Daily Current Affairs 28 December 2020

1. UMBA VILLAGE

Five Mohallas in Umba village in Ladakh received electricity connection recently. Umba village had no electricity till now.

About:

The village which is 60 KM away from district headquarter Kargil, is situated in toughest terrain at 13,000 thousand feet height and remains cut off for five months during winters.
Under the guidance of Kargil Renewable Energy Development Authority (KREDA), the Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) in partnership with the CSR project of Royal Enfield has installed a 17.5kW Solar Electricity system in Umba.

Source : All India Radio

2. ARYA RAJENDRAN

Arya Rajendran (born 1999) is an Indian politician, who currently serves as the mayor of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.

About:

Arya won as councillor from Mudavanmukal ward of Thiruvananthapuram corporation at the 2020 Kerala local body elections at the age of 21 and was appointed as the mayor of the corporation which made her the youngest mayor of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
The Guinness world record for the youngest Mayor is now held by Michael Sessions, who became Mayor of Hillsdale in the USA at the age of 18 years in 2005.
In India, Suman Koli who became the Mayor of Bharatpur in Rajasthan at 21 years in 2009 is one of the youngest.

Source : The Hindu

3.THOUBAL MULTIPURPOSE PROJECT

Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched several development projects in Manipur.

About:

He inaugurated the e-office and Thoubal Multipurpose Project (Thoubal Dam) in Imphal through virtual mode which will irrigate 35,104 hectares.
He also laid the foundation stone of projects, including the Churachandpur Medical College, IT-SEZ at Mantripukhri, Manipur Bhawan in New Delhi and the Integrated Command and Control Center at Imphal.
Shri Shah said earlier projects were abandoned after performing ground-breaking ceremonies and work is now being done under the leadership of Modi ji, to inaugurate all projects whose foundation stones were laid by previous governments.

Source : PIB

4. AYUSHMAN BHARAT PM-JAY SEHAT

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY SEHAT to extend coverage to all residents of Jammu & Kashmir.

About:

The scheme will provide a financial cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family for in-patient care and surgical procedures.
Getting free treatment of up to 5 lakh rupees under this scheme would improve the ease of living. Right now about 6 lakh families of the state are getting the benefit of Ayushman Bharat Scheme. All 21 lakh families will get the same benefit after the SEHAT scheme.
Another benefit of this scheme would be that treatment is not limited to government and private hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir only. Rather, treatment can be availed from thousands of hospitals empanelled under this scheme in the country.

Source : LiveMint

5. NAMGHARS

The Union Home Minister Amit Shah distributed financial grants to 8,000 Namghars (traditional Vaisnavite monasteries of Assam) under the Assam Darshan programme.

About:

Namghars (literally meaning Prayer House) are places for congregational worship associated with the entire Assamese community and the Ekasarana sect of Hinduism, in particular, that is native to Assam.
Besides forming the primary structure used for worship, they also function as meeting houses for congregations, as well as theatres for dramatic performances (bhaona).
The Namghar, also called the kirtanghar, is also the central structure in the Sattras (monasteries of the Ekasarana religion) where the other buildings are positioned around it.
Namghars were introduced in Assam by the Vaishnavite saints Damodaradeva, Madhavadeva and Sankaradeva for Assamese people where they can culture and practice naam (devotional songs) and Bhakti of God (devotion).

Source : PIB

6. MARATHWADA RAIL COACH FACTORY

Indian Railways’ PSU, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) commissioned Marathwada Rail Coach Factory in Latur, Maharashtra with production of the first coach shell.

About:

Marathwada Rail Coach Factory is going to contribute in overall development of this region of Maharashtra.
This factory has been designed with an initial capacity of manufacturing 250 MEMU / EMU / LHB / trainset type advanced coaches per annum.
A 5 km long rail connectivity has been provided for movement of coaches from the factory to a new electronically interlocked Harangul railway station, which earlier used to be only a halt station.

