DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: May 11, 2022

Govt to establish 33 new domestic cargo terminals by 2024-2025

Tags: National News

The government will set up 33 new domestic cargo terminals by 2024-2025, which will contribute significantly to the growth of India's cargo sector.

• Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia on 11 May attended the annual event of Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI) as the chief guest.

• He said that this can be achieved by acquisition of smaller size aircraft. 

• The theme of the annual event was “10 Million: Vision 2030; Stimulating, Scaling, Steering Air Cargo”.

• Cargo sector in India 

• During the last 2 years in the post-Covid era, the cargo sector has emerged as a promising sector not only for Indian aviation but also for global aviation.

• The Indian cargo sector has witnessed a growth rate of 9-10 per cent since 2013-14.

• During the last 2 years, the airlines have registered a growth of 520% in cargo revenue.

• At present, Indian Cargo revenue stands at INR 2,000 crore with 3.1 million metric tonnage having a CAGR of 13%.

• Currently, India has 21 international and 35 domestic cargo terminals.

• About Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI) 

• It was established on 14th September 2012.

• It is an association of various stakeholders of Air Cargo Logistic Supply Chain Trade and Industry i.e. Freight Forwarders, Airlines, Airport Operators, Cargo Terminal Operators, Customs House Agents and Express Industry.

India, Madagascar sign MoU to explore co-production of TV programmes

Tags: National News

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation and collaboration in Broadcasting between Prasar Bharati and ORTM (Office de la Radio et de la Television) was signed in Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo on 10 May.

• The MoU was signed by India’s Ambassador to Madagascar Abhay Kumar and ORTM Director-General BELALAHY Jean Yves.

• Under the agreement, Madagascar National Television will broadcast programmes from internal productions by India's Prasar Bharati. 

• The objective of the MoU is to explore the exchange of programmes, co-production of programs and training/exchange of personnel.

• About Madagascar

• It is an island country lying off the southeastern coast of Africa. 

• It is the fourth largest island in the world after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo.

• Madagascar shares maritime borders with Comoros, France, Mauritius, Mozambique and Seychelles.

• Prime Minister : Christian Ntsay

• Capital : Antananarivo

• President : Andry Rajoelina

National Technology Day

Tags: National Important Days

National Technology Day is observed every year on 11 May to honour the contributions of India's scientific community including scientists, researchers and engineers.

• Significance of the day

• It reminds people of the scientific achievements of the country.

• It is a day to honour all those who have contributed to the advancement of science.

• It honours the hard work and efforts of all those who have contributed to the technological progress of our country.

• Theme of the year 2022 -  An Integrated Approach to Science and Technology for a Sustainable Future.

• The theme was launched by Union Minister Jitendra Singh.

• History of the day 

• National Technology Day was first officially celebrated on 11 May 1999.

• The primary goal of this day was to recognize scientific and technological achievements.

• On May 11, 1998, India successfully carried out nuclear tests at the army’s Pokhran test range in Rajasthan.

• In doing so, India became the sixth country to join the 'nuclear club'.

• The test was led by the late APJ Abdul Kalam, an aerospace scientist who became the eleventh President of India.

• On the same day in 1998, India test-fired its first indigenous aircraft Hansa-3 which took off in Bengaluru.

• On that day, the surface-to-air missile Trishul was also successfully test fired.

• With many technological advancements in a single day, the Government of India announced the celebration of May 11 as National Technology Day.

• It was officially signed by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

• Since then, the Technology Development Board (TDB) which is a statutory body under the Department of Science and Technology at the Centre is celebrating this day.

Central government will reconsider giving minority status to Hindus in some states

Tags: National News

The Centre informed the Supreme Court that the power to notify minorities is vested with the Union government and any decision in this regard will be taken after discussion with states and other stakeholders.

• The petition, filed in the Supreme Court, had sought a direction to frame guidelines for identification of minorities at the state level.

• The petition said that Hindus are a minority in 10 states.

• Population of Hindus in 9 states 

1. 1% in Ladakh

2. 2.75% in Mizoram 

3. 2.77% in Lakshadweep

4. 4% in Jammu & Kashmir

5. 8.74% in Nagaland

6. 11.52% in Meghalaya

7. 29% in Arunachal Pradesh 

8. 38.49% in Punjab

9. 41.29% in Manipur.

• Who are the Minorities?

• Minorities are not explicitly mentioned anywhere in the Constitution.

• Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jain and Zoroastrians (Parsis) have been notified as minority communities under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.

• According to the 2011 census, the percentage of minorities in the country is about 19.3% of the total population of the country.

• The population of Muslims are 14.2%, Christians 2.3%, Sikhs 1.7%, Buddhists 0.7%, Jain 0.4% and Parsis 0.006%.

• Article 29 of the constitution deals with the “protection of interest of minorities”.

• The constitution recognizes religious minorities in India and linguistic minorities in India through Article 29 and Article 30.

Controversy over worship program at ASI protected Martand temple in Kashmir

Tags: State News

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has caused controversy over two worship ceremonies held at the ruins of the ancient Martand Sun Temple at Mattan in South Kashmir's Anantnag district.

• ASI officials questioned the worship saying that no religious prayer is performed at ASI protected sites across India.

• Rule 7(1) of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1959 states that meetings, receptions, feasts, entertainments or conferences cannot be held in a protected monument without the written permission of the Central Government.

• About Martand Sun Temple

• The Temple is a Hindu temple located near the city of Anantnag in the Kashmir Valley.

• The temple is said to have been built in the 8th century, but several attempts were made to destroy it between 1389 and 1413.

