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This is the current affairs questions and answers section on "July , 2022 Current Affairs"
3.
.
• 47th GST Council Meeting was held in
Chandigarh.
• In a two-day meeting GST Council
recommended rate changes on certain items
4.
GST Council
• It is a constitutional body under Article 279A of the Indian
constitution.
• It was introduced by the Constitution (One Hundred and First
Amendment) Act, 2016.
• The GST Council is chaired by the Union Finance Minister.
• Other members are the Union State Minister of Revenue or Finance
and Ministers in-charge of Finance or Taxation of all the States.
• It makes recommendations to the Union and State Government on
issues related to Goods and Service Tax.
• Every decision of GST Council is to be taken by a majority of not less
than three-fourths of the weighted votes of the members present.
• Central government’s vote has a weightage of one-third of total
votes cast, while the votes of state governments all together have a
weightage of two-thirds of total votes cast in the meeting.
5.
What is GST?
• GST is an indirect, multi-stage, consumption-based tax system. It subsumes
several domestic indirect taxes like service tax, purchase tax, value-added tax,
excise duty, and others under one head. However, items including petroleum,
liquor, and stamp duty have not been added to GST. These items follow the old
tax system.
Three taxes under GST
• There are three taxes application under the GST namely, CGST, SGST, and IGST.
Central government collects CGST on intra-state sale on the other hand, SGST is
collected by state government on intra-state sale. Central government collects
IGST on an inter-state sale.
Objectives of GST laws
• Main objective of GST laws is to eliminate the cascading effect of taxes. It is also
aimed at expanding the base of taxpayer in India by simplifying taxation process.
• It was introduced with the idea of “One Nation- One Market- One Tax”.
• Year 2022 marks the fifth anniversary of GST.
6.
India forum for Nature-Based Solution
• India Forum for Nature-Based Solutions was
launched at the 11th World Urban Forum in
Poland.
• The forum was collectively launched by
National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA),
World Resources Institute India (WRI
India), Climate Centre for Cities (NIUA C-
Cube), and their partners launched India
Forum for Nature-Based Solutions.
7.
• It is India’s first national coalition platform for urban
nature-based solutions (NbS).
• It has been launched under Cities4Forest initiative.
• It is aimed at creating a collective of NbS
entrepreneurs, like-minded organizations and
government entities to help in scaling urban nature-
based solutions by:
1. Defining a shared language and by communicating
benefits that caters to actions at the local level
including scaling up of existing NbS interventions.
2. Creating awareness about urban ecosystem-based
services and nature-based solutions in India through
informing policy, plans and project interventions.
3. Driving investment and promoting delivery
mechanisms with coordination from multi-
stakeholder.
8.
Nature Based Solutions (NbS)
• As per IUCN, NbS are defined as “actions to protect, sustainably manage, and
restore natural or modified ecosystems, that address societal challenges
effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and
biodiversity benefits.”
9.
Cities4Forests Initiative
• It is voluntary grouping of more than 60 cities from around the world
involving mayors’ offices and other city agencies such as public water
utilities and offices of sustainability.
• It aims at supporting cities around the world to recognize their
interdependence with the world’s forests, and use their own political,
economic, and cultural power to ensure forest health and vitality.
• The Cities4Forests initiative helps cities around the world connect with
and invest in inner forests (such as city trees and urban parks), nearby
forests (such as green corridors and watersheds) and faraway forests
(such as tropical and boreal forests).
• Three Indian cities under this initiative are-Mumbai, Hyderabad and
Kochi.
10.
ISRO: PSLV Orbital Experimental Module
What is PSLV Orbital Experimental Module?
• The PSLV Orbital Experimental Module is a platform which will perform in-orbit
experiments through the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket.
• It is a four-stage rocket in which first three spent stages will drop into the ocean
and the final stage will end up as space junk after launching the satellite into
orbit.
• However, in PSLV-C53 mission, spent final stage will be used as a “stabilised
platform” for performing the experiments.
POEM’s Payload
• POEM is carrying six payloads out of which two are from Indian space start-ups
Digantara and Dhruva Space.
• POEM comprises of a dedicated Navigation Guidance and Control (NGC) system
for altitude stabilisation.
• The NGC will serve as the POEM’s brain to stabilize it with specified accuracy.
• It will navigate using four equipment viz., sun sensors, gyros, NavIC and
magnetometer.
11.
NavIC
• Navigation in Indian Constellation (NavIC) is an Indian Regional Navigation
Satellite System (IRNSS).
• It has been developed by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
• IRNSS comprises of eight satellites, of which three satellites are in
geostationary orbit and five satellites in geosynchronous orbit.
• Its functions are similar to the popular U.S. Global Positioning System
(GPS).
• It was operationalised with the objective of providing navigation, timing
services and reliable position in India and its neighbourhood. While GPS
has a position accuracy of 20-30 metres, the NavIC is capable to pinpoint
location to an estimated accuracy of under 20 metres.
12.
ISRO: Launch of PSLV C-53 Satellites
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched PSLV-
C53 mission from Sri harikota, Andhra Pradesh. It carried three
satellites from Singapore.
