TNPSC Current Affairs May 26, 2020

www.tnpsc.academy – TNPSC Current Affairs May 26, 2020 (26/05/2020)

 

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Topic: Latest Historical Diary of Events, Persons in News

Ramkinkar Baij

Ministry of Culture’s National Gallery of Modern Art will organise virtual tour titled “Ramkinkar Baij, Journey through silent transformation and expressions” to commemorate the 115th Birth Anniversary of Ramkinkar Baij on 26th May 2020.

Who was Ramkinkar Baij?

Ramkinkar Baij, one of the most seminal artists of modern India, was an iconic sculptor, painter and graphic artist.

In 1925, he made his way to Kala Bhavana, the art school at Santiniketan and was under the guidance of Nandalal Bose.

Along with Nandalal Bose and Benodebehari Mukherjee, he played a pivotal role in making Santiniketan one of the most important centres for modern art in pre-Independent India.

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Topic: Latest Diary of Events

Govt notifies BS-VI emission norms for quadricycles

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued notification regarding the emission norms for L7 (quadricycle) category for BS-VI. This notification completes the process of BS-VI for all category vehicles in India.

The emission norms are on the lines of the European Union’s World Motorcycle Test Cycle (WMTC).

What is the WMTC cycle?

It is a system of driving cycles used to measure fuel consumption and emissions in motorcycles. The methods are stipulated as part of the Global Technical Regulation established under the UN World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, also known as WP.29.

What is a quadricycle?

It is the size of a three-wheeler but with four tyres and is fully covered like a car. It has an engine like that of a three-wheeler. This makes it a cheap and safe mode of transport for last-mile connectivity.

Dimensions: A quadricycle cannot be more than 3.6 metres long, should have an engine smaller than 800cc, and should not weigh more than 475 kilograms.

Regulation of quadricycles in India:

In 2018, the government had introduced the quadricycle segment with necessary standards to produce the vehicle. It had approved the vehicle for both commercial and private use.

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Topic: Awareness in Space, Latest inventions on Science and Technology

ANtarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna or ANITA

The news that a NASA experiment has indicated the possibility of a parallel universe has created headlines across the world. With this, ANtarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna or ANITA has suddenly come into the limelight as the cosmic-ray shower that is key to the new discovery was a part of NASA’s ANITA and IceCube experiment taking place in Antarctica.

What is ANITA?

Designed by NASA, the ANITA instrument is a radio telescope which is used to to detect ultra-high energy cosmic-ray neutrinos from a scientific balloon flying over Antarctica.

ANITA is the first NASA observatory for neutrinos of any kind.

It involves an array of radio antennas attached to a helium balloon which flies over the Antarctic ice sheet at 37,000 meters.

How many ANITAs?

ANITA-I was launched from McMurdo, Antarctica in 2006.

ANITA-II, a modified instrument with 40 antennas, was launched from McMurdo Station in 2008.

ANITA-III, which was equipped with systems to improve sensitivity by a factor of 5–10, was launched in December 2014.

ANITA-IV was launched in December 2016 and it was loaded with tunable notch filters and an improved trigger system.

Key facts:

The neutrinos have energies on the order of 1018 eV and they are capable of producing radio pulses in the ice because of the Askaryan effect.

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Topic: Discovery of New Species

Puntius sanctus

It is a new species of small freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae. It was recently discovered in Velankanni in Tamil Nadu.

It grows to a length of 7 cm. Its physical characteristics included a protractible mouth, a pair of maxillary barbels (a sensory organ near the snout), 24-25 lateral line scales and 10 pre-dorsal scales.

The Puntius species are known locally as ‘Paral’ in Kerala and ‘Kende’ in Tamil Nadu. They are purely freshwater fishes.

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Topic: Places in News

Jubaland

In news: Jubaland Security Forces beat back Al-Shabaab militants who attacked their base and training center in Dhobley.

It is an autonomous region in southern Somalia.

Its eastern border lies 40–60 km east of the Jubba River, stretching from Gedo to the Indian Ocean, while its western side flanks the North Eastern Province in Kenya, which was carved out of Jubaland during the colonial period.

Its largest city is Kismayo, which is situated on the coast near the mouth of the Jubba River.

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Topic: Places in News, Profile of States

Dehing Patkai wildlife sanctuary

Concerns have been expressed over the diversion of 98.59 hectares land of Saleki proposed reserve forest, which is a part of Dehing Patkai elephant reserve, for a coal-mining project in Upper Assam.

Key facts:

The reserve is located in the Dibrugarh and Tinsukia Districts of Assam.

The Dehing Patkai forms the largest stretch of tropical lowland rainforests in India.

Ethnic groups living in the area include the indigenous Assamese communities, particularly Tai Phake, Khamyang, Khampti, Singpho, Nocte, Ahom, Kaibarta, Moran and Motok, Burmese, and non-indigenous Nepali people.