non-toxic substances. When bioremediation is done using living plants, it is called Phytoremediation 25B, 2nd Floor, Pusa Road, Old Rajendra Nagar, 1 Metro Pillar Number 117 • Tel. : 011-49274400, 9205274743 • Oil zapper : it is essentially a cocktail of five different bacterial strains. It feeds on NOTES hydrocarbon compounds present in crude oil and converts them into CO2 and water. • Pseudomonas putida : it is the first patented organism in the world. It is a genetically modified organism that has the ability to degrade organic solvents. Thus, it can also be used to clean petro-chemical contamination of water. Bioremediation related technologies: • Bio venting: an in-situ remediation technology. It enhances the activity of indigenous bacteria and simulates the natural in situ biodegradation of hydrocarbons in soil by inducing air or oxygen flow into the unsaturated zone and, if necessary, by adding nutrients. • Bio leaching:- extraction of metals from their ores through the use of living organisms instead of using harmful chemical substances such as cyanide etc., • Land farming: ex -situ bioremediation treatment process that is performed in the upper soil zone or in bio treatment cells. Contaminated soils, sediments, or sludges are transported to the land farming site incorporated into the soil surface and periodically turned over (tilled) to aerate the mixture • Composting: Aerobic bacteria and fungi decompose the organic matter into compost used as fertilizer. Output includes heat, carbon dioxide, and ammonium mainly. The process is speed up by adding composting worms - this is called vermiculture • Bio-augmentation - is the practice of adding cultured microorganisms into the sub- surface for the purpose of biodegrading specific soil and groundwater contaminants. • Bio-stimulation- modification of the environment to stimulate existing bacteria capable of bioremediation. SMOG • Smog is a kind of air pollution,