TNPSC Current Affairs October 02, 2019

www.tnpsc.academy – TNPSC Current Affairs Oct 02, 2019 (02/10/2019)

Topic: Places in News, Latest Diary of Events

D28 ice berg in Antartica

A more than 1,500 sq.km. D28 iceberg recently broke off Antarctica. It is about 210 metres thick and contains 315 billion tonnes of ice.

The east of Antarctica — where D28 broke off — is different from the west of the continent and Greenland, which are rapidly warming due to climate change.

Topic: Profile of States, Public Awareness and General Administration

Telangana becomes fully electrified state

Telangana has become one the fully electrified states in the country after providing electricity to over 5 lakh 15 thousand households under the Soubhagya Yojana introduced by the Centre in October 2017.

During the last two years, the entire state has been covered and the households in remote areas have been provided electricity under the Sahaj Bijili Ghar Yojana (Soubhagya).

Sahaj Bijili Ghar Yojana:

The Saubhagya Scheme or Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana is an Indian government project to provide electricity to all households. The project was announced in September 2017 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said that the aim was to complete the electrification process by December 2018.

Topic: Public Awareness and General administration

RUCO (Repurpose Used Cooking Oil) initiative

To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on 2nd October as Rashtriya Swachhta Diwas, publicity vans were flagged off in Delhi, to generate awareness among the people about the OMCs’ initiative of converting Used Cooking Oil to Biodiesel.

The publicity involves wide social media campaign to spread awareness and educate people about the ill effects of used cooking oil and ways to dispose it off for converting it to biodiesel.

Concerns associated with the consumption of used cooking oil (UCO):

During frying, several properties of oil are altered, Total Polar Compounds(TPC) are formed on repeated frying.

The toxicity of these compounds is associated with several diseases such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, liver diseases.

Limit set by FSSAI:

FSSAI has fixed a limit for Total Polar Compounds at 25 percent beyond which the vegetable oil shall not be used.

What are Total Polar Compounds (TPC)?

The level of TPC increases every time oil is re-heated. TPC accumulation in oil without food is slower than that in oil frying with food.

About RUCO:

Launched by FSSAI. The initiative will enable collection and conversion of used cooking oil to bio-diesel.

FSSAI wants businesses using more than 100 litres of oil for frying, to maintain a stock register and ensure that UCO is handed over to only registered collecting agencies.

Potential and significance of the initiative:

India has the potential to recover 220 crore litres of used cooking oil for the production of biodiesel by 2022 through a co-ordinated action.

While biodiesel produced from used cooking oil is currently very small, but a robust ecosystem for conversion and collection is rapidly growing in India and will soon reach a sizable scale.

Topic : Awards and Honours, Latest Diary of Events

Chennai City Police receives SKOCH awards

The Greater Chennai Police has won two awards for the effective implementation of CCTV surveillance – ‘Third Eye’ project with public partnership and introducing digital technology for cashless payment of fine against traffic violations.

The SKOCH Governance Award instituted in 2003 is conferred by an independent organisation, which salutes people, projects and institutions that go the extra mile to make India a better nation. It also recognises project and institution which were making best efforts in the area of digital, financial and social inclusions for betterment of the nation.

Topic : Latest Reports and Summits, Inventions in Science and Technology

Earth’s total carbon store

There are 1.85 billion, billion tonnes of carbon on Earth, with more than 99% of it resident beneath our feet.

Below the surface:

1.845 BILLION Gigatonnes (Gt). This includes: 1.5 BILLION Gt in lower mantle. 315 MILLION Gt in continental and oceanic lithospheres. 30 MILLION Gt in upper mantle.

About the surface:

43,500 Gt. This includes: 37,000 Gt in the deep ocean (85.1%). 30,000 Gt in marine sediments (6.9%). 2000 Gt in terrestrial biosphere (4.6%). 900 Gt in the surface ocean (2%). 590 Gt in the atmosphere (1.4%).

Key facts:

Scientists from the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) project have spent 10 years assessing the “reservoirs and fluxes” of the chemical element. In other words, they worked out where carbon is held and in what form, and how it moves through the Earth system. The findings will help understand the limits of life on our planet and in the forecasting of volcanic eruptions.