UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | May 13 to May 19, 2024

🚨 The Indian Express UPSC Essentials brings to you the May edition of its monthly magazine. Click Here to read. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com🚨

Environment

Data by the research group GT Atlantic Orca (GTOA) show that since 2020 (when the rise in targeting of boats was first observed), there have been more than 700 interactions between orcas and boats — in some cases, boats sustained critical damages — near the Strait of Gibraltar. (Photo: The NYT)

— Killer whales

• Recently, a group of orcas, also known as killer whales, sank a 15-meter-long sailing yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar, 22.5 kilometers off the coast of Morocco.
• Orcas are part of the dolphin family, measuring up to 8 meters in length and weighing up to 6 tonnes as adults.
• Despite their size and power, orcas are not known to be aggressive towards humans in the wild.

—  Baobabs

• Recently, a new study revealed the origins of baobabs, the tall and uniquely shaped deciduous trees famously spotted on the island of Madagascar. It is also native to Africa and Australia.
• Baobabs are known for their great heights, reaching up to 50 meters, and exceptionally long lifespans, living up to 2,000 years. A few baobab trees exist in India, including one near the Golconda Fort in Andhra Pradesh, believed to be over 400 years old.
• It is also called an “upside down” tree or “mother of the forest.”
• It belongs to the genus Adansonia, which includes eight distinct species: Adansonia digitata in continental Africa, Adansonia gregorii in Northwestern Australia, and six species endemic to Madagascar.
• The study highlighted that three Madagascar species of baobabs are threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The remaining three are listed under the Least Concern category, indicating they do not face significant threats.

— Humboldt glacier

• Recently, scientists reclassified the Humboldt Glacier, Venezuela’s last remaining glacier, as an ice field, marking Venezuela as likely the first country in modern history to lose all its glaciers.
• Venezuela previously had six glaciers, all situated at about 5,000 meters above sea level in the Andes mountains.

Achievement

Illustration from the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

— UNESCO’s Memory of the World Regional Register

• Recently, three Indian literary works—Ramcharitmanas, Panchatantra, and Sahṛdayaloka-Locana—were added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register.
• This recognition was announced during the tenth meeting of the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP), held earlier this week in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
• Ramcharitmanas: This manuscript was authored by Goswami Tulsidas.
• Panchatantra: Attributed to Vishnu Sharma, this is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in verse and prose.
• Sahṛdayaloka-Locana: Written by 15th-century Kashmiri scholars Acharya Anandvardhan and Abhinavagupta, it was chosen for its aesthetic significance.
• UNESCO’s Memory of the World (MoW) programme is an international cooperation strategy aimed at safeguarding, protecting, and facilitating access to and the use of documentary heritage, particularly rare and endangered heritage.
• As of May 2023, there are 494 inscriptions on the International MoW Register, according to the UNESCO website.

Reports

In terms of broad markets, rhinos, pangolins and elephants were the top three traded wildlife species. (Representative/ Express file photo by Amit Mehra)

— World Wildlife Crime Report

• Recently, the United Nations published the third edition of the World Wildlife Crime Report.
• The report analyzed global data and trends in wildlife trafficking from 2015 to 2021. It found that seizures of wild animals and plant species were recorded in 162 countries.

International News

The strategic and economic importance of Iran’s Chabahar port will be greatly enhanced by its integration with the planned INSTC corridor (in red).

— Chabahar Port

• Recently, India and Iran signed a 10-year contract for the operation of a terminal at the strategically important Chabahar port in Iran.
• Chabahar, located at the mouth of the Gulf of Oman, is Iran’s first deepwater port, positioning the country on the global oceanic trade route map.
• The port lies to the west of Iran’s border with Pakistan, approximately equidistant to the competing port of Gwadar, developed by China in Pakistan, which lies to the east of the border.

Science and Technology

The criminals, who often use pictures or identities of police personnel to convey authenticity, usually demand money from the target for a ‘compromise’ and closure of the case. (Representational image/File)

— Digital arrest

• Recently, following increasing reports of “digital arrests” by cybercriminals, the central government collaborated with Microsoft to block more than 1,000 Skype IDs used for online intimidation, blackmail, and extortion.
• It is a cybercrime in which online fraudsters typically call potential victims, claiming they have sent or are the intended recipients of a parcel containing illegal goods, drugs, fake passports, or other contraband items.

— Xenotransplantation

• Recently, the first recipient of a modified pig kidney transplant passed away on Saturday, May 11, approximately two months after the surgery.
• According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), xenotransplantation is any procedure involving the transplantation, implantation, or infusion into a human recipient of live cells, tissues, or organs from a nonhuman animal source. It also includes procedures involving human body fluids, cells, tissues, or organs that have had ex vivo contact with live nonhuman animal cells, tissues, or organs.

