16 MAY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

1. INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR BUDDHIST CULTURE AND HERITAGE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the construction of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage during visit to Lumbini in Nepal on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti.

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Lumbini is the place where Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born around 623 BC. He later attained enlightenment at Bodhgaya in Bihar district and came to be known as the Buddha.
Modi will participate in the shilanyas [foundation stone laying] ceremony for the India International Centre and offer prayers at the Mayadevi temple that is dedicated to the mother of the Buddha.
The work on the centre will be undertaken by the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), which is a “grantee body” under the Ministry of Culture.
The International Buddhist Confederation was registered on November 2, 2012, and is aimed at propagating and preserving the teachings and heritage of the Buddha across the world, and especially in India’s immediate neighbourhood.
The Buddhist centre would be the first “net zero emission” building in Nepal.

Source : The Hindu

2. ENCEPHALITIS VIRUSES

A vaccine for eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV), western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV), and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) was found to be safe, well-tolerated and induced a neutralising antibody response in adult volunteers.

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EEEV, WEEV and VEEV are spread to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes.
Horses are also susceptible to infection, but horses cannot transmit the viruses directly to humans. Infections in humans are rare but can lead to flu-like symptoms and, in some cases, severe neurological damage or death.
Researchers designed a virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine candidate that uses proteins from the outer shells of the viruses. VLPs do not contain the genetic material that the viruses need to replicate inside cells, so VLPs cannot cause infection.

Source : Indian Express

3. DEVASAHAYAM PILLAI

Devasahayam Pillai, who was born a Hindu in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu and converted to Christianity in the 18th century, became the first Indian layman to be declared a saint by the Vatican.

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Pope Francis canonised Blessed Devasahayam during the Canonisation Mass in St Peter’s Basilica.
Devasahayam was born on April 23, 1712 in Nattalam village in Kanyakumari district, and went on to serve in the court of Marthanda Varma of Travancore.
After meeting a Dutch naval commander at the court, Devasahayam was baptised in 1745, and assumed the name ‘Lazarus’, meaning ‘God is my help’.

Source : Indian Express

4. THOMAS CUP

India won its first ever Thomas Cup title after beating title holders Indonesia 3-0 in the 2022 edition.

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The Thomas Cup, sometimes called the World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body.
The first tournament was held in 1948–1949. The Thomas Cup competition was the idea of Sir George Alan Thomas, a highly successful English badminton player of the early 1900s, who was inspired by tennis's Davis Cup.
The championships have been conducted every two years.

Source: Times of India

5. PRAVAIG FIELD PACK

A Bengaluru-based venture Pravaig has produced a rugged tactical battery that it is now planning to sell to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces in Europe.

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The heavy-duty power bank — Pravaig Field Pack — is portable and weighs 14 kilograms.
It is of great utility to the digitally connected modern military and special forces personnel who have to operate in high-risk zones such as Ukraine and Libya, while using gadgets that require constant power back-up.
A powerful tactical battery can be used even to operate larger military equipment such as drones and it can even help coordinate tactical operations which involves multiple weapons systems.
This supply marks a major shift in the defence landscape of India, from users to developers, from importers to exporters.
As illustrated by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, digital coordination is now part of the battlefield readiness of modern soldiers and special forces personnel.

Source: The Hindu

6. YOON SUK YEOL

Yoon Suk Yeol was sworn in as President of South Korea, ushering in the country's first conservative government in five years.

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One of Yoon's main challenges will be dealing with North Korea, which is accelerating its nuclear and missile development.
South Korea is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan.

Source: All India Radio

7. INDIA-BANGLADESH NUCLEAR COOPERATION

The India-Bangladesh joint committee meeting on peaceful uses of nuclear energy was held in Dhaka on 11-12 May 2022.

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Both sides stated their desire for collaboration in societal applications of radiation technologies in areas such as cancer care, nuclear medicine and food preservation.
The Bangladesh side expressed appreciation for the services being rendered by the Indian experts currently deployed at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.
Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will be a 2.4 GWe nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.
The nuclear power plant is being constructed at Rooppur on the bank of the river Padma.
In 2018, India, Bangladesh and Russia signed an agreement to allow Indian firms in construction and installation works in the “non-critical" category for the Rooppur nuclear power plant project in northwest Bangladesh.

Source: All India Radio

8. REMITTANCES

Officially recorded remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are expected to increase by 4.2 percent in 2022 to reach $630 billion.

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This follows an almost record recovery of 8.6 percent in 2021, according to the World Bank’s latest Migration and Development Brief released today.
Remittances to Ukraine, which is the largest recipient in Europe and Central Asia, are expected to rise by over 20 percent in 2022.
The top five recipient countries for remittances in 2021 were India, Mexico (replacing China), China, the Philippines, and Egypt.
India topped the list in the world receiving USD 89 billion in remittance followed by Mexico at USD 54 billion, and China at USD 53 billion last year.
Among economies where remittance inflows stand at very high shares of GDP are Lebanon (54 percent), Tonga (44 percent), Tajikistan (34 percent), Kyrgyz Republic (33 percent), and Samoa (32 percent).

Source: All India Radio

9. CRUISE TOURISM

Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways inaugurated the 1st Incredible India International Cruise Conference 2022 in Mumbai.

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The 1st Incredible India International Cruise Conference has been jointly organized by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Government of India and FICCI.
He asserted that Indian cruise market has the potential to grow 10 folds over the next decade.

