Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 14th August 2021

What is in news : Government of Karnataka decided Friday to organise official events to mark the birth of 18th Century freedom fighter 'Krantiveera' Sangolli Rayanna on August 15 and his martyrdom on January 26 in Bengaluru and across the state

About Rayanna

• Prominent warrior from Karnataka, India.
• Was the army chief of the Kingdom of Kittur ruled at the time by Rani Chennamma and fought the British East India Company till his death
• Participated in the 1824 rebellion and was arrested by the British, who released him later
• Continued to fight the British and wanted to install adopted son Shivalingappa as the ruler of Kittur
• Mobilised local people and started a guerilla type war against the British
• His “army” moved from place to place, burnt government offices, waylaid British troops and plundered treasuries. Most of his land was confiscated and what remained of it was heavily taxed. He taxed the landlords and built up an army from the masses.
• The British troops could not defeat him in open battle. Hence, by treachery, he was caught in April 1831 and tried by the British; and sentenced to death.
• Shivalingappa, the boy who was supposed to be the new ruler, was also arrested by the British.
• Was executed by hanging to death from a Banyan tree about 4 kilometers from Nandagad in Belgaum district on 26 January 1832.
• Was helped by Gajaveera, a Siddi warrior, in his revolt against the British in 1829-30

POLITY & GOVERNANCE

What is in news : Prime minister formally launched the national vehicle scrapping policy.

Features of the policy :

• The new policy provides for fitness tests after the completion of 20 years in the case of privately owned vehicles and 15 years in the case of commercial vehicles. Any vehicle that fails the fitness test or does not manage renewal of its registration certificate may be declared as an End of Life Vehicle.
• All government vehicles and those owned by PSUs will be de-registered after 15 years.
• Mandatory fitness testing for heavy commercial vehicles will start from April 1, 2023, and for all other categories of vehicles, including personal vehicles, it will start in phases from June 1, 2024.
• Policy includes Central advisories to States to give up to 25% rebate in road tax for personal vehicles and up to 15% rebate for commercial vehicles. The government will also offer waiver of registration fees on the purchase of new vehicles.
• Central government to issue advisory to auto makers to offer the incentive of a 5% rebate for those who buy a new vehicle after producing a scrapping certificate.
• Older vehicles pollute the environment 10 to 12 times more. As a disincentive, increased re-registration fees would be applicable for vehicles 15 years or older from the initial date registration.

SOCIAL ISSUES

What is in news : Union Cabinet approved a proposal to amend the list of Scheduled Tribes in Arunachal Pradesh, Parliament last week passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill 2021

Aim of the bill :

• The Bill seeks to modify Part-XVIII of the Schedule to the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950. Part-XVIII lists 16 tribes of Arunachal, in order: Abor, Aka, Apatani, Nyishi, Galong, Khampti, Khowa, Mishmi [Idu, Taroon], Momba, Any Naga tribes, Sherdukpen, Singpho, Hrusso, Tagin, Khamba and Adi.
• The Bill corrects the names of tribes spelt incorrectly, and adds names of a few tribes that were either named ambiguously or had their parent group named only.

Significance :

Indigenous nomenclature of tribes has been a long-standing demand in Arunachal Pradesh for two reasons:

• For the recognition of individual identity
• Do away with the ambiguity as a result of errors in their names.

What is in news : Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, today launched ‘SonChiraiya’ – (A brand and logo)- for marketing of urban Self-Help Group (SHG) products.

Additional Info:

DEENDAYAL ANTYODAYA YOJANA-NATIONAL URBAN LIVELIHOODS MISSION

• Under the aegis of MoHUA
• Focussed on equipping the urban poor women with adequate skills and opportunities, and to enable them to promote sustainable micro enterprises
• Mobilises women from urban poor households into SHGs and their federations to create a support system for these women.
• Over 5.7 lakh SHGs have been formed across various States/ UTs with almost 60 lakh members.
• Many of these SHGs are engaged in livelihood activities, producing goods such as handicrafts, textiles, toys, eatables and so on. These were being sold primarily in local neighbourhood markets and often faced barriers in achieving visibility and wide market access.
• To overcome these challenges, Ministry entered into Memorundum of Understandings (MoUs) with leading e-Commerce Portals viz. Amazon and Flipkart, with an underlying narrative of women empowerment.
• This is of particular significane during the event of Atmaribhar Nari Shakthi

ENVIRONMENT & GEOGRAPHY

How does climate change affect marine habitat : Ocean warming

How does ocean warming affect fishes :

• Create both anoxic (waters that have no dissolved oxygen) and hypoxic (low oxygen concentration) zones
• Warming oceans can cause stress, decrease the range, increase diseases and even wipe out many commonly eaten fish
• Future ocean warming and acidification may drag down the commercial Arctic cod fishery by 2100
• Several species were noted to migrate poleward or to deeper waters to stay in their ideal temperature range
• Total number of open-water species in tropical marine zones declined by about half in the 40 years up to 2010
• Fish like sardines, pilchards and herring will become smaller in size and not be able to move to better environments
• As temperature increases, the demand for oxygen of many fish species will exceed their capacity to extract oxygen from the environment through their gills

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

What is in news : Chandrayaan-2 orbiter of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has detected water molecules on Moon’s surface

Details :

• Widespread lunar hydration and unambiguous detection of OH and H2O signatures in between 29-degree north and 62-degree north latitudes on the moon
• Formation of hydroxyl or water molecules happens due to a process called space weathering. This process is completed when the solar winds blow over the lunar surface
• Significance :This study becomes significance for future planetary exploration for resource utilisation because several international missions are lined up towards moon for the upcoming years.

