Syllabus:

• Prelims & Mains – CURRENT EVENT

Context: Union Finance Minister, while presenting the Union Budget, said that a “Makhana Board” will be set up in Bihar to boost the cultivation and marketing of fox nuts.

Background: –

• Bihar accounts for approximately 90% of India’s makhana production. This production is primarily concentrated in northern and eastern Bihar.

Key takeaways

• Makhana (fox nut), is the dried edible seed of the prickly water lily or gorgon plant (Euryale ferox). This plant is found in freshwater ponds throughout South and East Asia. It is recognized for its violet and white flowers, as well as its large, round, and prickly leaves, which can often exceed a meter in diameter.
• The edible part of the Makhana plant consists of small, round seeds that have an outer layer ranging from black to brown. This has led to it being referred to as the ‘Black Diamond.’
• After processing, these seeds are often consumed as popped snacks known as ‘lava.’ Makhana is highly nutritious and provides an excellent source of carbohydrates, protein, and minerals. Due to its versatile applications in medicine, healthcare, and nutrition, this plant can be consumed in various forms.
• In 2022, ‘Mithila Makhana’ was conferred a Geographical Indication tag.
• In addition to Bihar, makhana is cultivated in smaller quantities in the states of Assam, Manipur, West Bengal, Tripura, and Odisha, as well as in neighboring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Japan, and Korea.

Climatic Conditions for Cultivation

• Makhana (Gorgon Nut or Foxnut) is an aquatic crop and is mainly grown in tropical and subtropical regions.  It is traditionally cultivated in stagnant water bodies such as ponds, land depressions, lakes, ditches, or wetlands with shallow water depths of up to 4-6 feet.
• For optimal growth and development, Makhana requires a temperature range of 20-35°C, relative humidity of 50-90%, and annual rainfall between 100-250 cm.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus:

• Prelims & Mains – CURRENT EVENT

Context: Domestic workers and those who work towards the well-being of this vulnerable segment of the workforce have found hope with the Supreme Court’s recent direction to the Union government to look into a law to regulate the sector.

Background: –

• SC ordered the government to form an inter-ministerial committee to consider the desirability of recommending a legal framework for the benefit, protection and regulation of the rights of domestic workers.
• India is yet to ratify the ILO Convention 189 on domestic workers.

Key takeaways

• The court noted that the poor conditions of domestic workers are largely due to the lack of appropriate regulations. The court highlighted the exclusion of these workers from many labour legislation, including the Minimum Wages Act and the Equal Remuneration Act. 
• While acknowledging existing state-specific regulations, SC noted the importance of having national-level legislation that is binding on all states.
• Domestic work is a feminised occupation, with migrants from marginalised communities constituting a considerable proportion. 
• Low wages, unfair working conditions, the obligation to attend to additional tasks, increased workload without additional compensation are the key features that mark the sector.  Job insecurity and complete absence of social security measures force the workers to accept vulnerable conditions of work.

Why domestic workers needs separate legislation

• The Code on Wages (2019), unlike the Minimum Wages Act, by definition covers the sector. But the intricacies, complexities and hierarchies of the occupation which intersects with gender, caste, and class makes the sector distinct. 
• The different systems of employment of workers — part-time/full-time, live in/live out — have contributed to the complexity of the sector. 
• The asymmetric relationship between employer and employee, where the workplace is the former’s private space and the latter’s workplace is an issue that makes the sector qualitatively different. 
• Further, the work undertaken — mundane cleaning tasks and cooking or care work — are all socially devalued.

Challenges and way forward

• The definition of what constitutes domestic work needs to be carefully worked out. 
• One of the prerequisites for enforcement of any labour regulation is proof of employment. Most employers do not view themselves as “employers” or their homes as “workplaces”.
• The recent attempts in the direction of the states of Kerala and Delhi could be looked at for learning.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus:

• Prelims – CURRENT EVENT

Context: Union Finance Minister, while presenting the Union Budget, announced a five-year mission to “facilitate significant improvements in productivity and sustainability of cotton farming, and promote extra-long staple (ELS) cotton varieties”.

Background:

• Currently, India’s per acre yields are significantly lower than others. Brazil boasts an average yield of 20 quintals per acre, while China boasts a yield of 15 quintals. 
• Better seeds, timely agronomic advice, and adoption of technology would help India improve in this regard, and grow premium varieties such as ELS cotton.

Key takeaways

What is Extra-long Staple cotton?

• Cotton is classified, based on the length of its fibres, as long, medium, or short staple. 
• Gossypium hirsutum, which constitutes roughly 96% of the cotton grown in India, falls in the medium staple category, with fibre lengths ranging from 25 to 28.6 mm.
• On the other hand, ELS varieties boast fibre lengths of 30 mm and above. Most ELS cotton comes from the species Gossypium barbadense, commonly known as Egyptian or Pima cotton. ELS cotton today is mainly grown in China, Egypt, Australia, and Peru.
• In India, some ELS cotton is grown along rain fed parts of Maharashtra and around Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.
• Fabric produced using ELS cotton is of the highest quality. Brands producing top-of-the-line fabrics mix a small quantity of ELS with medium staple cotton to improve quality.

Why is ELS cotton not grown in India?

