UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 19-02-2021
iasparliament
February 19, 2021
Afghani Chadar to Ajmer Dargah
Afghanistan President has sent the first ever sacred 'Chadar' to the Ajmer Sharif Dargah through its diplomatic mission in New Delhi.
This Chadar was given during the 809th 'Urs (Death Anniversary) Mubarak' of Khawaja Gharib Nawaz, which is ongoing in Ajmer.
Ajmer Sharif Dargah
Ajmer Sharif Dargah is a Sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, who is well-known for his secular preachings.
Located in Rajasthan, it was built by Mughal Emperor Humayun.
This shrine has Chishti’s grave (Maqbara) inside a white marble dome, 11 arches and Persian inscriptions.
There are several mosques inside the dargah complex, built by Akbar and Shah Jahan, who made it a point to visit Ajmer at least once a year.
Dhubri-Phulbari Bridge
A 19-km-long four-lane Bridge between Dhubri (Assam) and Phulbari (Meghalaya) over river Brahmaputra on NH-127B will be constructed.
Once completed in 2028, it will be India's longest bridge.
This bridge will reduce travel time between Assam and Meghalaya by 6 hours, and distance to 19 km from 200 km.
Through this bridge, Assam and Meghalaya will have a direct connection with West Bengal.
It will provide a third alternative link to Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Barak valley region of Assam with the rest of the Country.
Majuli-Jorhat Bridge
A 6.8 km-long two-lane major bridge is being constructed over the Brahmaputra between Majuli (north bank) and Jorhat (south bank) on NH-715K.
The project has been awarded to UP State Bridge Corporation Limited. It will be constructed by March 2025.
This bridge will provide all time access to the people living in Majuli town with rest of Assam to meet their health, education and day to day development activities.
The constructions of this bridge also provide a safe evacuation access to the people of Majuli Island during flood in Brahmaputra River.
Delimitation Commission
Delimitation Commission holds meeting to seek views on delimitation process of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
An overview on the process of delimitation based on the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019 and Delimitation Act, 2002 was presented in order to conduct the delimitation exercise in the UT.
Delimitation Act, 2002
This Act was enacted to set up a Delimitation Commission for the purpose of effecting delimitation on the basis of the 2001 census.
The Delimitation Commission would re-fix the number of seats for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes based on the 2001 census, without affecting total number of seats based on the 1971 census.
The Act sought to lay down certain guidelines as to the manner in which such delimitation would be undertaken.
The new Delimitation Commission was given the task of carrying out delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies.
This delimitation would apply to every general election and to every bye-election to the House of the People or a State Legislative Assembly held after the final orders of the Commission are published.
Guidelines on Food Systems and Nutrition
The members of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS) endorsed the first-ever voluntary guidelines on food systems and nutrition to end hunger and malnutrition.
[CFS is an intergovernmental platform for stakeholders to work towards ensuring food security and nutrition for all.
It is hosted and co-funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization.]
These guidelines would support countries to eradicate hunger and malnutrition by utilising a comprehensive food systems approach.
They are structured around seven focus areas:
Transparent, democratic and accountable governance
Sustainable food supply chains to achieve healthy diets in the context of economic, social and environmental sustainability
Equal and equitable access to healthy diets through sustainable food systems
Food safety across sustainable food systems
People-centred nutrition knowledge, education and information
Gender equality and women’s empowerment across food systems
Resilient food systems in humanitarian contexts
The guidelines would complement the work and mandate of other international bodies. (eg): UN Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025.
Arka Shubha
Arka Shubha variety of marigold was developed by the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR).
It has the highest carotene content of 2.8% from plant source. All marigolds have carotene content that ranges up to a maximum of 1.4%.
Arka Shubha is of value even if it gets spoilt after full bloom as it can be used for extraction of crude carotene.
As carotene is mainly used in pharmaceutical sector, there is always a high demand for it.
Apart from ornamental and carotene content extraction, its petals could be used as poultry feed to get quality yolk.
Source: PIB, The Hindu, Down To Earth, Times of India
