Prelims Focus – 7th March 2024

1.Narasapur Crochet Lace

Recent News

The craft of Narasapur crochet lace has been recognized with a Geographical Indication tag. Crochet involves using a hook to create chain-stitch embroidery, while lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open web-like pattern, crafted either by hand or machine.

Context

• The lace craft from Narsapur, Andhra Pradesh has been registered with a Geographical Indication tag by the DPIIT. 
• The craft originated in Narsapur and was taught to local women by a Scottish couple in 1844. 
• It has a geographical limit of 19 mandals in West Godavari and Dr. B.R.Ambedkar Konaseema districts. 
• The craft has endured hardships such as the Indian famine and the Great Depression.
• Lace work is created using thin threads and crochet needles of varying sizes. The products made from lace fall into three categories: garments, home furnishings, and accessories. 
• Examples of lace products include doilies, pillow covers, bedspreads, and hand purses. 
• These intricately woven lace items are often given as souvenirs. 
• The lace products are available in a variety of colours, such as orange, green, blue, white, red, and beige.

2.Star Dune

Recent News

Scientists have recently released the first comprehensive study of a star dune, providing insight into its internal structure and the process by which it was formed.

About 

• Star dunes, also known as pyramid dunes, are large sand dunes with distinctive shapes that can reach heights of hundreds of metres. 
• They are found in Africa, Asia, North America, and even on Mars. 
• These dunes make up nearly 10% of the Earth’s desert dunes and are formed in areas with complex wind patterns. 
• Star dunes are the tallest and most complex type of sand dunes, surpassing other types such as crescent-shaped barchan dunes and linear dunes.
• Until recently, experts were unable to determine the age of these dunes. However, using luminescence dating, scientists have been able to estimate the age of dunes like Lalalalala. 
• This dating method measures the energy trapped within sand grains, revealing when they were last exposed to daylight and providing insight into the wind patterns and climate of the era when the dunes formed. 
• Star dunes can be found in various deserts worldwide, including the Sahara Desert, the Badain Jaran desert, the Namib Sand Sea, and the Rub’ al Khali.
• They are also present in North America, such as at Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado. 

3.National Dolphin Research Centre

In News: India’s first centre for research on conserving the endangered Gangetic river dolphin was recently inaugurated in Patna, Bihar.

• Objective

• • • The NDRC seeks to function a significant hub for studies on diverse aspects of Gangetic dolphins, inclusive of research on their behavior, survival mechanisms, and factors contributing to mortality.

• Ganges River Dolphins (also referred to as ‘susu’) 

• • • Scientific Name: Platanista Gangetica
    • Discovery: Officially determined in 1801.
    • Habitat and Distribution: Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers & their tributaries in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
    • Characteristics: 
      • Only lives in freshwater & does not have a crystalline eye lens, rendering it successfully blind.
      • Navigation and searching through a notably advanced ‘sonar system’, using echolocation (ultrasonic sounds).
      • The body is a brownish colour and stocky within the center.
      • They are normally found in turbulent waters, in which there are sufficient fish for them to feed on.
      • Gangetic dolphins live in a quarter where there may be little or no current, helping them save energy.

• Significance: 

• • • • Indicator of the health of the entire river surroundings.
      • Controlling and preserving healthy fish and crustacean populations
      • It was declared National Aquatic Animal in 2009.
    • Threats: Habitat degradation by pollution, construction etc.
      • Accidental deaths through entanglement in the nets (bycatch), Poaching.
    • Conservation Status: Endangered (IUCN), Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
      • Appendix I of CITES

• Steps Taken

• • Project Dolphin: Conservation of dolphins & aquatic habitat via using era (Pollution discount & sustainable fishery).
  • National Dolphin Day: October fifth has been detailed as National Dolphin Day to be celebrated each 12 months to create focus for conservation of Dolphins.
  • Dolphin Sanctuary: Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary (VGDS) (Bihar)
  • Conservation Action Plan for Dolphins: By the Wildlife Institute of India released in 2016.

4.Shanan Hydropower Project

In News: The Union Government has recently ordered that status quo be maintained on the Shanan hydropower project, over which Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have made competing claims.

• It is a British-technology 110-MW hydel challenge, situated at Jogindernagar in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, which was leased to Punjab in 1925. 
• The hire settlement was signed among the then ruler of Mandi, Raja Joginder Bahadur, and a British representative and Chief Engineer of Punjab. The 99-yr-old lease came to an end on March 2.
• In the past few years, Himachal has contended that the assignment has to live with it as soon as the lease ends.

5.INS Jatayu

In News: The Indian Navy commissioned  a new base INS Jatayu on Minicoy Island.

• The move aims to strengthen security infrastructure on the strategically important Lakshadweep Islands.
• Minicoy is the southernmost island of Lakshadweep which straddles the critical Sea Lines of Communications (SLOCs).
• INS Jatayu is the second one Naval base in Lakshadweep after INS Dweeprakshak in Kavaratti.

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