Source : PIB

7. MONPA HANDMADE PAPER

The 1000-year old heritage art – the Monpa Handmade Paper of Arunachal Pradesh – which was driven to the extinction, has come to life once again, with the committed efforts of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

About:

The art of making Monpa handmade paper originated over 1000 years ago. Gradually the art became an integral part of local custom and culture in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
Once produced in every household in Tawang, this handmade paper was a major source of livelihood for the locals.
The fine-textured handmade paper, which is called Mon Shugu in the local dialect, is integral to the vibrant culture of the local tribes in Tawang.
The paper has great historic and religious significance as it is the paper used for writing Buddhist scriptures and hymns in monasteries.
The Monpa handmade paper, will be made from the bark of a local tree called Shugu Sheng, which has medicinal values too.

Important Info :

Revival:

However, the handmade paper industry almost disappeared in the last 100 years; prompting KVIC to plan revival of this ancient art. KVIC recently commissioned a Monpa handmade paper making unit in Tawang which aims at reviving the art.

Source : PIB

8. NUCLEAR REACTOR ON MOON

USA’s plan to have the first nuclear reactor on the moon by the end of 2026 — for which the US Department of Energy in collaboration with Nasa intends to solicit industry design proposals in early 2021 — got an impetus with a recent White House directive.

About:

On December 16, outgoing President Donald Trump, issued the “National Strategy for Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion”.
Under it, he asked Nasa to “initiate fission surface power project for lunar surface demonstration by 2027 with scalability to a power range of 40 kilowatt-electric and higher to support a sustained lunar presence and exploration of Mars”.
NASA aims to establish a flight hardware system that is ready for integrating with the lunar lander by 2026-end. The fission power system — as the nuclear reactor is called — will benefit future robotic and human exploration missions to the moon as well as Mars.
The availability of safe, efficient, and readily available power is critical to these missions and a fission surface power system meets those requirements.
The fission surface power system will be fully manufactured and assembled on earth and integrated on a lander as a payload.
The system — consisting of four major subsystems including a nuclear reactor, an electric power conversion unit, heat rejection array, and power management and distribution subsystem — will be designed to operate for up to 10 years.

Source : Times of India

9. GOVERNOR’S ROLE IN CALLING AN ASSEMBLY SESSION

Kerala Governor has turned down a request by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to summon a special sitting of the Assembly to debate the new three central farm laws. This raises questions on the role of a Governor and the contours of the powers he or she has under the Constitution.

Who can summon a session of the Assembly?

According to Article 174 of the Constitution “The Governor shall from time to time summon the House or each House of the Legislature of the State to meet at such time and place as he thinks fit” .
The provision also puts on the Governor the responsibility of ensuring that the House is summoned at least once every six months.
Although it is the Governor’s prerogative to summon the House, according to Article 163, the Governor is required to act on the “aid and advice” of the Cabinet.
So when the Governor summons the House under Article 174, this is not of his or her own will but on the aid and advice of the Cabinet.

Important Info :

Can the Governor refuse the aid and advice of the Cabinet?

There are a few instances where the Governor can summon the House despite the refusal of the Chief Minister who heads the Cabinet.
When the Chief Minister appears to have lost the majority and the legislative members of the House propose a no-confidence motion against the Chief Minister, then the Governor can decide on his or her own on summoning the House.
But the actions of the Governor, when using his discretionary powers can be challenged in court.
A number of rulings by the Supreme Court has settled the position that the Governor cannot refuse the request of a Cabinet that enjoys majority in the House unless it is patently unconstitutional.

Source : Indian Express

10. ICEBERG A68

The giant Antarctic iceberg A68a has become a cause for concern for South Georgia Island.

About:

The giant iceberg A68, the biggest block of free-floating ice from Antarctica with an area of about 5,800 sq. km, has been drifting in the Atlantic Ocean since 2017.
This year, due to an ocean current, the iceberg was propelled into the South Atlantic Ocean and since then it has been drifting towards the remote sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, which is a British Overseas Territory (BOT).
This has prompted fears about the impact the iceberg could have on the island’s abundant wildlife.
Icebergs travel with ocean currents and either get caught up in shallow waters or ground themselves.
Recently, US National Ice Center (USNIC) confirmed that two new icebergs calved from A68a and were large enough to be named and tracked. They are called A68E and A68F.

Important Info :

South Georgia is an island in the southern Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI). The main settlement is Grytviken.
The US National Ice Center (USNIC) is responsible for naming icebergs, which are named according to the Antarctic quadrant in which they are spotted.

Source : Indian Express

Daily Current Affairs 28 December 2020

Daily Current Affairs 28 December 2020

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