Prelim Bits 09-05-2018

NABH (Nextgen Airports for Bharat) Nirman initiative

Minister for Civil Aviation stated that the government is committed to the building of airport capacity as part of NABH (NextGen Airports for BHarat) Nirman initiative.
The three key aspects of NABH Nirman are

The air traffic of the country is increasing, both at domestic and international level.
India airlines flew highest-ever domestic passengers by flying about 117 passengers during 2017.

UN report for social inclusion

The UN Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2018 was launched recently.
It urged countries to take advantage of high growth rate and share the benefits with the national society.
The report on the Asia-Pacific region has also urged the regional powers to invest in inclusive and sustainable growth.
The report described South and Southwest Asia as the fastest growing sub-region of the Asia-Pacific region.
It also highlights the need to increase the social spending by the government.
It is released by the UNESCAP (Economic and social commission for Asia-Pacific).

AI for Accessibility

Microsoft is launching a $25 million initiative to use artificial intelligence to build better technology for people with disabilities.
The Artificial Intelligence for accessibility initiative will include seed grants for startups, nonprofit organizations and academic researchers.
Deeper investments and expertise from Microsoft researchers will also be provided.
Microsoft has experimented with accessibility tools, such as a “Seeing AI” Smartphone app using computer vision and narration to help people navigate if they’re blind or have low vision.
Microsoft’s translation tool also provides deaf users with real-time captioning of conversations.

Rariphotic Zone off the coast of Bermuda

Oxford scientists have discovered an ocean zone off the coast of Bermuda with over 100 species new to science.

The Rariphotic Zone (rare light zone) extends from 130 meters to 300 meters in depth.
The zone joins five other areas which have distinct biological communities living and growing within them.

Tanaids - minute crustaceans - dozens of new algae species and black wire coral that stand up to two meters high are some of the new species found.
The team has also discovered a major algal forest on the summit of an underwater mountain 24 km off the coast of Bermuda.
There are over 100,000 underwater mountains in seas across the globe yet less than 50 have been biologically sampled in detail

Purifying water using sunlight

Scientists have developed a new technology that uses the sunlight to purify water with near-perfect efficiency.
Researchers developed a method that used black, carbon-dipped paper in a triangular shape and using it to both absorb and vaporize water.
It is simple, and the power source - the sun - is available everywhere.
This technique uses low cost materials against developing advanced materials, such as metallic plasmonic and carbon-based nanomaterials.
The low-cost technology described could provide drinking water in regions where resources are scarce, or where natural disasters have struck.

Share of tourism in green house gas emission

The team led by researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia found out that global comprehensive tourism footprint of tourism-related greenhouse gas emissions is larger than previously estimated.
The world’s domestic and international tourism industry contributes to 8% of the global greenhouse gas emissions.
It is about four times greater than previously estimated.
Small islands attract a disproportionate share of carbon emissions through international arrivals.
The U.S. is responsible for the majority of tourism-generated emissions overall.
It is growing faster than international trade and is already responsible for almost a tenth of global GHGs.

Source: PIB, The Hindu