Daily UPSC Current Affairs | 1st June
Dear AspirantsIASbhai Daily Current Affairs for UPSC PRELIMS & MAINS 2020 is an initiative to dilute major articles from leading Newspapers in India which are most relevant to UPSC preparation –‘THE HINDU, LIVEMINT , INDIAN EXPRESS’ and help millions of readers who find difficulty in answer writing and making notes everyday. Hence we choose articles on daily basis and analyse them with respect to UPSC PRELIMS 2020.
It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.– Warren Buffett
ORANGE COLOUR: Important for Prelims.
RED COLOUR: Important for Mains.
BLACK COLOUR: Must Read !
BLUE COLOUR : Important Links/Survey.
PINK COLOUR: Reports/Themes/Summits.
Page Contents:
“My Life My Yoga”
HEADLINES:
Prime Minister announces “My Life My Yoga” Video Blogging contest in Man Ki Baat
WHY IN NEWS:
The contest has gone live on the social media handles of the Ministry of AYUSH today, 31 May 2020.
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:International Day of Yoga:Health
LEARNING:
For PRELIMS it is important to understand the importance of this event . Try to remember the aim , organizers and the participants .
For MAINS
ISSUE:
ORGANIZERS:
It is a joint effort by the Ministry of AYUSH and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), during the course of his monthly Mann Ki Baat address to the nation.
- The contest focuses on the transformative impact of Yoga on the lives of individuals, and comes as one of the activities related to the observation of the sixth International Day of Yoga (IDY) coming up on 21st June 2020.
AIM:
Through the My Life – My Yoga video blogging competition, the Ministry of AYUSH and ICCR seek to raise awareness about Yoga and to inspire people to prepare for and become active participants in the observation of IDY 2020.
PRIZE :
For the India contestants, prizes worth Rs. 1 lakh, 50K and 25K for 1st, 2nd and 3rd winners.
CONTEST :
Participants are required to upload a 3 minutes duration video of 3 Yogic practices (kriya, asana, pranayama, bandha or mudra), including a short video message/ description on how the said Yogic practices influenced their life.
IASbhai WINDUP:
The video may be uploaded on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the contest hashtag #MyLifeMyYogaINDIA and appropriate category hashtag.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains
The science of hand sanitisers
HEADLINES:
The science of hand sanitisers
WHY IN NEWS:
Can a sanitiser kill 99.99 per cent of germs?
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Health:Diseases
LEARNING:
For PRELIMS it is just general science mentioned below !
For MAINS why it is not advisable to use hand sanitiser for a whole day ? If yes
ISSUE:
What makes a bottle of hand sanitiser so important, especially now?WHAT ARE THE INGREDIENTS ?
- The active ingredient of a hand sanitiser is alcohol.
- A regular solution or bottle contains around 70 per cent of alcohol.
- Ethanol, the chemical present in most alcoholic drinks, is used in many hand sanitisers, but there is one difference.
- The alcohol content in hand sanitisers is very high as compared to alcoholic beverages.
KILLING BACTERIA AND VIRUSES
- Bacteria and viruses have an outer coating, which is made of protein and lipids.
- The alcohol molecule disrupts and eventually explodes this outer coat of bacteria and viruses.
- Antibiotic-based soaps target a specific point of a pathogen’s life cycle.
- Moreover, there is always a chance that the bacterium or virus develops antibiotic-resistance because of the soap.
- Ethanol and isopropanol, however, have one drawback.They can dry the skin.
- To counter this effect, manufacturers add glycerol, a type of alcohol, in hand sanitisers.
- Glycerol is also an alcohol, but it’s not added in solutions/disinfectants to kill germs.
- Some brands also add tocopherol, an alcohol rich in Vitamin E and is good for the skin.
AND NOW COMES THE FUNNIEST PART !
- Manufacturers typically add some bad–tasting compounds in the hand sanitiser.
- Why? Well, this is done to stop people from consuming it as a drink. After all its alcohol.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- The effectiveness of a hand sanitiser varies depending on how dirty our hands are and most importantly, what kind of pathogen it is being used upon.
- In other words, it is not a magic potion that can eliminate the threat of infection entirely.
