DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: Feb. 27, 2023

Government Revised Guidelines for MPLADS

Tags: Government Schemes

Minister of State for Statistics and Program Implementation Rao Inderjit Singh (Independent Charge) released the Revised Guidelines on Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS)-2023.

An overview of the news:

• The Minister also launched the new Web-Portal, for implementation of the Revised Fund Flow Procedure under MPLADS. 

• The new MPLADs guidelines and the web portal will come into effect from 1-4-2023.

• The objective of MPLAD Scheme is to enable the Hon’ble Members of Parliament (MPs) to recommend works of developmental nature with emphasis on the creation of durable community assets based on the locally felt needs.

MPLADS Scheme:

• The MPLADS is a Central Sector Scheme fully funded by the Government of India.

• It was introduced in December 1993.

• The objective of the scheme is to enable MPs to recommend works of developmental nature with emphasis on the creation of durable community assets in the areas of drinking water, primary education, public health, sanitation and roads, etc. primarily in their Constituencies.

• The annual MPLADS fund entitlement per Member of Parliament (MP) constituency is Rs.5 crore, released in two instalments of Rs.2.5 crore each, subject to the fulfilment of conditions as per the MPLADS Guidelines.

• Lok Sabha Members can recommend works within their Constituencies and Elected Members of Rajya Sabha can recommend works within the State of Election (with select exceptions).

• Nominated Members of both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha can recommend works anywhere in the country.

• The Ministry of Rural Development initially administered the scheme. 

• Since October 1994 it has been transferred to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (henceforth, the Ministry). 

• Fund Utilisation: At least 15% of the annual outlay of funds must be utilised for Scheduled Caste Population areas and 7.5% for Scheduled Tribes Population areas.

Indian Air Force to conduct exercise Cobra Warrior with British Royal Air Force

Tags: Defence

Indian Air Force departs for the British Royal Air Force to participate in Exercise Cobra Warrior at Waddington Air Force Base. This exercise is proposed to be organised from 06 March 2023 to 24 March 2023.

An Overview of the news:

• Exercise Cobra Warrior is a multilateral air military exercise in which air forces from Finland, Sweden, South Africa, USA and Singapore are also participating along with the Royal Air Force and Indian Air Force.

• The Indian Air Force is participating in the exercise this year with five Mirage 2000 fighter jets, two C-17 Globemaster III and one IL-78 mid air refuelling aircraft.

• The aim of the exercise is to engage in a variety of activities by different fighter aircraft and learn from the best practices of different air forces.

Government organised the birth anniversary of Santh Sevalal Maharaj, the religious leader of the Banjara community for the first time

Tags: National News

For the first time, the Union Ministry of Culture is organising a year-long festival to mark the 284th birth anniversary of Santh Sevalal Maharaj, the spiritual and religious leader of the Banjara community.

An overview of the news: 

• This jubilee year program started on February 26, 2023 under the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. Under this, a two-day program was organised as a part of the 284th birth anniversary celebrations on February 26-27, 2023 at Dr. Ambedkar International Center in New Delhi.

• Home Minister Amit Shah was invited as the chief guest in this program.

• For the last 3 years, New Delhi based Santh Sevalal Maharaj Charitable Trust has been celebrating it in Delhi.

Santh Sevalal Maharaj:

• He was born on February 15, 1739 at Suragondankoppa in Shivamogga district of Karnataka.

• He is considered a social reformer and spiritual teacher of the Banjara community.

• Due to his extraordinary knowledge, excellent skills and spiritual background in Ayurveda and Naturopathy, he was able to dispel the myths and superstitions prevalent in the tribal communities and improve their lives.

• In states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, Santh Sevalal Maharaj  is the revered icon of every Banjara family.

• In February, the birth anniversary of Santh Sevalal Maharaj ji is celebrated with great pomp in all these states.

• The Samadhi Sthal of Santh Sevalal Ji is situated at Pohradevi in Manora Taluka of Washim District of Maharashtra, which is also known as Banjara Kashi.

• The population of the Banjara community in the country is 10 to 12 crores.

RRR to be honoured at the HCA Film Awards 2023

Tags: Awards

RRR has bagged three big awards at the Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) Film Awards 2023.

An overview of the news

• Directed by SS Rajamouli, the film has been given the HCA Film Award for Best Action Film, Best Stunts, Best International Film and Best Song for the song Natu Natu.

• Ram Charan also presented the award at the Hollywood Critics Association Awards 2023. He was the only Indian actor in the list of presenters. 

• The film RRR received nominations in the Best Director, Best Action Film, Best Stunts, Best Song, Best Editing, Best International Film category at the HCA Film Awards.

• RRR's film song 'Natu Natu' made a record by winning the Grammy Award.

Other Awards at the Award Ceremony:

• Hollywood film ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ received the most nominations at the HCA Film Awards 2023. This film got nominations in 16 categories.

