December 4th current affairs

1. Cyclone Ockhi: search and rescue, relief operations

underway at Lakshadweep
 What Are Cyclones?
 Give a brief note on 2017 North Indian Ocean cyclone
season
 Why and when did the cyclone naming practice started?
 How are cyclones named?
 How are tropical cyclones are named and classified?
 Explain the different parts of a cyclone i.e. Eye, Eyeball
and Rain bands?
GS paper 1 (Important Geophysical phenomena such as
cyclones)
In this video, you can find detailed answers for all the above
questions.
The above article has been retrieved from: Jacob Koshy. ( 2017,
December, 3). Cyclone Ockhi to curve in to Maharashtra and
Gujarat. The Hindu. Retrieved from
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/okchi-to-curve-in-to-
maharashtra-and-gujarat/article21250824.ece?homepage=true
What is the context about?
  Cyclone Ockhi barrelled into the Lakshadweep islands in
south-western India on Saturday.
 The deep depression in the south of Kanyakumari and west of
Sri Lanka, intensified and resulted into a cyclonic storm.
 It also drenched the neighbouring states of Kerala and Tamil
Nadu, claiming so far around 14 lives.
 Ockhi is expected to travel north towards Mumbai and Gujarat
in the next 48 hours, according to Indian Meteorological
Department.
What Are Cyclones?
 Cyclone refers to any spinning storm that rotates around a low-
pressure center.
 The low-pressure center is also referred to as the 'eye' of the
storm, which is well known for being calm compared with the
areas under the spinning 'arms' of the storm.
 But the arms of a cyclone throw out all of its rain and wind.
 They occur in different places, and some occur over land while
others occur over water. What they all have in common is that
they are spinning storms rotating around that low-pressure
center.
Give a brief note on 2017 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
 The 2017 North Indian Ocean cyclone season is a current event
in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation.
  Every year, the North Indian Ocean cyclone season extends
roughly between April to December with two peaks in May
and November. This season includes cyclones in Bay of
Bengal and Arabian sea, apart from Indian Ocean in northern
hemisphere.
 The first cyclone of 2017 season was Cyclone Maarutha which
was formed in April, 2017 triggering heavy rainfall in Sri
Lanka, Myanmar and India‟s Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
 And now cyclone Ockhi will be the last one in this row.
Why and when did the cyclone naming practice started?
 The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific (ESCAP) started the tropical cyclone naming
system in 2000.
 Tropical cyclones are named to provide ease of communication
between forecasters and the general public regarding forecasts,
watches, and warnings.
 Also it is easy to issue alerts, and for the media to report the
developments.
 This simultaneously increases the community preparedness
and heightens interest in the event, according to WMO.
 Names are ideally retired in case there is massive damage to
property and loss of human lives.
How are cyclones named?
 Tropical cyclones passing over the northern part of the Indian
Ocean are named by eight countries in the region, namely
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Myanmar,
Oman and Thailand.
 The process only began in 2004, after World Meteorological
Organization agreed in principle to allow them to name
cyclones originating in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.
 The alphabet system is used to designate the name of a
cyclone, which means the name of the year‟s first cyclone
begins with A.
 Previously, till 1979, cyclones were only given female names.
Male names were only introduced in the same year.
 There are six lists of names used in rotation and they are
recycled every six years.
 The names are picked from this pre-designated list and are
usually familiar with the people living in the region.
 India has so far contributed the following names: Agni, Bijli,
Akash, Jal, Lehar, Megh, Sagar and Vayu.
How are tropical cyclones are named and classified?
 Tropical cyclones are classified into three main groups, based
on intensity: tropical depressions, tropical storms, and a third
 group of more intense storms, whose name depends on the
region.
 If a tropical storm in the North-western Pacific reaches
hurricane-strength winds on the Beaufort scale, it is referred to
as a typhoon.
 If a tropical storm passes the same benchmark in the Northeast
Pacific Basin, or in the Atlantic, it is called a hurricane.
Neither “hurricane” nor “typhoon” is used in either the
Southern Hemisphere or the Indian Ocean.
