Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

WETLANDS

• Wetlands are the transitional zone between land and  water, where saturation with water is the dominant  factor.
• Uses - intrinsic ecological and environmental values,  fishing, transportation, irrigation, industrial water  supply, receiving waters for wastewater effluents.
• Moderate temperatures, regulate stream flow,  recharge ground water aquifers and moderate  droughts, provide habitat to aquatic plants and  animals

Wetlands of Karnataka

• Inland wetlands  dominate in Karnataka,  which account for  93.44% while coastal  wetlands account for  6.56%.
• Out of the 682  wetlands,  622 are inland & 60 are coastal wetlands.

What is in news : State government sent a proposal to the Centre seeking Ramsar site tag for the Ranganathittu bird sanctuary in Mandya district, Aghanashini estuary in Uttara Kannada, Magadi-Shettikeri tanks in Gadag and Ankasamudra in Ballari.

About :

• Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, is a bird sanctuary in the Mandya District of the state of Karnataka in India. It is the largest bird sanctuary in the state, 40 acres in area, and comprises six islets on the banks of the Kaveri river.
• The Magadi tank is located in Magadi village of Shirhatti Taluk, Gadag District. From Gadag it is 26 km, it is located on Gadag-Bangalore Road, from Shirhatti it is 8 km, and from Lakshmeshwar 11 km. The sanctuary covers 134 acres of land and has catchment area of about 900 hectares. The bar-headed goose is one of the birds which migrate to Magadi wetlands.
• Ankasamudra Bird Conservation Reserve (ABCR) is the first bird conservation reserve in the North Karnataka or Kalyan Karnataka region. It was declared as a Conservation Reserve for the protection and conservation of resident and migratory aquatic birds, under section 36-A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is a temporary water body.
• Aghanashini is a small village situated on the southern banks of River Aghanashini in the state of Karnataka, India. It is located in the Kumta taluk of Uttara Kannada district. The river Aghanashini originates at 'Shankara Honda' in the Sirsi town of Uttara Karnataka. It is one of the virgin rivers of the world. The water from this river flows unobstructed through the western ghats range and then joins the Arabian Sea.

Benefits :

• India has 46 Ramsar sites
• Boost towards protection of habitats of birds
• Once approved, it will be binding on the state and the Centre to protect the these areas and it will be recognised by the Bombay Natural History Society as a bird areas of national importance

About Ramsar : A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. The Convention on Wetlands, known as the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental environmental treaty established in 1971 by UNESCO, which came into force in 1975. It provides for national action and international cooperation regarding the conservation of wetlands, and wise sustainable use of their resources. Ramsar identifies wetlands of international importance, especially those providing waterfowl habitat.

ENVIRONMENT

What : World’s largest plant that has been designed to suck carbon dioxide (CO2) from air and turn it into rock

Where : Iceland

DETAILS

• Icelandic word “orka” means energy
• Who constructed the plant : Switzerland’s Clime works and Iceland’s Carbfix.
• Plant’s capacity
• When the plant will operate at its full capacity, it will draw 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from air every year.
• As per US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this amount is equal to the emissions from about 870 cars.

How CO2 will be collected:

• Pant uses fans to draw air into the collector comprising of filter material inside
• Once the filter material is filled with carbon dioxide, collector is closed and temperature is raised to release the carbon dioxide from the material.
• Following this process, highly concentrated gas can be collected. Collected CO2 is mixed with water and are injected at a depth of 1,000 metres into nearby basalt rock where it is petrified.

Significance of the plant: As per the proponents of carbon capture and storage (CCS), these technologies can become a major tool towards the fight against climate change.

What are the concerns: This technology is still prohibitively expensive and will take decades to operate at larger scale.

What is in news : Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas  and U.S. Secretary of Energy, co-chaired a virtual Ministerial meeting and launched the revamped U.S.-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP).

Description:

• The SCEP was launched in accordance with the U.S.-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership announced by the Indian Prime Minister and USA’s President at the Leaders’ Summit on Climate held in April 2021.
• The revitalized SCEP emphasises on electrification and decarbonization of processes and end uses, scaling up and accelerating deployment of emerging clean energy technologies, and finding solutions for hard-to-decarbonize sectors.
• Under the SCEP, both countries agreed to collaborate across five pillars — Power and Energy Efficiency; Renewable Energy; Responsible Oil and Gas; Sustainable Growth; and Emerging Fuels.
• Emerging fuels were newly added to the list of areas of cooperation

What are Emerging Fuels?

