UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | July 8 to July 14, 2024

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Report

— SDG India Index 2023-24

SDG India Index. (PIB)

• The fourth edition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index has been published by NITI Aayog. The first index was published in 2018.
• It computes goal-wise scores on the 16 SDGs for each State and UT. These scores range between 0–100, and if a State/UT achieves a score of 100, it signifies it has achieved the targets.
• The higher the score of a State/UT, the greater the distance covered to the target.
• The composite score for India improved from 57 in 2018 to 66 in 2020-21 to further to 71 in 2023-24.
• Kerala and Uttarakhand as the best-performing states with a score of 79 points each.
• Bihar is at the bottom of the index with 57 points, followed by Jharkhand at 62 points.

SDG India Index. (PIB)

(Source: pib)

(Just FYI: The main purpose of the data is to develop an understanding of the topic; you don’t need to learn all the data. Having an approximate idea of the data can help you with fact-based questions in prelims and serve as fodder for answers in the UPSC Mains. The SDG India Index is significant for all the papers.)

Economy

— Digital Bharat Nidhi

• Digital Bharat Nidhi would replace the erstwhile Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), a pool of funds generated by a 5 percent Universal Service Levy charged upon all the telecom fund operators on their Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR).
• The idea is that this money would be used to fund the expansion of telecom networks in remote and rural areas, where private companies may otherwise resist offering their services due to them not being revenue-generating markets.

— Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) Results for 2021-22 and 2022-23

• ASUSE has been released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) after 2015-16.
• The number of workers employed in the informal sector in 2022-23 has dropped by 16.45 lakh or about 1.5 percent to 10.96 crore compared to 11.13 crore in 2015-16
• The unorganised sector contributes over 44 per cent to the country’s GVA and employs nearly 75 per cent of the workforce employed in non-agricultural enterprises

(Point to Focus: These data are intended to help you develop an understanding of the Indian economy and assess the impact of various government initiatives and schemes.)

Environment

— Conference of Parties (COP) 29

• Azerbaijan, the host of this year’s climate change conference, is hoping to convince Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas warring parties to agree to a truce to focus on the issue of climate change. The conference will be held in November.
• The 2023 UN Climate Change Conference was hosted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 30 November to 12 December 2023.
• COP28 operationalised the Loss and Damage Fund which was created in COP 27.

Course of the Siang

— Upper Siang Project

• Two anti-dam activists from Arunachal Pradesh were put in preventive detention on July 8, ahead of Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s visit to the state.
• The Upper Siang project is a proposed 11,000 megawatt hydropower project on the Siang river in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
• The Siang originates near Mount Kailash in Tibet, where it is known as the Tsangpo. It enters India through the Gelling district, the last village on the Indo-Tibetan border in Arunachal Pradesh, as the Siang. Further downstream, in Assam, the river becomes the mighty Brahmaputra.

— High Sea Treaty

• The Indian government has said that it would soon sign and ratify the High Seas Treaty, a new international legal architecture for maintaining the ecological health of the oceans.
• The treaty is meant for reducing pollution, and for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and other marine resources in ocean waters. It was negotiated last year.
• High seas are areas outside the national jurisdiction of any country because of which the treaty is also known as the agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions (BBNJ).
• It is formally called the Agreement on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.

Science and Technology

On Friday, the state government will hold an official reception for the ship, which will leave for Colombo after unloading around 1,900 containers. (Photo: X)

— MV San Fernando

• India’s first deepwater transshipment port, the Vizhinjam International Seaport near Thiruvananthapuram, received its first mothership, MV San Fernando, on July 11th.
• The MV San Fernando, operated by Bernhard Schulte Ship Management in Singapore and hired by Maersk (AP Moller Group), arrived from Xiamen port in China.
• Vizhinjam is the first international deepwater transshipment port in the Indian subcontinent, which is crucial for accommodating large vessels and motherships.
• This ₹7,600-crore project is being executed by Adani Ports and SEZ Private Limited under a design, build, finance, operate, and transfer (DBFOT) model.

— Max Take Off Weight (MTOW) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

• The NewSpace Research and Technologies has claimed to have successfully tested a 100-kg MTOW UAV at an altitude of 19,024 feet at Ladakh’s Umling La pass.
• Umling La pass is the highest motorable pass in the world.
• MTOW includes the weight of the drone and the payload.

