Daily Current Affairs : 27th May

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. Special Category State
2. Gond Art
3. Superconductivity
4. Article 75 (1)
5. Dr Lee Jong Wook Prize
6. Sea Water from Ice age found tucked in Rocks

1 . Special Category Status

What is Special Category status?

• Some areas in India are historically disadvantaged as compared to others, the Centre has assisted states with funds in the past allocated by the former Planning Commission body called the National Development Council (NDC) such states are provided special category status
• Constitution does not have any provision for categorisation of any state as a Special Category Status (SCS) State

Changes After 14th Finance Commission

• In the past, the NDC considered factors such as difficult and hilly terrain, low population density and/or a sizeable share of tribal population, strategic location along borders, economic and infrastructural backwardness, and non-viable nature of state finances. 
• The NITI Aayog, which has replaced the Planning Commission, has no power to allocate funds  — therefore, the discretion that the ruling party at the Centre had to dole out special favours to states through the Plan panel, no longer exists.
• The Centre says the Fourteenth Finance Commission effectively removed the concept of Special Category States after its recommendations were accepted in 2015.
• The Centre,was willing to provide the “monetary equivalent” of a special category state to Andhra Pradesh but would not be able to grant the “special status” that was restricted only to the north-eastern and three hilly states by the 14th Finance Commission.

What assistance do states with Special Category States get?

• States which are granted special category status enjoy several benefits. These include
  • Concession on excise duty to attract industries to the state
  • 30% of the Centre’s gross budget also goes special category states
  • States can avail the benefit of debt-swapping and debt relief schemes
  • Centrally Sponsored Schemes and external aid – Special Category States get it in the ratio of 90% as grant, and 10% as loans.
  • Special Category States also get tax breaks to attract investment and preferential treatment in getting funds from centre

States with Special Category status

• The NDC  first accorded SCS in 1969 to Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Nagaland. Over the years, eight more states were added to the list — Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura and, finally, in 2010, Uttarakhand.
• Until 2014-15, SCS meant these 11 states received a variety of benefits and sops.

Way Forward

• Special Status is not a Panacea for the problems eleven states, which were already enjoying the special category status were seeking more funds from the Centre, which indicate the same
• To address interstate inequalities by providing adequate resources through tax devolution and grants as proposed by the 14th Finance Commission seems to address the issues impartially

2 . Gond Art

About Gond Art

• Gond art is a form of painting from folk and tribal art that is practiced by one of the largest tribes in India – the Gond – who are predominantly from Madhya Pradesh, but also can be found in pockets of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhatisgarh, and Odisha. 
• The work of Gond artists is rooted in their folk tales and culture, and thus story-telling is a strong element of every painting.
• The Gond, are the largest Adivasi Community in India. They are Dravidian and their origin can be traced to the pre-Aryan era. They refer to themselves as Koi or Koiture.
• According to the Gond belief system, all things are inhabited by a spirit and, consequently, are sacred.
• Gond paintings are a reflection of man’s close connection with his natural surroundings.
• While a majority of Gond paintings do take inspiration from nature, it isn’t the only source of ideas.
• Gond art is alive and reverberates with stories from Gondi traditions and mythology. Some of the stories is that of Lord Shiva and his encounter with the Mahua tree, Peacock and its Ugly Feet, Udata Hathi or the Flying Elephant

3 . Superconductivity

Context : Superconductivity at ambient temperature has been the holy grail in physics for about a century and a team from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru led by Prof. Anshu Pandey has confirmed that the material they tested exhibits major properties of superconductivity at ambient temperature and pressure.

Background

• Until now, scientists have been able to make materials superconduct only at temperature much below zero degree C and hence making practical utility very difficult.

About Superconductor

• A material is said to be a superconductor if it conducts electricity with nil resistance to the flow of electrons.
• This means no heat, sound or any other form of energy would be released from the material when it has reached “critical temperature” (T_c), or the temperature at which the material becomes superconductive. 

About the Material

• The material that exhibited superconductivity is in the form of nanosized films and pellets made of silver nanoparticles embedded in a gold matrix. Silver and gold independently do not exhibit superconductivity.

Benefits

• Superconductors will help build very high efficiency devices leading to huge energy savings.

4 . Article 75 (1)

Context : Exercising powers vested in him under Article 75 (1) of the Constitution of India, President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday appointed Narendra Modi to the office of Prime Minister of India

About Article 75 (1)

• The Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister

5 . Dr LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize

Context : Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Professor Balram Bhargava jointly awarded the 2019 Dr Lee Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health at the 72nd World Health Assembly in Geneva 

About the Award

• The Dr LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health was established in 2008, and is awarded to individuals, institutions, and governmental or nongovernmental organizations who have made an outstanding contribution to public health.
• The Prize aims at rewarding work that has extended far beyond the call of normal duties, and it is not intended as a reward for excellent performance of duties normally expected of an official position of a governmental or intergovernmental institution.
• The prize is awarded once a year, and consists of a plaque from the Founder and a sum of money which will not exceed US$ 100 000.

7 .Sea Water from Ice age found tucked in Rocks

Context : In a first, scientists have discovered the remnants of seawater dating back to the Ice Age, tucked inside rock formations in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

About the News

• Researchers from the University of Chicago in the U.S. made the discovery during a months-long scientific mission through the ship Joides Resolution exploring the limestone deposits that form the Maldives.
• The ship, the JOIDES Resolution, is specifically built for ocean science and is equipped with a drill that can extract cores of rock over a mile long from up to three miles beneath the seafloor.
• Preliminary tests on the extracted water shows that the water is much saltier than normal seawater hence scientists concluded that water was not from today’s ocean, but from the last remnants of a previous era that had migrated slowly through the rock.
• Scientists are interested in reconstructing the last Ice Age because the patterns that drove its circulation, climate and weather were very different from today’s. Understanding these patterns could shed light on how the planet’s climate will react in the future