25 Feb 2018: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS1 Related
B. GS2 Related
POLITY
1. Siruvani Dam
HEALTH ISSUES
1. MODY
C. GS3 Related
ECONOMY
1. Tightening of Norms Soon says Jaitley
2. Kaleswaram Project
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. Drypetes kalamii
D. GS4 Related
F. Prelims Fact
1. Kathakali
2. Siruvani River
3. Meldonium 
4. Trimetazidine 
5. Eosinophil 
G. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
H. UPSC Mains Practice Questions 

A. GS1 Related

B. GS2 Related

• Siruvani dam is a dam in Palakkad District, Kerala.
• This dam constructed across the Siruvani River, is for supplying drinking water to the city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.
• The dam is surrounded by reserve forests. Muthikulam hill is situated on the eastern side of the dam. There is a natural waterfall in the hill.
• The location being in the state of Kerala, the project was executed by the Kerala Public Works Department using the funds made available by the Tamil Nadu Government.

Kerala accused of diverting Siruvani water

• Officials in Tamilnadu said that Kerala government has been withdrawing excess water from the Siruvani dam in violation of the 1973 agreement.
  • They further said Kerala was constructing make shift check dams using sand bags at three places to prevent water from reaching the Pilloor dam in Tamil Nadu
  • This they say could lead to severe drinking water crisis in Coimbatore city as the existing water is at the level of 40 ft as against the full reservoir level of 49.5 ft which would get drained
• As per the August 19, 1973 agreement on Paraimbikular Aliyar Project (PAP) the sharing of Siruvani waters, Tamil Nadu had to give five cusecs of water daily throughout the year (July 1 to June 30) to save the flora and fauna downstream.

• MODY is a rare form of diabetes which is different from both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, and runs strongly in families.
• MODY is caused by a mutation (or change) in a single gene. If a parent has this gene mutation, any child they have, has a 50 per cent chance of inheriting it from them.
• If a child does inherit the mutation they will generally go on to develop MODY before they’re 25, whatever their weight, lifestyle, ethnic group etc.

Cause

Diabetes involves a disruption of how blood sugar is kept in check by the hormone insulin.

• In Type-2 diabetes, which is the most common form of the disorder, many genes and environmental factors combine to cause this disruption.
• In MODY, any one of the 14 genes, if defective, can hamper the body’s insulin usage and trigger Type-2 diabetes.

Treatment

• Some forms of MODY can easily be treated with sulphonylurea, an inexpensive drug.

Report

• In a paper published in the BMC Medical Genetics journal, researchers outlined that variants of the NKX6-1 gene found in MODY patients were “functionally impaired”.

C. GS3 Related

 What did Mr. Jaitley Say?

• He blamed “inadequate supervision” by auditors and regulators as well as “indifference” and/or ignorance of top management for the banking frauds, including the Letters of Undertaking scam.
• Multiple layers of auditing system performed a casual job
• So he was hinting at tightening of Norms
• He further said there would be no Privatization of banks

• The Kaleshwaram project is an off-shoot of the original Pranahitha-Chevella Lift Irrigation Scheme taken up by the Congress government in 2007 when Andhra Pradesh was not divided.
• It is jointly implemented by Maharashtra and Telangana, aims to divert water from the Godavari river basin to Telangana.
• After the formation of Telangana in 2014, the TRS government redesigned the project on the ground that the original plan had too many environmental obstacles and had very low water storage provision — only about 16.5 tmc ft.
• After conducting a highly advanced Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) survey for a couple of months, the government separated the original component serving the Adilabad area as the Pranahitha project and renamed the rest as Kaleshwaram by redesigning the head works, storage capacity and the canal system based on the data of availability of water at different locations along the course of the Godavari and its tributaries.
• The Kaleshwaram project has provision for the storage of about 148 tmc ft with plans of utilising 180 tmc ft by lifting at least 2 tmc ft water every day for 90 flood days.

What’s unique?

• KLIP has many unique features, including the longest tunnel to carry water in Asia, running up to 81 km, between the Yellampally barrage and the Mallannasagar reservoir.

