Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE
Topics Covered
- Systematic Investment Plan
- IIT Madras converts petroleum waste toluene into useful product
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Generalised System of Preference
- Facts for Prelims – Ammonia Emission, Erode’s unique slender turmeric
1 . Systematic Investment Plan
Syllabus : – Prelims
What is Systematic investment Plan
- A Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is a way to invest in mutual funds wherein a fixed sum of money is put into a mutual fund scheme at a specified date every month.
- It is considered to be investor-friendly and an efficient manner of investing in the capital markets as one can start investing with small monthly contributions instead of first building a huge investment corpus.
- It is a hassle-free manner of investment as well since one can issue standing instructions to the bank for a specified amount to be transferred to the fund house/distributor every month at a pre-determined date.
Benefits
- Timing the market is the most difficult thing when it comes to equity investment. SIPs, in a way, address this issue. SIPs capture every rise and fall of the market and hence, an investor need not worry about the level of the market.
- There are sector-specific funds — pharma, banks, technology, etc. — and also those based on the size of the companies — such as large-cap, mid-cap, small-cap funds — that allow the investor to have a diversified portfolio rather than concentrate risk in a few companies.
2 . IIT Madras converts petroleum waste toluene into useful product
Syllabus – : General Studies 3 Science & Technology
Context : Using platinum nanocatalyst, a two-member team at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has successfully converted petroleum waste-product toluene into benzoic acid
About Toluene
- Toluene is an Aromatic chemical produced by Petroleum Refineries/ Petrochemical Plants. Steel plants produce Toluene from the by-product recovery plant where aromatics are recovered from the coke oven gas. This is used for production of various Petrochemicals like paint, explosives, urethane foam, phenol formaldehyde used for electrical switches etc.
- Toluene is used mainly in production of various downstream petrochemicals, pesticides, explosives (Tri-Nitro Toluene), Adhesives, Saccharins, etc. Besides Toluene finds a major end-use in paint industry as thinner. Toluene is also used as solvents in various chemical industries.
Process
- Toluene is converted into benzoic acid through selective and controlled oxidation in the presence of a catalyst — binaphthyl-stabilised platinum nanoparticles (Pt-BNP)
About Benzoic Acid
- Benzoic acid is used as a food preservative (E210) and medicine for fungal/bacterial infection.
3 . UNESCO World Heritage Site
Syllabus -: Art & Culture
Context : Telangana may get its first Unesco World Heritage Site, but it may be the Ramappa Temple at Palampet near Warangal than any of the Qutb Shahi era sites in Hyderabad.
What is World Heritage Site
- To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria.
Selection Criteria
- To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius
- to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design;
- to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared
- to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history;
- to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change;
- to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria);
- to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance;
- to be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth’s history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features;
- to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals;
- to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.
Types of World Heritage Sites
- Cultural heritage sites include hundreds of historic buildings and town sites, important archaeological sites, and works of monumental sculpture or painting.
- Natural heritage sites are restricted to those natural areas that (1) furnish outstanding examples of Earth’s record of life or its geologic processes, (2) provide excellent examples of ongoing ecological and biological evolutionary processes, (3) contain natural phenomena that are rare, unique, superlative, or of outstanding beauty, or (4) furnish habitats for rare or endangered animals or plants or are sites of exceptional biodiversity.
- Mixed heritage sites contain elements of both natural and cultural significance.
About Ramappa Temple
- Ramappa Temple is a Siva temple and perhaps is the only one in the country that is known by the name of the architect rather than the king who commissioned it or its presiding deity.
- The stunning dance sculptures and friezes of the temple appear as if they have been machined into shape on black dolomite, rather than being chiselled.
- The temple is built on a valley and it rests on bricks that are scientifically shown to float in water. “The Ramappa Temple is a jewel of the Kakatiya era and it stands out,
Process of getting into the list
- The first step involves creating a detailed dossier showing the outstanding universal value of the site, besides meeting a few other criteria.
- Once the documentation is complete, it requires a push by the State party or the country where the site is located.
- The property is then evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) then provides advice on conservation of the site, and training.
- After all these steps, the World Heritage Committee evaluates the site and decides to inscribe it or send back the nomination.
4 . Generalised System of Preference
Syllabus : – General Studies 2 Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests
Context : The move by the United States (U.S.) to terminate India’s designation as beneficiary developing country under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme because it no longer complied with the statutory eligibility criteria, is likely to affect plastic exports from India said a trade body.
About GSP
- Covered under February 6 Daily Current Affairs
- Covered under PIB Analysis February 4th
5 . Facts for Prelims
Ammonia Emission
Context : Cow toilets’ are installed on Dutch farms to cut ammonia emissions by collecting up to 35 pints of urine produced by each animal each day
About Ammonia
- Ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct odour.
- It is a building-block chemical and a key component in the manufacture of many products people use every day.
- It occurs naturally throughout the environment in the air, soil and water and in plants and animals, including humans.
- The human body makes ammonia when the body breaks down foods containing protein into amino acids and ammonia, then converting the ammonia into urea.
- Ammonium hydroxide – commonly known as household ammonia – is an ingredient in many everyday household cleaning products.
- Ammonia is a basic building block for ammonium nitrate fertiliser, which releases nitrogen, an essential nutrient for growing plants, including farm crops and lawns.
Effects of Ammonia Emission
- It can cause atmospheric pollution and irritate the eyes in humans.
- The chemical can also be implicated in the creation of environmentally damaging algae blooms when it mixes with water.
Erode’s unique slender turmeric
Context :Erode’s unique slender turmeric gets a GI tag for its distinctive fragrance and colour
Details of the GI Tag and Turmeric
- India is the world’s largest producer of turmeric, a perennial herbaceous plant of the ginger family. The plant’s underground stems or rhizomes have been used as spice, dye, medicine and religious maker since antiquity.
- Tamil Nadu is the third largest grower of turmeric in the country (behind Telangana and Maharashtra), with 132.4 tonnes produced in 2015-16.
- The spice’s colour comes mainly from curcumin, a bright yellow phenolic compound that has been in the news for its ostensible potential to fight cancer.
- Erode Variety is smaller and more slender, it has a high curcumin content of around 3.9%. The loamy red and black soil of the area is believed to be the reason behind the distinctive brilliant yellow colour, as well as its characteristic sweet taste and aroma
- Turmeric is a labour and water intensive crop, so farmers grow it along with onions, tapioca and coconut or sugarcane.