Prelim Bits 20-04-2018

International SME Convention-2018

• The First Ever International SME Convention-2018 is to be held in New Delhi.
• It is a platform for intensive business discussion, progressive interaction and trade association between progressive entrepreneurs from all over the world.
• It also offers a special focus on business and trade opportunities in India for International Entrepreneurs.
• The theme is “Business beyond Borders”.
• The platform facilitates exchange of relevant business partnerships and trade opportunities for India's Best Small and Medium Enterprises.
• It is organized by The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and India SME Forum.
• India SME Forum is India’s largest Small & Medium Business Movement which was founded in May 2011.
• Some of the focused sectors are Agro Based, Aviation, Biotechnology, Chemicals, Cold Chain, Construction, Consumer Electronics, Defense Manufacturing, Electrical Equipment & Machinery, Exploration & Mining, Food Processing, Gems & Jeweler, Leather & Footwear, Logistics, Machinery & General Mfg, and Tourism & Hospitality.
• Together the MSMEs constitute a single largest employer after the Agriculture sector in India.

Fin whale hunt

• Iceland resumes the controversial fin whale hunt after two-year pause.
• Iceland and Norway are the only nations that openly defy the International Whaling Commission’s 1986 moratorium on hunting whales.
• Both the countries issue their own quotas.
• Iceland whaling season starts from June this year.
• The fin whale is the planet’s second largest animal after the blue whale.
• They have a distinct ridge along their back behind the dorsal fin, which gives it the nickname "razorback.”
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature declared it an endangered species in 1996.
• The most recent tallies date back to the early 2000s, putting their number at approximately 53,000.

Drug Delivery

• Indian scientists have developed a new way for precise delivery of anticancer drugs.
• The method uses a dual-purpose magnetic metal-organic framework of nanoparticles.
• A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati has used magnetite and incorporated it into metal-organic frameworks for delivering anticancer drugs.
• Magnetite is readily accepted by human body and it breaks down easily, which are also approved for clinical practice by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
• The existing drug carriers are unable to carry a large amount of medicine to cancer cells.
• They also tend to release the drug from external surface before they can reach the cancer cells which decreases their effectiveness and efficiency.
• Due to magnetic properties, nanoparticles can also be used to convert their electromagnetic energy to heat thereby destroying the cancer causing cells.
• Metal-organic frameworks have a large surface area and many pores that can be effectively used to control the rate and the location of drug delivery.

Worm-like robots

• Scientists have developed a soft, worm-like robot that changes shape in response to its surroundings.
• It can slip through narrow crevices to search for survivors in the rubble left by an earthquake or bombing.
• It is composed of ultrathin deformable sensors, actuating electronics and temperature-sensitive artificial muscle that can adapt to the environment.
• The robot’s movements are similar to that of an inchworm or caterpillar.
• Potential applications range from surgery and rehabilitation to search and rescue in natural disasters or on the battlefield.

Lyrid meteor shower

• The annual Lyrid meteor shower is set to reach a peak.
• The Lyrid meteor shower is one of the oldest known meteor showers
• They are caused by the Earth's annual trip through a cloud of dust and debris left behind by the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher.
• It is classified as a medium-strength shower.
• A meteor shower happens when Earth passes through the path of a comet.
• When this happens, the bits of comet debris create streaks of light in the night sky as they burn up in Earth's atmosphere.
• Bits of debris which enter Earth's atmosphere are called meteors.
• A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid which survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon.

Food wastage

• A report in the journal PLOS ONE gives a figure about the wastage of food in United States of America.
• Americans waste nearly 1, 50,000 tons of food per day, amounting to about one pound (422 grams) per person.
• The Fruits and vegetables made up 39 percent of total food waste, followed by dairy, meat and grains.
• The amount of land used annually to grow food that ends up in the garbage in the United States is 30 million acres, or seven percent of total US cropland.
• Some 4.2 trillion gallons of irrigation water gets wasted.
• Items least likely to be thrown out included salty snacks, table oils, egg dishes, candy and soft drinks.
• Food waste corresponded to harvests produced with the use of 780 million pounds of pesticide and 1.8 billion pounds of nitrogen fertilizer, annually.
• Food wastage is directly and indirectly related to resources wastage, greenhouse gas emissions and food security issues.

Map of the day

India States

Kerala

• In between the high Western Ghats on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west, the width of the state varies from 35 km to 120 km.
• Kerala is a power deficit state which imports 60 per cent of power from other states.
• However it has achieved full electrification in all villages.
• Fondly referred to as “God’s Own Country”, Kerala was selected by the National Geographic Traveler as one of the 50 destinations of a lifetime and one of the thirteen paradises in the world.

Goa

• On its north runs the Terekhol River which separates Goa from Maharashtra and on the south lies north Canara district of Karnataka.
• Goa became the first state in the country to launch diabetic registry.
• Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary, Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary and Carambolim Lake, Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary, Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary and Navelim wetlands in Bicholim in addition to the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary are the Important Bird areas in the state.

Tamil Nadu

• The state is endowed with several industrial minerals like lignite, limestone, garnet sand, silica, etc.,
• common use
• Minor mineral deposits including world famous black granite and multi color granite deposits are also present in the state.

Source: PIB, The Hindu, Business Standard