• It won the award for Best Editing. Also, the film's actor Ke Huy Quan won the Best Supporting Actor Award.

• Best Visual Effects for the film Avatar: Way of Water

• Tom Cruise's Top Gun Maverick won Best Sound, director Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio won Best Animated Film, Netflix's Glass Onion won Best Comedy and The Black Phone won Best Horror Film.

National Protein Day: 27 February

Tags: Important Days

'National Protein Day' is celebrated every year on 27 February in the country. Right to Protein, a national level public health initiative, organised the first ever Protein Day in India on February 27, 2020.

An overview of the news

• The main purpose of organising this day is to spread awareness regarding the nutritional benefits of protein.

• 
  

Requirement of protein in human body:

• Protein strengthens the body's immunity, and the body is able to function smoothly.

• A normal person needs to take at least 45 to 60 grams of protein per day. We should take 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per kg, according to our weight.

• The Government of India has been making efforts to spread awareness about the importance of nutrition for quite some time now, some of the major initiatives taken for this are as follows:

POSHAN Abhiyaan:

• It is a flagship program of the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development.

• POSHAN Abhiyaan (POSHAN: Prime Minister's Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition) was launched in March 2018 from Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan.

• The main objective of this campaign is to meet the nutritional needs of pregnant women, mothers and children. Apart from this, its goal is also to remove anaemia in children and women.

• This program is related to Anganwadi Service, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, Janani Suraksha Yojana, National Health Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission, Public Distribution System, MNREGA.

National Nutrition Month:

• The main objective of this program is to spread awareness about antenatal care, breastfeeding and anaemia, and the importance of nutrition, hygiene and right age of marriage for the girl child.

• It is organised by various Ministries of the Central Government, mainly NITI Aayog, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation etc.

Entrepreneur of the Year 2022: Sajjan Jindal

Tags: Awards

Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri honoured Indian industrialist Sajjan Jindal with the Best Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the year 2022.

An overview of the news

• At the same function, the Lifetime Achievement Award was given to KP Singh, Chairman, DLF Group.

• KP Singh is especially known for setting up DLF City in Gurgaon.

• Pratapaneni (Co-founder of MedGenome) was awarded in the startup category at the same event.

• Similarly, Mahendra Shah, MD & CEO, IndusInd First Bank was also awarded in the Financial Services category.

Sajjan Jindal:

• Sajjan Jindal is the Chairman and Managing Director of the JSW Group of Companies. It is because of his vision and foresight that the group has gained a distinct place in the business from steel to mining, energy, sports, infrastructure and software.

• Jindal, who has served as the President of the World Steel Association from 2021 to 2022, is a mechanical engineer from the Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bengaluru.

• He has been instrumental in setting up the Indian Steel Association in 2014.

IAF develops indigenous data link communication: 'Vayulink'

Tags: Defence Science and Technology

In a major achievement, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has launched the indigenously built jammer-proof communication platform 'Vayulink'. This will help in maintaining contact with the base station even in bad weather.

An overview of the news: 

• It is a highly secure communication system developed by the IAF.

• At Aero India 2023, IAF has given information about this and also organised a gallery for detailed information about this 'Vayulink platform.

Platform 'Vayulink:

• Vayulink' is an ad-hoc data link communication system that, when installed on an aircraft, transmits encrypted traffic data over a secure channel as well as the position of other aircraft.

• The jammer-proof platform 'Vayulink' data link communication uses the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), also known as NAVIC.

Benefits of 'Vayulink:

• From this platform radio communication can be sent to the base station even in weak signal conditions.

• This system is very helpful for IAF. Because during a war situation when the aircraft are flying close to a friendly force, this system is helpful in telling the actual position of the aircraft.

• This helps the pilots to get accurate and precise information about the weather. In particular, it also helps in providing accurate communication to aircraft flying over hills.

• It helps prevent fratricide in case of war. Also it helps to know where our army is present.

• By this, mutual collision of fighter planes can also be prevented. Which provides an accurate teaming system service. It also helps in setting real time targets with the help of which multiple teams can attack the target simultaneously.

• The indigenous jammer-proof communication platform 'Vayulink' is helpful to all the three services of the country.

China launches Zhongxing-26 satellite

Tags: Science and Technology International News

China has launched the Zhongxing-26 satellite in February 2023 at a cost of $333 million.

An overview of the news

• The Zhongxing-26 satellite was launched on a Long March 3B rocket. The main objective of this satellite is to provide broadband connectivity for aviation and shipping related operations.

• Zhongxing-26 was launched by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). CAST plans to launch 60 more in 2023.

• The rocket uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuel in the third stage. Liquid rocket fuel requires controlled temperature to remain in its form.

• China is about to launch more than 200 spacecraft in its 60 missions in the coming time.

• China plans to launch Tianzhou-6, a cargo craft, by the end of 2023.

• Also, to strengthen its Tiangong Space Station, there are plans to launch crewed missions like Shenzhou-16 and Shenzhou-17.