Factoids for Prelims 2021

Bhog certificate: 

Launched in 2018 by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI).

To encourage all places of worship to adopt and maintain food safety and hygiene in preparation, serving and sale of food along with training of food handlers for basic food safety and hygiene.

 GISAID Initiative is widely credited for successfully enabling the rapid sharing of influenza virus data through a unique sharing mechanism, that was recognized for its importance to global health by all G20 health ministers in 2017. The Initiative involves public–private partnerships between the nonprofit organization Freunde von GISAID e.V. and governments of the Federal Republic of Germany, the official host of the GISAID EpiFlu database, providing public access to the most complete collection of genetic sequence data of influenza viruses and related clinical and epidemiological data,Singapore and the United States of America.

China has begun large-scale mining operations inLhunze county adjacent to Arunachal Pradeshwhere a huge trove of precious minerals valued at about $60 billion has been found.

Coronavirus Dictionary

TheR-naught, or R0,is a virus’s basic reproductive number — an epidemiologic metric used to describe the contagiousness of infectious agents.

Theincubation periodis the time it takes for symptoms to appear after a person is infected. This time can be critical for prevention and control, and it allows health officials to quarantine or observe people who may have been exposed to the virus.

The technical name for the coronavirus isSARS-CoV-2.The respiratory disease it causes has been named the “coronavirus disease 2019,” or COVID-19.

Anepidemicis a regional outbreak of an illness that spreads unexpectedly, according to the WHO. 

upsc2020said

The ILP is an official travel document required to visit four Northeastern states, namely,Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland.

The Inner Line Permit is an extension of theBengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act 1873.

@upsc2020 Manipur is NOT part of ILP. 

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upsc2020said

The ILP is an official travel document required to visit four Northeastern states, namely,Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland.

The Inner Line Permit is an extension of theBengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act 1873.

@upsc2020 Manipur is NOT part of ILP. 

It was included recently. 

https://www.news18.com/news/india/ilp-comes-into-effect-in-manipur-from-january-1-temporary-permit-to-be-issued-for-15-days-2441705.html

NATURAL WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN INDIA

Gaur (Bos Gaurus), the largest extant bovine in the world,have returned to Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR), but are also breeding there due to an increase in grassland cover.

VTR was set up in the early 1990s. It is spread over 899 square kilometres in Bihar’s West Champaran district, bordering Nepal’s Chitwan National Park to its north and Uttar Pradesh to its west.

Gaur, which are native to south and southeast Asia, had shifted to Chitwan a few years back due to grassland destruction in VTR. The species is listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species since 1986.

Increasing grasslands in VTR also helps for tiger conservation.

SARS-CoV was transmitted fromcivet cats to humans.

MERS-CoV fromdromedary camels to humans.

Suspension of Members in LS & RS

While the Speaker of Lok Sabha is empowered to place a Member under suspension, the authority for revocation of this order is not vested in Speaker. It is for the House, if it so desires, to resolve on a motion to revoke the suspension.

Unlike the Speaker, however, the Rajya Sabha Chairman does not have the power to suspend a Member.

The Chairman may “name a Member who disregards the authority of the Chair or abuses the rules of the Council by persistently and wilfully obstructing” business. In such a situation, the House may adopt a motion suspending the Member from the service of the House for a period not exceeding the remainder of the session. The House may, however, by another motion, terminate the suspension.

Hanging and shooting are the two methods of death penalty in India. According to the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), hanging is the method of execution in the civilian court system. The Army Act, 1950, however, lists both hanging and shooting as official methods of execution in the military court-martial system.

Hayabusa2 isan asteroid sample-return mission operated by the Japanese space agency, JAXA. It follows on from the Hayabusa mission and analyzed near-Earth asteroidRyugu.

When separated from the Bengal Presidency in 1912, Bihar and Orissa comprised a single province.From 1912 to 1920 the province had a lieutenant governor heading the provincial government. This post was upgraded to governor in 1920, when Satyendra Prasanno Sinha was appointed to the post.

Later, under the Government of India Act of 1935, the Division of Orissa became a separate provinceand the Province of Bihar came into being as an administrative unit of British India.

Hantavirusinfection is not contagious — it does not spread from human to human. Working or living in arodentinfested setting or breathing dust after cleaning rodent droppings or nests increases the chance of exposure to the virus.

Kish Islandis a located on the north east of the Persian Gulf, southern offshore of the mainland Iran. Recently in news for evacuation during Corona Crisis. 

Facebook has announced to launch an in-house crypto currency called “Libra” by the first half of 2020.

Libra will be a crypto currency backed by a reserve of real assets to keep its value stable. Crypto currency built on encryption technology is a digital currency that users buy and store from digital wallets. It is not controlled by any central authority, nor is any government interference.

Libras will be stored by Calibra, a digital wallet which will be built into WhatsApp and Messenger as well, to let users store and use Libra coins.

@Upsc_2020  Thank you for taking this initiative.

Elephant Bonds would be sovereign bonds issued for a period of 25 years in which people declaring undisclosed income will be bound to invest 50 per cent, similar to an amnesty scheme. These funds will be utilised only for infrastructure projects

Viruses are named by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV).  

WHO announced “COVID-19” as the name of this new disease on 11 February 2020, following guidelines previously developed with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)