DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: June 11, 2022

PM Modi launches projects worth ₹3,050 crore in Gujarat

Tags: Science and Technology National News

On June 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for several development projects worth Rs 3,050 crore in Navsari district, Gujarat. In Navsari, Prime Minister Modi took part in the 'Gujarat Gaurav Abhiyan.'

• He inaugurated the AM Naik Healthcare Complex, Nirali Multi Speciality Hospital and Kharel education complex in Navsari.

• He inaugurated the headquarters of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) at Bopal, Ahmedabad.

• It will play an anchoring role in transforming the space sector of India.

• He performed the Bhumi Pujan for 13 water supply projects for residents of Tapi, Navsari and Surat districts, worth ₹961 crores.

• He also inaugurated the Madhuban Dam based Astole Regional Water Supply Project constructed at a cost of about Rs 586 crore.

• He also inaugurated ‘Nal Se Jal’ projects worth ₹163 crores.

• These projects will provide safe and adequate drinking water to the residents of Surat, Navsari, Valsad and Tapi districts.

• Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe)

• The establishment of IN-SPACe was announced in June 2020 by the Government.

• It will be the nodal agency, which will allow space activities and non-government private entities to use the facilities belonging to the Department of Space.

• It aims to ensure maximum private participation for the space sector.

• It will also allow setting up of facilities within the ISRO campus based on safety norms and feasibility assessment.

• It will give an opportunity to the youth to showcase their talent.

Ukraine war hits Surat’s diamond industry hard

Tags: State News National News

The diamond business of Surat has been badly affected due to the Russia-Ukraine war. The city is known for the cutting and polishing of diamonds, but the war has severely affected the supply chain of rough diamonds.

• The big diamond factories in Surat have reduced the working days of the week and the small industries have stopped working for a while.

• Diamond labourers have appealed to the Chief Minister of Gujarat for financial assistance.

• In Mumbai and Surat, a large part of the diamond that comes as a raw material is imported from Russia, but the entire supply chain has been broken due to US sanctions.

• Russian diamonds are generally smaller, accounting for 40 per cent of India's diamond trade by volume and about 30 per cent by value.

• Its business worth $1800 million has been affected by the war with Ukraine.

• Important facts about Diamond

• Diamonds are a solid form of elemental carbon whose atoms are arranged in a crystal structure called a diamond cubic.

• The diamond is the hardest material on Earth. 

• According to the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) in India, the diamond resources are concentrated only in three states, Madhya Pradesh has 90.17 percent, followed by Andhra Pradesh has 5.73 percent and Chhattisgarh 4.10 percent. 

• Russia and Botswana have the largest diamond reserves in the world.

• India is known for its diamond cutting and polishing business, especially for small size diamonds.

• Most of the world's diamond cutting and polishing business takes place in India, especially in Surat, Gujarat.

• Diamonds are used in ornaments, grinding, drilling, cutting, and polishing tools.

Conflict between tribal and government over sale of tendu leaves

Tags: State News

In Chhattisgarh, the situation of controversy has started deepening these days over the sale of tendu patta i.e. Diospyros melanoxylon.

• People of more than 50 villages in two districts have decided to sell tendu patta on their own.

• Due to which the dispute between the tribal-dominated village and the forest department of Chhattisgarh government has started gaining momentum.

• The state government says that tendu leaves have been nationalised, so only the government can sell them.

• On the other hand, tendu patta collectors are referring to the Forest Rights Act and the 2013 Supreme Court judgement in the famous Niyamgiri case.

• Tendu Patta collectors are preparing to register an FIR accusing forest department officials of committing excesses, illegal acts.

• What are Tendu Leaves?

• Leaves of Tendu tree are used as wrappers of tobacco to produce bidi.

• Due to its wide availability, this leaf is considered as the most suitable cover.

• Tendu is also known as 'Green Gold' and is a major minor forest produce in India.

• Trade of Tendu leaves

• In 1964, the trade of tendu leaves was nationalized in undivided Madhya Pradesh.

• Earlier, people were free to sell Tendu leaves in the market across the country.

• This was followed by Maharashtra in 1969, Andhra Pradesh in 1971, Odisha in 1973, Gujarat in 1979, Rajasthan in 1974 and Chhattisgarh in 2000.

• Under this arrangement, the forest department of the state gets the tendu leaves collected, gives the permission for transportation and also sells them to the traders.

• Cause of dispute

• The dispute is about who has the right to sell the leaves.

• State governments claim they can sell  due to nationalization.

• Tendu leaf collectors, on the other hand, refer to the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 and the 2013 Supreme Court judgement in the Niyamgiri case to say that private collectors can sell them on their own.

• Tendupatta collectors allege that the government gives them a lower price for the leaves, while they get a higher price in the open market.

Russia supplies new fuel for Kudankulam reactors

Tags: Science and Technology National News

Russia's Rosatom State Corporation has supplied the first batch of TVS-2M nuclear fuel, which is a more reliable and cost-effective nuclear fuel, to India for Units 1 and 2 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP).