Diseases in News

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reported 22 confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis, a waterborne disease caused by the microscopic parasite cryptosporidium, with more cases expected. Representational image

— Cryptosporidiosis

• Recently, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reported 22 confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis, a waterborne disease caused by the microscopic parasite cryptosporidium. More cases are expected.
• Cryptosporidium, also known as Crypto, is part of the coccidia group of protozoa. These parasites can reproduce both asexually and sexually.
• The infection is caused by a parasite found in stool and can be contracted by consuming contaminated food or water.

Economy

In May so far, the India VIX has risen by around 53 per cent to above 20. On Tuesday, the index touched a high of 21.88 in afternoon trades. (Representational/Pixabay)

— Volatility Index

• Recently, India VIX, an indicator of the market’s expectation of near-term volatility, surged past the 21 mark on Tuesday, May 14.
• The Volatility Index, also known as VIX or the Fear Index, measures the market’s expectation of volatility, often described as the rate and magnitude of price changes and referred to as risk in finance.
• The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) first introduced the volatility index for the US markets in 1993, based on S&P 100 Index option prices.
• The NSE computes India VIX based on the order book of NIFTY Options.

— Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)

• Recently, following the imposition of intake caps on international student admissions to Canada, many Indians hoping to emigrate have been turning to a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) permit.
• The LMIA programme allows Canadian employers to hire foreign workers if recruitment efforts for hiring local employees fail.

— Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI)

• According to a report published by the think tank GTRI, imports from China crossed over $100 billion in FY24.
• As a result, China has overtaken the US to become India’s largest trading partner after a gap of two years.

Person in News

Alice Munro is no more. But one day, I hope to find myself in Victoria, go to Munro’s Books, if it is still there, and feel for myself, why a writer, a beloved author, never dies. (British Council website)

— Alice Munro

• Nobel Prize-winning Canadian writer Alice Munro passed away on Monday at the age of 92.
• She won the Nobel prize in 2013 and the Nobel committee hailed her as a “master of contemporary short story.”
• Among her important works are “Dance of the Happy Shades” (1968), “Lives of Girls and Women” (1971), and “Dear Life” (2012).

— Sushil Kumar Modi

• Senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi, passed away Monday night at AIIMS, New Delhi. He was 72 years old. He was battling with cancer.
• Modi served as Deputy Chief Minister for over 11 years in two stints. The first stint was from November 2005 to June 2013, followed by another from July 2017 to December 2020.

— Kamla Beniwal

• Kamla Beniwal, who served as Rajasthan’s Deputy Chief Minister and held the post of Governor in three states, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 97.
• Beniwal had also served as Governor in Tripura, Gujarat, and Mizoram.

— Malti Joshi

• Renowned Hindi writer and Padma Shri recipient Malti Joshi passed away on Wednesday at the age of 90.
• Popularly known as “Malwa ki Meera”, Joshi was awarded the Padma Shri by then President Ramnath Kovind in 2018
• Some of her most popular works include “Madhayantar”, “Pataakshep”, “Parajay”, “Ek Ghar Sapno Ka”, “Woh Tera Ghar, Ye Mera Ghar”, and her novel “Aurat Ek Raat Hai”.

— Narayanan Vaghul

• Renowned banker and former Chairman of ICICI Bank, Narayanan Vaghul, passed away on Saturday at the age of 88 in Chennai.
• A Padma Bhushan awardee, Vaghul is revered as the ‘Bhishma Pitamah’ of banking in the country.
• Vaghul was instrumental in introducing the concept of credit rating in India. In 1987, he established Crisil (Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd), marking a significant milestone in the Indian financial sector.

Sports

Sunil Chhetri announced his retirement and said that June 6 will be his last game for the Indian national team. (PHOTO: PTI)

— Sunil Chhetri

• Sunil Chhetri has announced his retirement from the Indian national football team.
• He has scored 94 goals for the country, which makes him India’s all-time top scorer. Chhetri is also third in the list of goal scorers among active players (behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi).
• He is currently fourth on the all-time list of international goal-scorers.

— Abha Khatua

• Abha Khatua, Asian Championships medallist, has broken the national record in women’s shot put with an impressive throw of 18.41 meters at the National Federation Cup Athletics competition in Bhubaneswar.

— Neeraj Chopra

• At the National Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, Neeraj Chopra secured the gold medal in the men’s javelin throw with an impressive throw of 82.27 meters.

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