14 MARCH 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

1. INDIA-SRI LANKA RELATIONS

Adani Group has signed a deal for two large power projects in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, six months after it bagged a strategic port terminal project in Colombo that it is now executing with majority stakes.

About:

The two renewable energy projects, involving the Adani Group, were aimed at generating combined capacity of 500 MW, at a cost of $500 million.
Both projects are in the Northern Province, where India objected to a Chinese energy project last year, citing proximity to the Tamil Nadu coast.
The agreement was inked the same day that the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) of India and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) agreed to set up a 100 MW solar power project in Sampur, in the eastern Trincomalee district.

Background

Sri Lanka has a daily peak demand of over 2000 MW, and is currently experiencing a severe fuel and power shortage, resulting in right hour-long power cuts across the country that citizens’ groups have been protesting.

Sri Lanka is also in the midst of its worst economic crisis in years, prompting the government to tap assistance from different sources.

Source : The Hindu

2. MANGALAJODI

The Odisha government has proposed to ban movement of mechanised fishing boats in the Mangalajodi area of the Chilika lake, an important haunt of migratory birds, to provide the winged guests an undisturbed ecosystem for six months every year.

About:

Mangalajodi is an olden village under Tangi, Odisha block in Khordha district of Odisha at the northern edge of Chilika Lake.
Mangalajodi is recognised as globally important for the conservation of birds. Migratory birds arrive there for roosting.
However, no statutory rules and regulations are there for protecting the 8.3-sq.km marshland with emergent vegetation.
Many occasions and festivals are celebrated in Mangalajodi. Danda Yatra is one of the oldest ritual occasions celebrated in the month of Chaitra. Paika Akhada is another dance performed by some villagers.

Source : The Hindu

3. INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC)

Amid mounting calls to prosecute Russian president Vladimir Putin, the International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier this month launched an investigation into the alleged war crimes committed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

About:

HQ: The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a permanent judicial body based at The Hague in the Netherlands.
Background: It was created by the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (its founding and governing document), and began functioning on 1 July 2002 when the Statute came into force.
Mandate: The forum was established as a court of last resort to prosecute offences that would otherwise go unpunished, and has jurisdiction over four main crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
Members: 123 nations are States Parties to the Rome Statute and recognise the ICC’s authority; the notable exceptions being the US, China, Russia, and India.
Judges: 18; Elected for 9-year term.
Relation with UN: While not a United Nations organization, the Court has a cooperation agreement with the United Nations. When a situation is not within the Court’s jurisdiction, the United Nations Security Council can refer the situation to the ICC granting it jurisdiction.

Source : Indian Express

4. GenOMICC project

Scientists in the United Kingdom as part of a research project, GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care), have identified 16 new genetic variants that make a person more susceptible to a severe COVID-19 infection.

About:

The GenOMICC— reportedly the largest of its kind — is a research study that brings together clinicians and scientists from around the world to find the genetic factors that lead to critical illnesses.
The scientists involved compare the DNA of critically-ill patients with members of the general population. However, ferreting out such differences requires a large number of people and comparing their genetic structures at multiple levels of resolution.
Since 2015, the GenOMICC has been studying emerging infections such as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome), flu, sepsis, and other forms of critical illness.

Source : The Hindu

5. MUSEUM OF THE FUTURE

The Museum of the Future in Dubai was recently thrown open to the public.

About:

The  Museum of the Future is an exhibition space for innovative and futuristic ideologies, services, and products. The goal of this museum is to promote technological development and innovation, especially in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI).
The museum reportedly takes the visitors on an experiential journey, transporting them to the year 2071, to coincide with the centenary of the founding of the UAE.
Located in the Financial District of Dubai, UAE, the Museum of the Future has three main elements: green hill, building, and void.
Founded by the Dubai Future Foundation, it was opened on 22nd February of 2022. The choice of the date was officially made because the 22nd of February 2022 is the Palindrome date.

