24 APRIL 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

1. FOODGRAINS EXPORT BY INDIA

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO), is looking into resolving WTO rules that are making it difficult for India to export foodgrains to meet shortages in other countries, caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

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The difficulties included WTO rules around the export of food by a country that had also procured food on a Minimum Support Price basis.
At the IMF Plenary meeting on Thursday, Ms. Okonjo-Iweala said the WTO was “looking at it [food export issues] positively,” as per the Finance Minister, who expressed optimism that the issue could be resolved.
India has reached out to more than 20 countries regarding exporting wheat, and is targeting a record 15 million tonnes of wheat for export this year, as per a Bloomberg report.
India is expected to have a surplus this year, producing more than 111 million tonnes of the crop.
India’s export of foodgrains to meet global market shortages was also discussed during External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s meetings in Washington last week.

Source : The Hindu

2. BLUE STRAGGLER STARS

Blue stragglers, is a particular type of star seen in clusters and also, sometimes, alone. Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru conducted a study on their aberrant behaviour.

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For this, the researchers also made use of the observations by the UVIT instrument (Ultra Violet Imaging Telescope) of ASTROSAT, India’s first science observatory in space.
A blue straggler is a main-sequence star in an open or globular cluster that is more luminous and bluer than stars at the main sequence turnoff point for the cluster.
Blue stragglers were first discovered by Allan Sandage in 1953 while performing photometry of the stars in the globular cluster M3.

The puzzle of why a blue straggler is more massive, and energetic, than expected may be resolved in several ways:

One, that these do not belong to the family of stars in the cluster, and hence are not expected to have the group properties. But if they actually belong, the evasive behaviour is due to these stars gaining mass from a binary companion.
Second, the straggler draws matter from the giant companion and grows more massive, hot and blue, and the red giant ends up as a normal or smaller white dwarf.
The third possibility is that the straggler draws matter from a companion star, but that there is a third star that facilitates this process.
The IIAP researchers have shown evidence that supports the second of the hypotheses listed above.

Source : The Hindu

3. COAL SHORTAGE

The India Energy Outlook 2021 report of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said energy use in India has doubled since 2000, with 80% of demand still being met by coal, oil and solid biomass.

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Pandemic-related disruptions, however, prevented the stock-up of coal. Mining operations were halted to curb the spread of the virus. Despite the gradual easing into operations, mining activities were hampered during the monsoons, delaying arrival of stocks.
With household demand for power picking up and the arrival of summer, combined with the sudden acceleration in economic activity, it has resulted in a demand-supply mismatch.
Decline in coal stocks and the resulting power outages in several States have spurred queries of renewable energy’s potential to fill in for the conventional resource.

Significance of Coal

Coal is abundantly available, has shorter gestation periods and coal-based plants have lower capital costs than hydel and nuclear plants, therefore, making it the most viable enabler of energy security in the country.
The conventional resource’s capacity addition is further helped by the increased participation of the private sector in power generation.

Source : The Hindu

4. PRADHAN MANTRI BHARTIYA JANAUSHADHI KENDRAS

Union Government has set a target to increase the number of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras to ten thousand by March 2024.

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The government has invited applications to open Janaushadhi Kendras in three thousand five hundred 79 Blocks of four hundred six districts of 26 States and Union Territories.
It highlighted that under the scheme, seven hundred 39 districts of the country have been covered and eight thousand six hundred ten stores have been opened till the last month.
The Ministry said that about fifteen thousand crore rupees have been saved of the general public under this scheme.
The Ministry said that new applications have been invited to cover five hundred 79 blocks of 406 districts. It said that any Individuals, Unemployed Pharmacist, Government nominated agencies, NGO’s, Trust and Societies can apply for PMBJK.

Source : All India Radio

5. GOVERNMENT ORDER (GO) 111

Environmentalists are criticising the Telangana government for withdrawing an over 25-year-old government order protecting the historic Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar reservoirs in Hyderabad, which they say will destroy the fragile surrounding ecosystem.

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On March 8, 1996, the government of erstwhile (undivided) Andhra Pradesh had issued ‘Government Order (GO) 111’ prohibiting development or construction works in the catchment area of the Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar lakes up to a radius of 10 km.
The GO prohibited the setting up of industries, residential colonies, hotels, etc. which cause pollution. The aim of the restrictions was to protect the catchment area, and to keep the reservoirs pollution-free.
The reservoirs were created by building dams on the Musi (also known as Moosa or Muchkunda) river, a major tributary of the Krishna, to protect Hyderabad from floods.
Osman Sagar was completed in 1921, and Himayat Sagar in 1927.