• For the 2024-25 season, the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of medium staple cotton was Rs 7,121 (per quintal) while that of long staple cotton was Rs 7,521.
• Nonetheless, farmers in India have thus far been reluctant to adopt ELS cotton. This is mainly due to lower than average per acre yields. While the medium staple variety yields between 10 and 12 quintals per acre, ELS cotton has a yield of only 7-8 quintals.
• Additionally, farmers growing ELS cotton are often unable to market their premium produce at premium prices.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus:

• Prelims – GEOGRAPHY

Context: The three-day Araku Utsav titled ‘Chali’ concluded on a grand note in Araku Valley of Andhra Pradesh’s Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district.

Background: –

• Adivasis from the northeast, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Rajasthan also put up their performances during the three-day festival. Tribal groups from ASR district performed the famous Dhimsa dance.

Key takeaways

• Araku Valley is a scenic hill station located in the Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh.
• Location: Situated in the Alluri Sitharama Raju district of Andhra Pradesh.
• Elevation: Around 1,200 meters above sea level.
• Climate:
  • Receives significant rainfall during the monsoon (June–September).
  • Winters (December–February) are pleasant with temperatures dropping to 5–10°C.
• Flora & Fauna
  • Part of the Eastern Ghats’ biodiversity hotspot.
  • Dense tropical forests, with species like teak, bamboo, and medicinal plants.
  • The Anantagiri and Sunkarimetta Reserved Forest, which are part of Araku Valley, are rich in biodiversity and are mined for bauxite.
  • Home to various wildlife species such as Indian bison (gaur), leopards, and peacocks.

Economic Importance

• Coffee Plantations:
  • Araku Valley is famous for organic coffee cultivation.
  • It has received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
• Tourism: Popular attractions:
  • Borra Caves (limestone caves with stalactites & stalagmites).
  • Katiki Waterfalls.
  • Padmapuram Gardens.
  • Dumbriguda Chaparai (a natural rock formation with waterfalls).

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus:

• Prelims – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Context: A newly discovered asteroid — called 2024 YR4 — has slightly more than 1% chance of crashing into Earth in 2032, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said.

Background: –

• 2024 YR4 is big but not as big as the asteroid that wiped out dinosaurs and most other extant life some 66 million years ago.  The 2024 YR4, however, can cause considerable localised damage in case it hits a populated area.

Key takeaways

• The 2024 YR4 was first discovered in December last year by a telescope in Chile. The near-Earth asteroid is as big as a football field. It came closest to Earth on Christmas Day — passing within roughly 800,000 kilometres of Earth.
• It will eventually fade from view over the next few months, and will not be visible again until it passes Earth’s way again in 2028. Scientists are currently using some of the most powerful telescopes to determine 2024 YR4’s path and size before it gets out of sight.
• To check how large an asteroid is, astronomers examine the brightness of the object — brighter objects are bigger. However, it is difficult to tell the exact measurements as the brightness depends on how reflective the asteroid’s surface is (asteroids do not emit a light of their own, they only reflect sunlight).

How much destruction could the 2024 YR4 cause?

• Astronomers use the Torino Scale to categorise an object’s destruction potential. 2024 YR4 is currently rated 3 on a scale from 0 to 10.
• The 2024 YR4 is expected to release 8 to 10 megatons of energy in case of a crash. The asteroid that hit Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013, released energy equivalent to about 500 kilotons of TNT — about 30 times more than the Hiroshima atomic bomb. That asteroid was around half the size of 2024 YR4.

How often do asteroids crash into Earth?

• Thousands of asteroids enter the Earth’s atmosphere every day. Most are very small and burn up in the atmosphere due to friction.
• Large asteroids, which can cause global disasters, hit Earth much less often. Those bigger than a kilometre in diameter, such as the Chicxulub asteroid that sent the dinosaurs into extinction might hit in 260 million years.
• Smaller asteroids can also cause damage, like the one did in Chelyabinsk. It all depends on the asteroid’s speed and angle of entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
• Space agencies are working on planetary defence mechanisms that can prevent celestial bodies from colliding with Earth. For instance, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), a joint project between NASA and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, was the first planetary defence mission of NASA.

Source: Indian Express

Q1.) With reference to Araku Valley, consider the following statements:

1. It is located in the Western Ghats of Karnataka.
2. The valley is known for its coffee, which has received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
3. The Borra Caves, a major tourist attraction in the valley, are limestone caves.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2, and 3

Q2.) With reference to the asteroid 2024 YR4, consider the following statements:

1. The asteroid 2024 YR4 was first discovered by a telescope in Chile.
2. The asteroid has been rated 6 on the Torino Scale, indicating a significant risk of global catastrophe.
3. NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission is aimed at planetary defence against such near-Earth objects.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1 and 3 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2, and 3

Q3.) With reference to Extra-Long Staple (ELS) Cotton, consider the following statements:

1. ELS cotton varieties have fibre lengths of 30 mm and above, and they mainly come from the species Gossypium barbadense.
2. India is the largest producer of ELS cotton in the world, surpassing countries like China, Egypt, and Australia.
3. Indian farmers have been reluctant to adopt ELS cotton due to its lower per acre yield compared to medium staple cotton.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1 and 3 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2, and 3

Comment the answers to the above questions in the comment section below!!

ANSWERS FOR ’  Today’s – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs

Q.1) – d

Q.2) – b

Q.3) – b