Important Fact For Prelims (28th February 2019)

• 28 Feb 2019

National Science Day

• 28^th of February is celebrated as National Science Day in India.
• On this day in 1928, Sir C V Raman discovered a phenomenon of scattering of photons which was later known as ‘Raman Effect’ after his name.
• In 1930, he received Nobel Prize for this remarkable discovery. This was the first Nobel Prize for India in the field of Science.
• The theme for the National Science Day 2019 is “Science for people and people for science”.

Raman Effect

• Raman effect is the inelastic scattering of a photon by molecules which are excited to higher vibrational or rotational energy levels. It is also called Raman scattering.
• The Raman effect forms the basis for Raman spectroscopy which is used by chemists and physicists to gain information about materials.

Khelo India App

• Khelo India app helps create awareness about sports and fitness, especially among youngsters.
• The emphasis is on developing the sporting ecosystem in India and turning the country into a global sporting superpower in the years to come.
• Khelo India App is developed by the Sports Authority of India.
• The App has three features which will help identify potential champions among children, across the country.
• The first section gives information about the basic rules and regulations of 18 sports disciplines.
• The second section includes data of sporting facilities across the country.
• The third section has eight tests which can be taken to ascertain a young athlete's level of fitness.

Indian Sign Language Dictionary

• Recently, the government has released second edition of the Indian Sign Language dictionary, which aims to give deaf people the constitutional right to speech and opportunity of freedom of expression (Article 19) and also bringing them into the mainstream of the society.
• The first edition of the dictionary was launched with 3,000 words on March 23, 2018.
• With the second edition, the dictionary now comprises 6,000 Hindi and English words and their corresponding graphic representation under the categories of academic, legal, medical, technical and everyday terms.
• The dictionary has been developed by the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• According to Census 2011, there are 50.71 lakh hearing impaired persons in India and most of them use Indian Sign Language to communicate.

Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre

• Indian Sign Language Research and training Center ( ISLRTC) is an autonomous organization under the administrative and financial control of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities(Divyangjan) Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India.
• ISLRTC was established on 26^th of September, 2015 in accordance with the provisions of Societies Registration Act,1860.

Modify Eviction Order: Centre urges SC

• The Centre has urged the Supreme Court to modify its recent order directing the eviction of thousands of Scheduled Tribes (STs) and other traditional forest dwellers whose claims for forest land rights have been rejected under the Forest Rights Act of 2006.
• The Centre said that the claims of lakhs of forest-dwelling STs and other traditional forest dwellers were rejected by the States without observing due process of law. Following were the arguments of Centre:
  • The forest land claims of these tribes and forest dwellers, who live from the forest, are mostly rejected by the States. Being poor and illiterate people who live in remote areas, they do not know the appropriate procedure for filing claims.
  • The gram sabhas, which initiate the verification of their claims, are low on awareness about how to deal with these claims.
  • The rejection orders are not even communicated to the forest-dwelling STs and communities.

Apatani Tribes in Arunachal Pradesh

• Aaptani are a tribal group of people living in the Ziro valley in Arunachal Pradesh.
• They speak a local language called Tani and worship the sun and the moon.
• They follow a sustainable social forestry system.
• They celebrate major festivals – Dree with prayers for a bumper harvest and prosperity of all humankind and Myoko to celebrate Friendship.
• The Apatanis practice aquaculture along with rice farming on their plots. Rice-fish culture in the valley is a unique practice in the state, where two crops of rice (Mipya and Emoh) and one crop of fish (Ngihi) are raised together.

Academy Award-2019

• Recently, the 91st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2018.
• It took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.