Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 28th Oct 2021

What is in news : Mysuru Zoo gets orangutans

Details :

• orangutans were brought under an animal exchange scheme. While Merlin, the 17-year-old male and Atina, the 13-year-old female were brought from Singapore, Afa, a five-year-old male and Minnie, a 7-year-old female, were brought from Malaysia.
• Bank Note Paper Mill India, Mysuru (BNPM) funded an enclosure for the animals with Rs 70 lakh funds under its corporate social responsibility initiative.

About ORANGUTANS

• Orangutan means "man of the forest" in the Malay language.
• Live solitary existences in the lowland forests
• Feast on wild fruits like lychees, mangosteens, and figs, and slurp water from holes in trees.
• Make nests in trees of vegetation to sleep at night and rest during the day.
• Adult males can weigh up to 200 pounds.
• Flanged males have prominent cheek pads called flanges and a throat sac used to make loud verbalizations called long calls. An unflanged male looks like an adult female. In a biological phenomenon unique among primates, an unflanged male can change to a flanged male for reasons that are not yet fully understood.
• Native to Indonesia and Malaysia and are currently found only in rain forests of Borneo and Sumatra.
• Considered to be among most intelligent primates.
• Can live up to 45 years in the wild and even more in zoos.
• Extensively studied by researchers for their learning abilities.
• A century ago there were probably more than 230,000 orangutans in total, but the Bornean orangutan is now estimated at about 104,700 based on updated geographic range (Endangered) and the Sumatran about 7,500 (Critically Endangered).
• A third species of orangutan was announced in November, 2017. With no more than 800 individuals in existence, the Tapanuli orangutan is the most endangered of all great apes.

ENIVRONMENT  

What is in news : Telangana government has red-flagged encroachment of forests by non-tribals, who are indulging in the practice of shifting agriculture  which is called PODU.

About :

• Authorities would take all protective measures to ensure that forest land is not encroached upon.
• Rights and livelihood of traditional forest dwellers will be protected.
• Encroachers clear a portion of land to raise crops one season and move to a different location next season
• Tribal farmers who have been traditionally cultivating for decades will not be affected by this drive against illegal encroachers.

What is in news : SC sets up committee to examine Pegasus allegations

Details : Stressing that the power of the state to snoop in the name of national security into the “sacred private space” of individuals is not absolute, the Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed an expert technical committee overseen by former Supreme Court judge R.V. Raveendran to examine allegations that the Centre

PEGAUS

• Pegasus is spyware software created by an Israeli-based cyber intelligence firm, NSO group. It aims to hack computers and other devices, collect sensitive information, and send it to a third party.
• This software first came into the limelight in 2016, when Arabs received a link stating secrets of torture in prison in the UAE. He sent that link to Citizen lab and found out that it was malicious spyware.
• A year later this malware started infiltrating several other android devices. In 2018, the Citizen Lab published a report that announced that more than 45 countries are using Pegasus.
• Later in 2019, Whatsapp revealed that the government of India is using Pegasus spyware to spy over journalists, politicians and activists over Whatsapp.
• This program is sold to government agencies to fight against terrorism and criminal activities

What is in news : India successfully test-fired surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-5

Details :

• Carried around  at APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha
• Strike targets at ranges up to 5,000 km with a very high degree of accuracy
• The successful test is in line with India’s stated policy to have credible minimum deterrence that underpins the commitment to ‘No First Use’
• Range of over 5,000 km and can carry about a 1500-kg warhead
• Fire-and-forget system
• India has already joined an elite club of nations that possess the ICBM launch capability when the maiden test-firing of Agni-V was successfully conducted in April, 2012. Only the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – China, France, Russia, the United States and Britain, along with Israel, have so far possessed such long-range missiles.

What is in news : The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind paid homage to Shri K.R. Narayanan, former President of India

About :

K. R. Narayanan or Kocheril Raman Narayanan

• Was a diplomat, academic and politician. He served India as the 10th President and 9th Vice-President.
• Born in present-day Uzhavoor, Kerala, India
• Belonged to Pulaya caste as a Dalit(FIRST DALIT PRESIDENT OF INDIA). His father was a practitioner of Ayurveda.
• Did his B.A. (Hons.) and M.A. in English literature from the University of Travancore and became the first Dalit to obtain a degree with first-class from the University of Travancore.
• Worked with The Hindu and The Times of India for a brief period as a journalist where he interviewed the Father of the Nation, Mahatama Gandhi.
• In 1944, J.R.D. Tata awarded him a scholarship of Rs. 16,000 to study economics, politics and journalism at the London School of Economics.
• In the year 1949, K.R. Narayanan joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) on the request of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. On April 18, 1949, he was appointed as an attache' in the  Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
• Under the Indira Gandhi administration, he was recalled from retirement to serve as the  Indian Ambassador to the United States. According to Nehru, K.R. Narayana was the 'Best Diplomat of the Country'.
• Upon the request of Indira Gandhi, Narayanan entered politics and won three successive Lok Sabha Elections in 1984, 1989 and 1991 from Ottapalam Constituency on a Congress ticket. Under the Rajiv Gandhi administration, he held several important portfolios such as  Minister of State in the Union Cabinet, Minister of Planning, Minister of External Affairs and Minister of Science and Technology.
• On August 21, 1992, he was elected as the 9th Vice-President of India under the Presidency of Shankar Dayal Sharma. On the demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, he stated it as the 'greatest tragedy India has faced since the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi'.
• On July 17, 1997, he was elected as the 10th President of India. He became the first Dalit President of India and the first Malayali person to receive the highest office of the country.

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

What is in news : World Occupational Therapy Day is annually observed across the globe on October 27th

Why : Create awareness about occupational therapists and the global impact of occupational therapy.

About :

• The World Occupational Therapy Day is annually organised by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists(WFOT),
• World Occupational Therapy Day was first launched on 27th October 2010.
• The theme of World Occupational Therapy Day 2021 is “Belong. Be You” which promotes the power of diversity and inclusion as we work together to build community and resilience.

What is Occupational therapy :

• Occupational therapy is concerned with promoting health and well-being through occupation.
• Occupational therapy aims to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life.

• In occupational therapy, the term occupation refers to the everyday activities that people do as individuals, in families and with communities to occupy time and bring meaning and purpose to life.

EVENTS IN INDIA

• NIMHANS announces introduction of adaptive clothing
• Adaptive clothing is designed to meet the needs of individuals with cognitive, physical and sensory disabilities.

SNIPPPETS

• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a low-cost and effective method to detect adulterants in milk. Their method analyses deposition patterns after evaporation.
• The Delhi Cabinet has decided to add Ayodhya to the list of pilgrimage sites under the ‘Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojna’.The scheme, which facilitates free pilgrimage for senior citizens residing in the Capital, had been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It would recommence within a month
• NITI Aayog has approved a proposal to conduct a study on the use of facial recognition technology in India.
• The 75th Infantry Day to commemorate the contributions of Infantry, the largest fighting arm of the Indian Army was celebrated on 27 October 2021. This day has a unique significance for the Nation, as it was on this day in 1947 that Infantrymen from Indian Army, led by 1 SIKH, landed at Srinagar Airfield and saved the State of J&K from a ruthless and treacherous Pakistani invasion. The Infantry since time immemorial has displayed fortitude, indomitable resoluteness and dogged determination all through its chequered history. The fighting spirit of Indian Army’s versatile ‘Infantry’ has always been appreciated by all over the world.