• Once the new TVS-2M fuel is in use, the reactor will start operating with a fuel cycle of 18 months.

• This means that the reactor, which has to be shut down every 12 months to remove spent fuel and insert new fuel bundles and associated maintenance, will now have to shut down every 18 months.

• Benefits of TVS-2M fuel 

• TVS-2M fuel assemblies have several advantages that make them more reliable and cost-effective.

• The fuel combinations in the reactor core maintain their geometry.

• one TVS-2 M assembly contains 7.6% more fuel material than that of UTVS. 

• Its main feature is the new generation anti-debris filter ADF-2, which protects the bundles from damage caused by debris (small objects in the reactor core).

• Operating in a longer fuel cycle also increases the economic efficiency of a plant.

• Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP)

• located -  coastal Tamil Nadu

• built by - India in joint-collaboration with Russia.

• Construction on the plant began on 31 March 2002

• it is India’s Critical Information Infrastructure

• It has an installed capacity of 6,000 MW of electricity

BJP wins eight out of 16 Rajya Sabha seats while Congress bags five seats

Tags: National News

The BJP won eight of the 16 Rajya Sabha seats in four states, while the Congress won five in a tight contest.

• Biennial elections to the Upper House of Parliament were held on June 10 for six seats in Maharashtra, four each in Karnataka and Rajasthan and two in Haryana.

• Winners from BJP include Union Minister Piyush Goyal, former state minister Anil Bonde and party leader Dhananjay Mahadik.

• NCP's Praful Patel, Congress' Imran Pratapgadi and Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut were also elected to Rajya Sabha. 

• In Haryana, BJP candidate Krishan Lal Panwar and Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma, have won the two Rajya Sabha seats.

• BJP got three seats and Congress got one seat from Karnataka.

• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, actor Jaggesh and MLC Lehar Singh Siroya have been elected to Rajya Sabha from BJP. 

• Jairam Ramesh of Congress won the remaining one seat. 

• The Congress won three of the four Rajya Sabha seats while one seat was won by the BJP In Rajasthan.

• Randeep Singh Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik and Pramod Tiwari are the winners from Congress. 

• Ghanshyam Tiwari won a seat for the BJP in Rajasthan.

• Important facts about Rajya Sabha

• Article 80 of the Constitution provides provisions for members of the Rajya Sabha.

• Members - 245 - including 233 elected members and 12 nominated members

• Upper House of parliament strength cannot exceed 250

• Nominated members - nominated by the President of India in the field of art, literature, science and social service

• Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha - Vice-President

• Tenure of members - six years

• Elections to one-third seats are held every two years

• Process of election - members are elected indirectly by the people, that is, by the MLAs.

• Voting is by single transferable vote

• NOTA button is available in the Upper House polls

President Kovind visits Atal Tunnel Rohtang

Tags: State News

President Ram Nath Kovind on 11 June visited Atal Tunnel Rohtang (ATR) which connects Kullu and Lahul Spiti districts on the second and final day of his visit to Himachal Pradesh.  

• Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur welcomed him by presenting him with a Thanka painting.

• Governor Rajendra  Arlekar also present on the occasion.

• About Atal Tunnel

• The 9.02 km long Atal Tunnel is the longest highway tunnel globally and connects Manali with Lahaul-Spiti Valley throughout the year.

• It provides a strategic advantage to the armed forces by providing an alternate link to the crucial Ladakh region.

• It has also been a boon to the residents of Lahaul and Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh.

• This tunnel, built using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 03, 2020.

• It is equipped with a semi-transverse ventilation system, where large fans circulate air separately throughout the tunnel.

• An emergency tunnel has been integrated into the tunnel cross-section under the main carriageway for evacuation during emergencies.

• Fire inside the tunnel will be controlled within an area of 200 metres and fire hydrants will be provided at specific locations throughout the tunnel.

• Pollution sensors continuously monitor the air quality in the tunnel and if the air quality in the tunnel is below the desired level, fresh air is injected into the tunnel through two heavy fins on each side of the tunnel.

Amit Shah chairs the Western Zonal Council in Diu

Tags: Popular State News

Union Home and Co-operation Minister Amit Shah chaired the Western Zonal Council meeting at Diu on 11 June. 

• Various issues related to border, security, infrastructure, transport and industries in western states were discussed in the meeting.

• About zonal council

• In 1956 first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru give the idea of creation of Zonal Councils.

• In the light of Pandit Nehru's vision, five Zonal Councils were established under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956.

• These are is as under-

1. The Northern Zonal Council - States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh are included.

2. The Central Zonal Council -  States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are included.

3. The Eastern Zonal Council - States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim and West Bengal are included.

4. The Western Zonal Council - States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli are included.

5. The Southern Zonal Council - States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry are included.

• A Standing Committee is constituted by each Zonal Council consisting of the Chief Secretaries of their respective Zonal Councils of the Member States.

