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Prelims Bits 10-12-2017

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December 10, 2017

11th WTO Ministerial Conference

  • The 11th Ministerial Conference (MC11) will take place from 10 to 13 December 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  • The Ministerial Conference, will be attended by trade ministers and other senior officials from the organization’s 164 members.
  • It is the highest decision-making body of the WTO.
  • Under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO, the Ministerial Conference is to meet at least once every two years.
  • The last Ministerial Conference took place in Nairobi, Kenya, in December 2015.

Supreme Court’sdirection on Taj mahal

  • The Supreme Court recently directed the UP government to prepare a comprehensive document with a futuristic vision to protect the monument.
  • SC stated that members of the civil society including experts from cultural heritage, historical heritage, environment and wildlifeshould be involved in devising a strategy to protect the Taj Mahal.
  • It ordered comprehensive plan on Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) an area of about 10,400 sq kms spread over spread over 6 districts of UP and Bharatpur in Rajasthan for a few hundred years should be prepared.

Waste management and pollution exchange platform

  • India is set to launch its first waste management and pollution exchange and trading platform.
  • London based leading provider of exchange technology will collaborate with the Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (CGanga) will to launch this Platform.
  • It will address the waste management and pollution related problems in the Ganga river basin, which is a part of the Ganga clean-up initiative.
  • The exchange solution will include technology to deliver market data, warehouse receipts, finance and trading, including auctions, quoting and continuous trading facilities.

CGanga

  • CGanga is the new think-tank formed under the aegis of NMCG (National Mission for Clean Ganga).
  • Its stated objectives is to make India a world leader in river and water science.
  • It is responsible for introducing new technologies, innovations and solutions into India.
  • The Centre is headquartered at IIT Kanpur and represents leading science and technological institutes of the country.

Day Zero

  • Weekly reports on water levels in the dams that supply Cape Town capital of South Africa, terms “Day Zero”.
  • It is the day when most taps could stop running and in South Africa it is expected to probably arrive in May 2018.
  • The severity of the crisis, brought on by three years of poor rains and surging water demand.
  • In a bid to curb water consumption, the city has banned residents from watering their gardens and washing their cars, shut most public swimming pools.

Polyamory

  • It is a practice of engaging in multiple sexual relationships with the consent of all the people involved.
  • Its definition is often expanded as consensual, ethical, and responsible non-monogamy which is different from polyandry and polygamy.
  • The polyamorous group or Polycules is committed to every one of its members, mentally and physically.
  • This society is distantly related to the Gond people, an indigenous tribal people still living in central India.

Excitonium

  • Scientists have proven the existence of new form of matter called Excitonium, which was first theorised almost 50 years ago.
  • There are five known phases of matter - solids, liquids, gases, plasma and Bose-Einstein condensates, Excitonium is a condensate.
  • Excitonium is made up of particles known as excitons, which are made from an escaped electron.
  • Excitonium exhibits phenomena like a superconductor.

 

Source: Business Line, the Hindu, Financial Express

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