• PSLV-C53 is the second dedicated commercial mission of the
space agency’s commercial arm New Space India Limited (NSIL).
• PSLV-C53 successfully injected the satellites at an altitude of
570 km with 10-degree inclination.
• This was the ISRO’s 55th mission of PSLV.
• DS-EO carries an Electro-Optic, multi-spectral payload which
will provide full colour images for land classification, and for
serving humanitarian assistance and disaster relief needs.
• NeuSAR satellite will provide images in day and night and under
all weather conditions.
• The Scoob-I satellite is the first satellite in the Student Satellite
Series (S3-I), which is a hands-on student training programme.
13.
New Space India Limited (NSIL)
• NSIL is a Central Public Sector Enterprise of the Government of
India.
• It functions as the commercial arm of ISRO.
• It is headquartered at Bengaluru.
• NSIL was established in 2019 and is working under the
administrative control of the Department of Space.
• It has the responsibility to enable Indian industries to take up
high technology space related activities. It deals with capacity
building of local industries for space manufacturing
ISRO- Key Facts
• ISRO is the space agency under the Department of Space of
Government of India.
• It was formed in 1969.
• ISRO replaced its predecessor, INCOSPAR (Indian National
Committee for Space Research) which was established in 1962.
• Current Chairman of ISRO- S. Somnath
14.
Computerisation of Primary Agriculture
and Credit Society (PACS)
• It is smallest unit in cooperative sector which works with farmers and aim
at development of rural economy.
• PACS account for 41% (3.01 crore farmers) of the kisan credit card (KCC)
loans given by all entities in the country and 95% of these KCC loans (2.95
crore farmers) through PACS are to the small and marginal farmers.
• Primary Agricultural Cooperative credit societies (PACS) is the lowest tier
of the three-tier short-term cooperative credit (STCC).
• The other two tiers i.e State Cooperative Banks (SCBs) and District Central
Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) already work on Common Banking Software
(CBS).
Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme
• The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme was launched in 1998.
• It is aimed at providing credit support from the banking system under a
single window with flexible and simple procedure to the farmers for their
cultivation and other services such as purchase of agriculture inputs
including seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc.
• It also allow them to take cash for their production needs.
15.
Abhyas High-speed Expendable Aerial
Target (HEAT)
• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully
flight-tested Abhyas, which is a high-speed expendable aerial target (HEAT).
This was flight-tested from Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, off the
Bay of Bengal coast in Odisha.
• The test demonstrated the performance at low altitude including sustained
level & high manoeuvrability.
• It has been designed for autonomous flying with the help of an autopilot
system onboard.
• t is powered by a small gas turbine engine to sustain a long endurance
flight at high subsonic speed.
• It is equipped with Micro-Electromechanical Systems-(MEMS) based
Inertial Navigation System along with the flight control computer for
guidance and control.
• Abhyas system is equipped with radar cross-section (RCS) and infrared
signatures which can be used to simulate aircrafts for the practice of anti-
aircraft warfare and also for the testing designed to aim aerial targets.
16.
Autonomous Flying Wing Technology
Demonstrator
• DRDO successfully carried out the maiden flight of an unmanned combat
aircraft, called Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator.
The aircraft was tested in Chitradurga, Karnataka.
• The aircraft operated in a fully autonomous mode and also performed a
perfect flight, including its take-off, way point navigation as well as a
smooth touchdown.
• It has been termed a significant step towards our self-reliance in strategic
defence technologies and critical military system.
• The vehicle is powered by a small turbofan engine.
• Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator is being called as a
precursor to an autonomous stealthy UCAV (unmanned combat aerial
vehicle), being developed by the DRDO.
17.
About DRDO
• It was established in 1958 with a mission to Design,
develop and lead to production state-of-the-art
sensors, weapon systems, platforms and allied
equipment for our Defence Services.
• Dr G Satheesh Reddy is the current chairman of
DRDO.
18.
‘Udyami Bharat’ Programme
• following key initiatives:
1. Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance(RAMP) scheme
2. Capacity Building of First-Time MSME Exporters(CBFTE) scheme
3. New features of Prime Minister’s Employment Generation
Programme (PMEGP) to boost the MSME sector.
RAMP scheme
• The Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance(RAMP) scheme was
launched with an outlay of around Rs 6000 crore.
• It is aimed at scaling up the coverage and implementation capacity of
MSMEs across the states, along with the impact enhancement of existing
MSME schemes.
• RAMP will complement the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, by encouraging
innovation, ideation, entrepreneurship, improving practices & process,
incubating new business by developing quality standards, enhancing
market access, deploying technological tools and Industry 4.0 for making
MSMEs competitive and self-reliant.
19.
CBFTE Scheme
• The Capacity Building of First-Time MSME Exporters (CBFTE)
scheme aims to encourage MSMEs for offering products and
services of international standards to global market. It will also
enhance the participation of Indian MSMEs at international value
chain. CBFTE will help them in realising their export potential.
