Facts in News

                                      Facts in News

World Radio Day

• Celebrated on 13th Feb.
• This year is the 10th Anniversary of World Radio Day.
• History of radio goes back over 110 years.
• World Radio Day celebrates radio as “part of humanity’s history” according to the United Nations.
• UNESCO calls on radio stations to celebrate World Radio Day 2021 through three sub-themes.
  • Evolution: The world changes, radio evolves- radio is resilient and sustainable;
  • Innovation: The world changes- radio adapts to new technologies and remains the go-to medium of mobility, accessible everywhere and to everyone;
  • Connection: The world changes, radio connects – radio services our society during natural disasters, socio-economic crises, epidemics, etc.
• About International Committee of Radio (World Radio Day Committee)
  • This committee was born in 2012 after the proclamation of UNESCO’s World Radio Day.
  • This committee consists of the most important radio broadcast organisations:
    • ITU-International Telecommunication Union.
    • IAB-International Association of Broadcasting.
    • AMARC-World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters.
    • Many regional Broadcasting Associations.

BL Lacertae: Huge Optical Flare

• Indian Astronomers have reported one of the strongest flares from a feeding supermassive black hole or blazar called BL Lacertae.
• Significance:
  • It can help trace the mass of the black hole and the source of this emission.
  • Such analysis can provide a lead to probe into mysteries and trace events at different stages of evolution of the Universe.

About Blazars

• Blazars are black-hole-powered galaxies. As matter falls toward the supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s center, some of it is accelerated outward at nearly the speed of light along jets pointed in opposite directions.
• When one of the jets happens to be aimed in the direction of Earth, the galaxy appears especially bright and is classified as a blazar.
• They have a complicated emission mechanism. They emit jets of charged particles travelling nearly at the speed of light and are one of the most luminous and energetic objects in the Universe.

About BL Lacertae Blazar

• BL Lacertae blazar is 10 million light-years away.
• It is among the 50 most prominent blazars that can be observed with the help of a relatively small telescope.
• It was among the 3 to 4 blazars that was predicted to be experiencing flares by the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT), an international consortium of astronomers.

Jalabhishekam Campaign

Key Highlights

• It is a Madhya Pradesh specific scheme.
• Under the campaign, 57,000 water structures costing over Rs. 2,000 crores have been inaugurated in Madhya Pradesh under the MGNREGA and PM Krishi Irrigation Scheme.
• The structures were created in the COVID-19 era.
• These water structures by the government will irrigate 2.50 lakh hectares of land without submerging an inch of it.
• It will help in achieving the goal of water conservation and building self-reliant Madhya Pradesh.
• Campaign will be fulfilling the intention of ‘water for every farm and work for every hand’ and will prove to be helpful for the betterment of the villages.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

In News: Gene therapy costing ?16 crore is the only shot of life for nearly 200 children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 1, a rare genetic disease, in Karnataka.

• The therapy is also known as Zolgensma.

About SMA

• SMA is a disease caused by loss of nerve cells, which carry electrical signals from the brain to the muscles.
• The protein needed for this signalling is coded by a gene for which everyone has two copies – one from the mother and the other from the father.
• A child develops this disorder only if both the copies are faulty.
• Without treatment, this disease is ultimately fatal.
• The disease as it progresses, makes it extremely difficult for the babies to carry out basic activities like sitting up, lifting their head or swallowing milk.

Open Market Operations

• Open market operations are conducted by the RBI for sale or purchase of government securities (g-secs) to adjust money supply conditions.
• The central bank sells g-secs to suck out liquidity from the system and buys back g-secs to infuse liquidity into the system.
• These operations are often conducted on a day-to-day basis in a manner that balances inflation while helping banks continue to lend.
• The RBI uses OMO along with other monetary policy tools such as repo rate, cash reserve ratio and statutory liquidity ratio to adjust the quantum and price of money in the system.

Soil Health Card Scheme

• It is a Government of India’s scheme promoted by the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
• It is being implemented through the Department of Agriculture of all the State and Union Territory Governments.
• A soil health card is intended to provide each farmer with information regarding the status of his/her soil as well as providing advice on fertilizer usage and other nutrient recommendations that maintain soil health in the long run.
• The soil health card is a printed report containing information on soil health through 12 parameters, including soil information on macro and micronutrients, pH levels and organic content.
• The scheme ensures additional income to farmers by an increase in yields and it also promotes sustainable farming.

Mandarin Duck

• Scientific Name: Aix galericulata.
• Spotted on the Maguri-Motapung Beel (lake) in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district after 118 years.
• Primary habitat in eastern China and southern Japan.
• Accidentally lands in eastern India with some other migratory bird flocks.
• Small exotic-looking ducks.
  • Male mandarins have elaborate plumage with orange plumes on their cheeks, orange ‘sails’ on their back, and pale orange sides.
  • Females are dull in comparison, with grey heads, brown backs and white eyestripe.
• Nests in holes in trees, sometimes high up and a long way from the water.
• IUCN Red List Status: Least Concerned.

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