 In these basins, storms of tropical nature are referred to simply
as “cyclones”.
Explain the different parts of a cyclone i.e. Eye, Eyeball and
Rain bands?
The Eye
• This is the center of the storm but it doesn‟t live up to the name
as it is relatively the calmest part of the storm.
The Eyewall
• It is the ring that surrounds the Eye. It consists of
thunderstorms and usually high velocity winds. The size of this
ring is usually an indicator over the severity of the storm.
Rainbands
 • They are “curved bands of clouds and thunderstorms” that
form the outer layer of the cyclone. They are responsible for
heavy bursts of rain and wind.
2. How Chabahar Port could bring India and its partners a
new spring
GS paper 2 (Bilateral, regional and global groupings and
agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests)
Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/how-chabahar-
port-could-bring-india-and-its-partners-iran-afghanistan-and-a-new-
spring-4966443/
What is the context about?
 Chabahar Port, inaugurated on Sunday, has been jointly
developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan.
 The port, noted by both Al Biruni and Alexander the Great,
could be a game-changer for its developers now.
 Writing in his magisterial 11th century AD book, titled Kitab
Tarikh Al-Hind („A History of India‟), Al Biruni, the Persian
scholar and polymath who travelled to India in 1017, stated
that coastal India began from a town named „Tis‟ (it was
renamed from „Tiz‟).
 Modern Chabahar, which houses Tis, came into being in the
1970s.
The objectives of the New Delhi declaration were:
  Trade and connectivity: Both the countries agreed to use
increased connectivity and trade relation to improve the
relations. "Chabahar port" was one of the manifestation of this
desire.
 Energy trade: India and Iran were to cooperate to improve the
energy security for India by diversifying it's energy source
imports.
 Regional development and security: The two sides also agreed
to act in coherence to fight the regional imbalance and threats
to security of the region.
Have they been realized ?
 Some of key points have been shown a positive attitude its
fulfilment like , recently operationalized Chabahar port for
goods movement will help in economic gains for both
countries and will increase trade relationship .
 Due to sanctions on Iran by P5+1 countries , development of
chabahar port has been delayed but recently first phase of
Chabahar port has been operationalized . Also Iran is second
largest India's energy supplier thus maintaining energy
relationship .
 But their reiteration towards nuclear disarmament has shown
deviation from its commitment with Iran declaring itself
nuclear country that resulted sanction on Iran . India has
expressed strong opposition against Iran's nuclear programme.
3. A quick recap of how legislation for disabled persons has
evolved
GS paper 2 ( Government policies and schemes )
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-
opinion/disability-rights-over-time/article21256372.ece
What is the context about?
In 1992, the United Nations announced that December 3 would be
observed every year as International Day of Persons with
Disabilities.
Following the declaration the world has seen several advances in
Legislation to ensure inclusion of disabled.
Some of the note worthy actions in this regard are:
 The decision to call disabled people as Differently abled
 SDG 2030 explicitly mentions the role of governments to help
the disabled
 The UN convention on rights of People with disabilities, 2006
What are the legal protections?
International
 The disability rights movement gained momentum in the 1970s
when disability was started to be seen as a human rights issue.
 The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(UNCRPD), 2006 was a significant step in this regard.
  The Convention gave way to the perception of considering
differently abled persons as “subjects with rights” and not
“objects of charity”.
 Further, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
mentioned that persons with disabilities must be both
“beneficiaries and agents of change”
India
 India is a signatory to the UNCRPD and ratified it in 2007.
 In 2016, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act was
moved forward, replacing the Persons with Disabilities Act,
1995.
 The Act recognises 21 kinds of disabilities compared to the
previous seven.
 It includes a wide range of categories such as dwarfism, speech
and language disability, and three blood disorders.
 It also increased the quota for disability reservation in higher
educational institutions from 3% to 5%.
 And reservations in government jobs from 3% to 4%.
What is the state of the differently abled?
 Despite legislations, the differently abled continue to face
difficulties with an abysmal implementation record.
 E.g. Around 85% of seats for persons with disabilities lie
vacant in top universities.