Source : Indian Express

6. PHONE TAPPING

IPS officer Rashmi Shukla is facing an FIR in Mumbai and is being probed for allegedly tapping the phones of Rajya Sabha MP Raut and NCP leader Eknath Khadse in 2019, when she was heading the State Intelligence Department in Maharashtra.

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Section 5(2) says that “on the occurrence of any public emergency, or in the interest of the public safety”, phone tapping can be done by the Centre or states if they are satisfied it is necessary in the interest of “public safety”, “sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State.
There is an exception for the press: “press messages intended to be published in India of correspondents accredited to the Central Government or a State Government shall not be intercepted or detained, unless their transmission has been prohibited under this sub-section”.

Who can tap phones?

In the states, police have the powers to tap phones.
At the Centre, 10 agencies are authorised to do so: Intelligence Bureau, CBI, Enforcement Directorate, Narcotics Control Bureau, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, National Investigation Agency, R&AW, Directorate of Signal Intelligence, and the Delhi Police Commissioner.
Tapping by any other agency would be considered illegal.

Who authorises phone tapping?

Rule 419A of the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2007, says phone tapping orders “shall not be issued except by an order made by the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs in the case of Government of India and by the Secretary to the State Government in-charge of the Home Department in the case of a State Government”.
The order has to conveyed to the service provider in writing; only then can the tapping begin.

Source : Indian Express

7. MARIUPOL

Russian President Vladimir Putin is claiming control over Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol even as its defenders are still holding out at a giant seaside steel mill.

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His statement reflected the importance of the city on the Sea of Azov.
Mariupol is a city in Ukraine, on the north coast of the Sea of Azov at the mouth of the Kalmius river, in the Pryazovia region currently under Russian control.
Mariupol, which is part of the industrial region in eastern Ukraine known as the Donbas, has been a key Russian objective since the Feb. 24 invasion began.
Capturing the city would allow the establishment of a land corridor from Russia’s border to Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014.
It also would deprive Ukraine of a major port and prized industrial assets.

Source : Indian Express

8. INDOMETHACIN

A common anti-inflammatory drug has been found to be an effective antiviral agent in the treatment of mild and moderate Covid-19 patients.

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The drug, indomethacin, is widely used to treat various types of inflammation-related conditions.
Indomethacin is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug available as capsules and a liquid suspension, to be taken orally.
Indomethacin works by stopping the body’s production of a substance that causes pain, fever, and inflammation. It is used to relieve moderate to severe pain, tenderness, swelling, and stiffness caused by various kinds of arthritis, and pain in the shoulder caused by inflammation.

Source : Indian Express

9. CLIMATE DISINFORMATION

Citing the latest assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), social media giant Twitter has announced that it will prohibit misleading advertisements on climate change.

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Twitter’s announcement on Earth Day is part of an attempt to curb climate change disinformation campaigns on its network.
Twitter has said that climate denialism shouldn’t be monetised on the platform and that “misrepresentative ads shouldn’t detract from important conversations about the climate crisis”.
In 2019, Twitter shared plans to achieve 100 percent carbon-neutral power sourcing in their data centres by the end of 2022.

Google’s announcement of similar policy

In October 2021, tech giant Google had done something similar when it announced a new monetisation policy for Google advertisers, publishers and YouTube creators.
Google’s policy prohibits ads for, and monetization of, content that contradicts “well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change”.

Source : Indian Express

10. KHELO INDIA UNIVERSITY GAMES 2021

Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu will declare the second Khelo India University Games 2021 open at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bengluru.

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The Khelo India University Games 2021, hosted by Jain University with unparalleled support ftom the Karnataka State Government and the Sports Authority of India will be India’s biggest sporting event and first mass participative competition post the Pandemic.
Through the Khelo India University Games 2021, the Karnataka Government is also focusing on a pressing issue - environmental sustainability. Everything used in the Games outside the field of play will be made of reusable material.
About 3879 competitors from 200-plus universities will be in action across 20 different disciplines including indigenous sports like Mallakhamba and Yogasana.

Source : PIB

24 APRIL 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

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