Some prelim facts(January 2020)

SAMPRITI-IX:

It is a bilateral defence cooperation endeavour between India and Bangladesh.

The latest edition will be the ninth edition and will be conducted in Umroi, Meghalaya.

Nagoba Jatara:

It is a tribal festival held in Telangana.
Also known as Keslapur jatara.
It is a huge religious and cultural event of the Boigutta branch of Mesram clan of the aboriginal Raj Gond and Pardhan tribes.
During the festival, the maha puja of serpent god Nagoba is held.
The Gusadi Dance performance by dancers from the Gond tribe is a major special attraction of the event.

Operation Vanilla:

Context: Indian navy will perform HADR operations in Madagascar under 'Operation Vanilla'.

It has been launched to provide assistance to the affected population of Madagascar post devastation caused by Cyclone Diane.

India's first underwater metro:

Context: India's first underwater metro nears completion after costs double.

Location: The first underwater metro project is being constructed in Kolkata, a part of which will pass under the iconic Hoogly river on which the famous Howrah bridge is constructed.

About Padma Awards:

Padma Awards one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. They were instituted in the year 1954. The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.

Categories:

Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service;( it is a second degree honour).
Padma Bhushan is awarded for distinguished service of high order. (it is a third degree honour).
Padma Shri is awarded for distinguished service in any field. (it is a fourth degree honour).

The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. The award is normally not conferred posthumously. However, in highly deserving cases, the Government could consider giving an award posthumously if the demise of the person proposed to be honoured has been recent, say within a period of one year preceding the Republic Day on which it is proposed to announce the award.

Archaea:

They are a primitive group of microorganisms that thrive in extreme habitats such as hot springs, cold deserts and hypersaline lakes.
These slow-growing organisms are also present in the human gut, and have a potential relationship with human health.
They are known for producing antimicrobial molecules, and for anti-oxidant activity with applications in eco-friendly waste-water treatment.

Why in News?

Scientists have reported a new archaeon (a kind of microorganism), which they discovered in Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan.

It has been named Natrialba swarupiae, after Dr Renu Swarup, secretary, Department of Biotechnology.

Hemorrhagic septicemia:

It is a severe bacterial disease caused by certain strains.
The disease is also spread through contact with infected animals, contaminated clothing, equipment, and through ingestion or inhalation of the bacteria.
Primary symptoms include swishing tails, reduced cudding, undigested food in faeces and reduced milk yield.

Why in News? Around 40 buffaloes have died within four days due to suspected Sahana disease (hemorrhagic septicemia) in a number of villages located in the Garadapur block of Odisha's Kendrapara.

Sagarmatha Sambaad:

It is the first-ever multi-stakeholder dialogue event in Nepal's recent history, to be held in April.
It will be attended by many global figures apart from the leaders of the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
It is expected to be the biggest diplomatic initiative.

Ophichthus kailashchandrai:

This is a new snake eel species residing in the Bay of Bengal. It was discovered recently.

It has been named Ophichthus kailashchandrai to honour the vast contributions of Dr. Kailash Chandra, Director of ZSI, to Indian animal taxonomy.

It is the eighth species of the Ophichthus genus found on the Indian coast.

More about Ophichthus kailashchandrai:

Lives at a depth of around 50 metres in the sea.
Individuals of this species are around 420 mm to 462 mm in length.
They are light brown in colour, with white fins.
It feeds on small fish and crabs. The outer surface of their bodies is slimy but they are not poisonous.

Web portal 'GATI':

Launched by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.

Created by NHAI.

How it works?

The portal 'GATI' can be accessed from NHAI's website, and contractors and concessionaires can raise any project-related issues on the platform.
The issues raised in the GATI will be daily monitored by a team of officers in NHAI and will be constantly reviewed by the senior officers of NHAI and the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.

National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP):

Context: NITI Aayog released its vision for the National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP).

Features:

The platform aims to democratize access to publicly available government data.
It will host the latest datasets from various government websites, present them coherently, and provide tools for analytics and visualization.
NDAP will follow a user-centric approach and will enable data access in a simple and intuitive portal tailored to the needs of a variety of stakeholders.

Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar:

Context: Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2020 announced.

