The First Picture of the Black Hole at the Milky Way’s Heart Has Been Revealed

• The image of Sagittarius A* (SgrA*) gave further support to the idea that the compact object at the centre of our galaxy is indeed a black hole, strengthening Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
• In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope facility, a collaboration of over 300 researchers, made history by releasing the first-ever image of a black hole, M87* — the black hole at the centre of a galaxy Messier 87, which is a supergiant elliptic galaxy.
• The ring-shaped image of SgrA*, which looked a lot similar to the one of M87*, occupied 52 microarcseconds in the field of view, which is as big a span of our view as a doughnut on the moon.
• The whole exercise was possible because of the enormous power of the Event Horizon Telescope, an ensemble of several telescopes around the world, which together were like a giant eye on the earth with a sight that is 3 million times sharper than the human eye.
• Sagittarius A* is 27,000 light years from us.

Food production to dip, hunger to rise in India due to climate change, says report

• These projections are part of a IMPACT model that was used to evaluate the impact of climate change on aggregate food production, food consumption (kilocalories per person per day), net trade of major food commodity groups, and the population at risk of going hungry.
• IMPACT, as the model is called, simulates national and international agricultural markets.
• It was developed with inputs from scientists from the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR) and other leading global economic modelling efforts.
• The number of Indians at risk from hunger in 2030 is expected to be 73.9 million in 2030 and, if the effects of climate change were to be factored in, it would increase to 90.6 million.
• The aggregate food production index will, under similar conditions, drop from 1.6 to 1.5.
• On a positive note, climate change will not impact the average calorie consumption of Indians and this is projected to remain roughly the same at 2,600 kcal per capita per day by 2030 even in a climate change scenario.

Calls for global efforts to curb match-fixing

• The participants discussed the emerging uses of technology, big data and social media given that criminal syndicates were increasingly operating across betting and sports markets.
• They also acknowledged that match-fixers are still very much relying on tried and true methods of manipulation, such as targeting the entourage of athletes and grooming young players, pointing to a continued need for education.
• The members deliberated on various mechanisms to improve intelligence sharing “such as the establishment of national platforms, as outlined in the Macolin Convention, that centralise and analyse information on irregular and suspicious trends”.
• The Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, known as the Macolin Convention, is a multilateral treaty aimed at checking match-fixing. It came into force on September 1, 2019.

The India hypertension control initiative

• The Health Ministry, the Indian Council of Medical Research, State Governments, and WHO-India began a five-year initiative in November 2017 to monitor and treat hypertension.
• Hypertension is defined as having systolic blood pressure level greater than or equal to 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure level greater than or equal to 90 mmHg or/and taking anti-hypertensive medication to lower his/her blood pressure.
• India has committed to a "25 by 25" goal, which aims to reduce premature mortality due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by 25% by 2025.
• One of the nine voluntary targets includes reducing the prevalence of high blood pressure by 25% by 2025.
• Southern States have a higher prevalence of hypertension than the national average, according to the latest edition of the National Family Health Survey.
• While 21.3% of women and 24% of men aged above 15 have hypertension in the country, the prevalence is the highest in Kerala where 32.8% men and 30.9% women have been diagnosed with hypertension.

On the question of notifying minorities

• The PIL specifically questions the validity of Section 2(f) of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions or NCMEI Act 2004, terming it arbitrary and contrary to Articles 14, 15, 21, 29 and 30 of the Constitution.
• Section 2(f) says “minority ,”for the purpose of this Act, means a community notified as such by the Central Government.”
• Section 2(c) of the of National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act, 1992 also gives the Centre similar powers.
• In 2005, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) at the Centre notified five communities — Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis — as minorities at the national level.
• In 2014, the Manmohan Singh government notified followers of Jainism as a minority community, making them the sixth on the national list.
• Centre’s decision was arbitrary since the SC had held, in the T. M. A. Pai Foundation vs State Of Karnataka case of 2002 that, “for the purpose of determining minority, the unit will be State and not whole India.”
• Centre’s notification has created an anomalous situation in which the communities declared as minorities by the Centre enjoy the status even in States/UTs where they are in majority (Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir and Christians in Nagaland for instance) while followers of Hinduism, Judaism and Bahaism who are minorities are not accorded the same status under the Act.

Army to get special vehicles for high-altitude areas

• The PMV is essentially a wheeled armoured personnel carrier. It provides protection to the soldiers travelling inside the vehicle from mine blasts and sudden attack by small arms.
• India has the capability of producing PMVs. In April this year, the Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) handed over the first of such Infantry Protected Mobility Vehicles (IPMVs) to the then Chief of Army Staff, Gen MM Naravane.
• The TASL is now the first private sector company in the country to produce such wheeled armoured personnel carriers and has developed the IPMV in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

PM Modi virtually addresses Utkarsh Samaroh in Gujarats Bharuch

• The programme has organized to mark the celebration of 100 percent saturation of four key schemes of the state government in the district. These will help in providing timely financial assistance to those in need.
• Bharuch district administration has carried out ‘Utkarsh Initiative’ drive to ensure complete coverage of schemes providing assistance to widows, elderly and destitute citizens.
• A total of 12,854 beneficiaries were identified across the four schemes, which include Ganga Swaroopa Aarthik Sahay Yojana, Indira Gandhi Vrudh Sahay Yojana, Niradhar Vrudh Aarthik Sahay Yojana and Rashtriy Kutumb Sahay Yojana.
• During the drive from January to March this year, taluka-wise Whatsapp helpline numbers were announced to collect information about those who were not receiving benefits of the scheme.
• Utkarsh camps were organized in all villages and wards of municipality areas of the district, to collect the necessary documents for on the spot approval. Incentives were also given to Utkarsh assistants to further facilitate the drive.