Prelim Bits 20-12-2023 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

Operation Prosperity Guardian

Houthi militants from Yemen have attacked or seized commercial ships near the Red Sea amidst the ongoing Gaza war.

• It is a multinational security initiative in the Red Sea.
• Launched by – USA
• Partner countries – UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain have joined and others.
• Coordinated by – Combined Maritime Forces, Task Force 153.

The Combined Maritime Forces is a multi-naval taskforce with 39 members including India and Pakistan. It was set up in 2022 to improve maritime security in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden.

• Role – Increased presence of military ships and joint patrols.
• While they will not necessarily escort a specific vessel, they will provide umbrella protection to as many as possible.

The Houthis are Zaydi Shias, a sub-sect of Shia Islam are in civil war with the Yemen government by controlling northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa while the government now operates out of Aden.

Reference

The Indian Express| Operation Prosperity Guardian

A Touchscreen

Between 2007 and 2013, capacitive touchscreens overtook resistive touchscreens in the consumer electronics market.

• Invention – The 1^st touch screen was invented in 1965 by E.A. Johnson of U.K, a capacitive device.
• Function – It is a surface that combines 2 functions
  • To receive inputs for a computer (say, tapping on an app)
  • To display the output (launching the app).
• Working – It consists of 3 main components
• A touch sensor – It has an electrical current going through it and touching the screen causes a voltage or signal changes which are used to determine the location of the touch.
• Main technology used in sensors are
  • Resistive
  • Capacitive
  • Surface Acoustic Wave(SAW)
  • Infrared LED or Optical
• A controller – It takes information’s from the touch sensor and translates it into information the PC can understand.
• A software Driver – It allows the touch screen and computers to work together.
• Applications – Smartphones, ATM machines, TVs, refrigerators, e-readers, billing systems, and electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Reference

The Hindu| Working of Touchscreens

Wild Orchids

Epiphytic orchids found in the Dooars and Darjeeling hills are dying out because of deforestation in their natural habitat.

• Orchids – A diverse group of flowering plants with vibrant and intricate flowers which belong to the family Orchidaceae.
• Range – Tropical rainforests, mountains, and even deserts.
• Distribution – India has over 1200 species of Orchids, 388 are endemic to India while 128 are endemic to the Western Ghats.

The hot-spots of orchids in India are Himalayas, North-East India and Western Ghats and they are highest in Arunachal Pradesh followed by Sikkim and West Bengal.

• 3 Types – 60% of all orchids found in India are epiphytic, 447 are terrestrial and 43 are mycoheterotrophic.
  • Epiphytic – They grow on another plant including rock surfaces (lithophytes) merely for physical support, drawing moisture and nutrients from the air, not from the host.
  • Terrestrial – They grow on land and climbers, found largely in temperate and alpine regions.
  • Mycoheterotrophic - They derive nutrients from mycorrhizal fungi, attached to roots of a vascular plant.
• Protection status – Appendix II of CITES (trade of wild orchid is banned globally).
• Threat – Habitat loss owing to illegal logging and development and the most endangered are the epiphytic orchids.
• Importance – They are natural gauges of air quality because they don’t grow in polluted air.
• It helps in cross-pollination and helps the next generation of insects to survive and grow as caterpillars thrive on them for food.
• It has symbiotic relationship with the indigenous people.
  • The Oraon and Kharia tribal communities use orchids to treat cuts and fractures, skin diseases, aches and pains, gastrointestinal acidity and so on.

A World Health Organisation report that says 80% of people on this planet depend on traditional remedies and epiphytic orchids add to the value chain of herbal healing.

References

Down To Earth| Disappearing Wild Orchids of West Bengal

Kakori Train Robbery

4 young revolutionary leaders were hanged 96 years ago for the Kakori train robbery incident.

• Execution in – 1925 at Kokori (about 15km from Lucknow).
• Executed by – Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), 1st major action of HRA.
• They had looted a train transporting money (containing approx Rs 4,600) to the British treasury.
• Objective – To fund the HRA and garner public attention for their work and mission.
• Punishment – Out of the 40 men arrested by the British, 4 were handed death sentences, while others received lengthy prison terms.
  • In 1927, Rajendranath Lahiri, Ashfaqullah Khan, Ram Prasad Bismil, and Thakur Roshan Singh were hanged.

The only major leader of HRA at this time who evaded arrest after Kokori train robbery was Chandrashekhar Azad.

In 1928, HRA merged with revolutionary groups of Punjab, Bihar and Bengal and became the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). It had Marxist leanings and stressed upon a struggle by the masses to establish ‘the dictatorship of the proletariat’.

Reference

The Hindu| Recalling Kakori Train Robbery

Global Study on Homicide Report 2023

Recently, the 4^th edition of Global Study on Homicide Report was released.

• Published by – United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
• Objective - To reveal into the facts behind the violence, to try and identify notable trends and to inform policies and solutions.
• Data source - Updated UNODC homicide statistics dataset.

UN Surveys on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (UN-CTS) is conducted annually to collect data from UN member nations along with other pertinent data sources.

• Covers 3 categories – Homicides related to criminal activities, interpersonal homicides, and socio-politically motivated homicides.
• 2023 Report – It highlights regional and sub-regional trends, demographics, age, and gender profiles of victims and it considers the impacts of megatrends like climate change and even Covid-19.
• It also examines the criminal justice system’s response to, seeking to identify areas for improvement and intervention.

SDG Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is to significantly reducing all forms of violence and related death rates.

Key Findings of the Report

• Increased violence – Due to disputes over water access and worsening situation with population growth, economic expansion and climate change.
• Year 2021 was exceptionally lethal with an estimated 458,000 intentional homicides worldwide, averaging 52 killings every hour.
• India (2019-21) – 16.8% or every 6^th of all murders is due to disputes over natural resources or property.
• About 0.5% or 300 were due to water-related conflicts.

References

1. Down To Earth| Increased homicide incidents in 2021
2. UNODC| Global Study on Homicide Report 2023