Government of India initiatives

Government has set up a Task Force headed by the Secretary, Tourism and Secretary, Shipping for development of cruise tourism.
The Minister announced the setting up of a high level Advisory Committee, comprising national and international experts, to help the Task Force in creating an enabling eco-system for development of cruise tourism in the country.
‘Four theme based coastal destination circuits such as Gujarat Pilgrimage tours, West Coast – Cultural and scenic tours, South Coast – Ayurvedic wellness tours and East Coast – Heritage tourism have been developed to activate cruise demand.
India aims to increase cruise passenger traffic from 0.4 million at present to 4 million. Economic potential of Cruise tourism is expected to go up from USD 110 mn to USD 5.5 bn in the years to come.
Upgradation and modernisation are being carried out at seven major ports in the country including the flagship New International Cruise terminal coming up in Mumbai at BPX-Indira Dock, which is expected to be commissioned by July 2024.
Similar infrastructure upgradation is taking place in Goa, New Mangalore, Kochi, Chennai, Visakhapatnam and Kolkata. ‘

Source: PIB

10. NATIONAL CYBER FORENSIC LABORATORY (NCFL)

Union Home and Co-operation Minister, Amit Shah has formally inaugurated the National Cyber Forensic Laboratory (NCFL) in Hyderabad.

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He inaugurated the laboratory at the premises of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory located at Ramanthapur in the city.
The Cyber and Information Security Division of the Home Ministry has set up the NCFL at the CFSL under Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Child scheme.
The NCFL has created 4 specialized Hi-tech units to address issues in the field of digital forensics, which include a Mobile phone embedded system examination unit, a Digital storage Media Examination Unit, an Advanced Digital Forensic Unit, and Crime Scene Unit.

Source: All India Radio

11. GATISHAKTI SANCHAR PORTAL

Minister of Communications, Electronics, and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw launched Gatishakti Sanchar Portal in New Delhi.

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This integrated and centralized portal will facilitate smooth deployment of digital communications infrastructure across the country.
This portal was envisaged to streamline the process and for faster clearance of Right of Way (RoW) with transparency, accountability, and effective monitoring of various digital-based projects,
This portal will help in the rollout of 5G network across the country.
Integration of various infrastructures on this portal will help get clearance of right-to-way applications within a span of 20 to 22 days.
The portal has been developed by MP State Electronics Development Corporation on behalf of Department of Telecommunication.

Source : All India Radio

12. BAN ON WHEAT EXPORTS

In a knee-jerk reaction, the Government has banned wheat exports with effect from May 13, with some minor exceptions for those who have irrevocable letters of credit or where the governments of importing countries request the Indian government for food security purposes.

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This comes as a shock because only a month ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that if WTO allows us to export grains, India will start exporting from tomorrow to feed the world.
Possible reasons
- Revised estimates of wheat production are much lower than the estimated 111 mmt (million metric tonnes). Wheat procurement is likely to end up at around 19 to 20 mmt by June-end against the more than 43 mmt last year.
- Another factor could be that the April ’22 wheat inflation is at 9.59 per cent (y-o-y) against overall cereal inflation of 5.96 per cent.
Criticism: No matter what the rationale is, it hits the credibility of India as a reliable supplier of anything in global markets. It conveys that we don’t have any credible export policy as it can turn its back at the drop of a hat.

Source: Indian Express

13. LUNA

The sharp crash in Luna, the sister cryptocurrency of algorithmic stablecoin Terra, which has rendered it almost worthless, has sent shockwaves throughout the cryptocurrency market, with experts likening the crash in the crypto market to be as severe as the big financial crisis of 2008.

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The near-collapse of these stablecoins, considered to be comparatively safer investment bets within the crypto universe, has also prompted regulators and authorities to call for stricter laws governing these financial assets.
Stablecoins are tokens pegged to the value of a government-backed currency such as the US dollar or commodities like gold or silver. Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) are the two leading stablecoins.
The value proposition of these tokens is that they largely trade around $1 per token, which gives investors some security in highly volatile market situations.
TerraUSD, or UST, is different from Tether in that it is not backed by a fiat currency or other commodities, but instead relies on a complex mix of code and a sister token called luna to stabilise its price.
Terra is referred to as an algorithmic stablecoin, meaning that its value is not determined by the financial collateral in the traditional markets but by lines of complex computer code.

Source: Indian Express

14. SPACE DEBRIS

On May 12, fragments of suspected debris “fell from space” at three locations in Gujarat — Bhalej, Khambholaj, and Rampura.

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Space debris can include natural space debris such as meteoroids, or man-made ones which can include defunct spacecrafts and satellites, stages of rockets which have launched payloads, dead satellites, satellite explosions and collisions.
According to NASA, “more than 25,000 objects larger than 10 cm are known to exist” as space debris and the estimated population of particles between 1 and 10 cm in diameter is approximately 500,000.
According to NASA’s estimates, as of January 2022, the amount of material orbiting the Earth exceeded 9,000 metric tons.

The difference in impact made by a natural and man-made debris

Most pieces of space debris burn up as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, the process starting from around a height of 100 km from Earth’s surface to 20 km.
However, sometimes, very heavy pieces may not burn completely, and some part of the object may make it down to the surface, either hitting a landmass or a waterbody.
In cases of man-made debris, it often disintegrates into fragments, thus hardly ever creating large-scale impact. It is usually natural debris, such as asteroids and meteoroids, that cause relatively large-scale craters, if it ends up hitting a landmass.

Source : Indian Express

16 MAY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

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