06 Dec 2024 Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CDS, CAPF, NDA & SSB

1. World Drought Atlas

According to the World Drought Atlas around 75 per cent of the population will be affected by drought by 2050.

About World Drought Atlas:

It has been launched by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in collaboration with European Commission Joint Research Centre.
It explains how worsening drought risks are linked to human activities and then delves into the impacts of drought in five key areas—water supply, agriculture, hydropower, inland navigation, and ecosystems.
It features 21 case studies from around the world, underscoring that no country is immune to drought and all can better prepare for it.
It describes concrete measures and pathways to manage, reduce, and adapt to systemic drought risks; underscores the co-benefits of these actions for different sectors; and showcases best practices from different regions.
The measures highlighted in the Atlas fall into three categories:
Governance (e.g. early warning systems, microinsurance for smallholder farmers, pricing schemes for water usage);
Land-use management (e.g. land restoration and agroforestry);
Management of water supply and use (e.g. wastewater reuse, managed groundwater recharge and conservation.)

Source : 75% global population to be affected by drought in 25 years: UNCCD’s ‘Drought Atlas’ provides adaptation guidelines

2. Gharcholas Saree

Recently, Gujarat’s ‘Gharcholas’ receive Geographical Indication tag.

About Gharcholas Saree:

It is also known as Ghatchola and Gharcholu which has finest bandhani work of Gujarat
It is traditionally been used for years in Gujarati weddings.
The name ‘Gharchola’ means ‘Outfit for Home’, which symbolizes a newly wedded bride joining her new home.
Features:
It is woven on Cotton or Silk fabric in large checks of using Silk and Zari threads.
This is further colored in Bandhani or tie & dye technique. These checkered patterns are filled with small golden motifs of peacocks, lotus, human figures, and floral designs.
These are traditionally crafted in auspicious colours such as red, maroon, green, and yellow, which hold special significance in Hindu customs.
A Gharchola Saree with 12 squares is known as ‘Bar Bagh’, while the one with 52 squares is known as ‘Bavan Bagh’.
The designs often incorporate symbols of fertility and prosperity, such as the kalash and the paan.
In recent time weavers are infusing modern designs and techniques into their gharcholas, blending tradition with contemporary appeal.
This is the 27th GI tag that Gujarat has received.

Source : Gujarat’s ‘Gharcholas’ received GI tag.

3. Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70)

The team from JNU's Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, identified a human protein, Hsp70, as a critical factor in the spread of diseases like malaria and Covid-19.

About Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70):

Hsp70 is a type of molecular chaperone, a protein that plays a vital role in helping other proteins fold into their proper shapes and preventing misfolding.
It plays a crucial role in regulating protein synthesis and protecting proteins from stress.
It becomes elevated during times of cellular stress and they help to shield cells from further insults.
Role in human body: It plays an important role in protein folding, preventing protein aggregation and transport of proteins across membranes. It is crucial for protein homeostasis and cell survival.

Highlights of the research:

The team of researchers discovered that Hsp70 interacts with the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2—the virus responsible for Covid-19—and human ACE2 receptors, which the virus uses to enter cells.
They hypothesized that during fever, Hsp70 levels rise and help stabilise this interaction, making it easier for the virus to infect cells. By inhibiting Hsp70, the researchers successfully blocked viral replication in lab tests.
The research suggests that targeting Hsp70 might help prevent drug resistance, a growing problem in treating infections.

Source : JNU scientists make big discovery that could change malaria, Covid-19 treatment.

4. SVAGRIHA Rating

Recently, the Inland Waterways Authority of India’s Intermodal Terminal (IMT) at Kalughat in Bihar has received five-star SVAGRIHA rating from GRIHA council.

About SVAGRIHA Rating:

SVAGRIHA rating that stands for Simple Versatile Affordable GRIHA – supports the concept of green buildings and sustainability under Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA).
It is a guidance-cum-rating system being developed for small stand-alone buildings like residences, commercial offices, motels, dispensaries, schools etc.
It has been developed in order to help reduce the environmental impact of these small developments.
Rating system:
It will be applicable only for projects which are less than 2500 sq.m. built-up area.
The rating system has 14 criteria.
Criteria: The criteria are divided into 5 broad sub-groups namely: architecture & energy, water & waste, materials, landscape and lifestyle.
It will be mandatory to attempt certain points under each sub-group. The total points that a project can achieve are 50.
The rating will be done on a 1–5-star scale.
It has been designed as a simple online tool with guiding parameters which will evaluate the performance of the project with respect to SVAGRIHA in a simple, easy to understand manner.

Kalughat Intermodal Terminal:

It is one among several infrastructural interventions made by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) for capacity augmentation of National Waterway 1 – River Ganga.
It has received the five-star rating for its efforts to for environmental sustainability by ensuring usage of recyclable materials like fibre, recyclable glasses, paint, sanitary fixtures etc during the building of the terminal.

Source : IWAI’s Kalughat IMT gets recognition for sustainable infrastructure project.

