04 FEBRUARY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

1. CHANDRAYAN-3

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will make its third venture to the Moon through the Chandrayaan-3 mission in August this year. This was stated by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

About:

Chandrayaan-3 is a planned third lunar exploration mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Following Chandrayaan-2, where a last-minute glitch in the soft landing guidance software led to the failure of the lander's soft landing attempt after a successful orbital insertion, another lunar mission for demonstrating soft landing was proposed.
Chandrayaan-3 will be a mission repeat of Chandrayaan-2 but will only include a lander and rover similar to that of Chandrayaan-2. It will not have an orbiter.
The spacecraft is planned to be launched in August 2022.

Do you know?

This year is expected to be quite busy for ISRO as major projects such as Gaganyaan and Aditya solar mission are also in the pipeline. ISRO will conduct 19 missions till December this year.

Source : All India Radio

2. RIVER CITIES ALLIANCE

Minister for Jal Shakti informed Lok Sabha about the River Cities Alliance.

About:

The River Cities Alliance (RCA) has been launched with the objective to provide the member cities with a platform to discuss and exchange information on aspects that are vital for sustainable management of urban rivers, sharing best practices and supporting innovation.
The alliance has been launched initially with 30 cities namely Dehradun, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Srinagar, Varanasi, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Farrukhabad, Mirzapur, Mathura, Bijnor, Ayodhya, Patna, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Munger, Sahibganj, Rajmahal, Howrah, Jangipur, Hugli-Chinsurah, Behrampore, Maheshtala, Aurangabad, Chennai, Bhubaneshwar, Hyderabad, Pune, Udaipur and Vijaywada.
The Alliance is open to all river cities of India. Any river city can join the Alliance at any time.
State Governments are implementing Action Plans for restoration of water quality of the identified polluted river stretches.
The implementation is being monitored regularly at State level by Chief Secretary of the respective State/UT and at Central level by the Central Monitoring Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Source : PIB

3. PUNAURA DHAM

As per the request received from the State Government of Bihar, Ministry of Tourism has included Punaura Dham in the Ramayana circuit of Swadesh Darshan Scheme. The destination of Punaura Dham has been recently included under PRASHAD Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism.

About:

Punaura Dham, considered to be birthplace of Goddess Sita, is spread over around 10 acres of land in Punaura village, about 5km west of Sitamarhi town.
The shrine compound has a Ram Janki temple, a pond called Sita Kund and a hall.

Source : Times of India

4. ARAVALLI BIODIVERSITY PARK

Aravalli Biodiversity Park was declared India’s first “other effective area-based conservation measures” (OECM) site.The OECM tag is given by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The tag is conferred upon areas that have achieved effective in-situ conservation of biodiversity, but are outside protected areas like national parks and sanctuaries.

The OECM tag does not bring any legal, financial or management implications but designates the area as a biodiversity hotspot on the international map.

Note: The proposal to declare Aravalli Biodiversity Park an OECM site was sent by the National Biodiversity Authority to the IUCN in 2020.

What is Aravalli Biodiversity Park?

The Aravalli Biodiversity Park is located in Gurugram. It has semi-arid vegetation with lots of native plants, trees, shrubs and several species of birds.

The park was transformed into a city forest from a 40-year-old mining site through the efforts of citizens, ecologists and scientists along with the help of the urban local body of Gurugram.

Source: Hindustan Times

5. NATIONAL ADAPTATION FUND FOR CLIMATE CHANGE (NAFCC)

The National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC) was established to support adaptation activities in the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India that are vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

About:

NAFCC is implemented in project mode and till date, 30 projects are sanctioned in 27 States and UTs.
The NAFCC projects implemented in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh include activities relating to coastal areas and these projects are –
- Promotion of integrated farming system of Kaipad in coastal wetlands of North Kerala
- Management and rehabilitation of coastal habitats and biodiversity for climate Change Adaptation and Sustainable Livelihood in Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu and
- Climate Resilient interventions in Dairy Sector in coastal and Arid areas in Andhra Pradesh.
Till date, a sum of Rs. 6,35,68,108/- has been released to the State of Andhra Pradesh under NAFCC.

Important Info :

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has demarcated the Hazard Line for the entire mainland coast of India under its Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) project.
Further, Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2019 has been notified to conserve and protect the unique environment of coastal stretches and marine areas to promote sustainable development.

Source : PIB

6. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS)

NASA has announced that the International Space Station (ISS) will cease operations in 2031, after which it will fall out of orbit and plunge into the waters of the South Pacific Ocean.