(Please Note: A Cheetah helicopter can transport a load of approximately 25-75 kg at a similar altitude, albeit at a significantly higher cost. This advancement is crucial given the escalating tensions with China and Pakistan. Such advancements highlight the important role of the private sector in enhancing India’s security preparedness.)

Important days/Events

— International GenAI Conclave

• India’s first International GenAI Conclave is hosted by the Government of Kerala, in collaboration with IBM, from 11–12 July 2024 at Grand Hyatt, Mulavukad, Kochi.
• The event will bring together industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators to explore AI’s transformative potential and its impact on society and the economy.

(Source: ibm.com)

— Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas

• The Government has decided to observe June 25, the day the Emergency was declared in 1975, as “Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas” to commemorate the “massive contributions” of those who endured “inhuman pains of the period”.

International

Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with the Foreign Ministers of other nations during the 2nd BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat, in New Delhi. (PTI)

— BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers

• India has hosted the 2nd BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in New Delhi from 11-12 July 2024.
• The first edition of the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 17 July 2023.
• The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), brings together seven countries of South and South East Asia for multifaceted cooperation.
• The countries are India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.
• Thailand is the current chair of BIMSTEC and it is set to host the annual summit of the grouping later this year.

— NATO

• The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) celebrated its 75th anniversary on April 4, followed by a meeting in Washington, D.C. on July 11, 2024. NATO was formed as a Western security alliance on April 4, 1949.
• In this meeting, NATO expressed profound concern over China’s deepening relationship with Russia and accused Beijing of becoming a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
• NATO comprises 32 countries and the latest addition to this grouping is Sweden (2024).

Diseases

— Amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM)

• Another case of amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare brain infection caused by a free-living amoeba found in contaminated waters, has been reported from Kerala.
• PAM is a rare brain infection that is caused by Naegleria fowleri. It is a free-living amoeba or a single-celled living organism.
• Naegleria fowleri lives in warm fresh water and soil around the world, and infects people when it enters the body through the nose. Higher temperatures of up to 115°F (46°C) are conducive to its growth and it can survive for short periods in warm environments.

(Just FYI: UPSC has consistently included questions on health and diseases in its examinations over the years. For instance, in 2014, a question about the Ebola virus appeared in the Prelims, and in 2017, a question about the Zika virus was featured. Therefore, it is crucial to stay updated on diseases that are currently in the news.)

Honours

While the award was announced back in 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin conferred the award on PM Modi during a special ceremony at St Andrew Hall in Kremlin. (Reuters)

— Russia’s highest civilian honour to PM Modi

• Russia awarded its highest civilian honour, the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, during PM Modi’s visit to the country.
• The award was already announced in 2019.
• It is given for “exceptional services in promoting special & privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India and friendly relations between the Russian and Indian peoples.”
• Chinese President Xi Jinping and former President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev were also recipients of this honor.
• In March this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received Bhutan’s highest civilian award, the ‘Order of the Druk Gyalpo,’ becoming the first foreign Head of Government to be honored with this distinction.

Persons in News

Pezeshkian comes to power pledging a pragmatic foreign policy and an easing of enforcement of Iran’s mandatory headscarf law. (Reuters)

— Masoud Pezeshkian

• Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist candidate, won Iran’s Presidential election on 6th July, defeating hard-liner Saeed Jalili.
• The snap election followed the tragic death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May.
• As the head of the government, the President merely spearheads the implementation of the broad political guidelines laid down by the Supreme Guide, the Head of State. The Supreme Leader of Iran is  Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

— Madhu Kasyap

• Madhu Kasyap is one of three trans people who cracked the Bihar Police Subordinate Selection Commission (BPSSC) exams to qualify for SI positions in the state — a first for Bihar’s trans community.
• Apart from Madhu, two other 24-year-old trans people —Rohit Jha from Sitamarhi and Banty Kumar from Muzaffarpur — qualified for the exams.
• According to the Bihar caste survey conducted last year, there are 40,827 trans people in the state.