• The Hindu ruler Lalitaditya is believed to have built the Martand Sun Temple in honour of the Sun God or Bhaskara in the 8th century AD.

• Lalitaditya was a Surya (Sun) Dynasty Kshatriya. 

• The style of construction of the temple and the expertise displayed therein was unprecedented in world history.

• The temple is built on a plateau from where the entire Kashmir valley can be seen.

State of the World’s Birds Report

Tags: International News

According to the State of the World's Birds report, populations of 48% of all bird species are declining globally, mainly due to man-made factors such as loss or degradation of habitats, changes in land use, overexploitation and climate change.

• The report is published by Manchester Metropolitan University.

• It is a study of changes in the biodiversity of birds and describes the risk to birds around the world.

• The study draws from BirdLife International’s latest assessment of all birds for the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

• Key findings of the study

• The study found that 5,245 of the extant bird species worldwide, or about 48%, are in decline or are suspected to be in decline.

• 4,295 or 39% of the species have stable trends.

• About 7% or 778 species have increasing population trends. 

• The study indicates that 1,481 or 13.5% of species are currently threatened with extinction globally.

• More threatened bird species (86.4%) have been found in tropical regions than in temperate latitudes (31.7%).

• The main hotspots are tropical Andes, southeast Brazil, eastern Himalayas, eastern Madagascar, and Southeast Asian islands.

India elected as Chair of the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) for 2022-24

Tags: International News

India has been unanimously elected as the new Chair of the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) for 2022-2024 at the recently held meeting of the Executive board and General Assembly at Manila, Philippines.

• The Election Commission, Manila was the current chairman of the AAEA.

• The new members in the Executive Board now include Russia, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Taiwan and Philippines.

• The Election Commission of India's three-member delegation headed by deputy election commissioner Nitesh Vyas, along with CEO Manipur Rajesh Agrawal and CEO Rajasthan Praveen Gupta, attended the executive board meeting in Manila.

• 62 officials from 12 AAEA members participated in the 3rd International Virtual Election Visitors Programme (IEVP) hosted by ECI during Assembly Elections in 2022.

• About AAEA

• The AAEA provides a non-partisan forum in the Asian region for sharing experiences and best practices among election authorities. 

• It discusses and acts upon ways to promote open and transparent elections.

• The objective to do so is to support good governance and democracy.

• AAEA is also an Associate Member of the 118 member Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB).

• It was established in pursuance of the resolution passed by participants of the Symposium on Asian Elections in the Twenty First Century held from January 26-29, 1997 in Manila, Philippines.

• It was established in 1998.

• Currently 20 Asian EMBs are members of AAEA. 

Lt Gen Gajendra Joshi takes over as GOC Strike 1

Tags: Defence Person in news

Lieutenant General Gajendra Joshi has taken over the charge of new General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Strike 1 or 1 Corps.

• He took over the reins of 1 Corps from Lt Gen MK Katiyar.

• Lt Gen Gajendra Joshi had vast operational experience in the form of operations in Sri Lanka during Operation Pawan.

• He was actively involved in counter-insurgency operations as a Battalion Commander in South Kashmir and as a Sector Commander in Manipur.

• He has commanded a division along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

• His staff experience includes appointments to the General Staff Officer-Grade 1 (Operations) of the Mountain Division, Colonel General Staff (Operations) at Corps Headquarters in the High Altitude Area, Military Operations at Army Headquarters and Deputy Director General of Military Intelligence.

• About Strike 1 or 1 Corps

• I Corps is a military field formation of the Indian Army.

• Its headquarter is in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.

• It was established on 1st April 1965.

• It was launched in the Sialkot sector.

• The Corps retaliated during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.

• In the 1971 war against Pakistan, corps 1 took part in the Battle of Basantar.

• Currently it is a 'Strike Corps' within the Indian Army's Central Command.

• Central Command headquarters is at Lucknow.

Royal Gold Medal awarded to architect Balkrishna Doshi

Tags: Awards

Famous architect Balkrishna Doshi was conferred the prestigious Royal Gold Medal 2022, one of the world’s highest honours for architecture.

• The Gold Medal was presented by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

• Doshi is the only Indian to have been awarded both the Royal Gold Medal and the Pritzker Architecture Prize, which is often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture.

• He is credited with designing some of the most iconic structures in Ahmedabad.

• Some of his major projects include Shreyas Comprehensive School Campus, Ahmedabad, Atira Guest House, Ahmedabad, The Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad School of Architecture, Tagore Hall and Memorial Theatre, Ahmedabad, Premabhai Hall, Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, Kanoria Centre.

• In 2020, he was also awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in India, for his contribution to the field of architecture.

• He is also the recipient of the French ‘Global Award for Lifetime Achievement for Sustainable Architecture' by the Institut Francais d’architecture, Paris.

• About Royal Gold Medal

• The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch for contribution to international architecture. 

• The medal was first awarded in 1848 to Charles Robert Cockerell.

• Its second recipient was the Italian Luigi Canina in 1849. 

Ministry of Skill Development signs MoU with ISRO to start Training Program

Tags: International Relations

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch its training program aimed at augmenting the technical workforce in the Department of Space, ISRO.

• The MoU was signed by Shri Rajesh Agarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Shri S Somnath, Chairman, ISRO.

• The objective of this initiative is to establish a formal framework for short-term courses to provide training for skill development and capacity building of ISRO technical professionals in the space sector in the country as per the requirements of the industry.

• The training will take place at MSDE's National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) across India.

• About Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) -

• Established - 15 August 1969

• Headquarters- Bangalore, Karnataka

• Motto- Space Technology in the Service of Mankind

• Director- S Somnath