• Emerging fuels are alternative fuels that are under development or already in use. 
• Benefits: These fuels can increase energy security, reduce emissions, improve vehicle performance, and stimulate the economy. 
• Examples include Biobutanol (Butyl Alcohol), Biofuels, Methanol, etc.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

What : New application programming interface

By : CoWin

Details :

• It is called ‘Know Your Customer’s or Client’s Vaccination Status’
• Developed as an extra security layer in order to protect personal data before sharing it with any third-party verifying entity as and when required.

How vaccination status can be accessed:

• In order to access the vaccination status of the person, his registered mobile number and name must be entered by the verifying entity in order to generate a one-time password or OTP.
• This two-layer authentication will enable CoWin to quickly respond on the vaccination status.
• It will show 0, if the person is not vaccinated
• 1 if the person is partially vaccinated
• 2 if the person is fully vaccinated.
• Report on vaccination will be digitally signed and can be shared instantly by the verifying entity.

CoWin Portal

• “Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network”
• Developed by Indian government
• For COVID-19 vaccination registration
• Owned and operated by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
• Displays booking slots of COVID-19 vaccine in the nearby areas and can be booked through it
• Integrated with the Aarogya Setu and UMANG Apps
• Provides digitally verifiable certificate, which can be saved on a device or on Digi Locker, digitally.

DEFENCE

What is in news : Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has handed over the first deliverable Firing Unit (FU) of Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) System to Indian Air Force (IAF)

Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM)

• Advanced network centric combat Air Defence System
• Jointly developed by DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in collaboration with Indian industry consisting of private and public sectors as well as MSMEs
• Surface-to-air-missile, 4.5m in length
• Provides point and area air defence for ground assets against threats like fighter aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, sub-sonic & supersonic cruise missiles guided & unguided munitions, etc
• Capable of engaging multiple targets at ranges up to 70 kms in severe saturation cases
• Powered by indigenously developed rocket motor and control system which helps in achieving high manoeuvrability during the terminal phase.

Firing Unit:  Firing unit of MRSAM comprises of Missiles, Mobile Launcher Systems (MLS), Combat Management System (CMS), Advanced Long-Range Radar, Reloader Vehicle (RV), Mobile Power System (MPS), Radar Power System (RPS), and Field Service Vehicle (FSV).

What is in news : September 12 marks the 124th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi

ABOUT

• The Battle of Saragarhi is considered one of the finest last stands in the military history of the world.
• Twenty-one soldiers were pitted against over 8,000 Afridi and Orakzai tribals but they managed to hold the fort for seven hours.
• Though heavily outnumbered, the soldiers of 36th Sikhs (now 4 Sikh), led by Havildar Ishar Singh, fought till their last breath, killing 200 tribals and injuring 600.

What was Saragarhi, and why was it important:

• Saragarhi was the communication tower between Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan.
• The two forts in the rugged North West Frontier Province (NWFP), now in Pakistan. were built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh but renamed by the British.
• Though Saragarhi was usually manned by a platoon of 40 soldiers, on that fateful day, it was being held by only 21 soldiers from 36th Sikh (now 4 Sikh) and a non-combatant called Daad, a Pashtun who did odd jobs for the troops.
• Saragarhi helped to link up the two important forts which housed a large number of British troops in the rugged terrain of NWFP.
• Fort Lockhart was also home to families of British officers. The wife of the commanding officer of 36th Sikh, Lt Col John Haughton, was at the fort till May 1897 when she went home to deliver a baby.

Who was Havildar Ishar Singh who led the troops:

• Havildar Ishar Singh was born in a village near Jagraon. He joined the Punjab Frontier Force in his late teens after which he spent most of his time on various battlefields. Soon after it was raised in 1887, Ishar was drafted into the 36th Sikhs.
• He was in his early 40s when he was given independent command of the Saragarhi post. He was married but the couple had no children.
• Ishar Singh was quite a maverick who dared to disobey his superiors but he was loved by his men for whom he was always ready to go out on a limb.

PERSONS IN NEWS

What is in news : The Prime Minister has paid  tributes to Acharya Vinoba Bhave on his Jayanti.