CHANDRAYAAN-2

• ISRO launched its Chandrayaan-2 mission in 2019.
• It suffered a tragic crash when the lander got damaged. However, its orbiter has helped in new discoveries.
• This mission aims to study not just one area of the Moon but the areas combining the exosphere as well including the surface and sub-surface of the moon.

DEFENCE

• With a long coastline and large island chains spread-eagled across the Indian Ocean, India has a natural seaward orientation, with key sea lanes of communication coursing through its surrounding seas.
• Ninety per cent of global trade is conducted on the high seas, for the simple reason that it continues to be the most cost effective mode of transport.

MARITIME TRADITIONS

• In the 15th century, Vasco de Gama was piloted to the west coast of India from Zanzibar by a Gujarati seaman. Long before that, India’s ancient mariners were trading with the old world. The very word navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word “navgath”.
• PM linked free and open trade to India’s civilisational ethos. His words were a reminder of India’s maritime trade with Mesopotamia 4,500 years ago. Lothal was a key maritime centre of the Indus Valley civilisation
• A ship built indigenously and manned by a local crew voyaged to England and back in the time of Rao Godji II (1760-1778) of Kutch. Buddhism and Hinduism spread to South-east Asia by the maritime route. Even Islam took the maritime route from India to South-east Asia.

IMPLICATIONS OF NAVAL DISPUTE

• Ninety per cent of global trade is conducted on the high seas, for the simple reason that it continues to be the most cost effective mode of transport.
• Disruption of sea lanes of communication has global repercussions.

Example: The blockage in the Suez Canal earlier this year interrupted the flow of trade worth billions of dollars

• A naval blockade at any choke-point in the Indo-Pacific could prove catastrophic.
• Freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce are key to the spread of prosperity. Critical supply chains depend on the concept of mare liberum (open seas). The neo-colonial concept of mare clausum (closed seas) in the South China Sea is anathema to the future of the global economy.

INDIA'S MARITIME ROLE

• Today, natural disasters and maritime threats posed by non-state actors have grown exponentially.
• India’s role as ‘first responder’ in the Indian Ocean, whether in thwarting piracy or providing relief after the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004, is well- documented.
• The Indian Air Force airlifted 30 tonnes of relief material to Mauritius in August 2020 to contain an oil spill that threatened to engulf the island nation’s pristine coast.
• The Indian Coast Guard’s operational reach and capability has vastly improved in dealing with environmental hazards and piracy.

PRIMACY OF UNCLOS

• As President of the UN Security Council for the month of August, India’s leadership in the debate on maritime security, that too at the level of the Prime Minister, has strengthened its credentials as a key stake-holder in the maritime commons.
• The Presidential Statement issued on the occasion highlights the commitment of the UN Security Council to international law. More relevantly, it emphasises the importance of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as the legal framework governing all maritime activity.
• India’s natural interests stretch across both the Indian and Pacific Oceans as reflected in its inclusive Indo-Pacific vision.

PERSONS IN NEWS

Who : Famous writer

From : Maharashtra

What is in news : Noted writer celebrates 100th birthday

About

• Babasaheb Purandare was born as Balwant Moreshwar Purandare on 29 July, 1922. He is famously entitled as Shiv Shahir i.e. ‘Shivaji’s poet’.
• His famous work: He is being credited with writing the first historical work on 16th century Great Maratha king Chattrapati Shivaji. He is best known for his book Raja Shiv Chhatrapati and popular play Janata Raja.
• His book Raja Shiv Chhatrapati has more than 16 editions and widely read across the state. It is estimated that over 5 lakh copies of this book have been sold.
• Janata Raja play has been performed more than 850 times in last three decades after it was first staged in 1985. It has been staged in all over Maharashtra, Delhi, Bhopal, Agra and United States.

SNIPPETS

• Union government released “IndiGau’, India’s first Cattle Genomic Chip for the conservation of pure varieties of indigenous cattle breeds like, Gir, Kankrej, Sahiwal, Ongole etc.This indigenous chip was developed by the concerted efforts of scientists of National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NAIB), Hyderabad, an autonomous institution under the aegis of the Department of Biotechnology.
• Fit India Freedom Run 2.0 was flagged off from Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi.The Fit India freedom run 2.0 programme was launched with the aim of encouraging people to take up fitness activities like running and sports in their daily lives in order to get freedom from laziness, obesity, stress, anxiety and diseases.
• United Nations announced to commemorate International Youth Day every year on August 12 in the year 1999. It was announced on the basis of recommendation made by “World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth” to the UN General Assembly in Lisbon. The theme of 2021 was  “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health”
• World Elephant Day was observed on August 12, across the world. The day is observed with the objective of spreading awareness regarding the plight of elephants. It also seeks to recognize the importance of elephants in our ecosystem.The theme World Elephant Day 2021 has not been announced yet. In the year 2020 the theme was ‘Haathi Hamara Saathi.’
• Rajat Dalmia, honorary consul of Luxembourg in Kolkata, was on Thursday awarded the 'Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg' for his “longstanding services” for more than 12 years

EXPLAINED

A circular economy depends on reuse, sharing, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling of resources to create a closed-loop system, minimising the use of resources, generation of waste, pollution and carbon emissions.