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Prelim Bits 12-10-2019

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October 12, 2019

Acting Chief Justice

  • The Supreme Court has recently ruled that a judge who retired as an Acting Chief Justice of a High Court cannot claim the pension of a regular Chief Justice (CJ).
  • SC held that an Acting CJ needs to be given the pension of a CJ only for the period for which he served as a CJ and not more.
  • Only for the limited purpose of salary, such an Acting Chief Justice is treated on a par with the Chief Justice and not for any other purpose, more particularly pension.
  • K.Sreedhar Rao, served in Gauhati High Court for 14 months as its Acting CJ.
  • He appealed to SC demanding pension equivalent to CJ of a high court.
  • But SC said he needs to be given a Chief Justice’s pension only for the 14 months he was Acting CJ.

Mamallapuram

  • Mamallapuram, or Mahabalipuram is in focus as the venue for the informal summit between Indian PM and Chinese President.
  • It is the ancient Pallava port city which has its origins in the word Mamallan (great wrestler), title of a Pallava King Narasimhavarman II (3rd – 9th century).
  • The king’s story was immortalised by Tamil writer Kalki in the novel Sivagamiyin Sapatham.
  • The heroine, Sivakami, is portrayed as the daughter of the chief sculptor, Ayanar. She is the lover of Narasimhavarman.
  • The town was originally called Mamallai or Kadalmallai and Mallai means prosperity.
  • The town got the name because it was enriched by the wealth brought through sea trade.
  • Vaishnavite literature refers to the town and temple of Sthalasayana Perumal situated in the town is one among the 108 Vaishnavite shrines.
  • The earliest literary reference could be attributed to Poothathazhwar, the second in the lineage of Azhwars, who was born in Mamallapuram.
  • The temple would have predated the period of the Pallavas, who expanded the town and made it a cultural capital.
  • The name of the town was changed to Jananthapuram by Chola king Raja Rajan.
  • Mamallapuram became Mahabalipuram in modern times, and the latter is not the Sanskrit equivalent.

World Vision Report

  • The first-ever world vision report was released by WHO.
  • It highlighted that, more than a quarter of the world's population (2.2 billion people), suffer from vision impairment out of which 1 billion cases could have been prevented or have been left unaddressed.
  • It warned that population ageing would lead to a dramatic increase in the number of people with vision impairment and blindness.
  • Presbyopia, a condition in which it is difficult to see nearby objects, affects 1.8 billion people. This condition occurs with advancing age.
  • Myopia, a condition in which it is difficult to see objects at a distance affects 2.6 billion, with 312 million being under the age of 19 years.
  • Cataract, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, corneal opacities, diabetic retinopathy, trachoma are other common vision impairments listed in the report.
  • Trachoma is caused due to bacterial infection in the eye. Many countries have eliminated it, including India.
  • Region wise - The prevalence of vision impairment in low- and middle-income regions is to be four times higher than in high-income regions.
  • South Asia, East Asia and South-East Asia with 51% of the total population of the world, accounted for 62% of the total vision impairment.
  • Myopia is the highest in high-income countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
  • Glaucoma has hit Africa the most, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • Incidence of a rural-urban divide does exist.
  • The report said that accessibility to eye care services and high costs involved in accessing them, particularly for rural populations were major drivers of vision impairment.
  • There was praise for India in the report for its National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB).
  • NPCB provided cataract surgery to a total 6.5 million people in India, achieving a cataract surgical rate of over 6,000 per million population.

Elastocaloric Effect

  • When rubbers bands are twisted and untwisted, it produces a cooling effect which is called the “elastocaloric” effect.
  • When a rubber band is stretched, it absorbs heat from its environment, and when it is released, it gradually cools down.
  • Researchers have suggested that if it is harnessed, the need of fluid refrigerants used in fridges and air-conditioners can be done away.
  • These fluids are susceptible to leakages and can contribute to global warming.
  • In the elastocaloric effect, the transfer of heat works much the same way as when fluid refrigerants are compressed and expanded.
  • In order to figure out how the twisting mechanism might be able to enable a fridge,  the researchers compared the cooling power of rubber fibres, nylon and polyethylene fishing lines and nickel-titanium wires.
  • They observed high cooling from twist changes in twisted, coiled and supercoiled fibres.

Kerala Bank

  • RBI has given its final nod to the Kerala Government for the formation of the Kerala Bank which will be the largest banking network in the State.
  • It would be formed amalgamating the District Co-operative Banks (DCBs) with Kerala State Co-operative Bank.
  • The objective is to strengthen the cooperative sector but there is opposition that it would destroy the traditional cooperative sector.

 

Source: The Hindu, DownToEarth, The Indian Express

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