1. IMPORT OF PLASTIC BOTTLES FOR WASTE PROCESSING ALLOWED
After banning the import of plastic waste in 2019, the Environment Ministry has permitted containers made of polyethylene terephthalate, as plastic waste, to be imported for processing.
About:
- The decision to roll back the ban was taken last year after representations by several industries in the business of processing waste said there was too little waste available for them in India and this was causing them financial losses.
- An expert committee of the Environment Ministry, last December, recommended that firms which had applied for permission could import polyethylene terephthalate flakes and bottles up to 50% of their production capacity.
- Polyethylene terephthalate is a category of plastic, and nearly 90% of the domestic supply of containers using them is already recycled.
- However, this reprieve has not gone down well with environmentalist groups.
Source : The Hindu
2. CONSTITUTION (SCHEDULED CASTES AND SCHEDULED TRIBES) ORDER (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2022
The Rajya Sabha approved the Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022 to remove the Bhogta caste from the list of Scheduled Castes (SCs).
About:
- The Bhogta caste will be included instead as a Scheduled Tribe in the State.
- The Bill also amends the schedule to the Scheduled Tribes order to include the Deshwari, Ganjhu, Dautalbandi (Dwalbandi), Patbandi, Raut, Maajhia, Khairi (Kheri), Tamaria (Tamadia) and Puran communities on the ST list.
Source : The Hindu
3. SPACE JUNK
With space junk posing increasing threat to Indian assets in space, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is building up its orbital debris tracking capability by deploying new radars and optical telescopes under the Network for Space Objects Tracking and Analysis (NETRA) project.
About:
- A space debris tracking radar with a range of 1,500 km and an optical telescope will be inducted as part of establishing an effective surveillance and tracking network under NETRA.
- The government has given the go-ahead for the deployment of the radar, which will be capable of detecting and tracking objects 10 cm and above in size, he said. It will be indigenously designed and built.
- Radars and optical telescopes are vital ground-based facilities for keeping an eye on space objects, including orbital junk.
- Space junk or debris consists of spent rocket stages, dead satellites, fragments of space objects and debris resulting from ASAT.
- Hurtling at an average speed of 27,000 kmph in LEO, these objects pose a very real threat as collisions involving even centimetre-sized fragments can be lethal to satellites.
- For protecting its space assets, ISRO was forced to perform 19 collision avoidance manoeuvres (CAM) in 2021, of which 14 were in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and five in the geostationary orbit. The number of CAMs jumped from just three in 2015 to 12 in 2020 and 19 in 2021.
Source : The Hindu
4. DELHI MUNICIPAL CORPORATION (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2022
The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was passed by Lok Sabha.
About:
- The Bill seeks to amend the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 passed by Parliament.
- The Act was amended in 2011 by Delhi Legislative Assembly to trifurcate the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi into: (i) North Delhi Municipal Corporation, (ii) South Delhi Municipal Corporation, and (iii) East Delhi Municipal Corporation.
- The Bill seeks to unify the three corporations. The Bill replaces the three municipal corporations under the Act with one Corporation named the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
- The Act as amended in 2011 empowers the Delhi government to decide various matters under the Act such as total number of seats of councillors, delimitation of wards etc. The Bill instead empowers the central government to decide these matters.
- The Act provides that the number of seats in the three corporations taken together should not be more than 272. The Bill states that the total number of seats in the new Corporation should not be more than 250.
- The Act provides for a Director of Local Bodies to assist the Delhi government and discharge certain functions. The Bill omits the provision for a Director of Local Bodies.
- The Bill provides that the central government may appoint a Special Officer to exercise powers of the Corporation until the first meeting of the Corporation is held after the commencement of the Bill.
Source : The Hindu
5. RUBLE
On March 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that European countries must pay for all natural gas imports in rubles instead of the US dollar or the euro. The European Union imports 40 per cent of its natural gas requirements.
About:
- The Russian ruble or rouble is the official currency of the Russian Federation. The ruble is subdivided into 100 kopeks.
- Russia would not accept natural gas payments in currencies that have “compromised”. This list of currencies included dollars and euros.