About the award:

Awarded to recognise the excellent work done by individuals and institutions in India in the field of disaster management.
Announced every year on 23rd January, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
If the awardee is an institution, it shall receive a certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 51 lakhs. The Institution shall utilize this cash prize for Disaster Management related activities only.
If the awardee is an individual, the winner shall receive a certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 5.00 lakhs.
Only Indian nationals and Indian institutions can apply for the award.

Vyom Mitra:

It is ISRO's first woman astronaut.

It will be used for an unmanned flight of ISRO's GSLV III rocket in December 2020, which, along with a second unmanned flight in July 2021.
Vyommitra, equipped with a head, two arms and a torso, is built to mimic crew activity inside the crew module of Gaganyaan.
Functions: Attaining launch and orbital postures, responding to the environment, generating warnings, replacing carbon dioxide canisters, operating switches, monitoring of the crew module, receiving voice commands, responding via speech (bilingual).

Reciting preamble is compulsory in Maharashtra:

Maharashtra government has made it compulsory to recite the Preamble to the Constitution in all schools starting January 26.

The objective is to instil values such as justice, freedom and equality enshrined in the Constitution.
The government has also asked the schools to put up a plaque or board with the Preamble and asked schools to hold quizzes, essay, drawing, slogan, poster competitions based on the Constitution.

About CICT:

The Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT) is an autonomous Institute of higher research functioning under the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India.

This is an Institute constituted specifically for carrying out higher research Classical Tamil at international levels not to be found elsewhere globally.
The CICT is engaged in several research activities aimed at establishing the ancientness and uniqueness of Tamil and of Classical Tamil in particular and in propagating its findings globally.
The Institute is responsible for the Kural Peedam Award.

About Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL):

The DFCCIL is a corporation run by the Ministry of Railways (India) to undertake planning & development, mobilisation of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the Dedicated Freight Corridors.
DFCC has been registered as a company under the Companies Act 1956 on 30 October 2006.

ELECRAMA 2020:

It is the flagship showcase of the Indian electrical industry and a platform to connect the world with the Indian industry in respect of technology, new trends and innovation for the future energy transition.
It is a platform for knowledge-sharing with a strong focus on electric vehicles, Internet of Things (IoT), storage solutions and renewable energy.
It is supported by the Ministry of Power, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Government of India.

Steppe eagle:

Why in News? Sighted recently near Vijayawada.

Key facts:

IUCN status:
Scientific name: Aquila nipalensis.
Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae.
Habitat: It breeds from Romania east through the south Russian and Central Asian steppes to Mongolia. The European and Central Asian birds winter in Africa, and the eastern birds in India.
Throughout its range it favours open dry habitats, such as desert, semi-desert, steppes, or savannah.
The Steppe Eagle appears on the flag of Kazakhstan. It is also the National bird (animal) of Egypt and appears on its flag.

Submarine-launched ballistic missile, K-4:

Context: Test- fires recently.

Key facts:

Range: 3,500 km.
The Circular Error Probability (CEP)of the K-4 is much more sophisticated than most countries which possess similar missiles. The CEP determines the accuracy of a missile. The lower the CEP, the more accurate the missile would be in targeting.

Z Morh tunnel:

Context: Govt awards over Rs 2000 cr for completing Z Morh tunnel.

Key facts:

The 6.5-kilometre long Z-Morh tunnel is located in Jammu and Kashmir.
The tunnel is capable of allowing 1,000 vehicles an hour at a speed of 80 km per hour.
Border Road Organization (BRO) was the previous implementation agency of the project. The project was however transferred to IL&FS in 2016. APCO will now complete the balance work.

Winged Raider:

It is Indian Army's biggest airborne exercise conducted recently in the north-eastern theatre.

'Sahyog-Kaijin':

It is a joint coast guard exercise between India and Japan.
The aim is to strengthen the bond between the two countries.
The latest edition is being held in India.

Yada Yada virus:
Context: Detected recently in Australian mosquitoes.
What is it?
It belonged to a group that includes other alphaviruses such as the chikungunya virus and the astern equine encephalitis.
Even so, the novel virus poses no threat to human beings, because it is a part of a group of viruses that only infect mosquitoes. Other viruses in the same group include the Tai forest alphavirus and the Agua Salud alphavirus.
Note-The content has been taken from InsightsIAS