Prelim Bits 06-03-2024 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

MethaneSAT

Recently, MethaneSAT was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon9 rocket from California, USA.

• Aim – To track and measure methane emissions at a global scale.
• To identify how much methane is coming from where, who’s responsible, and are those emissions going up or down over time.
• Promoting entity – Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a US-based non-profit environmental advocacy group.
• Developing partners – Harvard University, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and the New Zealand Space Agency.
• Mission partner – Google

While MethaneSAT is not the 1^st spacecraft to identify and quantify methane emissions, it will provide more details and have a much wider field of view than any of its predecessors.

• Features – It is a washing-machine-sized satellite that will orbit the Earth 15 times a day, monitoring the oil and gas sector.
• High-resolution IR sensor and a spectrometer can track differences in concentrations as small as 3 parts per billion in the atmosphere.
• It also has a wide-camera view of about 200 km by 200 km.
• The collected data will be analysed using cloud-computing and AI technology developed by Google.
• Advantages – Unlike previous satellites, it can pick up smaller emissions sources as well as larger emitters called ‘super emitters’.
• It promotes transparency by making the data public for free in near real-time through Google’s Earth Engine platform.
• It ensures accountability by allowing stakeholders and regulators to take action to reduce methane emissions.
• It will help the nations in achieving their global commitments to reduce methane emissions with real time tracking.
• Limitations – However, it does not necessarily mean that the data will compel polluters to curb their emissions and there’s no guarantee that this information leads to a change in behaviour.

References

1. The Indian Express| Launch of MethaneSAT
2. MethaneSAT| Specifications of MethaneSAT

Women, Business and the Law Report 2024

The 10th edition of the women, business and the law report was published recently.

• An annual studies measuring the laws that affect women’s economic opportunity.
• Published by – World bank
• Coverage – 190 economies.
• For the 1st time – It analysed the impact of childcare & safety policies on women’s participation in the labour market.
• It presents a new approach to measure the implementation gap between laws (de jure) and how they function in practice (de facto).
• 10 indicators – Safety, Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Childcare, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension.

Key Findings of the Report

• Workplace – No country in the world affords women the same opportunities as men in the workforce.
• Global gender gap – It was far wider than previously thought and closing this could raise global GDP by more than 20%.
• Pay – Globally, women earned just 77 cents of each dollar earned by a man.
• Pension – In 81 countries, a woman’s pension benefits do not account for periods of work absences related to childcare.
• Parenthood – Less than 50% the countries had financial support or tax relief for parents of young children.
• Safety – 151 countries had laws against sexual harassment in the workplace but only 40 countries had laws that covered abuse in public areas or on public transport.
• Childcare – Addressing the childcare gap would immediately lead to a 1% increase in women’s participation in the labour force.
• Legal gap – Countries on average, established less than 40% of the systems needed for full implementation.
• Women on average enjoyed just 64% of the legal protections men do, down from the previous estimate of 77%.

References

1. The Guardian| No equality for Working Women in any Country
2. World Bank| Women, Business and the Law 2024

Lac bangles

The lac bangles known for their unique craftsmanship and historical significance have received Geographical Indication (GI) Tag.

Geographical Indication (GI) tag is a form of certification that recognises unique products based on their origin which can be natural or man-made. India has enacted Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 for this purpose.

• Lac Bangles – A traditional form of jewellery made from natural resin and adorned with colourful stones and beads.
• Location – Hyderabad.
• Type – Handicrafts.

Lac Bangles is the 2^nd GI tag for a Hyderabad product after Haleem. It is the 17^th product from Telangana to receive the recognition.

• Making – It is crafted from lacquer derived from resin, undergo a meticulous process like being melted in furnaces before being embellished with crystals, beads or mirrors.

• Significance – It will serve as a catalyst to uphold uncompromising quality standards and foster innovation in design among the 6,000-plus artisan families.

Reference

Times of India| Lac Bangles receives GI Tag

Narasapur Crochet Lace

Narasapur crochet lace craft gets Geographical Indication tag.

Crochet is a form of chain-stitch embroidery done with a hook instead of a needle. Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open web like pattern, made by machine or by hand.

• GI Tag – The Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry registered the craft in the Geographical Indications Registry (GIR).
• Geographical limits – 19 mandals in West Godavari and Dr. B.R.Ambedkar Konaseema districts in the Godavari region.
• Originated in – Narsapur, Andhra Pradesh.
• In 1844, Macrae and his wife from Scotland taught the lace craft to the local women during their missionary activities at Dummugudem (presently in Telangana).
• It has survived the Indian famine (1899) and the Great Depression (1929).

In the year 2004, the 1^st of its kind lace park in India was established in Narasapur.

• The lace work – It is done using thin threads and these are again woven with thin crochet needles of varying sizes.
• 3 categories of products made of lace — Garments, home furnishings and accessories.
• It includes Doilies, pillow covers, cushion covers, bed spreads, hand purses, caps, tops, table-runners, and table cloths etc.
• These artistically woven lace products are gifted as souvenirs.
• Available colours – Orange, green, blue, white, red, and beige.

• Exported to – Countries like UK, USA, France, etc.
• Significance – It empowers women as an estimated 60% of the artisans involved in the craft are women.
• It will help revive demand for the craft in global market where China’s machine-made lace products are dictating terms.

Reference

The Hindu| GI Tag for Narasapur Crochet Lace

Majuli’s Mukha Shilpa & Manuscript Paintings

Majuli in Assam gets the prestigious Geographical Indication (GI) tag for its mask-making and manuscript painting.

Majuli in Assam is the largest river island in the world.

• A GI tag – It is conferred upon products originating from a specific geographical region, signifying unique characteristics and qualities.
• Majuli’s Mukha Shilpa – They are traditional handmade masks.
• Origin – They have been made in Assam's sattras, or monasteries, since the 16th century.
• They depict characters in bhaonas with devotional messages under the neo-Vaishnavite tradition.
• Themes – Gods, goddesses, demons, animals and birds.
• Types
  • Mukha bhaona face mask – It covers the face.
  • Lotokoi hanging mask – Bigger in size extends to the chest.
  • Cho Mukha huge mask – It is a head and body mask.
• Materials used – Bamboo, clay, dung, cloth, cotton, wood, etc.,

Majuli manuscript painting

A form of painting, also originating in the 16th century.

• Themes – Illustrated numerous stories and chapters taken from the great Hindu epics Ramayana, Mahabharata and above all subjects from the Bhagavata Purana.
• Material – It is done on sanchi pat, or manuscripts made of the bark of the sanchi or agar tree, using homemade ink.
• Earliest example – A rendering of the Adya Dasama of the Bhagwat Purana in Assamese by Srimanta Sankardev.
• Patronised by – The Ahom kings.
• It continues to be practised in every sattra in Majuli.

Reference

The Indian Express| GI tag for Majuli Masks and Manuscript paintings