5. International Social Security Association

Recently, the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has been awarded one certificate of merit with special mention from the jury for its mobile application (Ask An Appointment - AAA+) at the Regional Social Security Forum for Asia and the Pacific (RSSF Asia-Pacific), organized by the International Social Security Association (ISSA) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

About ISSA:

It was founded in 1927, under the auspices of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
It promotes excellence in social security administration through professional guidelines, expert knowledge, services and support to enable its members to develop dynamic social security systems.
Governance:
General Assembly: It is actually the constituent assembly of the Association and is the highest statutory body. It consists all members of the ISSA are directly represented. It meets every three years.
Council: It constitutes the electoral body of the Association, composed of the titular delegates of each country in which the ISSA has at least one affiliate member, with each of these countries having one titular delegate.
Bureau: It constitutes the administrative authority of the Association, composed of the President of the ISSA, the Treasurer, the Secretary General, and elected members representing the different geographical regions of the world.
Control Commission: It examines the financial records of the Association and the annual report and statements presented to the Bureau by the Treasurer, and verify that all financial transactions have been carried out in conformity with the Financial Regulations.
India is a member country of this organization
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland

About the Ask An Appointment app:

It serves insured persons, beneficiaries, staff, and ESI pensioners, and is accessible in 8 languages, including English, Hindi, and six regional languages.
It is designed to streamline healthcare services, the app allows users to book online appointments, check in without waiting in queues, and access their e-Health records.
Other features such as Aadhaar seeding for beneficiaries, home sample collection requests, and eligibility checks for various ESI benefits have been added.
Additionally, prescriptions are prioritized at pharmacy counters, ensuring efficient service for AAA+ appointments.

Source : ESIC bags 4 certificates of merit in different categories at Regional Social Security Forum for Asia and the Pacific (RSSF Asia-Pacific) event of International Social Security Association (ISSA) at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

6. What is Homo juluensis?

Researchers have identified a new species of ancient humans, which they have named Homo juluensis, meaning "big head," based partly on a very large skull found in China.

About Homo juluensis:

It is a new species of ancient humans with distinctively large skulls.
The species, known as “big head people,” lived 300,000 years ago and survived in small groups across eastern Asia before disappearing around 50,000 years ago.
juluensis includes mysterious groups like the Denisovans—ancient human relatives whose histories are still being uncovered.
Fossils attributed to juluensis, primarily consisting of facial and jaw remains, exhibit dental characteristics reminiscent of Neanderthals.
Initial measurements indicate that their braincases were up to 30% larger than those of Homo sapiens.
They hunted wild horses in small groups, and made stone tools and possibly processed animal hides for survival.

About Neanderthals:

They were an extinct relative of modern humansonce found across Europe, extending into Central and Southwest Asia.
They are our closest extinct human relative.
Current evidence from both fossils and DNA suggests that Neanderthal and modern human lineages separated at least 500,000 years ago.
Although they are long extinct, their genes are still present in modern human DNA.

Source : New, big-headed archaic humans discovered.

7. SheSTEM 2024

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), under the NITI Aayog and the Office of Science & Innovation, at the Embassy of Sweden, are pleased to announce the successful conclusion of SheSTEM 2024.

About SheSTEM 2024:

SheSTEM is an annual event by Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and the Office of Science and Innovation at the Embassy of Sweden.
It celebrates the contributions of women in STEM and serves as a catalyst to inspire the next generation of innovators by encouraging young minds to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
The SheSTEM 2024 challenge invited students from grades 6–12 across India to submit innovative ideas focused on Battery Technology and Energy Storage (BEST) systems.
Part of the India-Nordic BEST project, the challenge aims to foster sustainability by advancing energy solutions.
Participants were tasked with presenting their prototypes or concepts for energy storage and sustainability in a two-minute video format.
The competition received an exceptional response, with over 1000 submissions demonstrating the creativity, problem-solving skills, and forward-thinking mindset of India's youth.

About Atal Innovation Mission (AIM):

It is a flagship initiative set up by the NITI Aayog in 2016 with an objective to create and encourage an environment of innovation as well as entrepreneurship across schools, educational organisations, research institutes and industries including MSMEs.
It has two functions:
Promote entrepreneurship by encouraging innovators to become entrepreneurs through financial support as well as mentorship
Promote innovation by creating a platform where ideas are generated through like-minded individuals
AIM has created four programs to support these functions:
Atal Tinkering Labs
Atal Incubation Centres
Atal New India Challenges and Atal Grand Challenges
Mentor India
Apart from these programs, AIM also seeks and collaborates with academia, industries, NGOs,and individuals to enable an atmosphere of innovation.
All the initiatives of AIM are currently monitored and managed systematically using real-time MIS systems and dynamic dashboards.

Source : Atal Innovation Mission and Swedish Embassy celebrated SheSTEM 2024, pioneering youth-led solutions for a Sustainable Future.