• These Standing Committees meet from time to time to resolve the issues.

• Chairman - The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these Councils

• Objectives of the Zonal Councils

• National integration

• Enabling Centre and States to collaborate and exchange ideas and experiences

• Stopping the growth of regionalism, linguism and specific tendencies

• To establish an environment of cooperation among the states for successful and speedy execution of development projects

America's Frontier supercomputer has become the world's fastest supercomputer

Tags: Science and Technology

America's Frontier supercomputer has become the world's fastest supercomputer, surpassing Japan's Fugaku, according to the Top 500 list of the world's most powerful supercomputers.

• The Frontier supercomputer, built for the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), has a speed of 1.1 exaflops, making it the world's first supercomputer operating at exascale speeds.

• This supercomputer is built using Hewlett Packard Enterprise Architecture, coupled with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) processors.

• Its speed exceeds that of Japan's Fugaku supercomputer (442 petaflops), which was by far the fastest supercomputer in the world.

• Frontier is also ranked first in the Green 500 list as the world's most energy efficient supercomputer. It measures supercomputing energy use and efficiency with 52.23 gigaflops of performance per watt, making it 32% more energy efficient than the Fugaku supercomputer.

• In the latest edition of the Top 500 list, LUMI is followed by Frontier and Fugaku. The third place is given to the supercomputer, which is installed in Kajani, Finland.

• Super computer of india

A biodiversity park to highlight importance of Tamil Nadu’s Sirumalai Hills

Tags: State News

The Government of Tamil Nadu is developing a Biodiversity Park in the Sirumalai Hill Range in Dindigul District.

• Its main objective is to create awareness for sustainable management of ecologically sensitive areas.

• The park is a nature preserve that shelters the region's natural heritage and has educational and cultural value, as well as enhances the quality of the environment.

• Various biodiversity components such as mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians etc. are found here.

• Various types of flowering plants have been planted around the park and necessary irrigation facilities have been provided.

• Combinations of pollinating plants have also been planned to attract butterflies and host plants.

• About Sirumalai Hill

• This hill is spread over an area of 60,000 acres in Dindigul district. They are situated at a height of 400 to 1,650 metres above sea level, at a distance of about 25 km from Dindigul city.

• Highly disturbed scrub forests are found in the lower hill ranges, while tropical mixed dry deciduous forests are found in the middle hill ranges and semi-evergreen forests are found in the higher hill ranges. Many rare and endemic plant species are found in this mountain range.

• Gaur, leopard, spotted deer, mouse deer, jackal, sloth bear, wild boar, Indian pangolin and many species of reptiles are found in this area.

• What is Biodiversity Park

• A Biodiversity Park is a unique forest landscape that establishes an ecological assemblage of native plant and wildlife species as biotic communities in an area. This park is a nature reserve area that preserves natural heritage.

India's FDI rank rises to 7th position : UNCTAD

Tags: National News

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), India jumped one place to the 7th position among the top recipients of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the last calendar year (2021) despite a fall in FDI inflows into the country.

• Key points of the report

• Despite a 30% decline in 'foreign direct investment' (FDI) in the country, India is at the seventh position.

• The United States ($367 billion) became the top recipient of FDI.

• China ($181 billion) and Hong Kong ($141 billion) also retained the second and third positions respectively in the list of FDI recipients.

• Among the top 10 FDI recipient economies, only India has seen a decline in inflows.

• However, outward FDI from India has increased by 43 percent to $15.5 billion in 2021.

• What is FDI?

• Foreign direct investment or FDI is an investment made by a party of one country in a business or corporation operating in another country with the intention of earning long-term profits. Through FDI, foreign companies are directly involved in the day-to-day operations of another country.

• About United Nations Convention on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

• UNCTAD is a permanent intergovernmental body established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1964.

• It is a part of the United Nations Secretariat.

• UNCTAD reports to the United Nations General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, but has its own budget, members and leadership.

• It is also a part of the 'United Nations Development Group'.

QS World University Rankings 2023

Tags: National News

In the 2023 University Rankings released by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States (US) has been ranked first, followed by the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom (UK) and Stanford University (US).

• Indian Institute

• Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISC) was ranked highest (155th), followed by IIT Bombay(172nd) and IIT Delhi(174th) respectively. Globally, the total number of Indian institutions in the top 1,000 has increased from 22 to 27.

• IISc Bangalore is the top research university in the world with a score of 100/100 for this metric.

• In addition, IISc Bangalore is the fastest growing South Asian University in the QS World University Rankings Top-200.

• Apart from IISc, eight IITs (Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Roorkee, Guwahati, Indore) have been ranked in the top 500 globally.

• The report shows that India's presence in the top 500 category proves that India's IITs are run like other IITs across the world.

• QS World University Rankings 2023: List of Top Universities in India