28 JANUARY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

1. TIWA COMMUNITY

Almost 250 members of two extremist organisations in Assam laid down their arms before Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at a formal programme in Guwahati.

About:

The organisations are the Tiwa Liberation Army (TLA) and the United Gorkha People’s Organisation (UGPO).
Formed in 2014 to cater to the aspirations of the Tiwa community, the TLA was active in Morigaon, Nagaon and West Karbi Anglong districts of central Assam.
The UGPO, formed in 2007, was mostly active in the Bodoland Territorial Region and Biswanath district.

Important Info :

Tiwa

Tiwa (Lalung) is an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the states of Assam and Meghalaya in north-eastern India.
They are also found in some areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland.
They are recognized as a Scheduled tribe within the State of Assam.
They were known as Lalungs in the Assamese Buranjis and in Colonial literature and in the Constitution of India, though members of the group prefer to call themselves Tiwa (meaning "the people who were lifted from below").

Source : The Hindu

2. SPOT-BILLED PELICANS

A nematode infestation has led to mass mortality of spot-billed pelicans (Pelicanus philippensis) at Telineelapuram Important Bird Area (IBA) in Naupada swamp of Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh.

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Over 150 spot-billed pelicans have succumbed to the infestation since December. Only adult birds have succumbed to the infestation till date.
Until now, in South India, the Telineelapuram IBA is the prime winter sojourn for the spot-billed pelican for breeding. The same IBA is also a breeding habitat for the painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala).
The nematode infestation would not spread from one species to another species as per the studies carried out by the experts in Karnataka State.
The spot-billed pelican is capable of hunting huge fish from the water bodies and swamps and thus, it is vulnerable to infestation.
Thousands of spot-billed pelicans and a few hundred painted storks migrate from the Siberian region to breed in the Telineelapuram IBA and a majority of them prefer to stay here instead of going back home.

Source : The Hindu

3. BA.2 SUB-VARIANT OF OMICRON

In the last couple of weeks, there has been a noticeable increase in the discovery of BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron from several countries, leading to fresh worries about the possibility of another surge in cases.

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Last week, the UK Health Security Agency flagged this sub-variant and designated it as a ‘variant under investigation’.
This sub-variant has been present in substantial numbers in India as well, but India is not amongst the countries where the recent increase has been noticed.

A sub-variant of Omicron

2 is one of the several sub-variants of the Omicron which has spread rapidly across the world since November.
The Omicron name was given to the B.1.1.529 lineage after it was designated as a variant of concern.
Later, it was found that this lineage had small variations of its own, and the three most common were named B.1.1.529.1, B.1.1.529.2, and B.1.1.529.3. For ease of reference, however, these sub-lineages were later re-classified as BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3.
The Omicron sub-variant that has been most common in circulation till now is BA.1. This continues to be the case even now, though the proportion of BA.2 is on the rise.

Source : Indian Express

4. TIPU SULTAN

Mysore King Tipu Sultan is at the centre of a controversy in Mumbai with the BJP claiming that Congress leader and Mumbai Suburban Minister Aslam Shaikh is planning to name a playground in the Muslim dominated Malwani locality after the 17th century ruler.

Why does Tipu Sultan find resonance in Mumbai?

Since 2015 after the emeregence of political parties like the AIMIM in Maharashtra, historical figures like Tipu Sultan are being used by Muslim youth as a symbol of political assertion.
A large number of pictures lauding Tipu Sultan, the 17th century Muslim ruler of Mysore, have started coming up in areas across Maharashtra particularly Marathwada and locals claim that these posters are a way of the Muslim youth to show the contribution and history of Muslims in India.

Key facts

Tipu Sultan (1751 – 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India and a pioneer of rocket artillery.
He expanded the iron-cased Mysorean rockets and commissioned the military manual Fathul Mujahidin.

Source : Indian Express

5. SMALL SATELLITE LAUNCH VEHICLE (SSLV)

The new chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation Dr S Somanath indicated at a meeting with the minister of state for space Jitendra Singh Tuesday that ISRO’s indigenous new launch rockets, called the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), will have its much-delayed, maiden development flight this April.

About:

The ISRO chairman has mentioned the launch of an “SSLV-D1 Micro SAT in April 2022.”
The SSLV is intended to cater to a market for the launch of small satellites into low earth orbits which has emerged in recent years on account of the need for developing countries, private corporations, and universities for small satellites.
The launch of small satellites has until now been dependent on ‘piggy-back’ rides with big satellite launches on ISRO’s work-horse – the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle which has had over 50 successful launches so far.
The launch of small satellites as a consequence has been dependent on the finalising of launch contracts for the larger satellites by ISRO.
The SSLV can carry satellites weighing up to 500 kg to a low earth orbit while the tried and tested PSLV can launch satellites weighing in the range of 1000 kg.
The SSLV is the smallest vehicle at 110-ton mass at ISRO. It will take only 72 hours to integrate, unlike the 70 days taken now for a launch vehicle.
Only six people will be required to do the job, instead of 60 people. The entire job will be done in a very short time and the cost will be only around Rs 30 crore. It will be an on-demand vehicle.

