Daily News Simplified - DNS

11 11 18
Notes
SL. THE HINDU
TOPICS
NO. PAGE NO.

1 EPCA ban on construction activities extended till Nov 12 02

2 National body set up to study rare form of diabetes 09

3 Awed by Sharqi architecture 13

4 Polio vaccine contamination is a worry? 12

5 Pulp fiction 06 (part 2)

6 Is point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary safe for migratory birds? 14

7 Groundwater depletion alarming in northwestern, central India 14

8 Scratch trees, pay fine at bird haven 01(part2)

Dated: 11. Nov.2018 DNS Notes

Title EPCA ban on construction activities extended till Nov 12 –(The Hindu part 1, Page - 02)
Syllabus Prelims: Environment
Mains: GS PAPER III, environment & pollution
Theme Environment Pollution Control Authority
Highlights The Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA), following the recommendation of Central
Pollution Control Board-led task force, has extended the ban on construction activities, all
industries using coal and biomass and the entry of goods carriers in the NCR till November 12 due
to the persisting pollution levels in the Capital.

About EPCA

➢ It a supreme court mandated body dealing with issues of environmental pollution in the
National capital region.
➢ It was constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 by the central government
and was notified by the Union Environment Ministry in 1998.
➢ The main function of EPCA is protect and improve the quality of environment and also
prevent and control environmental pollution in National Capital Region.
➢ The Authority shall act upon complaints and also have power to take suo moto cognizance.
➢ It takes all necessary steps to for controlling vehicular pollution, ensuring compliance of fuel
quality standards, monitoring and coordinating action for traffic planning and management
etc.
➢ It is also mandated to enforce Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in NCR as per the
pollution levels.
➢ The tenure of EPCA is extended from time to time by the central government and recently it
has been reconstituted with 20 members.

Central Pollution Control Board

➢ The Central Pollution Control Board is a statutory organisation, constituted in 1974 under the
Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. It was entrusted with the powers and
functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
➢ Its main functions are - (i) to promote cleanliness of streams and wells in different areas of
the States by prevention, control and abatement of water pollution, and (ii) to improve the
quality of air and to prevent, control or abate air pollution in the country.
➢ Air Quality Monitoring is an important part of the air quality management. The National Air
Monitoring Programme (NAMP) has been established with objectives to determine the
present air quality status and trends and to control and regulate pollution from industries and
other source to meet the air quality standards.
Personal Notes
Dated: 11. Nov.2018 DNS Notes

Title National body set up to study rare form of diabetes (The Hindu part 1 - 09)
Syllabus Prelims: Science & Technology
Mains: GS Paper – III, science & Technology

Theme Monogenic diabetes

Highlights
➢ A National Monogenic Diabetes Study Group has been formed to identify cases of monogenic
diabetes across the country.
➢ The group is supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Madras
Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF) and Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre
(DMDSC) will be the national coordinating centre for the study group.

Monogenic diabetes

➢ Monogenic diabetes is a group of disorders where mutation of a single gene causes diabetes.
➢ It has characteristics of both Type 1 and Type 2, and is often misdiagnosed as one of those more
common types.
➢ The three most common forms of it are - - Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY),
Neonatal Diabetes Mellitus (NDM) and Congenital Hypoglycaemia.

Personal
Notes
Dated: 11. Nov.2018 DNS Notes

Title Awed by Sharqi architecture (The Hindu part1, Page – 13)

Syllabus Prelims: History & Culture
Mains: GS Paper – I, Indian Heritage and Culture
Theme Sharqi architecture
Highlights
➢ The foundation of Sharqi dynasty was laid down in 1394 by Malik-us Sharq , governor of
Jaunpur under Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq.

Sharqi architecture of Jaunpur.

➢ Jaunpur has three main mosques - Atala Masjid, Jama masjid and Lal Darwaza, all
examples of sharqi architecture.
➢ The main feature of Sharqi mosques is the huge rectangular pylon (gateway) with arches.
➢ The mosques are made of stone and have fine carving and latticework.
➢ Unlike the Delhi mosques of the same period, there are no minarets.
➢ The mosques at Jaunpur have cloisters for women to pray.
➢ According to 1889 Archaeological Survey of India book, The Sharqi Architecture of
Jaunpur, was probably built by the same architect who built the Atala Masjid.
➢ The mosques and secular buildings of jaunpur was destroyed by Sultan Sikandar Lodi.