Point Nemo

According to NASA’s budget estimates, the ISS’ re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere will take place in January 2031.
Mission control will first lower its altitude, before the spacecraft begins its descent into the “South Pacific Oceanic Uninhabited Area (SPOUA),” in an area known as Point Nemo.
Point Nemo has grown to become a sort of space cemetery, where decommissioned space debris is often brought to rest. Located about 2,700 km away from any land, it is named after a character in Jules Verne’s novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

Achievements of ISS

Several landmark firsts were recorded onboard the ISS in the last two decades.
For instance, in 2018, NASA’s Cold Atom Lab became the first facility to produce the fifth state of matter, called a Bose-Einstein condensate, in space. In 2016, a NASA astronaut was able to sequence DNA in space for the first time.

Source : Indian Express

7. STATUE OF EQUALITY

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Statue of Equality, a gigantic statue of Ramanujacharya, on February 5 on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Who was Ramanujacharya?

Born in 1017 in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, Ramanujacharya is revered as a Vedic philosopher and social reformer. He travelled across India, advocating equality and social justice.
Ramanuja revived the Bhakti movement, and his preachings inspired other Bhakti schools of thought. He is considered to be the inspiration for poets like Annamacharya, Bhakt Ramdas, Thyagaraja, Kabir, and Meerabai.
He went on to write nine scriptures known as the navaratnas, and composed numerous commentaries on Vedic scriptures.

Why is it called the Statue of Equality?

Ramanuja was an advocate of social equality among all sections of people centuries ago, and encouraged temples to open their doors to everyone irrespective of caste or position in society at a time when people of many castes were forbidden from entering them.
He took education to those who were deprived of it. His greatest contribution is the propagation of the concept of “vasudhaiva kutumbakam”, which translates as “all the universe is one family”.

Source : Indian Express

8. NORTH KOREA MISSILE TEST

North Korea has conducted its biggest missile launch since 2017. North Korea has claimed the missile which it test fired recently is extremely powerful and can travel hundreds of miles, It also has the ability to strike the US Northern Pacific command Guam.

About:

The test was an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), which would be the biggest missile tested since November 2017.
The missile reached an altitude of 2,000km and flew for 30 minutes to a distance of 800km. Finally, it landed in the Sea of Japan.
North Korea has conducted a record number of seven missile launches in the month of January 2022 alone - which was strongly condemned by the US, South Korea, Japan, and other nations.
The UN prohibits North Korea from ballistic and nuclear weapons tests, and has imposed strict sanctions, but the East Asian state regularly defies the ban.

Guam?

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean.
In Oceania, it is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands and the largest island in Micronesia.
Guam's capital is Hagåtña.
People born on Guam are American citizens but have no vote in the United States presidential elections.

Source : All India Radio

9. BURKINA FASO

In Burkina Faso, the military government announced that it has restored the constitution a week after taking power and has appointed the coup’s leader as head of state for a transitional period.

About:

Just hours earlier, the African Union's 15-member Peace and Security Council announced that it had voted to suspend the participation of Burkina Faso in all AU activities until the effective restoration of constitutional order in the country.
On January 24, rebel soldiers detained president Roch Marc Christian Kabore and imposed army rule on the country.

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and the Ivory Coast to the southwest.
Its capital and largest city is Ouagadougou.

Source : All India Radio

10. BORDER HAAT AT KAMALPUR-KUMARGHAT

The foundation stone for the third border haat at Kamalpur-Kumarghat on Tripura- Bangladesh border was laid jointly by the Chief Minister of Tripura Biplab Kumar Deb and Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi.

About:

The border haat is spread over 75 square metres and can accommodate 100 vendors on each side of the border.
Inaugurating the border haat, Chief Minister Biplab Deb said that apart from enhancing trade relations between the two countries, the border haat will also strengthen friendly relationship between the two countries.
He said that eight border haats are proposed to be built on the border between Tripura and Bangladesh out of which two are already functional at Kamalasagar in Sepahijala district and Srinagar in South Tripura district.
He expressed hope that the border haat will start functioning at Kamalpur from this year. The consent for the fourth border haat at Raghna in Dharmanagar has been received on which work is expected to start from this year, said the Chief Minister.

Source : All India Radio

04 FEBRUARY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

What is Aravalli Biodiversity Park?

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

03 FEBRUARY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

05 FEBRUARY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

Categories

Latest Affair