Prelim Bits 30-11-2018

Kimberley Process

• European Union has handed over the Chairmanship of Kimberley Process Certification Scheme KPCS to India from 1st January, 2019.
• The Kimberley Process (KP) is a binding agreement to remove conflict diamonds from the global supply chain.
• The visible evidence of this commitment is The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) that both safeguards the shipment of ‘rough diamonds’ and certifies them as conflict free.
• Kimberley Process (KP) defines conflict diamonds as: ‘rough diamonds used to finance wars against governments’ - around the world.
• India during its Chairmanship will continue with the tradition and aim to support the Artisanal & Small-Scale Mining ASMs with capacity building, technical assistance and importance of legal and formal mining practices.

Types of Satellite orbits

• Satellites are designed to orbit Earth in one of three basic orbits defined by their distance from the planet: low Earth orbit, medium Earth orbit or high Earth orbit.
• The higher a satellite is above Earth (or any other world for that matter), the slower it moves.
• This is because of the effect of Earth's gravity, it pulls more strongly at satellites that are closer to its center than satellites that are farther away.
• In general, there are two groups of satellites one is the satellite that orbit the equator, and the other is one that orbit from pole-to-pole.
• Geo Synchronous and Geo Stationary - Geostationary satellites are launched into orbit in the same direction the Earth is spinning. When the satellite is in orbit at a specific altitude, it will exactly match the rotation of the Earth.
• Weather, communication and global positioning satellites are often in a geostationary orbit.
• In the case of geostationary satellites, the Earth’s force of gravity is exactly enough to provide acceleration required for circular motion.
• While geosynchronous satellites can have any inclination, the key difference to geostationary orbit is the fact that they lie on the same plane as the equator.
• Geostationary orbits fall in the same category as geosynchronous orbits, but with that one special quality of being parked over the equator.
• Polar Orbits - Polar orbit travels north-south over the poles and takes approximately an hour and a half for a full rotation.
• If the satellite is in this orbit, Earth seems rotating beneath it, by this the satellite can observe the entire Earth’s surface in the time span of 24 hours.
• Almost all the satellites that are in a polar orbit are at lower altitudes and are used for applications such as monitoring crops, forests and even global security.

Owl Festival

• India’s first Owl festival had held in Pune, by an NGO working towards nature education and conservation.
• This festival aims to provide information on owl conservation and to create awareness about owl as a bird and debunking numerous superstitions associated with it.
• Indian Owl is protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India.
• Owls are in threatened category, major causes behind this are superstitions and habitat loss both are man-made.

Ganga Museum

• National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is planning to set up a Ganga Exhibition and a Ganga Museum as an instrument for public outreach.
• The exhibition will depict Ganga’s history and mythology, its importance for the livelihood of a huge population, as well as efforts for Ganga Rejuvenation.
• Identification of an appropriate location will be the essence of the project.

National Mission for Clean Ganga

• NMCG is the implementation wing of National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga (referred as National Ganga Council)
• It has a two tier management structure and comprises of Governing Council and Executive Committee, Both of the tiers are headed by the Director General (DG), NMCG
• Executive Committee is authorized to approve projects under mission up to R.s 1000 crore.
• Similar to structure at national level, State Program Management Groups (SPMGs) acts as implementing arm of State Ganga Committees
• This structure attempts to bring all stakeholders on one platform to take a holistic approach towards the task of Ganga cleaning and rejuvenation
• In 2016, National Ganga Council has replaced National Ganga River Basin Authority(NGRBA) which was constituted under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA), 1986.

Sea of Azov

• Sea of Azov is a sea in Eastern Europe, it is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea in the south, and it is sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea.
• The sea is bounded in the north and in the west by Ukraine, in the east by Russia.
• The Don and Kuban are the major rivers that flow into it.
• The Sea of Azov is the shallowest sea in the world, with the depth varying between 0.9 and 14 metres.
• The Kerch Strait is under the control of Russia which is the only connection between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, and the only way to reach Ukrainian ports, due to this there is a conflict in this region.

Source: PIB, The Hindu