- The move to accept payments only in rubles has been done to increase the demand for rubles in the international market.
- The ruble had been weakening against the dollar in the weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine.
Source : Indian Express
6. BIMSTEC
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for strengthening the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), and welcomed the unveiling of the Charter of the organisation that connects the littoral countries of the Bay of Bengal.
About:
- The summit concluded in Colombo.
- The signing of the Charter was the main outcome of this summit. Under this Charter, the members were expected to meet once in every two years.
- With the Charter, the BIMSTEC now has an international personality. It has an emblem, it has a flag. It has a formally listed purpose and principles that it is going to adhere to. It represents significant evolution of the grouping.
- India will be the “security pillar” of the BIMSTEC. For developing the organisation into a formal structure, the leaders of the member-countries had agreed to divide the working of the grouping into seven segments, with India providing leadership to the security pillar.
- The Prime Minister called for a Free Trade Agreement among the member countries.
- The summit saw the declaration of the Master Plan for Transport Connectivity that would provide a framework for regional and domestic connectivity.
- He mentioned the necessity for coastal shipping ecosystem and electricity grid interconnectivity, as two of the necessary components of the evolving shape of the BIMSTEC.
Source : The Hindu
7. NANAR OIL REFINERY
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has indicated that the Nanar oil refinery project in Konkan region may be revived as the Maharashtra government was reconsidering its decision about stalling the project.
About:
- The project, Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, was going to be Asia’s ‘biggest oil refinery’, and was proposed to be built at Nanar village in Ratnagiri district in coastal Konkan region.
- It was supposed to be a joint venture between Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, and Saudi Arabia-owned Aramco and United Arab Emirates’ National Oil Company.
- The project was mooted by the Centre and the Maharashtra government in 2014 and it was aimed at bringing development to the backward Konkan region.
- The project was scrapped ahead of the 2019 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections on the ground that the oil refinery would be detrimental for the environment of Konkan region.
Source : Indian Express
8. FUEL CELL ELECTRIC VEHICLE (FCEV)
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari travelled to the Parliament House in a hydrogen-based Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV), in what could be interpreted as a strong indication of a shift in stance by the Centre that has so far backed conventional battery-powered electric vehicles, or BEVs.
How is this car different from other electric vehicles?
- Typically, there are four broad categorisations of electric vehicles—conventional hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), BEVs and FCEVs.
- FCEVs such as Toyota’s Mirai, Honda’s Clarity and Hyundai’s Nexo use hydrogen gas to power an on-board electric motor.
- FCEVs combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, which runs the motor. Since they’re powered entirely by electricity, FCEVs are considered EVs, but unlike BEVs, their range and refuelling processes are comparable to conventional cars and trucks.
- The major difference between a BEV and a hydrogen FCEV is that the latter enables a refuelling time of just five minutes, compared to 30-45 minutes charging for a BEV.
- Also, consumers get about five times better energy storage per unit volume and weight, which frees up a lot of space for other things, while allowing the rider to go farther.
Source : Indian Express
9. MES AYNAK
The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has said it would protect the ancient Buddha statues in Mes Aynak, also the site of a copper mine where the Taliban are hoping for Chinese investment.
About:
- Mes Aynak, also called Mis Ainak or Mis-e-Ainak, is a site 40 km southeast of Kabul, Afghanistan, located in a barren region of Logar Province.
- Mes Aynak contains Afghanistan's largest copper deposit, as well as the remains of an ancient settlement with over 400 Buddha statues, stupas and a 40 ha (100 acres) monastery complex.
- The site of Mes Aynak possesses a vast complex of Buddhist monasteries, homes, and market areas.
- The site's orientation on the Silk Road has yielded a mixture of elements from China and India.
Source : Indian Express
10. APHASIA
Aphasia, a brain disorder that leads to problems with speaking, reading and writing has sidelined actor Bruce Willis and drawn attention to a little-known condition that has many possible causes.
About:
- Aphasia is an inability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions.
- The major causes are stroke and head trauma. Aphasia can also be the result of brain tumors, brain infections, or neurodegenerative diseases, but the latter are far less prevalent.
Source : Indian Express