New features of the PMEGP
• New features of Prime Minister’s Employment Generation
Programme (PMEGP) include:
1. Increase in maximum project cost from Rs 25 lakhs to Rs 50
lakhs for manufacturing sector
2. For service sector, it has increased from Rs 10 lakhs to Rs 20
lakhs.
20.
Ramagundam: India’s largest floating Solar
Power Project
• India’s largest floating solar power plant was made fully operational by
NTPC at Ramagundam, Telangana.
• The capacity of solar plant is 100 MW.
• It is powered with advanced technology and environment friendly
features.
• The floating platform comprises a transformer, inverter and a HT breaker.
• The solar modules are kept on floaters which are manufactured with
HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) material.
• The presence of floating solar panels will reduce evaporation rate from
water bodies. Thus, it will serve the purpose of water conservation.
21.
Renewable Energy Sector in India
• As on November 30, 2021;
• India’s installed Renewable Energy (RE) capacity is 150.54 GW.
• Out of this, solar capacity is 48.55 GW,
Small hydro Power 4.83 GW, wind is 40.03 GW,
Bio-power:10.62, Large Hydro: 46.51 GW.
India’s nuclear energy based installed electricity capacity is 6.78 GW.
• Thus, the total non-fossil based installed energy capacity stands at 157.32 GW.
• It accounts for 40.1% of the total installed electricity capacity of 392.01 GW.
• India has already achieved its target, in November 2021, of having 40% of its
installed electricity capacity from non-fossil energy sources by 2030.
• India had committed this target at COP21 as part of its Nationally Determined
Contribution (NDC) At COP26, India has committed to achieve 500 GW of
installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.
22.
SBI: Authorisation to issue of Electoral
Bonds
What are Electoral Bonds?
• Electoral bonds are instruments through which anyone can donate
money to political parties.
• Electoral Bonds are valid for fifteen calendar days from the date of issue
and no payment is made to any payee Political Party, if the Electoral
Bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period.
• The bonds that are not encashed by a party within 15 days are
deposited by the SBI into the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.
• Electoral Bond deposited by an eligible Political Party in its account is
credited on the same day.
• The electoral bonds do not comprise of name of the donor. So, political
party may not know about donor’s identity.
• The party is allotted a verified account by the Election Commission of
India (ECI) and the electoral bond are transacted through this account
only.
23.
SBI: Authorisation to issue of Electoral
Bonds
Who sells the Bonds?
• The bonds are sold by the authorized branches of SBI.
• Bonds can be purchased in the denominations of Rs 1,000, Rs
10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 crore. There is no
maximum limit for purchasing bonds.
Who can purchase these bonds?
• The bonds can be purchased by any citizen of India.
• It can be purchased for a period of ten days each in the months
of January, April, July and October or as per specified by the
Government.
Which party can receive Electoral Bonds?
• If any party that is registered under section 29A of the
Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951 and has got at least 1%
of the votes polled in the most recent General elections or
Assembly elections then it can receive electoral bonds.
24.
Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB)
• Union government has transformed the “Banks Board Bureau (BBB)” into
“Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB)”, through some amendments.
• Banks Board Bureau (BBB) was the head-hunter for directors of state-owned
banks as well as financial institutions.
• Amendments were needed, because in 2021 Delhi High Court in its order
maintained that, BBB is not a competent body for selecting Directors and General
Managers of state-owned general insurers. Due to this, newly-appointed directors
of insurers had to leave their positions.
Financial Services Institutions Bureau
• The Financial Services Institutions Bureau will make recommendations for
appointments of full-time directors as well as non-executive chairman of banks
and financial institutions.
• Guidelines to select general managers and directors of public sector general
insurance companies is also a part of FSIB now.
Bank Board Bureau
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved the constitution of BBB as a body of
eminent officials and professionals in 2016. BBB was constituted to make
recommendations for appointment of full-time directors and non-executive
chairperson of state-owned chairperson and public sector banks (PSBs). It was
provided with task of engaging with board of directors of all PSBs for formulating
appropriate strategies related to their growth and development.
25.
Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP), 2020
• In the Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) 2020, states have been
categorized into four categories, namely
1. Top achievers,
2. Achievers
3. Aspires, and
4. Emerging business ecosystems.
• In this report, states have been categorized, as opposed to earlier
practice of announcing ranks.
• The BRAP report comprises of 301 reform points, covering 15 business
regulatory areas like access to Information, labour, single window system,
sectoral reforms, environment, and other reforms related to lifecycle of a
typical business.
• In it, sectoral reforms have been introduced for the first time. In it, 72
reforms were identified across 9 sectors viz., healthcare, trade licence,
cinema halls, legal metrology, fire NOC, hospitality, movie shooting,
telecom, and tourism.
26.
Categorization of States
• States like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Telangana, Pubjab, Karnataka, and
Tamil Nadu have been categorised as ‘top achievers’ in the rankings, according to
the plan.
• Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, and
Uttar Pradesh have been categorised as ‘achievers’.
• Assam, Goa, Kerala, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Rajasthan were
categorized into ‘aspires category’.
