27 Oct 2022: Daily Current Affairs for UPSC Exam

Bats evicted from Manipur cave for tourism

In News

A colony of bats was evicted from a Manipur cave system with a Palaeolithic past to make it tourist-friendly, a zoological study that recorded new fauna in the State has said.

Important Points

• The Khangkhui, locally called Khangkhui Mangsor, is a natural limestone cave about 15 km from Ukhrul.
• Excavations carried out by Manipur’s archaeologists had revealed the cave was home to Stone Age communities.
• Cave was also used as a shelter by the local people during World War 2 after the Japanese forces advanced to Manipur and the adjoining Nagaland.
• More importantly for conservationists, the cave housed large roosting populations of bats belonging to the Rhinolophidae and Hipposideridae families.

This bat was one of 12 new species added to Manipur’s mammalian fauna. The others included

• ashy roundleaf bat,
• intermediate horseshoe bat,
• northern woolly horseshoe bat,
• greater false vampire bat,
• hairy-faced bat,
• Hodgson’s bat,
• Hutton’s tube-nosed bat and
• round-eared tube-nosed bat.

NavIC

In News

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working on a series of improvements to the NavIC, or India’s equivalent of the Global Positioning System (GPS), so that more people are motivated to install it and use it.

What is NavIC?

• NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), or the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), is a constellation of seven satellites.
• It is akin to the American GPS, the European Galileo and the Russian GLONASS, and can be used to track location.
• The first of these satellites (IRNSS-1A) were launched in 2013 and the latest in 2018.
• Though available for use in mainland India as well as a range of 1,500 km around it, it isn’t in wide regular use in India primarily because mobile phones haven’t been made compatible to process its signals.
• The Indian government has been pressing manufacturers to add compatibility and has set a deadline of January 2023 but media reports suggest this is unlikely before 2025.
• Currently, NavIC satellites orbit earth in a geostationary or geosynchronous (GEO) orbit, or about 36,000 km from earth.

Pasmanda Muslims

In News

The Prime Minister appealed to make an outreach to deprived minority groups such as Pasmanda Muslims, especially in Uttar Pradesh.

Key Points

• The Indian Muslim community can be divided along three lines: Ashrafs (elite class)(15%-20%), Ajlaf (backward class), and Arzal (most backward class)
• Pasmanda Muslims meaning ‘those left out’ or marginalized ( mostly involved as barbers, weavers, potters etc). It is a collective expression for Ajlaf and Arzal(80%-85%)
• ‘Pasmanda’ is not a caste but a class: Representative of backward and subjugated castes within the Muslim community.

Why is ASEAN holding a special meeting on Myanmar?

In News

Foreign ministers from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are meeting on Thursday to discuss an intensifying crisis in Myanmar, 18 months after agreeing a peace plan with its military rulers.

Why the meeting?

Junta unwilling to implement a so-called “five-point consensus” that it agreed to with ASEAN in April 2021.

What is the consensus?

• immediate end of hostilities,
• all parties engaging in constructive dialogue,
• allowing an ASEAN envoy to mediate and meet all stakeholders, and
• ASEAN to provide humanitarian assistance.

How has the Junta responded?

• Accused its opponents of trying to sabotage the ASEAN plan.
• It has justified military offensives as necessary to secure the country and enable political talks.

What approaches might ASEAN take?

• Malaysia’s foreign minister: Consensus must be seriously reviewed for its relevance.
• Junta: A junta regime is composed of military officers who seize ruling power in a country.