VISION

 What is the issue?

• The plains over North India reported a sharp shift in temperatures (rising) in mid-February.
• This has triggered apprehensions that the cold season is ending soon and the summers are going to start early. Here is a look at the geographical factors.

How has the weather over North India been in 2021?

• The region experienced continuous cold conditions all through January and the beginning of February 2021.
• Cold conditions dominated both the plains and hilly regions in North and Northwest India this season.
• The average monthly minimum temperature recorded over the country in January remained the warmest in 62 years.
• However, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and Jammu and Kashmir experienced prolonged severe cold conditions.
• The national capital and neighbouring areas also reported sporadic rainfall in the first week of January.
• However unlike the winter of 2020, not many cold day conditions were recorded during this season.
• In January, there were fewer and feeble western disturbances across lower latitudes.
• The effects of western disturbances were mostly limited to hilly regions in January.

Why is the sudden rise in temperatures?

• In the absence of cold wave and cold day conditions over the plains of north India, temperatures began to soar.
• Delhi, Dehradun and many locations in both the plains and the hills recorded significantly above normal day temperatures for this time of the year.
• On February 11, New Delhi recorded 30.4 degrees Celsius, which was 7.7 degrees above normal.
• The cold waves are prevented from reaching the northern parts of India by -
  1. the dominance of the prevailing easterly waves
  2. presence of multiple weather systems over Central India
• It is because of these that temperatures have seen a sharp rise.
• The temperature departures notably ranged between 5 to 7 degrees from normal.

How will these weather systems affect the cold conditions?

 Why in news?

Recently, West Bengal CM suggested that India should have four capitals.

What is the issue of having four capitals?

• Four capitals means that there should be Parliament buildings in three other regions & accommodation for all MPs and adjunct staff has to be constructed.
• MPs in the northern parts of the country would prefer to be in their existing accommodations while others prefer to settle in the capital close to their region.
• During Parliament sessions, MPs will descend to their envisaged capitals leaving the residential accommodations vacant for months after every session.
• This involves huge expenditure as MPs and their staffs have to fly to and from these capitals every now and then.
• In 1980s, Tamil Nadu CM proposed to shift the State capital to Tiruchirappalli but it was dropped later.
• Moreover providing security to all the MPs will be a huge burden for the State Police and also their vacant accommodations needs to be guarded round the clock.

Can this model be adopted for Supreme Court?

 GS Score Geography 2021 Test 01 With Solutions PDF

 GS Score Weekly Current Affairs February 2021 Week 03 PDF

📰 Cabinet approves PLI scheme for telecom sector

📰 Leopard population tracking gets new approach

1)  Rajnath Singh launches e-Chhawani portal for online civic services to Cantt Boards

•Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently launched an online portal ‘e-Chhawani’ and mobile app, to facilitate ‘ease of living’ and ‘ease of doing’ for the residents of the Cantonment Boards across the country. The ‘e-Chhawani’ portal will provide online municipal services to more than 20 lakh citizens across all 62 Cantonment Boards of India while sitting at home.

2)  Kanchoth festival celebrated across J&K”s Chenab valley

•The ancient Kanchoth festival, a symbol of ancient Nag culture, was observed with religious fervour and gaiety across the Chenab valley region of Jammu and Kashmir. The festival is celebrated by locals, mainly Nag followers who believe that on this day of Gouri Tritiya, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati got married and the latter insisted on a throne made of snow as her wedding gift.

•The festival is celebrated by locals, mainly Nag followers who believe that on this day of Gouri Tritiya, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati got married and the latter insisted on a throne made of snow as her wedding gift.

3)  ‘Pahela Phagun’ spring festival celebrated in Bangladesh

•The first day of the spring called ‘Pahela Phagun’ was celebrated in Dhaka, Bangladesh despite the continued shadow of Corona pandemic in the country. Cultural organisations held programmes at different venues in the city to herald the beginning of the spring. Programmes were held at the Suhrawardy Udyan, Nandan Manch of Shilpakala Academy and several other locations.

•The Jatiya Basanta Utsab Udjapan Parishad organized the programme at the Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka. Young women wearing yellow saris and youth dressed in ‘Punjabis’ took part in the festivity. The programme featured dance and musical performances. The traditional programme of ‘Basanta Utsab’ at the Fine Arts faculty in Dhaka university was cancelled since educational institutions have been closed till Feb. 28 by the government due to the Corona pandemic.

4)  China Overtakes the US as Largest Trading Partner of European Union

The People’s Republic of China has overtaken the United States (US) as the biggest trading partner of the European Union (EU) in 2020, according to the data by the European Union statistics agency, Eurostat. Britain, which left the European Union in 2020, was the third-largest trading partner for the bloc, behind China and the United States.