• In ‘emerging business ecosystems’ category, 11 states and UTs including
Puducherry, Delhi and Tripura have been listed. Others include- Andaman &
Nicobar, Chandigarh, Bihar, Daman & Diu, Jammu & Kashmir, Dadra & Nagar
Haveli, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura and Nagaland.
Significance of the new method
• As per secretary of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
(DPIIT), under new categorisation method, difference between various states and
UTs was so little that, it will not make sense to rank them.
Background
• ‘Business Reforms Action Plan report is being released by DPIIT, since 2014 for
steering business reforms, in order to create investor-friendly ecosystem across
India.
27.
NITI Aayog Report: ‘Harnessing Green
Hydrogen-Opportunities for Deep
Decarbonisation in India’
What is Green Hydrogen?
• Green hydrogen is hydrogen gas, which is produced
through electrolysis of water. Electrolysis is an energy
intensive process to split water into hydrogen and
oxygen.
• Central government has notified the green hydrogen
and green ammonia policy, in February 2022 with the
aim of increasing domestic production of green
hydrogen to 5 million tonnes by 2030.
28.
MHI- MSDE sign MoU to facilitate training
in Engineering Trades
• aims to facilitate training in several engineering trades.
• Training will be facilitated through Qualification Packs (QPs), that have
been developed by MHI related Sector Skill Councils (such as
Infrastructure, Automotive, Instrumentation and Capital Goods).
• Such QPs have been developed under phase two of the “Scheme for
Enhancement of Competitiveness” in Capital Goods Sector.
• Under the phase two of initiative, a new component to promote skilling
in Capital Goods sector has been introduced, in order to cater futuristic
industrial requirements.
• New component has been introduced through creation of Qualification
Packs for Level 6 and above.
• Under this component, MHI is promoting skilling in Capital Goods
sector by creating QPs for skill levels 6 and above.
• MHI will also provide linkage between Industry associations and SSCs to
impart skilling to over 70,000 individuals in three years.
29.
National Health Claims Exchange
• The National Health Authority (NHA) and IRDAI has decided to develop a National Health Claims Exchange.
• The National Health Claims Exchange will be developed as a digital platform, for settling the health claims.
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)
• IRDAI is a regulatory body, set up under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance.
• It helps in regulating and licensing the insurance and re-insurance industries across country.
• It was constituted in accordance with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999.
Members of IRDAI
• IRDAI is a 10-member body. It includes the chairman, 5 full-time and 4 part-time members.
• All the members are appointed by government of India.
The National Health Authority (NHA)
• National Health Authority implements India’s public health insurance or assurance scheme called “Ayushman
Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)”.
• NHA was set up for implementing PM-JAY at the national level.
• In the States, State Health Agencies (SHAs) have been set up as a society or trust.
• SHAs have been given full operational autonomy, for the implementation of this scheme. SHAs are free to
extend coverage of scheme to non SECC beneficiaries.
• NHA is the successor of National Health Agency, which was formed on May 23, 2018.
Members of NHA
• Governing Board chaired by the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, governs the NHA.
• Governing Board have 1 Chairperson and 11 members.
30.
125th birth anniversary of Alluri Sitarama Raju
• On July 4, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a 30-ft bronze statue of
freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju.
Who was Alluri Sitarama Raju?
• Alluri Sitarama Raju was popularly known as ‘Manyam Veerdu’ (Hero of the Forest). He
also referred to by his surname Alluri. He was born at Pandrangi village of then
Visakhapatnam district, on July 4, 1897. Regular patriotic discourse during the freedom
struggle had highly influenced him. After the death of his father, his schooling got
disrupted. He went on a pilgrimage and toured the western, north, north-western, and
north-eastern India during his teens. The socio-economic conditions of India under the
British regime, especially in the tribal areas, moved him deeply.
31.
Rampa Rebellion
• During his tourney to almost entire India, he met revolutionaries in
Chittagong (now in Bangladesh). Following this, he decided to build
a movement against the British. He organised local Adivasis in forest
areas of Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts into a potent
force, for launching a frontal attack.
• Thus, ‘Rampa Rebellion’ or ‘Manyam Uprising’ born, in the
Rampachodavaram forest area of East Godavari district.
• This force was using the traditional weapons of Adivasis’ like bows
and arrows and spears. However, he later realised that traditional
weaponry was no match to heavily armed British forces. Thus, he
planned to snatch weapons of the British.
• in 1924, he got trapped and captured by the British at Koyyuru
village in Chintapalle forests. He was tied to a tree and executed by
a firing squad. His resting place lies in Krishnadevipeta village
32.
States’ Start-up Ranking 2021
• The department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT)
released third edition of “States’ Start-up Ranking 2021”
Which states are best performers?
• In terms of developing ‘start-up ecosystem for entrepreneurs’, Gujarat
and Karnataka emerged as the Best Performers among states including
NCT of Delhi.
• Meghalaya was ranked first among UTs and North-eastern (NE) states.
• Gujarat has been recognised as the best performer for third consecutive
year.
• Kerala, Orissa, Maharashtra, and Telangana were Top Performers among
states.