Jhanjhari mosque
➢ The mosque has an an exquisite stone screen, from whicb it gets its name.
➢ It was built by Sultan Ibrahim Shah for a saint, Saiyed Sadr-e-Jahan Ajmali.
➢ After floods ravaged it and Sikandar Lodi destroyed it, all that is left is the central façade
with the exquisite screen flanked by carved voussoirs and its inscriptions.
➢ Unlike the other mosques where the pylon is rectangular and the arch set inside it, here the
arch soars upwards without restriction.
Personal Notes
Dated: 11. Nov.2018 DNS Notes

Title Pulp fiction (The Hindu, part 2, page 06)

Syllabus Prelims: Art & Culture
Mains: GS paper I: Indian Heritage and Culture
Theme Papier Mache art in Kashmir
Highlights
➢ Shia community of Kashmir is keeping alive the papier mache art in the valley since
14th CE , which according to historians became famous in 15 th CE
➢ Papier Mache is a composite material consisting of paper pulp reinforced with some
adhesive which hardens upon drying and then is painted upon.
➢ Legend has it that a Kashmiri prince was sent to a jail in Samarkand in Central Asia,
where he acquired the fine art, which is often equated with patience and endurance.
➢ The Muslim rulers of India, particularly Mughal kings, were fond of this art and
were its patrons.
➢ The art got a major boost from the government in 2016, when the Nawakadal girls’
college in Srinagar introduced it in the craft curriculum.

The process of making Papier Mache

➢ The process begins with soaking waste paper in water for days till it disintegrates
and then mixing it with cloth, paddy straw and copper sulphate to form pulp.
➢ The pulp is put into moulds and given shape and form. Once it dries, the shape is cut
away from the mould into two halves and then glued together.
➢ It is polished smooth with stone or baked clay and pasted with layers of tissue paper.
➢ After applying a base colour, the artisan draws a design. The object is then
sandpapered or burnished and is finally painted with several coats of lacquer.

Personal Notes
Dated: 11. Nov.2018 DNS Notes

Title Polio vaccine contamination is a worry? (The Hindu (part 1), Page - 12)
Syllabus Prelims: Science & Technology
Mains: GS paper III:
Theme Polio Virus Contamination
Highlights About Polio
➢ Polio is caused by Polio Virus type 1,2,3 single stranded RNA, Natural or Wild
Polio Virus.
➢ The virus enters the body orally and reaches the intestines before reaching the blood
stream, after which it attacks the central nervous system damaging the cells and
could paralyse the infected.

Types of Polio vaccines: OPV and IPV

➢ Inactivated Polio Vaccine : this includes an injectable dose of inactivated (killed)
polio virus (IPV).
➢ Oral Polio Vaccine( OPV) : OPV uses a live weakened version of the virus, which
produce mutation in the viral genome causing immunity.

Vaccine-induced polio virus

➢ While oral vaccine uses a weakened virus, the injectable one uses an inactivated one.
➢ OPV is more used because – firstly, it is easier to administer and Secondly, its leads
to herd immunity
➢ However the OPV administered can also cause vaccine-derived poliovirus, leading
to paralysis. This can happen when the vaccine virus mutates into a virulent form of
itself.
➢ type 2 polio virus is associated with 90% of vaccine-derived poliovirus.

Vaccine used in India

➢ Since April 2016, all OPV used for immunization around the world, including India,
has been bivalent oral polio vaccine (boPV) that has two strains of live, weakened
polio virus of type 1 and type 3.
➢ Type 2 was discontinued as the disease causing wild version of this virus was
eradicated in 1999.
➢ And because 90% of vaccine-derived poliovirus is caused by type 2 polio virus,
WHO recommended the switch from ToPV to BoPV.