- Another important fact is that hand sanitisers do not remove dirt.
- For that we need soap and water.
- Doctors, therefore, advise that it is best to use hand sanitisers in combination with regular hand washing.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains
Secret diary of a virus
HEADLINES:
Secret diary of a virus
WHY IN NEWS:
This is just a step back into History of biggest and smallest health hazards.
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Health:Diseases
LEARNING:
For PRELIMS nothing much here .
For MAINS this article is created with a story line ! Can be used as anecdote in the real exam.
ISSUE:
PLAGUE OUTBREAK :
The plague outbreak in the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Justinian I in 6th century AD is one of the worst pandemics recorded in human history.
CULPRIT:
- Scientists identified the culprit of the pandemic as the bacterium Yersinia Pestis, commonly known to humans as the bubonic plague.
- Contemporary accounts claim that at the height of the outbreak, around 5,000 people died per day in the capital of Constantinople.
- By the time the plague had run its course, as many as 10 crore people or half the population of Europe, had died.
IASbhai WINDUP:
It is indeed strange that instead of developing medicines, humans waste their energy, resources and intellect in developing nuclear bombs, and chemical and biological weapons. The more they destroy the biodiversity of Earth, the more active grounds they create for several disease-causing pathogens, including viruses.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft
HEADLINES:
SpaceX’s spacecraft successfully docks with ISS
WHY IN NEWS:
It marks the dawn of a new age in commercial space travel; it is a great day for the country, says Trump
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:SPACE
LEARNING:
For PRELIMS understand the significance and the venue of this launch.
ISSUE:
Landmark mission: People watch as SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
- Elon Musk’s SpaceX company confirmed the successful docking of NASA astronauts Bob Behnken, 49, and Doug Hurley, 53, with the ISS, the orbiting laboratory.
- The crew will be welcomed aboard the ISS, where they will become members of the Expedition 63 crew, which includes NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy.
- The liftoff also assumes significance as it marks the launch of humans into orbit from the U.S. soil for the first time in nearly a decade.
- The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, carrying astronauts Behnken and Hurley, lifted off on Saturday atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
- With the liftoff, SpaceX became the first private company to launch people into the orbit, a feat achieved previously by only three governments: the U.S., Russia and China.
IASbhai WINDUP:
Top U.S. leadership including President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and thousands of curious Americans had gathered to watch the launch live on a bright Sunday afternoon. Congratulating Mr. Musk, NASA and the astronauts, Mr. Trump described the launch day as a great day for the country.
The President said he spoke with Mr. Musk, whom he called one of the “great brains”.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains
Rare scorpionfish
HEADLINES:
Rare scorpionfish found in Gulf of Mannar
WHY IN NEWS:
Discovered alive in Indian waters for the first time
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Biodiversity
ISSUE:
Scorpionfish (Scorpaenospsis neglecta)
- Researchers at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) have found a rare fish from Sethukarai coast in the Gulf of Mannar.
- Camouflaged within the seagrass meadows, the band-tail scorpionfish (Scorpaenospsis neglecta), well-known for its stinging venomous spines and ability to change colour, was found during an exploratory survey of the seagrass ecosystem.
- This was the first time that the particular species was found alive in Indian waters.
- “During the underwater survey, this species was first sighted as a coral skeleton.
- On first look, its appearance was totally confusing and we doubted if it was a fish or fossilised coral skeleton covered with bivalve shells.
COLOUR CHANGING
- “It started changing when we disturbed it by touching a dead coral fragment. Within four seconds, the skin of the fish changed from white to mottled black colour,” .
- The fish is called ‘scorpionfish’ because its spines contain neurotoxic venom.
IASbhai WINDUP:
NEUROTOXIC
- “When the spines pierce an individual, the venom gets injected immediately and it can be extremely painful,”.
- Eating the fish would lead to death.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains
Let us ‘Discuss’
IASbhai WINDUP:
Let us know what you think about this in the comment section.
SOURCES:THE HINDU/DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS for UPSC CSE Prelims & Mains
DISCOVER MORE : Important Daily Current Affairs for UPSC PRELIMS 2020
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for Daily Current Affairs , Editorial Analysis & Answer writing video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
