NEWSPAPER RECAP Date: 22/10/2018 IAS SQUAD

Important Points

If you are following the issue then you can safely skip the article
If you dont know the basics of the issue then you can find the basics under the following newspaper recap
Sabarimala issue

Important Points

The First World War ended with the signing of the armistice on November 11, 1918.
Since then, poppy was adopted as the symbol of remembrance as it grew widely grown in Europe where some of the major battles were fought.
In India, the India Gate was built as the focal point to the Remembrance
To acknowledge the valour and sacrifice of Indian armed forces a unique Indian symbol was required
In line with this, the ‘India Remembers’ project initiated by the USI proposed that the marigold flower join the poppy as a uniquely Indian symbol of remembrance
India Remembers project is a joint endeavour of the USI and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) and a part of the ‘India and the Great War’ Centenary Commemoration project initiated by the USI in 2014 with the support of the Ministry of External Affairs and in close association with the British High Commission
The marigold was chosen because it is easily and widely available and also because saffron is often seen as a colour of sacrifice

The Article can be skipped but the focus should be on Azad Hind Fauj and Contribution of Subhash Chandra Bose.
We have provided information about Azad Hind fauj under our PIB Analysis you can find it here

Important Points

Baishui’s on the southeastern edge of the Third Pole — a region in Central Asia with the world’s third largest store of ice after Antarctica and Greenland
Third Pole glaciers are vital to billions of people from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Asia’s 10 largest rivers — including the Yangtze, Yellow, Mekong, and Ganges — are fed by seasonal melting. “Depending on how it melts, a lot of the freshwater will be leaving the region for the ocean, which will have severe impacts on water and food security,”
Related topic which you should read – Global Warming and its effects
Map based question Baishui No 1 Glacier

Important Points

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a new global fund created to support the efforts of developing countries to respond to the challenge of climate change.
GCF helps developing countries limit or reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate change.
It was set up by the 194 countries who are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010, as part of the Convention’s financial mechanism. It aims to deliver equal amounts of funding to mitigation and adaptation, while being guided by the Convention’s principles and provisions.
When the Paris Agreement was reached in 2015, the Green Climate Fund was given an important role in serving the agreement and supporting the goal of keeping climate change well below 2 degrees Celsius.
Fund has established a direct access modality so that national and sub-national organisations can receive funding directly, rather than only via international intermediaries.
The Fund pays particular attention to the needs of societies that are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, in particular Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and African States.
GCF aims to catalyze a flow of climate finance to invest in low-emission and climate-resilient development,
The Fund’s investments can be in the form of grants, loans, equity or guarantees.

Important Points

There are varying estimates, but crop residue range from 200 million tonnes to 240 million tonnes a year. And this crop residue is not usable for other purposes such as animal feed, etc
Why Stubble burning – Farmers have to harvest their crop, and then clear the fields in preparation for the next crop. Burning has been the quickest solution.
One of the stated benefits of biofuels was the impact this would have on the practice of burning crop waste in preparation for the next planting season
By reducing crop burning and conversion of agricultural residues/wastes to biofuels, there will be further reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
There are many issues to implement the above solution like logistic cost is high for private companies to go and collect husk hence not viable
Alternative ways of using Crop Residue – 1) to make pellets from the residue and use them to complement the coal burned in thermal power plants. 2) set up more ethanol and bio-CNG plants that can use the crop residue as fuel. However, the problem is in creating a chain from the field to the power plant.
Short term solutions – The government has already started giving subsidies for farm equipment. The way forward is in using such technologies, such as baling machines and other automated machines, to do the work

Important Points

U.S. to pull out of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia,
Cold War-era treaty banning the development, testing and possession of short and medium range ground-launched nuclear missiles with a range of 500-5,000 km.
The treaty, signed in 1987, was central to ending the arms race between the two superpowers, and protected America’s NATO allies in Europe from Soviet missile attacks.

Note – Editorial Section is not covered