• Jammu & Kashmir was ranked as Top Performer, among UTs and NE
states.
• Assam, Punjab, Tamil Nādu, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh were
emerged as winners in “Leaders’ category” among states.
• Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa emerged as
winner in “Leaders’ category” among UTs and NE states.
Global Start-up ecosystem
• India has been ranked at third position, in global start-up ecosystem.
33.
Lisbon Declaration
• On the last day of UN Ocean Conference 2022, member nations
committed to follow innovative and science-based actions on an urgent
basis
• They recognised that developing countries, specifically least developed
countries and small island developing states, need assistance with
capacity building.
• They also agreed to work on controlling, reducing and preventing, marine
pollution. Marine pollution includes- Nutrient pollution, Solid waste
discharges, Hazardous substances, Untreated wastewater, Emissions from
maritime sector and Anthropogenic underwater noise.
• Developing and promoting innovative financing solutions, in order to
create sustainable ocean-based economies
• Expanding nature-based solutions, for conserving and preserving coastal
communities.
34.
Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2022
• The Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2022 was released by
Hurun Research Institute recently. As per index, India will have
122 new unicorns in next two to four years.
What is a Unicorn company?
• A unicorn is a privately held start-up company, with value of more
than USD 1 billion. This term was first published in 2013. It was
coined by venture capitalist Aileen Lee. Mythical animal “Unicorn”
was chosen to represent statistical rarity of successful ventures.
35.
India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment
Partnership
• both the countries will explore investment opportunities in cobalt and
lithium mineral assets.
• strengthened cooperation on critical minerals development projects and
supply chains.
• India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership will run for three
years.
What this MoU talks about?
• This MoU is aimed at ensuring reliable supplies of Critical and Strategic
Minerals to India.
• It includes due diligence in lithium and cobalt mineral assets.
• The due diligence process will be funded by CMFO and Indian JV KABIL.
Initially, USD 6 million will be funded.
• After the identification & completion of due diligence and potential
projects, both sides will explore investment opportunities through
different methods in the MoU.
36.
Australian Commitment to the Investment Partnership
• Australia will provide USD 5.8 million to the India-Australia Critical Minerals
Investment Partnership.
• Both the countries are natural partners on critical minerals.
• They share a common goal of lowering carbon emissions and increasing
the use of renewable energy.
• Australia supplies resources and energy to India. Australia has the
resources like lithium, & Cobalt, thorough which it can help India in
completing its target of lower emissions.
• These resources from Australia would also help India in meeting its
increasing demand for critical minerals in space and defence industries.
• It would be useful in manufacturing solar panels, electrical vehicles and
batteries.
critical minerals
• Critical minerals are considered as the building blocks of essential modern-
day technologies. They are at the risk of supply chain disruptions.
Application of critical minerals
• Critical minerals are used for making mobile phones, batteries, computers,
electric vehicles, and green technologies such as wind turbines & solar
panels.
37.
Italy Marmolada Glacier Collapse
• Marmolada is the highest peak in the Dolomites range.
The Marmolada Glacier
• Marmolada Glacier is situated on Marmolada Mountain in
Trentino district of Italy. This Glacier a Dolomites section of the
Alps. This glacier helped the Australian and Italian forces during
the World War I.
Marmolada Mountain
• Marmolada Mountain is located in north-eastern Italy. It is
regarded as the highest mountain of the Dolomites. The
mountain is located between Trentino and Veneto borders.
The Dolomites
• The Dolomites are also named as Dolomitic Alps or Dolomite
Alps or Dolomite Mountains. These mountains are located in
north-eastern Italy. They are a part of Southern Limestone Alps.
It extends from Adige River in the west to Piave Valley in east.
The Dolomites were categorized as “UNESCO World Heritage
Sites”, in August 2009.
38.
Google Start-up School India initiative
Aim of the initiative
• The Start-up School India initiative caters to the early-stage founders with a
minimum viable product. It aims to provide flexibility of virtual curriculum. The
initiative further provides attendees with pick and choose modules. It will provide
entrepreneurs the chances to learn from talk like formalization of recruitment and
what makes a successful founder.
What is the need of start-up schools?
• India is the third largest startup ecosystem worldwide. Even though the number
of start-ups is huge, 90% of startups got failed in first five years of operation.
Start-ups failed due to no control on financial burn, inefficient feedback loops,
absence of leadership, and improper demand projections. Thus, Start-up School
India initiative was designed to align efforts in order to expand the start-ups.
Topics covered under the initiative
• The Google Start-up School India initiative will cover topics including fintech,
language, job search, social media & networking, business-to-consumer e-
commerce and business-to-business e-commerce.
• Effective product strategy, designing apps for users in Indian Markets, product
user value, and user acquisition will also be covered in the instructional modules
are other topics to be discussed in the instructional modules of curriculum.
39.
Just Stop Oil climate activists
What is Just Stop Oil group?
• “Just Stop Oil Group” was launched in 2022. It is “a coalition of
groups which are working together to ensure that government make
commitment to stop licensing and production of new fossil fuel.