Vaccine-induced Polio in India

➢ Polio was endemic to India till 2011. Since 2011 there were no reported cases in
India and therefore India was declared polio-free by WHO in 2014.
➢ As of 2012 polio remains endemic in only three countries, Nigeria, Pakistan and
Afghanistan.
➢ After World Health Organization declared India “polio free” in 2014, India switched
from ToPV to BoPV under its polio vaccination programme in 2016.
➢ Further, the Health Ministry further said that Type 2 polio vaccine virus traces which
have been found in BOPV vials is the attenuated (weakened) poliovirus and does not
cause paralysis and was also earlier used in TOPV till April 2016

Personal Notes
Dated: 11. Nov.2018 DNS Notes

Title Is point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary safe for migratory birds? – part 1(The Hindu, Page - 14)

Syllabus Prelims: Environment, Ecology and Biodiversity

Mains: GS paper III, Environment
Theme About Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary
Highlights
➢ According to a recent study there has been dramatic alterations to the natural ecology of the
Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary.
➢ Atmospheric temperature as well as the ph. and salinity have breached the permissible limit.
➢ This has led to decline in the number of migratory birds visiting the region.
➢ Discovery of coliform bacteria at few places has raised concerns with respect to-Coliform
infections in the birds that may cause changes in their natural behaviour and even affect their
long-distance migration.
➢ Point Calimere wildlife sanctuary-
➢ The Ramsar site located in Tamil Nadu comprises of sandy coastal, saline swamps and thorn
scrub forests around the backwater.
➢ The sanctuary is an important wintering ground for birds-such as greater Flamingo, Painted
Stork, Little Sting, Sea Gull and Brown-headed gull.
➢ Fauna found the region include- Blackbuck (is the flagship species), spotted deer, black-
napped hare, wild boar, Indian jackal, feral horses, palm civet, short-nosed fruit bat, jungle
cat and monitor lizard.
➢ Discharge of untreated sewage from chemical companies in the region pose a great threat to
biodiversity of the sanctuary.
Personal Notes

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Dated: 11. Nov.2018 DNS Notes

Title Groundwater depletion alarming in northwestern, central India-part 1 (The Hindu, Page - 14)
Syllabus Prelims: Environment, Ecology and Biodiversity
Mains: GS paper III, Environment
Theme Ground water depletion
Highlights
➢ According to researchers many parts of the country are experiencing rapid depletion of
groundwater.
➢ The total estimated groundwater depletion in India is in the range of 122–199 billion metre
cube.
➢ Districts with significant decrease in groundwater are located in the Indo-Gangetic Plain,
northwest, and central (Maharashtra) regions .
➢ In contrast, some districts in western India, east coast and peninsular India have witnessed an
increase in groundwater levels.
➢ Major reason for groundwater depletion is growing of water intensive crop by farmers.
➢ In north-western India, the amount of groundwater extracted exceeds the total recharge leading
to groundwater depletion.
➢ Also, Groundwater recharge has declined between 1996 and 2016 in northwest and northcentral
India due a reduction in low-intensity rainfall.
➢ Practical solution?
➢ Installation of tensiometer that gives visual information about the availability of soil moisture
conditions. This would help farmers to save ground water and irrigate the fields only when
necessary.
➢ Farmers in the regions where groundwater depletion has already occurred should consider
cultivating less water-intensive crops.
➢ Use better irrigation technologies and irrigate crops only when necessary.
➢ Minimise water drainage and direct water to the aquifer
➢ Constructing recharge shafts or wells.

Personal
Notes
Dated: 11. Nov.2018 DNS Notes

Title Scratch trees, pay fine at bird haven –part 2(The Hindu, page 01)
Syllabus Prelims: Environment, Ecology and Biodiversity
Mains: GS paper III, Environment
Theme About Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary
Highlights ➢ The Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary on the banks of river Cauvery is faced with a
serious threat from its human visitors.
➢ The bamboo clumps and trees on the mini islets along the river that form the
sanctuary have become easy targets for vandals-who are responsible for etching
messages and names on trees.
➢ The sanctuary authorities have now decided to file cases against visitors caught
vandalising the trees and the bamboo grown along the walkways.
➢ About the sanctuary?
➢ It is located in Karnataka on the banks of river Cauvery.
➢ The Sanctuary is home to a myriad species of birds, both Indian and migratory.
➢ Cormorants, darters, white ibis, storks (spoon billed, open billed, painted, white
necked), egrets, herons, terns, swallows, streaked weavers, ducks, teals, sandpipers,
kingfishers, whistling teals and plovers are some of the birds that visit the sanctuary.
➢ Marsh crocodiles, flying foxes, fruit bats, bonnet macaques, palm civets, mongoose
and common otters and even monitor lizards are found here.
Personal Notes