Source : Indian Express

6. SWACHHATA START-UP CHALLENGE

Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India, in partnership with Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) launched the Swachhata Start-Up Challenge.

About:

It aims to provide an impetus to innovative start-ups to come forward and drive catalytic transformation in the sanitation and waste management sector.
The Challenge seeks to promote an enabling environment for enterprise development under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U 2.0).
The Swachhata Start-Up Challenge launched today aims to capitalise on the start-up movement by providing opportunities for entrepreneurship to young innovators to create socially impactful and market ready business solutions.
The Challenge, which is open to start-ups registered in India and French actors collaborating with an Indian start-up (as a joint venture), invites solutions across four thematic areas viz. (i) social inclusion, (ii) zero dump (solid waste management), (iii)plastic waste management and(iv)transparency through digital enablement.

Source : PIB

7. CONDITIONAL MARKET AUTHORIZATION

The National Regulator, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), has given nod to market authorization of two COVID19 vaccines, Covaxin and Covishield subject to certain conditions.

About:

The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) had recommended for upgradation of status for the vaccines from restricted use in emergency situations to grant of new drug permission with conditions in the adult population on 19th January 2022.
The market authorization of two COVID19 vaccines, Covaxin and Covishield, in the country by DCGI is subject to the following conditions:
- Firm shall submit data of overseas ongoing clinical trials of the product with due analysis on six monthly basis or as and when available, whichever is earlier.
- The vaccine shall be supplied for programmatic setting and all vaccinations done within the country to be recorded on CoWIN platform and Adverse Event Following Immunization [AEFI], Adverse Event of Special Interest [AESI] shall continue to be monitored.

Important Info :

“Conditional Market Authorization” is a new category of market authorization that has emerged during the current global pandemic of COVID19.
The approval pathways through this route are fast-tracked with certain conditions to enhance the access to certain pharmaceuticals for meeting the emerging needs of drugs or vaccines.
It may be noted that of the global Stringent Regulatory Authorities, only the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) of the UK have granted “conditional market authorization” to Pfizer and AstraZeneca, respectively, for their COVID19 Vaccines.

Source : PIB

8. ZAID CROPS

Union Agriculture Minister addressed the 4th National Conference on Agriculture for Summer Campaign 2021-22.

About:

Union Agriculture Minister said that summer crops not only provide extra income but also create employment opportunities in between Rabi and Kharif for the farmers thereby increasing crop intensity.
The Government has taken new initiatives through various programmes for cultivation of summer crops such as pulses, coarse cereals, nutri-cereals, and oilseeds.
He highlighted that area under cultivation of zaid crops including rice has increased progressively 2.7 times from 29.71 lakh hectares in 2017-18 to 80.46 lakh hectares in 2020-21.
The objective of Zaid conference is to review and assess the crop performance during the preceding crop seasons and fix crop-wise targets for summer season in consultation with State Governments.

Important Info :

Zaid crops

Zaid crops are summer season crops. They grow for a short time period between kharif and rabi crops, mainly from March to June.
They require warm dry weather as major growth period and longer day length for flowering.
Some of the crops produced during zaid season are watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder crops.

Source : PIB

9. INDIA-CENTRAL ASIA VIRTUAL SUMMIT

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted the first India-Central Asia Summit in virtual format on 27 January 2022, which was attended by Presidents of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan.

About:

This first India-Central Asia coincided with the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Central Asian countries.
During the Summit, the Leaders agreed to institutionalize the Summit mechanism by deciding to hold it every 2 years.
They also agreed on regular meetings of Foreign Ministers, Trade Ministers, Culture Ministers and Secretaries of the Security Council to prepare the groundwork for the Summit meetings.
An India-Central Asia Secretariat in New Delhi would be set up to support the new mechanism.
The Leaders discussed far-reaching proposals to further cooperation in areas of trade and connectivity, development cooperation, defence and security and, in particular, on cultural and people to people contacts.
These included a Round-Table on Energy and Connectivity; Joint Working Groups at senior official level on Afghanistan and use of Chabahar Port; showcasing of Buddhist exhibitions in Central Asian countries and commissioning of an India-Central Asia dictionary of common words, joint counter-terrorism exercises, visit of 100 member youth delegation annually from Central Asian countries to India and special courses for Central Asian diplomats.

Source : PIB

10. AIR INDIA

The Air India strategic disinvestment transaction has been completed with Government receiving a consideration of Rs 2,700 crore from the Strategic Partner (M/s Talace Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of M/s Tata Sons Pvt Ltd), retaining debt of Rs 15,300 crore in Air India and AIXL and transferring shares of Air India (100% shares of Air India and its subsidiary AIXL and 50% shares of AISATS) to the Strategic Partner.

About:

It is pertinent to mention that following Government’s approval of the highest price bid of M/s Talace Pvt Ltd for strategic disinvestment of Air India, the Letter of Intent was issued to the winning bidder on 11 October 2021.
The Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) was signed on 25 October, 2021. Thereafter, Strategic Partner (M/s Talace Pvt Ltd), Air India and the Government worked towards satisfying a set of conditions precedent defined in the SPA including approvals from anti-trust bodies, regulators, lenders, third parties, etc.
These conditions have since been met to mutual satisfaction.

Source : PIB

28 JANUARY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

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