Organisers from climate groups Extinction Rebellion and Insulate
Britain are leading this group. Funding for group activities come via
donations. They work on the principle of “Non-Violent Direct Action”.
Non-violent civil resistance is a way followed by them to “demand
their rights, freedom and justice”. Strikes, mass protests, boycotts,
and disruption are the tactics followed by them to withdraw their
cooperation from the state.
Demands of the group
• The ‘Just Stop Oil group’ seeks the government to “stop all future licensing
and consents with immediate effect, which government provide for the
exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in country”.
40.
Varanasi Declaration on Higher Education
Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samaham
• The Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samaham will be held by Union
Ministry of Education.
• It will be held at international cooperation and convention
centre called “Rudraksh”.
• The conclave will conclude on July 9, 2022.
• During the 3-day conclave, “Varanasi Declaration on Higher
Education” will be adopted.
• Conclave is being held as part of capacity building of over
300 academic, institutional and administrative leaders from
nationally important institutes and universities from across
the country.
41.
Varanasi Declaration on Higher Education
nine themes that have been identified for higher education as a
part of the National Education Policy 2020.
• Multidisciplinary and holistic education
• Skill development and employability
• Research, innovation and entrepreneurship
• Capacity building of teachers for quality education
• Quality, ranking and accreditation
• Digital empowerment and online education
• Equitable and inclusive education
• Indian knowledge system
• Internationalisation of higher education.
42.
New nominations to Rajya Sabha
Nominated Members of Rajya Sabha
• In Rajya Sabha, there are a total of 245 members.
• Out of them, President of India nominates 12 members, on
the recommendation of the Government.
• Nominations are made in accordance with Article 80(3) of
the Constitution.
• Nominated member can join a political party, within six
months of taking the nominated seat.
• persons having special knowledge or practical experience in
respect of such matters as the following, namely: Literature,
science, art and social service
43.
ARYABHAT-1: Prototype of Analog chipset
• The team has created a design framework to develop next-generation
analog computing chipsets.
• These chipsets may operate faster. It will use less power as compared to
digital processors used in different electronic gadgets.
• It has been designed by Pratik Kumar, who is a Ph.D. student at IISc.
ARYABHAT-1
• ARYABHAT-1stands for “Analog Reconfigurable Technology and Bias-
scalable Hardware for AI Tasks”.
• Such chipsets can be beneficial for applications based on Artificial
Intelligence(AI) such as object or speech recognising apps including
Alexa. It can also be beneficial for applications requiring very efficient
parallel computations.
• Digital chips are used in many electronic devices, especially those require
computers because design process is scalable and straightforward.
Benefits of Analog Computing
• Analog computing is potentially active to perform as compared to digital
computing in applications which do not call for accurate computations.
Analog computing is more energy-efficient.
44.
ARYABHAT-1: Prototype of Analog chipset
Challenges of making analog chips
• Multiple technological challenges are associated with building analog
chips:
• Testing and co-designing the Analog processor is challenging, as
compared to that of digital chips. Large-scale digital processors can be
developed quickly by compiling high-level code.
• Analog chips are difficult to scale as well. They are specially tailored while
shifting to new applications or next generation of technology.
• It would not be easy to trade-off power and area for the purpose of speed
and accuracy. Though, accuracy can be improved by incorporating
additional elements on same chip, like logic units.
Applications of ARYABHAT
• According to researchers, ARYABHAT is capable to be configured with
several machine learning architectures. For instance, with the digital
CPUs. It has the potential to function reliably on different temperature
range.
45.
Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022
• The MoEFCC recently notified Forest (conservation) Rules 2022, under Forest
(conservation) Act, 1980.
Provisions of Forest (conservation) Rules 2022 include:
• An advisory committee, a screening committee at State or UT and a regional
empowered committee will be constituted for monitoring purposes.
• Integrated Regional Office will be set up to examine all the linear projects
(Highways and roads) on land up to 40 hectares and those projects using forest
land up to 0.7 canopy density.
• These rules provide for a fixed time for reviewing each project quickly.
• States are going to be responsible for settling forest rights of forest dwellers,
under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. They will also allow diversion of forest land.
• Compensatory afforestation (CA) will now be allowed in other states. If state has
more than two-thirds area under green cover or more than one-third area under
forest cover, then CA would be allowed to be taken in other states/UTs where this
cover is below 20%
Changes rules on penalty
• MoEFCC has proposed for removing imprisonment as a penalty for less severe
contraventions. Imprisonment has been replaced with monetary penalty.
However, serious violations of Environment Protection Act (EPA), leading to
grievous injury or loss of life, will be covered under provision of Indian Penal
Code.
46.
Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022
EPA provisions
• It will be in force for penal provisions of single use plastic
ban. Under the current provisions of EPA, violator can be
punished with imprisonment up to five years or fine up to Rs
1,00,000 or both. Environmental Protection Fund will be
created to remit the penalty amount.
About Environmental Protection Act, 1986
• It was enacted under Article 253 of the Constitution, and
came into force in 1986. The Act provides for a framework to
study, plan, and implement long-term requirements of
environmental safety. It also lay down a system of adequate
and speedy response for the situations threatening the
environment.
