Contents
- MASSIVE LOCUST INVASION IN GUJRAT
- RAILWAYS START VISTA DOME TRAIN ON KALKA-SHIMLA ROUTE
- EARLIEST SANKSRIT INSCRIPTION IN SOUTH INDIA FOUND IN A.P
- GROWING CANCER BURDEN ACROSS INDIA
- NON PERFORMING ASSETS
- TYPHOON PHANFONE BATTERS PHILLIPINES
MASSIVE LOCUST INVASION IN GUJRAT
Why in News?
Gujarat shares borders with Pakistan and is under attack from hoppers that have flown in across the international border. As the swarms mature, they have ravaged farms in north Gujarat and three border districts of Gujarat.
About Locusts
The locusts, known as tiddis locally, have wreaked havoc on standing crops including castor, cumin, jatropha and cotton, and fodder grass in around 20 talukas.
The Locust Warning Organization (LWO) in Jodhpur had noticed the swarms and predicted their trajectory across the international border. However, preventive measures by the authorities were insufficient.
RAILWAYS START VISTA DOME TRAIN ON KALKA-SHIMLA ROUTE
Why in News?
- The Railways on Wednesday started a seven coach glass enclosed vista dome train on the heritage Kalka Shimla route.
- The red colored train, which was decorated with balloons, chugged off from the Kalka railway station in Haryana around 7 a.m.
Details
The ‘Him Darshan’ train has a seating capacity of over 100 passengers and the bookings are full over the next few days in view of the peak tourist season and New Year.
EARLIEST SANKSRIT INSCRIPTION IN SOUTH INDIA FOUND IN A.P
Why in News?
- Epigraphy Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India has discovered the earliest epigraphic evidence so far for the Saptamatrika cult.
- The inscription is in Sanskrit and in Brahmi characters and was issued by Satavahana king Vijaya in 207 A.D
- It is also the earliest Sanskrit inscription to have been discovered in South India as on date.
Who are Saptamatrikas?
Saptamatrikas are a group of seven female deities worshipped in Hinduism as personifying the energy of their respective consorts.
Earlier findings
So far the Nagarjunakonda inscription of Ikshavaku king Ehavala Chantamula issued in his 11th regnal year corresponding to the 4th century A.D. was considered the earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India
GROWING CANCER BURDEN ACROSS INDIA
Why in News?
A study tracing the growing burden of cancer in India has been released
- It states that most of the increase in cancer incidences are attributable to its epidemiological transition .
- Cancer is primarily a disease of older people, hence, as life expectancy goes up, cancer incidences too goes up, according to a senior consultant of Digestive Oncology. Maximum increases will occur in the most populous and least developed States, where the facilities for cancer diagnostics and treatment are inadequate.
Example of Kerala vs UP
Direct comparison of the demographic and social variables, available health care facilities and leading causes of mortality in these two States shows how the low incidences of infectious diseases in Kerala has given rise to more cancer compared to U.P., which is still battling high mortality from communicable diseases.
Epidemiological change
The types of cancers in India are also undergoing a transition, similar to a report from Japan five decades ago.
- A decline of cancers caused by infections, such as cervical, stomach, and penile cancer,
- An increase in cancers associated with energy intake, physical activity imbalance and ageing, such as breast, colorectal and prostate cancers
Cancer in ancient India
Evidence of cancer in early humans were found in a review of 154 paleopathological studies dating back to 1.8 million years in historic Egyptian and German sites. But there was no evidence of cancer in Indus valley sites.
NON PERFORMING ASSETS
TYPHOON PHANFONE BATTERS PHILLIPINES
Why in News?
Typhoon Phanfone pummeled the central Philippines In December 2019
More than 25,000 people remained stranded at ports on Christmas Day as the ferry services were shut down.
Background
- Typhoon is the regional names for Tropical Cyclones that occurs in Western Pacific and South China Sea i.e. in Philippines islands, eastern China and Japan the tropical cyclones are called typhoons.
- A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° (or 180th meridian or anti-meridian is meridian 180° both East and West of Prime Meridian) and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere.
- This region is referred to as North-western Pacific Basin which is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth.
- This region accounts for almost one-third (33%) of the world’s annual tropical cyclones.
