Daily PIB Analysis For UPSC/IAS | Free PDF Download-8th & 9th October 2018 -

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Noise is nevertheless an underestimated threat in India

World Health Organization: guidelines for noise quality
30 dBA: bedrooms during the night for a sleep of good quality
35 dBA: classrooms to allow good teaching and learning conditions
40 dBA: annual average to prevent adverse health effects.
Surrounding noise on Indian roads goes uncontrolled and its is extremely annoying

. • The actual level of external noise is dangerously high and factorised by multiple social, behavioural and technological reasons.

Foundation for Evidence-based Development in India
The specific areas which FEDI has targeted for research are: epidemiological studies, contextual statuses of problems and global interventional approaches.
Roads: biggest noise pollutants
Vehicle manufacturers are seemingly not taking responsibility in reducing the level of noise pollution by continuously producing loud horns.
These horns, sometimes, have uniquely shocking sounds that are customized to surprise others on the roads.
Bunch of morons: over-using their horns and honking incessantly where they essentially don’t need to alert anybody about their movement.
Noise have also penetrated supposedly peaceful living areas.
Major contributors of noise pollution include vegetable vendors who install cheap, bothersome loudspeakers to announce their goods at an irritating and unhealthy level of loudness.
Recorded messages from repairers, scrap dealers or donation seekers in the street is another everyday issue which simply escalates noise pollution.
Two overarching interventional approaches worth considering in combating the issue of noise pollution are

1) reduction of the source’s noise and controlling/restraining activities;

2) developing effective shelter against the noise.

Government should instruct the automobile manufacturers to standardise honking sound levels within a threshold limit.
Behaviour change interventions are need of the hour.
Establishing specific areas as silence zones where honking and loudspeakers are prohibited can help.
Techniques of noise absorption or deflection which can be applied in external (in towns and cities) or internal (homes) environments.
Adapting curtain walls for homes and balconies, introducing angular features in building designs and applying noise absorbing materials or barriers to noise are all practical ways in which to dramatically reduce ambient noise around the home.
Approaches range from using alternative roads or bypasses, decreasing traffic and speed limits, and better car tyre management

Voting for the first phase of Urban Local Body elections concluded peacefully.
Polling was held for 422 wards spread across all the three regions- Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
32.2 per cent voter turnout was recorded in 18 wards of Kupwara district of Kashmir division.
Jammu Division: polling was held in 238 wards which include 153 wards in Jammu district followed by 59 in Rajouri district and 26 wards in Poonch district.
64 per cent polling was recorded in 153 wards whereas 81 per cent polling was recorded from 59 wards of border district of Rajouri.
However, in 26 wards of border district of Poonch, around 74 per cent electors had cast their votes.
In Kashmir valley, polling concluded with the highest poll percentage in Kargil district followed by Kupwara district. No major untoward incident was reported in Kashmir barring someminor clashes in Srinagar area.

Mr Modi was interacting with 100 Probationers of the 2017 batch of the IPS in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon Indian Police Service probationers to work with dedication and perform with distinction, the various roles and responsibilities that they would be looking after.
The Prime Minister also recalled the sacrifices of over 33,000 police personnel, who have laid down their lives, while performing their duty.
Good governance
Discipline & conduct
Women empowerment
Forensic science

President Ramnath Kovind has said that India and Tajikistan have agreed to further strengthen their Strategic Partnership.
On second day of his visit to the Central Asian Country, Mr Kovind today had a meeting with his Tajikistan counterpart Mr. Emomali Rahmon [इमोम-अली रहमोन] in Dushanbe.
India will offer a grant of 20 million US Dollar to Tajikistan for development projects.
Signed MoUs in fields of political relations, strategic research, agriculture, renewable energy, traditional medicine, space technology, youth affairs, Culture and Disaster Management.

UN General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa has said, India’s success in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals can change the face of the world.
Describing India as a very important player of the multilateral system, Ms Espinosa said she is very much looking forward to engaging and working together with India under her presidency of the 193-member UN General Assembly.
Espinosa, Ecuador’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs has been elected as the president of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly.

This year’s Nobel prize for economics has been awarded to William Nordhaus and Paul Romer of the United States for their work on sustainable growth.
The research of the two US economists focuses on how climate change and technology have affected the economy.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said they had addressed some of our time’s most pressing questions on how to achieve sustainable growth.

Centre is leveraging multilateral funding to shore up resources for maintenance, safety and revamp of dams and attendant irrigational assets.
The government has approved revised costs of Rs 3,466 crore for the ongoing Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) for 198 large dam projects nationwide.
3/4th funding provided by the World Bank
The projections suggest rising and worsening water stress nationally.
India’s turbulent water sector, confronting global warming and changes in rainfall patterns calls for annual Water Report.
Just like Economic Survey
India now has 5,264 large dams completed and another 437 large dams under construction.
200 dams are a century old
Though we have so many dams irrigation coverage remains thoroughly suboptimal.
The Dam Safety Bill, 2018 provides for a National Dam Safety Authority.
The policy objective needs to be not just to prevent dam failure but to optimise irrigation potential.
Phase-II of DRIP would reportedly cover another 700 dams and cost Rs 7,000 crore.
The way ahead is to modernise safety and oversight institutions and systems for large dams nationally.
We do need norms for reservoir silt management and regular surveillance and monitoring with modern sensors, instrumentation and related information technology systems.