Palindrome

A palindrome is a word, number, phrase, or other sequence of characters which reads the same backward as forward, such as madam or racecar.
Tuesday, 22 February 2022 is considered a palindrome day (22022022 using dd-mm-yyyy format) as it can be read from left to right or vice versa.

Source : Indian Express

6. NUTRACEUTICALS

Aimed at providing accessible, standardised and affordable generic medicines, the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) Kendras have added nutraceuticals products, including protein powder and bar, malt-based food supplements and immunity bar for its customers.

About:

Nutraceuticals are products, which other than nutrition are also used as medicine.
A nutraceutical product may be defined as a substance, which has physiological benefit or provides protection against chronic disease.

PMBJP Kendras

Currently, 8,675 PMBJP Kendras function in districts across the country with three IT-enabled warehouses in Gurugram, Chennai and Guwahati and another one ready to start operations in Surat.
Under the PMBJP being implemented by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, a medicine is priced on the principle of maximum of 50% of the average price of the top three brands of the said medicine. Thus, the prices of Jan Aushadhi medicines are cheaper at least by 50% and in some cases, by 80% to 90% of the market price of the branded medicines.
In India, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority under the Department of Pharmaceuticals regulates the prices of all drugs, whether branded or generic.
While it fixes the ceiling price of scheduled medicines specified in the first schedule of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013, in case of non-scheduled medicines, the manufactures are free to fix the maximum retail price (MRP) of the drug.

Source : The Hindu

7. GONDIA

Daily flight between the Indore-Gondia-Hyderabad route under RCS-UDAN scheme was flagged-off. Fly Big was awarded the route under the UDAN RCS-4.0 bidding process. With this, 409 routes would be operationalized under the UDAN-RCS scheme.

About:

Gondia (also spelled Gondiya) is a city and municipal council in the state of Maharashtra
It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Gondia administrative district.
Gondia is very close to the state of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and is considered the gateway to Maharashtra from central and eastern India.
The region is named after the Gondi people, an Adivasi group in central India.
Gondia is also known as Rice City due to the abundance of rice mills in the area. The city also has some small-scale tobacco and lac industries as well.

Source : PIB

8. GENDER SAMWAAD

Over 3000 State Mission staff and Self-Help Group (SHG) members logged in from 34 states to attend the third edition of ‘Gender Samwaad’ organised by the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development on the 11th of March 2022.

About:

It is a national virtual initiative under the DAY-NRLM to generate greater awareness on the mission’s interventions across the country with a gender lens.
The theme for this edition was ‘Promotion of food and nutrition security through women’s collectives’.
The event enabled National and State Rural Livelihoods Missions (SRLM) to listen to voices from SHG women and for SRLMs to share and learn from best practices.

Source : PIB

9. TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA (TRAI) ACT

Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) organised a seminar on “25 Years of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act.

About:

In the year 1997, TRAI Act was enacted to regulate the telecommunications sector in India.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is a regulatory body set up by the Government of India under section 3 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997.
It is the regulator of the telecommunications sector in India. It consists of a Chairperson and not more than two full-time members and not more than two part-time members.
The act also provided for a mechanism of dispute resolution among the stakeholders of telecom sector.
It was amended in 2000, establishing a Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to take over the adjudicatory and disputes functions from TRAI.

Source : PIB

10. GALLIUM NITRIDE (GaN)

Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology visited the Gallium Nitride Ecosystem Enabling Centre and Incubator ( GEECI ) facility at the prestigious Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), Bengaluru.

About:

The facility has been jointly set up by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and IISc Bengaluru aimed at establishing Gallium Nitride (GaN) based Development Line Foundry facility for strategic applications.
Gallium nitride (GaN) is a very hard, mechanically stable wide bandgap semiconductor.
With higher breakdown strength, faster switching speed, higher thermal conductivity and lower on-resistance, power devices based on GaN significantly outperform silicon-based devices.
Gallium nitride crystals can be grown on a variety of substrates, including sapphire, silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon (Si).

Source : PIB

14 MARCH 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

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