47.
Nairobi flies (Dragon bugs)
• Recently, a skin infection was reported among 100 students
of Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology (SMIT) in Majhitar,
East Sikkim. This infection was reported after they came in
touch with Nairobi flies.
• The flies move to new areas to search for food supply and
breeding grounds.
About Nairobi flies
• Nairobi flies are also known as dragon bugs or Kenyan flies.
They are small, beetle-like insects. They are found in orange
and black colour. Flies prosper in areas of high rainfall. They
get attracted towards bright light, similar to most insects.
48.
Nairobi flies (Dragon bugs)
How flies affect humans?
• Nairobi flies usually attack pests consuming crops and pests that are good
for humans. But they sometimes come in direct contact with humans,
harming them. These flies do not bite. But if they are disturbed while
sitting on skin, a “potent acidic substance” called pederin is released.
Pederin causes burns and irritation, resulting into colouring or lesions or
unusual on the skin. The skin starts to heal after a week or two. However, it
can also lead to secondary infections, if the infected person scratches the
irritated skin.
Previous outbreaks of the disease
• Past instances of outbreaks have been reported in Kenya and other parts of
eastern Africa. Heavy rain in 1998 resulted in large number of insects into
this region. Other than this region, outbreaks have been reported in
countries like Japan, India, Israel, and Paraguay.
How can humans protect themselves from Nairobi flies?
• Human can protect themselves from Nairobi flies by sleeping under nets. In
case, flies sit on a person, it should be pushed aside gently. It should not be
disturbed to avoid the chances of releasing pederin.
49.
Eoscansor cobrensis: Oldest Known Tree-
Climbing Reptile
• Recently, a team of researchers published paper on fossil
discovery of Eoscansor cobrensis from New Mexico.
• Eoscansor cobrensis is a reptile, belonging to Pennsylvanian
subperiod of Carboniferous period, around 305 million years
ago. It used to live in area around present-day New Mexico.
• The species belong to Varanopidae, which is an extinct family
of reptiles. They were similar to monitor lizards.
• Other aspects of its anatomy highlights are “Eoscansor
cobrensis” was a climber, and possibly arboreal meaning that,
the species was living in trees.
50.
Eoscansor cobrensis: Oldest Known Tree-
Climbing Reptile
Significance of the discovery
• Discovery of fossils of Eoscansor cobrensis is significant for
fossil record. This discovery will push back understanding to
time, when reptiles started climbing some 15 million years
ago. Earlier, the oldest discovered climbing reptile belonged
to 290-million-year-old rocks in Germany. Furthermore, the
discovery of fossil indicates that, reptiles used to be diverse
in terms of anatomy & behaviours during Pennsylvanian
subperiod.
Features of the fossil
• Different anatomical features of the fossil skeleton such as
limbs, hands, and feet, highlights that, they used to climb
trees. Teeth highlights that, the species was a predator and it
perhaps ate insects.
51.
Amitabh Kant: Next India G20 Sherpa
• Amitabh Kant has been appointed, as India is scheduled to
assume the G-20 presidency in 2022,
• India will take over G20 presidency during December 1, 2022
to November 30, 2023.
About G-20
• The G-20 forum connects the world’s developed and developing
economies together. It accounts for two-third of global population,
75% of international trade and 85% of the global GDP. Thus, it is an
influential platform for international economic cooperation.
52.
Amitabh Kant: Next India G20 Sherpa
Role of Indian Sherpa
• In line with India’s presidency to G20, the Sherpa is likely to provide lot of time
to several meetings, which are scheduled to be held in different parts of India.
India’s Presidency at G20
• While holding the G-20 presidency, India will prepare agenda for the year. It will
identify focus areas & themes, work on outcome documents and conduct
discussions. The G-20 Leaders’ Summit is also scheduled to be held in India in
2023, for the first time.
Division of G-20 process
• The G-20 process has been categorized into Sherpa track and Finance track.
Under the Sherpa track, around 100 official meetings will be held in the areas
related to health, employment, trade, digital economy, energy, investment &
industry, agriculture, environment & climate, anti-corruption, culture, tourism,
education, socio-economic development, and women empowerment. On the
other hand, under Finance track, 40 meetings will be held in areas of
international financial architecture, financing for infrastructure, financial
inclusion & sustainable finance, tax matters and climate finance.
53.
India’s first Animal Health Summit 2022
• India’s first ever “Animal Health Summit 2022” was organised on July 6, 2022 at
NASC Complex, New Delhi.
• The Animal Health Summit was held to understand the significance of health of
animals in broader objective of India’s rural incomes & prosperity, food &
nutrition security, and overall economic development.
• The summit was organised by Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) in
collaboration with the Agriculture Today Group.
• Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Parshottam
Rupala, attended the event as chief guest and inaugurated the summit.