Problem Area

• the Komarevelli Mallannasagar project, a 50 TMC reservoir for which eight villages are to be submerged and 17,511 acres of land acquired and the villagers here are unwilling to hand over the land unless the state follows the LARR Act.
• Loss of forest cover to an extent of over 7,800 acres where a total of 22 lakh forest trees will be hacked.
• The project will forever bisect the contiguous forest between Maharashtra and Telangana and between Warangal and Adilabad, leading to genetic isolation of species

 Context

• Scientists from the Botanical Survey of India have identified a new plant species from two protected National Parks in West Bengal.
• Named Drypetes kalamii, it is a small shrub found to be shorter version of its close relative Drypetes ellisii.

Details

• Standing just 1 metre tall, the newly described plant is unisexual in nature, which means they have separate male and female plants.
• There are about 220 species of Drypetes identified across the globe of which 20 have been reported from India.
• The new species is a close relative of a medicinal plant known in Sanskrit as Putrajivah
• By following the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) rules, the scientists have provisionally assessed the plant to be “Critically Endangered”.

Where is it found?

• The new species is found in wet, shaded areas of subtropical moist semi-evergreen forests, at a height ranging 50-100 metres.
• With pale yellow flowers in clusters and bright orange to red fruits, the plant is exclusive to the two national parks.

Threat

• The report states forest fires and grazing as two plausible threats to the new species.

F. Prelims Fact

Kathakali

• Dazzling classical dance of Kerala is Kathakali. ‘Katha’= Story or tale, ‘Kali’= Performance and Art. Its roots are in ancient ‘Kutiyattam’ (Classical Sanskrit Dance Drama) and ‘Krishnattam’ (Dance-Drama depicting Stories of Hindu God Krishna).
• Movements in Kathakali are influenced by ancient martial arts and athletic tradition. It is basically a Dance-Drama.
• Kathakali was traditionally a male-dominated dance and now females are too welcomed in this dance form. Kathakali is also famous for its huge elaborate costumes, amazing make-up style, face masks, and ornaments.
• Unlike other Classical Dances, Kathakali art form developed in the courts and theaters of Hindu principalities. The traditional performances were used to be as long from Dusk to dawn. Modern day presentations are short as per the time limit of the program. The Kerala Kalamandalam is the main center for Kathakali Artists.
• Kathakali has similarities with other dance forms like that of the Japanese ‘ Noh’ and ‘Kabuki’ dance forms have similarities with Kathakali.

The main themes used in Kathakali

• Mythological themes include Ramayan, Mahabharat, Bhagvat Purana, etc.
• Also modern day Kathakali dancers present stories and plays of Shakespeare

The makeup for Kathakali

• According to the role of the dancer, his face is colored/painted.
• The colors are made in rice paste with vegetable colors and applied on the face.
• The Green for Noble characters.
• Tati (Red) for evil like Ravana.
• Kari (black) for hunters and monsters.
• Yellow for women etc.

Siruvani River

• The Siruvani River is a river near Coimbatore, India. It is tributary of Bhavani river which in turn is a tributary of Kaveri.
• Part of the Siruvani River is near Mannarkkad in the Indian District Palakkad, Kerala

Meldonium

• Meldonium gives sufferers of heart and circulatory conditions more “physical capacity and mental function” and a similar boost to healthy people.
• Meldonium was banned because it aids oxygen uptake and endurance.

 

Trimetazidine

• Trimetazidine is used to treat heart conditions but is also classed as a metabolic modulator by the World Anti-Doping Agency because it has performance-enhancing properties.

 

Eosinophil

• They are a variety of white blood cells and one of the immune system components responsible for combating multicellular parasites and certain infections in vertebrates.
• Along with mast cells and basophils, they also control mechanisms associated with allergy and asthma.

Problems

• Immune cells called eosinophils that normally help defend the body against parasitic worms can also play a harmful role in causing intestinal damage after radiation treatment, researchers report in Science Advances. They say that eosinophil depleting treatments could potentially improve therapeutic outcomes for patients undergoing radiation therapy for pelvic tumors.
• Radiation therapy causes intestinal side effects such as diarrhoea or bleeding in more than half of patients.

 

Question 1. The Industry with highest weight amongst the eight core Industries of India is

Question 2. India’s first ever Mega Textiles Trade Fair was held in 

Question 3. Consider the following statements about Saolas

Question 4. Consider the following statements with respect to Jira river

H. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

General Studies I 

1. Empowering people with disability requires providing them employment and self-respect. In the light of this statement enumerate the steps taken by Govt to advance this goal.

General Studies IV 

Also, check previous Daily News Analysis