The trade volume of the EU with China reached 586 billion euros ($711 billion) in 2020, compared to 555 billion euros ($673 billion) for the US. Bilateral trade with the UK reached 444.7 billion euros.

•The EU exports to China rose by 2.2 per cent to 202.5 billion euros while imports from China increased by 5.6 per cent to 383.5 billion euros.

•Similarly, EU exports to the United States fell by 13.2 per cent in the same period and imports by 8.2 per cent.

•Exports to the UK fell by 13.2 per cent, while imports dropped by 13.9 per cent.

5)  IIT Bombay launches fundraising campaign ‘Cherish IIT Bombay 2021’

•IIT Bombay has launched its first-ever annual fundraising campaign in India, Cherish IIT Bombay 2021. As per information shared by the IIT, the funds will be used for the creation of world-class laboratory complexes, modernization of lecture halls and continuation of awards to attract and retain faculty. The donations made to IIT Bombay by corporate bodies and individuals are 100% tax-deductible under section 80G of the Indian Income Tax Act.

6)  Preeti Sinha appointed to head United Nations Capital Development Fund

•The UN Capital Development Fund has appointed Indian-origin investment and development banker Preeti Sinha as its Executive Secretary, the highest leadership rank in the institution. She succeeds Judith Karl. He will work with a focus on providing micro-finance assistance to women, youth, small and medium-sized enterprises in under-served communities.

7)  Theodore Baskaran won Sanctuary Lifetime Service Award 2020

•S. Theodore Baskaran who is a writer, a historian, a naturalist and an activist has won the Sanctuary Lifetime Service Award, 2020. The award was instituted by the Sanctuary Nature Foundation. Theodore Baskaran was chosen for the award in the light of his dedication to the wildlife conservation. He won the award for his writing prowess in English and Tamil contributing towards the conservation discourse. He was also chosen for the award in the backdrop of inspiring the young naturalists.

•Some of his books in the English language include- Dance of the Sarus: Essays of a Wandering Naturalist; Book of Indian Dogs and A Day with the Shama: Essays on Nature.

8)  Assam government appoints Hima Das as DSP

•Star sprinter Hima Das has been appointed as a Deputy Superintendent of Police by the Assam government. The 21-year-old from Assam, known as ‘Dhing Express’ referring to the town near her native village, is currently training at the NIS-Patiala and will be aiming to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics as the athletics calendar starts in a few days.

•The reigning world junior 400m champion, who won a silver in women’s 400m in the 2018 Asian Games, was also part of the gold-winning women’s 400m relay and mixed 400m relay quartets in the quadrennial event in Jakarta.

1)  11th Edition of ‘Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav’ inaugurated in WestBengal

•The Governor of West Bengal, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurated the 11th Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav at Cooch Behar Palace at West Bengal. The Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav is a flagship programme of the Ministry of Culture, organised under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Programme, since 2015, to celebrate the idea of unity in diversity. The event was inaugurated in the presence of Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel.

2)  RBI constitues 8-member expert panel for strenthening Urban Co-operative Banks

•The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted an eight-member expert committee on Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs) to examine issues and suggest a road map for strengthening the sector. The committee will be chaired by the former RBI Deputy Governor N. S. Vishwanathan.

3)  Justice Puligoru Venkata Sanjay Kumar sworn-in as Chief Justice of Manipur HC

•Justice Puligoru Venkata Sanjay Kumar has been sworn-in as the Chief Justice of Manipur High Court at Raj Bhavan, Imphal. He was appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur by the President of India. Prior to this, he served as a Judge in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

4)  Ajay Mathur elected new DG at special assembly of ISA

•The International Solar Alliance (ISA) has announced Dr Ajay Mathur as its new Director-General following his election at the first special assembly of ISA members. Dr Mathur replaces Mr Upendra Tripathy, who has served as Director-General since the ISA was founded in 2015.

5)  Delhi Police receives Best Marching Contingent Trophy-2021

•Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presented the trophies of best marching contingents of the Republic Day Parade 2021 in New Delhi on February 15, 2021. Jat Regimental Centre bagged the trophy of best marching contingent among the Tri-Services while Delhi Police was adjudged as the best marching contingent among the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and other auxiliary services.

•Brigadier Adarsh K Butail and Subedar Major (Honorary Captain) Virendra received the trophy on behalf of the Jat Regimental Centre and Special Commissioner of Police Robin Hibu and Assistant Commissioner of Police Vivek Bhagat, Commander received the trophy on behalf of Delhi Police. The two contingents were adjudged on the basis of assessment by two panels of judges.

APTI PLUS Current Affairs Monthly Magazine February 2021