— CJI U U Lalit

• The Supreme Court has appointed former Chief Justice of India U U Lalit to head a search-cum-selection committee to oversee the appointment of vice-chancellors (V-Cs) in West Bengal’s state-run universities.
• This has come after the conflict between the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government and the West Bengal Governor over the appointment of Vice-Chancellors for state-run universities.

— Gautam Gambhir

• Gautam Gambhir has been appointed as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team.
• He takes over as head coach from Rahul Dravid, who stepped down from the role after India’s T20 World Cup win.

Places in News

Jagannatha Rath Yatra is a popular Hindu festival that is celebrated annually in the city of Odisha.

— Rath Yatra in Puri, Odisha

• The 147th Lord Jagannath’s annual Rath Yatra festival was organised on the 7th and 8th July 2024.
• At the heart of the Jagannatha Rath Yatra lies the symbolic journey of three deities: Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra, and their sister Subhadra.
• The Yatra is going to be a two-day affair after 53 years. The festival usually organised in a single was last held for two days in 1971.

— Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary

• The authorities rescued 150 people stranded at Pali waterfall in Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary (Goa) after heavy rain caused water levels to rise.
• Last year the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court directed the Goa government to declare Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and surrounding as a Tiger Reserve.
• It spreads over an area of 208 km2 & derives its name from the Madei River which flows across this Sanctuary.
• Dholpur – Karauli Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan became the 55th Tiger Reserve in India in 2023.

(Source: ntca.gov.in)

— Chitwan district, Nepal

• At least 65 people, including seven Indian nationals, are believed to be missing after two buses were swept away in the Trishuli River after a landslide in Nepal’s Chitwan area.
• The district is home to Chitwan National Park which was established in 1973 as Nepal’s first National Park.
• It was conferred with World Heritage site status in 1984 as one of the few remaining pristine tracts of the Terai landscape.
• It also contains a Ramsar Site – Beeshazari Tal in its buffer zone.

(Source: UNESCO)

— Udaygiri Caves

• President Droupadi Murmu visited the historic Udayagiri caves in Bhubaneswar during her four-day tour to Odisha.
• Udayagiri caves are renowned for the Hathigumpha inscription, carved in Brahmi script. The inscription begins with the ‘Jain Namokar Mantra’ and details the various military campaigns undertaken by Kharavela, a great monarch of Kalinga, the ancient name of Odisha.

(Source: newsonair.gov.in)

(Just FYI: The location of the place is important, considering that UPSC has asked several questions about places that were in the news, such as Aleppo and Kirkuk, in the 2018 UPSC Prelims. The best way to remember them is to plot them on map.)

Terms making buzz

Credit: Express design team

— Dunki Network: It refers to the long-winding, often dangerous routes that people across the world take to reach the places they want to immigrate to. These difficult journeys are undertaken due to a lack of requisite legal permits or financial resources.

— Tank Zorawar: Indigenously developed light tank weighing around 25 tonnes is in final stage of trail. It is developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T). The need for light tanks was realised during 2020 standoff with Chinese troops in Eastern Ladakh leading to the Project Zorawar.

— Cognitive test: It checks for problems with cognition, which includes brain functions such as thinking, learning, remembering, and using judgment and language. There have been calls for the President Joe Biden to take a cognitive test to determine the level of his mental acuity.

— Hannibal Directive:  It is a purported operational doctrine of using maximum force to ensure no soldiers are captured, even if it means sacrificing military and civilian lives. It was used from the first hours of the attack in at least three military facilities that Hamas infiltrated.

Test Your Knowledge

(Note: The best way to remember facts is to recall them, try to solve these questions on your own.)

A. Consider the following statements:

1. Chitwan National Park is the only national park in Nepal.

2. This National park was conferred with World Heritage site status in 1984 as one of the few remaining pristine tracts of the Terai landscape.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

B. Consider the following statements:

1. COP26 has operationalised the Loss and Damage Fund for fighting the climate change.

2. COP29 will be hosted by Azerbaijan who is taking over the mantle from United Arab Emirates.

How many of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

C. Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary is located in which of the following states?

(a) Uttar Pradesh

(b) Goa

(c) Telangana

(d) Uttarakhand

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RziHTJ1-4jI?si=5s_M0q2VfB4X167H&w=560&h=315