UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 02-12-2020

Mount Ili Lewotolok

Mount Ili Lewotolok is located on Lembata Island in eastern Indonesia.
This volcano has been erupting on and off since October 2017.
Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center raised volcano’s alert level to the second-highest level after sensors picked up increasing activity.
This mountain is one of the three currently erupting in Indonesia along with Merapi on Java island and Sinabung on Sumatra island.
There are more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.

Annapurna idol

Prime Minister told that an 18th-century idol of goddess Annapurna, carved in the Benares style, is being brought back from Canada.
This idol was stolen from a temple of Varanasi and smuggled out of the country somewhere around 1913.
It is part of the University Of Regina, Canada’s collection at the MacKenzie Art Gallery.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is the official custodian of all such repatriated artefacts.
So, ASI was tasked with ascertaining the security arrangements at the idol’s original location before handing it back to trustees at the temple.
Recently, Union Culture Minister handed over 13th-century bronze idols of Lord Rama, Lakshmana and goddess Sita, which were repatriated from the UK, to the Tamil Nadu government.

Hualong One

China has powered up its first domestically developed nuclear reactor - Hualong One, deployed at a plant in east China's Fujian province.
Work on the Hualong One reactor started in 2015.
It will be put into commercial use by the year end after undergoing tests.
Reducing its dependence on Western allies in critical high-tech sectors is a key goal in Beijing's "Made in China 2025" plan.
Nuclear plants supplied less than 5% of China's annual electricity needs in 2019, but this share is expected to grow as Beijing attempts to become carbon neutral by 2060.
China has 47 nuclear plants with a generation capacity of 48.75 million kilowatts - the world's third highest after the United States and France.
Beijing has invested billions of dollars to develop its nuclear energy sector in recent years as it struggles to wean its economy from coal.

Indian Peacock Softshell Turtle

Indian peacock softshell turtle (Nilssonia hurum) was rescued from a fish market in Assam.
It is listed on the IUCN Red list as Vulnerable species.
It is a Schedule I species under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, and is accorded the highest protection.
Hunting for human consumption is the greatest threat to turtle survival.
Other factors include pollution, river traffic, sand mining, damming of rivers, and conversion of water bodies into agriculture land, etc.

Turtles in India

There are five species of seas turtles in Indian waters - Leatherback, Loggerhead, Hawksbill, Green and Olive Ridley.
IUCN Status of these turtles are

i. Hawksbill - Critically endangered

ii. Green turtle - Endangered

iii. Leatherback - Vulnerable

iv. Loggerhead - Critically endangered

v. Olive Ridley - Vulnerable

La Niña Influence

The ongoing winter season from December 2020 to February 2021 will be colder than usual in several parts of India.
The minimum temperatures in north, northwest, central and some areas in eastern India may be lower than the average.
The maximum temperatures in some of the same regions of north, northwest, eastern and some parts of central India may be higher than the average.
There would be wider gap between day and night temperatures.
One reason for this could be the prevailing La Niña conditions in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean.

La Niña

La Niña is the cooling phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation cycle in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, as opposed to the warming El Niño phase.
It usually brings in colder than normal winters in India.
It influences the Indian subcontinent by piping in cold air from Siberia and South China, which interacts with the tropical heating to produce a north-south low-pressure system.
The cold air associated with this north-south trough tends to extend much farther south into India, but won’t affect the North East that much.
This is remarkably different than the more northwest-southeast blast of cold air associated with an El Niño.
Generally, the La Niña cold air occupies a larger part of India than the El Niño cold air.

Eviction of J&K Nomads

Nomads of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) are being allegedly forcibly evicted by the government.
These nomads are mostly from the Gujjar and Bakkarwal communities living in temporary sheds in forests and mountains.
The evictions are seen in the light of the 2019 J&K High Court order to retrieve encroached forest land and the annulment of the Roshni Act.
Roshni Act, introduced in 2001, had allowed ownership of government land occupied by some people against a fixed amount.
It envisaged conferment of proprietary rights of 2.56 lakh acres of land to occupants to earn money for investment into hydroelectric projects.
But, the HC found that the scheme led to a land scam.

Source: The Indian Express, Down To Earth, Economic Times