ABOUT

• Born Vinayak Narahari Bhave to Narahari Rao and Rukmini Devi, Vinoba Bhave had a deep sense of spiritualism instilled in him at a very young age by his religious mother.
• Had read the Bhagavad Gita in his early years and was drawn towards spiritualism and asceticism despite being an academically good student.
• Learnt various regional languages and Sanskrit along with reading the scriptures.
• Read a newspaper report carrying Mahatma Gandhi’s speech at the newly founded Benaras Hindu University, and this inspired him so much that he burnt his school and college certificates while on his way to Bombay to take his intermediate examination.
• Echanged letters with Gandhi before meeting him at the latter’s ashram in Ahmedabad in 1916.
• Quit his formal education and involved himself in teaching and various constructive programmes of Gandhi related to Khadi, education, sanitation, hygiene, etc.
• Took part in nonviolent agitations against the British government, for which he was imprisoned.
• Was chosen by Gandhi as the first individual Satyagrahi in a nonviolent movement in the year 1940. After this event, the unknown Vinoba Bhave became known to the whole country.
• Worked towards eliminating social inequities. He started the Sarvodaya Movement which meant ‘Progress for all’.
• Created the Brahma Vidya Mandir which was a small community of women enabling them to become self-sufficient.
• In 1951, Bhave started the Bhoodan Movement in Pochampally, Telangana.
• Authored several books and was well-versed in many languages including Marathi, Gujarati, Sanskrit, English, Urdu and Hindi.
• Awarded the Roman Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1958. In 1983, he received the Bharat Ratna posthumously.
• Vinoba Bhave died on 15 November 1982 due to a serious illness.

What is in news : British teenager Emma Raducanu becomes the first British woman in 44 years to win a Slam crown in US Open finals

Grand Slam Tournaments

These are the four most important annual tennis events and each tournament is played for about two weeks.

It consists of:

• Australian Open
  • It takes place in mid-January
  • Played in hard courts.
• French Open
  • It is also known as the Roland-Garros de Paris.
  • It takes place in May and June.
  • Played on clay court.
• Wimbledon
  • It takes place in June and July.
  • Played on a grass court.
• US Open
  • It takes place in August and September.
  • Played in hard courts.
• Wimbledon is relatively older than the rest (1877), followed by the US (1881), French (1891) and the Australian (1905).
• Only Wimbledon was a major before 1924–25, when all the four became designated Grand Slam tournaments.

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has paid homage to Mahakavi Subramania Bharati on his 100th Punya Tithi.Subramania Bharathi, was a Tamil writer, poet, journalist, Indian independence activist, social reformer and polyglot. Popularly known as "Mahakavi Bharathi", he was a pioneer of modern Tamil poetry and is considered one of the greatest Tamil literary figures of all time
• The configuration for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk2 has been frozen and steel cutting is expected to begin soon while configuration for the fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) has been frozen and preliminary design completed.Heavy weapons of the class of Scalp, Crystal Maze and Spice-2000 will also be integrated on the Mk2. The LCA-Mk2 will be a heavier and much more capable aircraft than the current LCA variants.The Mk2 is 1,350 mm longer featuring canards and can carry a payload of 6,500 kg compared to 3,500 kg the LCA can carry.
• World EV Day is observed on September 9 every year in order to mark the celebration of e-mobility.
• United Nations observed the International Day to Protect Education from attack.First ever ‘International Day to Protect Education from Attack’ was observed by United Nations on September 9, 2020.This resolution was presented by the State of Qatar and 62 co-sponsoring countries.
• Union Ministry of   Health & Family Welfare,  inaugurated “Digital Population Clock”on September 10, 2021.Population clock was launched in order to provide minute by minute estimate of India’s population. It will also capture data on Total Fertility Rate, Infant Mortality Rate as well as Maternal Mortality Rate. It will help in raising awareness in young generations and conducting research.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the state of art Sardardham Bhavan at Ahmedabad.Sardardham Bhavan will empower India’s future generations as well as inspire them to lead their lives by following the principles followed by Sardar Patel in his life. These youngsters will play decisive roles by the time India completed 100 years of independence in 2047.

VOCABULARY

Saṃvatsarī : It is the last day of Paryushana Shwetambar sect of Jainism. It falls on Shukla Panchami each year in the Jain calendar month of Bhadrapada, somewhere between the middle of August and September in the Gregorian calendar.

• “Enzymes can be defined as biological polymers that catalyze biochemical reactions.”
• Majority of enzymes are proteins with catalytic capabilities crucial to perform different processes. Metabolic processes and other chemical reactions in the cell are carried out by a set of enzymes that are necessary to sustain life.
• The initial stage of metabolic process depends upon the enzymes, which react with a molecule and is called the substrate. Enzymes convert the substrates into other distinct molecules and are called the products.