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9th Nov Current Affairs News Analysis | Prelims & Mains 2021

Lady of Bietikow : Neolithic Findings
HEADLINES:
Ancient skeleton offers clues on prehistoric era
WHY IN NEWS:
German researchers are piecing together the life of a prehistoric woman who died more than 5,000 years ago in the Neolithic period.
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 1 : History : Pre Historic Cultures
ISSUE:
Discovered in northern Brandenburg, this skeleton of a woman is thought to be 5,000 years old.
LADY OF BIETIKOW
- Her skeleton was found when excavating for wind turbines.
- The “Lady of Bietikow,” as she has been named, was found near a village of the same name in northeastern Germany’s Uckermark region.
- Investigations have shown that she was between 30 and 45 years old and died more than 5,000 years ago.
- That means that she lived during the same period as Oetzi the Iceman, the stunningly preserved corpse found by tourists in the Alps in the 1990s.
- All that is left of the skeleton are bones and some fragments of clothing.
- However, this led to a deterioration in people’s general health.
- The state of the Lady of Bietikow’s teeth, which are severely eroded and missing completely in some places, Jungklaus said.
- It remains unclear whether the condition of the Lady of Bietikow’s teeth indicates an illness or even the cause of her death.
NEOLITHIC ERA
- The time span of the Neolithic Age in India was around 7,000 B.C. to 1,000 B.C.
- The Neolithic Age was preceded by Mesolithic Age (9,000 B.C. to 4,000 B.C.) and succeeded by Chalcolithic Age (c.2100 to 700 B.C.).
- The major crops grown were ragi, horse gram, cotton, rice, wheat, and barley.
- The people used microlithic blades in addition to tools made of polished stones as well as bones.
- They used axes, adzes, chisels, and celts.
- Pottery first appeared in this age and included grey ware, black burnished ware, and mat-impressed ware.
- The Neolithic Age is significant for its Megalithic Architecture.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- The oldest Neolithic settlement in the Indian Subcontinent was Mehrgarh which is located in Baluchistan, a province of Pakistan.
- Jarf el Ahmar and Tell Abu Hureyra (both in Syria) were the major Neolithic sites in Asia.
SOURCES: THE HINDU | 9th Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
UAE set to overhaul Islamic laws
HEADLINES:
UAE set to overhaul Islamic laws
WHY IN NEWS:
It will allow unmarried couples to cohabitate, loosen alcohol curbs
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 2 : Miscellaneous
ISSUE:
CHANGING SOCIETY
- The historic U.S.-brokered deal to normalise relations between the UAE and Israel, which is expected to bring an influx of Israeli tourists and investment.
- Changes include scrapping penalties for alcohol consumption, sales and possession for those 21 and over.
- Individuals previously needed a government-issued license to purchase, transport or have alcohol in their homes.
- Another amendment allows for “cohabitation of unmarried couples,” which has long been a crime in the UAE.
- In a move to better “protect women’s rights,” the government said it also decided to get rid of laws defending “honor crimes,” a widely criticised tribal custom.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- The reforms aim to boost the country’s economic and social standing and “consolidate the UAE’s principles of tolerance,”.
SOURCES: THE HINDU | 9th Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
Biodiversity heritage sites
HEADLINES:
Biodiversity heritage sites
WHY IN NEWS:
Biodiversity heritage sites are considered unique and fragile ecosystems that can be marine ecosystems, coastal and inland waters, or terrestrial areas.
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3: Biodiversity Heritage sites
ISSUE:
- Mahima Ranga Betta is a prominent lung space surviving in Bengaluru.
- Urumbi area in Kadaba taluk of Dakshina Kannada has a fragile environmental system and is located on the banks of the river Kumaradhara.
- There was a move by a private company to set up a 24 MW hydroelectric power project across the river in the same area a decade ago.
BIODIVERSITY HERITAGE SITES
The ‘Biodiversity Heritage Sites’ (BHS) are unique ecosystems having rich biodiversity comprising of any one or more of the following components:
- Richness of wild as well as domesticated species or intra-specific categories.
- High endemism.
- Presence of rare and threatened species, keystone species, species of evolutionary significance.
- Wild ancestors of domestic/cultivated species or their varieties.
- Past pre-eminence of biological components represented by fossil beds and having significant cultural, ethical or aesthetic values and are important for the maintenance of cultural diversity, with or without a long history of human association with them.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- The creation of BHS may not put any restriction on the prevailing practices and usages of the local communities, other than those voluntarily decided by them.
- The purpose of declaring BHS is to enhance the quality of life of the local communities through conservation of such sites.
SOURCES: THE HINDU | 9th Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
Green GDP
HEADLINES:
Green GDP
WHY IN NEWS:
We have covered this in editorials but still definitions are pending.
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3: Green GDP
ISSUE:
WHAT IS GREEN GDP
- Green GDP is a term used for expressing GDP after adjusting for environment degradations.
- The concept was first initiated through a System of National Accounts.
- The System of National Accounts (SNA) is an accounting framework for measuring the economic activities of production, consumption and accumulation of wealth in an economy during a period of time.
- When information on economy’s use of the natural environment is integrated into the system of national accounts, it becomes green national accounts or environmental accounting.
The process of environmental accounting involves three steps viz.
- Physical accounting
- Monetary valuation
- Integration with national Income/wealth Accounts.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- Monetary valuation is done to determine its tangible and intangible components.
- Thereafter, the net change in natural resources in monetary terms is integrated into the Gross Domestic Product in order to reach the value of Green GDP.
SOURCES: THE HINDU | 9th Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
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