• It is a two-day event and hosted many panel discussions on topics including:
1. Animal Health policy initiatives
2. Business environment in Animal Health Sector
3. Investment opportunities in Animal Health sector.
Cooperative Movement in Livestock Sector
• While inaugurating the summit, Union Minister noted that, we need to
strengthen the cooperative movement in livestock sector. He asked to use
Ayurveda to ensure better animal health. He further asked for suggestions from
citizens regarding initiatives, that can be implemented to recognize the work of
veterinarians in India.
54.
TiHAN: India’s first Autonomous
Navigation facility
Key Facts
• TiHAN was inaugurated at the campus of IIT Hyderabad.
• Union Ministry of Science and technology has developed the
navigation facility with an outlay of Rs. 130 crores.
About TiHAN
• TiHAN stands for “Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous
Navigation”. It is a multidisciplinary initiative, that has been
launched to make India a global player in ‘smart mobility’
technology for futuristic and next generation. This platform will
provide for high quality research facility between industry,
academia and R&D labs at local and global levels.
55.
TiHAN: India’s first Autonomous
Navigation facility
Significance of the testbed
• TiHAN testbed seeks to make India a global leader in terms of
autonomous navigation technologies. TiHAN-IITH testbed on Autonomous
Navigations (Aerial & Terrestrial) will help in accurate testing of next
generation autonomous navigation technologies. The testbed comprises
of simulation platforms, which is turn permit for non-destructive testing
of algorithms and prototypes.
What was the need of TiHAN test bed?
• TiHAN test bed was developed and is needed because, limited testbeds or
proving grounds are present across the world to probe the operation of
unmanned and connected vehicles in controlled environment. In India,
there was no testbed facility to assess the performance of autonomous
vehicles.
Cyber Physical Systems (CPS)
• A real-time CPS system is being developed and deployed by TiHAN, using
autonomous UAVs and ground or surface vehicle. This will find
applications in many sectors of national importance.
56.
Guidelines for Mission Vatsalya
• Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) released new
guidelines for the “Mission Vatsalya”, which was launched to provide
child protection services.
What are the new guidelines?
• In the guidelines, states have been mandated to retain the official and
original name of the Mission Vatsalya, in order to access Central funds
and benefits.
• However, government has permitted correct translation to local
language.
• States have been mandated to comply with each guideline or instruction
issued by the ministry for the Scheme.
• Guidelines on Mission Vatsalaya also talks about process in details,
through which funds will be given to states by defining institutionalised
arrangements.
• State governments are mandated to engage in exercise to provide grades
to child care institution (CCI) at fixed intervals. Grading will be done on
the basis on quality of services, infrastructure, wellbeing of children with
respect to health & education, as well as restoration & rehabilitation of
children.
57.
Guidelines for Mission Vatsalya
Approval of the funds
• The Mission Vatsalya Project Approval Board (PAB) will approve the funds
under scheme, to states. The board will be chaired by Secretary of women
and child development ministry. He will be tasked to scrutinise & approve
annual plans as well as financial proposals that will be received from
states and UTs in a bid to release grants.
How will the Scheme be implemented?
• The Mission Vatsalya will be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored
Scheme. For the implementation of the scheme, state governments and
UT administrations will also partner with the central government. Funds
will be shared among both in 60:40 ratio. For the Northeast states,
Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and UT of Jammu and Kashmir, funds will
be shared in 90:10 ratio. For UTs without a legislature, total cost will be
shared by centre
58.
Cloudburst at Amarnath shrine
What is cloudburst?
• According to criterion of IMD, if there is a rainfall of 100 mm in one hour,
then it is called as cloudburst.
Was it a flash flood?
• As per eyewitness and viral videos, stream between two mountains
located at 200-300 metres away, resulted into heavy rainfall. It happened
due to rainfall behind the Amarnath cave. It was a localised cloud over the
cave, but not a flash flood. It might be the result of severe rainfall at a
higher altitude than Amarnath cave.
Amarnath Temple
• This shrine is located in Jammu and Kashmir, at an altitude of 3,888 m. It
is located at a distance of 141 kms from Srinagar. It is an important part of
Hinduism. Amarnath cave is located near Lidder Valley. It is surrounded by
glaciers, snowy mountains, which remains covered with snow most of the
year. Yearly pilgrimage varied between 20 and 60 days.
59.
Shinzo Abe: Former Japan PM Assassinated
Who was Shinzo Abe?
Shinzo Abe was a Japanese politician. He served as Japanese prime minister and President of
the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) during 2006-2007, followed by second tenure during 2012-
2020. He was the longest-serving Japanese prime minister in history. He also served as Chief
Cabinet Secretary during 2005-2006 when Junichiro Koizumi was Prime Minister. In 2012, he
was leader of the opposition.
Background
Shinzo Abe was born into a political family. In 1993 election, he was elected to the House of
Representatives. He was confirmed to become the prime minister through a special session of
National Diet. He became the youngest post-war prime minister of Japan. He was the first
prime minister after World War II.
Resignation as prime minister
Shinzo Abe resigned as prime minister, for the second time, in August 2020 due to resurgence
of ulcerative colitis. He formally offered his resignation on September 16 and Yoshihide Suga
became his successor.
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