8. What are Nanobubbles?

The Union Minister of State for Forest, Environment, and Climate Change recently launched 'Nano Bubble Technology' for cleaning and purifying the water of the National Zoological Park, Delhi, to promote the health of aquatic animals.

About Nanobubbles:

These are 70-120 nanometers in size, 2500 times smaller than a single grain of salt.
They can be formed using any gas and injected into any liquid.
They have unique physical and chemical properties and are superior to other aeration methods.
Therefore, nanobubble technology is used in a variety of applications, including water treatment, agriculture, aquaculture, food processing, and other industrial areas.
Properties:
Large Surface Area: Nanobubbles have a high surface area to volume ratio, allowing for a greater amount of gas to be in contact with water. This, combined with their ability to remain suspended in water due to their small size and high buoyancy, results in increased gas transfer efficiency between the gas and water phases.
Homogenous distribution: Nanobubbles stay in the water for a long time. This unique feature enables nanobubbles to provide a homogenous distribution of oxygen throughout an entire body of water and dissolved oxygen levels are maintained for a very long time.
High Oxygen Transfer Efficiency: Nanobubbles can efficiently deliver oxygen into water due to the very large surface area and their Brownian motion. Oxygen transfer efficiency with nanobubbles is reached to around 90%.
Surface charge: Nanobubbles have a strong negative surface charge. This negative charge improves separation efficiency in the floating process.
Benefits: Due to the various inherent physical properties of nanobubbles, the ability to transfer gas to liquid is very high, and thus has the following advantages:
Improved Water Treatment: Nanobubbles can effectively remove organic pollutants, bacteria, and other contaminants from water.
More Efficient Cleaning: Nanobubbles can penetrate surface pores and crevices, providing a more thorough cleaning that is effective against stubborn dirt and grime.
Enhanced Agriculture and Aquaculture: Supplying oxygen nanobubbles to plants and aquatic organisms can improve their growth, health, and resilience.
Nanobubbles can also enhance nutrient absorption, reduce the need for pesticides and other chemicals, and improve crop yields.
Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery: Nanobubbles can increase the efficiency of oil and gas recovery by improving the flow of fluids and reducing the amount of chemicals needed in the process.
Improved Skin and Hair Health: Nanobubbles can help enhance the absorption of skincare products, leading to healthier skin.

Source : Government recently launched 'Nano Bubble Technology' for cleaning and purifying water in National Zoological Park, Delhi to promote the health of aquatic animals.

9. Trouessartia thalassina and Proterothrix sibilla

In the subtropical forests of Meghalaya, a Romanian-led research team has uncovered two previously unknown species of feather mites named Trouessartia thalassina and Proterothrix sibilla.

About Trouessartia thalassina and Proterothrix sibilla:

These are mites, have been identified on the Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus) and the Small Niltava (Niltava macgrigoriae), the two bird species native to the East Khasi Hills district.
thalassinais notable for its semi-ovate terminal lamellae and lanceolate setae in males, while females exhibit unique non-sclerotized lacunae.
- It is named after the Verditer Flycatcher, whose sea-green plumage inspired the Latin word thalassina, meaning “sea-green.”
Meanwhile, sibillae, part of the wolffi species group, is distinguished by its larger size, circular lacunae on the prodorsal shield, and distinctive male genital structures.
- It is named after Maria Sibylla Merian, a trailblazing German naturalist known for her pioneering work in insect taxonomy.

What Are Feather Mites?

Feather mites are microscopic arachnids that inhabit bird feathers, feeding on oils, skin flakes, and organic debris.
Typically, they maintain a symbiotic relationship with their avian hosts, helping to keep feathers clean and healthy.
However, under stress, they can become parasitic, causing irritation or feather damage.
Found worldwide, the feather mites are transferred between birds through close contact, especially during nesting.

Source : Romanian Scientists unveiled two new Feather Mites in Meghalaya.

10. Tikhir Tribe

In a historic first, the Tikhir tribe of Nagaland held its first-ever Log Drum Pulling Ceremony on the third day of the ongoing 25th Hornbill Festival 2024.

About Tikhir Tribe:

It is one of the indigenous Naga tribes, found in Nagaland and in parts of the neighboring States. Some live across the border, in Myanmar also.
They speak a language called Naga Yimchungru, which is part of the Tibeto-Burman language family, like other Naga languages.
They make their living from agriculture and hunting. At one time, the Tikhir were headhunters and a man's prestige depended upon the number of enemies he had killed.
- Headhunting was banned, and the last recorded incident took place in the 1960s.
Beliefs:
With the coming of the Christian missionaries to Nagaland, most Tikhirs converted to Christianity.
Many of the Tikhir practice elements of folk religion with their Christianity.
"Tsonglaknyi" the main Tikhir Festival, is observed from 9th to 12th October every year. It is basically a festival of the sanctification of Shield.

Source : First-Ever Log Drum Pulling Ceremony of Tikhir Tribe at Hornbill Festival 2024 marks historic Milestone.

06 Dec 2024 Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CDS, CAPF, NDA & SSB

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