  Attitudinal, institutional, and infrastructural barriers remain as
roadblocks for a disability inclusive society.
 Evidently, World Bank has stated that 15% of the world‟s
population experience some form of disability.
 And that they “on average, as a group, are more likely to
experience adverse socioeconomic outcomes than persons
without disabilities”.
 In India, according to the 2011 Census, 2.21% of the
population has one or multiple types of disabilities.
 This makes India home to one of the largest disabled
populations in the world.
4. The Brahmaputra conundrum: Indian strategists should
prepare for a possible river diversion by China
GS paper 3 ( Conservation )
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/the-
brahmaputra-conundrum/article21256375.ece
What is the context about?
 The news that China is planning to divert the waters of the
Yarlung Tsangpo (the upper stream of India‟s Brahmaputra) to
its water-starved Xinjiang province is hardly surprising.
 It has been a long-standing part of the grand South-North
Water Transfer project conceptualised as early as in the 1950s.
What can be the consequences?
  Artificial change of course can very well lead to change is
landscape as well as quality of water in the river.
 There is a high possibility of loss of habitat around the river-
course if the water-volume goes down due to diversion.
Arunachal is a biological hotspot and this can lead to
irreversible environmental costs.
 A significant area traversed by the river is a bone of contention
between China and India. Any unilateral action can trigger
cross-border animosity and escalate to warlike situations.
What can be the solution?
 There is an acute need for a bilateral Water-Sharing Pact
between India and China encompassing these Tibetan Rivers.
A well-conceived treaty can eliminate pyrrhic hostility.
 There must be a proper study to balance environmental impact
with developmental activities (Dam building) through cross-
border cooperation‟s and Data-sharing.
The history of interactions over water between China and India
 The Brahmaputra agreement between China and India is a
suboptimal arrangement within broader bilateral relations. As
per the current agreement, China has thus far agreed to share
hydrological data on the Yarlung Tsangpo/Brahmaputra (YTB)
during the monsoon season.
  Despite two decades of negotiation, further cooperation on
water, however, is in a state of a deadlock. The agreement, at
best, is a piecemeal discount offered by China.
 Departing from the past, China‟s approach to transboundary
water sharing is shifting towards multilateral arrangements. In
2015, China signed the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC)
framework along with five other countries through which the
Mekong flows. This China-led multilateral agreement is an
alternative to the Asian Development Bank-led Mekong River
Commission, which China never signed.

5. It is difficult to account for the dizzying increase in

the value of cryptocurrencies
GS paper 3 ( Indian economy )
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/bit-of-a-
bubble/article21256355.ece
What is the context about?
 One lakh rupees invested in bitcoin in 2010 would be worth a
few hundred crore rupees today.
 That is the kind of extraordinary return the digital currency has
given investors as its price has witnessed a meteoric rise, from
just a few cents in 2010 to hit a lifetime high of over $11,000
last week.
  In 2017 alone, bitcoin price has increased by over 1000%. In
fact, all it took for the currency to reach $11,000 after
breaching the $10,000 mark was a single day.
 Other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum too have shown equally
impressive gains and falls, particularly over the last year.
 Enthusiasts argue that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are rapidly
transforming into mainstream money that will offer serious
competition to national currencies issued by central banks.
What is the need for regulating crypto currencies?
 Authenticity: Being an unofficial currency, many people are
wary of its authenticity. Also, anonymity means that there will
be minimal consumer protection against fraud unlike other
forms of digital currency like wallets.
 Misuse: By terrorists and hackers to demand ransom. Recent
example - Wannacry. They are also becoming an easy way to
launder money, evade taxes.
 Threat to developing economies: Replacement of fiat money
with bitcoins will make it difficult for central banks and
governments to protect their economies through traditional
means like controlling exchange rates, interest rates etc.
 A crypto currency's acceptability increases with rise in its
value which in turn is based on its acceptability. In that sense,
its is considered similar to earlier bubbles like tulip bubble,
dotcom bubble etc.
 Hence, there is a need to regulate the use of crypto currencies.