Indus Valley Civilization: Burial Site and Town Planning

Scientists have uncovered a sprawling burial site in India, belonging to one of the world’s earliest urban civilizations, the Indus Society.

What do we know about the site?

The excavation of the site started in 2019 near Khatiya village in Kutch Region of Gujarat

The 40-acre cemetery, discovered, maybe the largest “pre-urban” cemetery of its kind, dating back 5,200 years.

The Cemetery was in use for about 500 years, spanning from 3200BC to 2600BC, making it one of the oldest graves in the world.

Excavations have revealed over 500 graves, including unique features like sandstone-lined burial shafts pointing in different directions.

Artefacts found in the graves include bangles, beads, and pottery (mostly simple inexpensive items).

Some people were buried with personal ornaments – bangles, beads, amulets – which could not be passed on to others.

Some women were buried with a mirror made of copper.

Adults were buried with different types of vessels associated with serving and storing food.

Shell bangles were typically found on the left arms of adult females

Infants and children were not usually buried with any pottery or ornaments.

What was the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC)?

It was a Bronze Age civilization (3300-1300 BCE; mature period 2600-1900 BCE) extending from what today is northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India. Along with Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, it was one of three early civilizations of the Old World, and of the three the most widespread It flourished in the basins of the Indus River.

Burial Practices of the IVC:

Dead bodies were placed in the North-South direction (extended inhumation) and were accompanied by food, pottery, jewellery, etc. The graveyard was within the settlement. They practised three types of burial:-

Complete burial

Fractional burial (burial of bones after exposure of the body to birds and beasts)

Cremationfollowed by burial of the ashes

Zealandia (World’s Eighth Continent)

Recent research on Zealandia, an underwater continent to the southeast of Australia, is shedding light on its geological history and why it remained hidden for so long.

Recently, an international team released highly detailed maps of Zealandia, covering its entire five million square kilometres.

What is Zealandia?

Zealandia is an underwater continent located to the southeast of Australia. It was recognized as Earth’s eighth continent in 2017. Zealandia formed around 83 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period and started as part of the supercontinent Gondwana before breaking away.

The existence of Zealandia was first recorded in 1642 by Dutch businessman and sailor Abel Tasman

How was Zealandia formed?

Gondwana formed when Earth’s ancient supercontinent, Pangea, split into two fragments.

Laurasiain the north became Europe, Asia, and North America.

Gondwanain the south dispersed to form modern-day Africa, India, Antarctica, South America, and Australia.

Zealandia began as part of the supercontinent Gondwana, which started breaking apart. As Zealandia began to break away from Gondwana, “The Giant Volcanic Region” formed – where magma flooded out of cracks. Zealandia separated from the landmasses to its north and south, eventually becoming its own continent.

Over millions of years, it underwent stretching and thinning due to tectonic forces, creating ruptures that later formed oceanic crust. Around 25 million years ago, Zealandia largely sank beneath the ocean, becoming the submerged continent we know today.

Links between consanguinity and genetic diseases

Consanguinity, the practice of marrying close relatives, is a widespread tradition still practised in many human societies, particularly in Asia and West Africa.

Key points regarding consanguinity and genetic diseases:

Prevalence: An estimated 15-20% of the world’s population practices consanguinity, with India having numerous endogamous groups (people marrying within the same caste or tribe).

Consanguinity and Disease: Consanguineous societies, like the Amish population in the U.S., have been studied for recessive diseases, leading to the discovery of new genetic diseases and insights into genetic predisposition to common disease Research suggests that consanguinity may increase the risk of diseases like type-2 diabetes.

OTT platforms do not fall under TRAI jurisdiction

The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) in India has ruled that Over the Top (OTT) streaming platforms, like Disney+Hotstar, do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

Instead, they are governed by the Information Technology Rules of 2021, as notified by the IT Ministry.

This decision is significant as both TRAI and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) have been attempting to regulate OTT services, a move that has been contested by the IT Ministry.

Card-on-file tokenisation for debit and credit cards

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, has proposed the introduction of card-on-file tokenisation (CoFT) at the issuer-bank level.

This move aims to enhance data security and provide customers with more control over managing their card tokens.

Need:

Under the current system, cardholders have to create different tokens for each merchant, which can be time-consuming and pose data security concerns.

With CoFT, tokens will be created at the issuer bank-level and linked to the user’s existing accounts with various e-commerce applications. This eliminates the need for duplicate tokenization processes at each app or website, enhances transaction security, and reduces card-data-related fraud.

PUSA-44 paddy variety

The Punjab Chief Minister has announced a ban on the cultivation of the PUSA-44 paddy variety starting next year.

PUSA-44 was developed in 1993 and gained immense popularity among Punjab’s farmers, covering 70 to 80 per cent of the state’s paddy cultivation area due to its high yield.

The reasons behind the ban on PUSA-44:

Extended Maturity Period: PUSA-44 has a longer maturity period, requiring around 160 days to mature, which is approximately 35 to 40 days longer than other paddy varieties.

Water Conservation: Punjab faces severe groundwater depletion, and the government aims to conserve one month of irrigation water by banning PUSA-44

PUSA-44 exacerbates the problem of stubble burning in Punjab. Its harvesting just before the ideal time for wheat sowing (typically at the end of October) leaves a limited timeframe of 20 to 25 days for stubble disposal before wheat sowing.

National framework for climate services

India is launching its first national-level framework for climate services, known as the National Framework for Climate Services (NFCS), led by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The NFCS aims to provide climate information and services to various sectors, including agriculture, energy, disaster management, health, and water, to help them make informed decisions and mitigate climate risks.

The NFCS is based on the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), which focuses on generating high-quality climate data and information, with priority sectors including agriculture, energy, health, water, and disaster risk reduction.

The need for NFCS arises from the gaps in weather and climate data across India, particularly in the Himalayan regions and oceans, limiting the IMD’s ability to make long-term climate predictions.

Benefits:

The NFCS aims to strengthen the observational network, improve data collection, and run weather and climate models to provide tailored climate data and information.

This information will support preparations for new climate conditions and adaptation to their impacts on various aspects of society, such as water supplies, health, agriculture, infrastructure, and energy generation.

Countries like Switzerland, China, Germany, and the United Kingdom have already launched their NFCS, while several others are in the advanced stages of implementation.