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Prelim Bits 19-11-2018

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November 19, 2018

Qaumi Ekta Week

  • The “Qaumi Ekta Week” (National Integration Week) will be observed all over the country, from 20 to 25th November, 2018.
  • The objective of the celebration is to foster and reinforce the spirit of Communal Harmony, National Integration and pride in vibrant, composite culture and nationhood.
  • This occasion also provides an opportunity to reaffirm age old traditions and faith in the values of tolerance, co-existence and brotherhood in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society.

National Foundation for Communal Harmony

  • The National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH), an autonomous organisation with the Ministry of Home Affairs, organises Communal Harmony Campaign coinciding with the Qaumi Ekta Week.
  • The Foundation promotes Communal Harmony and strengthens National Integration.
  • It also provides financial assistance for relief and rehabilitation of children rendered orphan or destitute in communal, caste, ethnic or terrorist violence.

Elephant Hospital

  • India’s first fully equipped dedicated elephant hospital has been established in Farah block of Mathura, complete with wireless digital X-Ray, laser treatment and dental X-ray facilities.
  • The ‘jumbo’ hospital is the result of a collaborative effort between the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and conservation NGO Wildlife SOS.
  • The hospital complex includes an observation area for the overnight monitoring of elephants under treatment using Close Circuit Infra-Red CCTV cameras.

GROWTH

  • GROWTH is a 0.7 m India telescope at the Indian Astronomical Observatory located in Hanle, Ladakh.
  • The telescope is potentially fully robotic and can operate on its own, and has a field that is five to six times larger.
  • It can ‘slew’ or move its focus from one part of the sky to another in just about 10-15 seconds and its camera can view stellar objects that are thousands to millions of light years away.
  • Recently the telescope has made its first science observation which is a follow-up study of a nova explosion.
  • This recurrent nova, named M31N-2008, has been observed to erupt several times.

Novae and Supernovae

  • Novae are explosive events involving violent eruptions on the surface of white dwarf stars, leading to temporary increase in brightness of the star.
  • Unlike a supernova, the star does not go on to die but returns to its earlier state after the explosion, such an explosion is when the inner material of the star is thrown out
  • Transient phenomena such as supernovae are important parts of time-domain astronomy which is a less-explored frontier in astronomy.

Rani Lakshmi Bai

  • Rani Lakshmi Bai was the famed monarch of Jhansi, at the time of birth she was named Manikarnika.
  • She was married at the age of 14 years to the King of Jhansi ‘Gangadhar Rao Newalkar’.
  • She became one of the front ranking leaders of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 with the help of Tatya Tope, a friend and mentor of the Queen and one of the generals in the rebel army.

World Toilet Day

  • The Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) will celebrate World Toilet Day with mass awareness and mobilization activities across States and districts.
  • The objective is to engage with communities and reaffirm the national resolve to sustain the Sanitation achievement.

 

Source: PIB, the Hindu

 

 

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