Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 13th Dec 2021

NEWS

Kerala Governor has expressed desire to quit as chancellor of a state university

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF GOVERNORS IN STATE UNIVERSITIES

• In most cases, the Governor of the state is the ex-officio chancellor of the universities in that state.
• While the Governor’s powers and functions as the Chancellor are laid out in the statutes that govern the universities under a particular state government, their role in appointing the Vice Chancellors has often triggered disputes with the political executive.
• In Kerala’s case, the Governor’s official portal asserts that “while as Governor he functions with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, as Chancellor he acts independently of the Council of Ministers and takes his own decisions on all University matters”.
• In marked contrast, the website of Rajasthan’s Raj Bhawan states that the “Governor appoints the Vice Chancellor on the advice/ in consultation with the State Government”.

HOW ARE CENTRAL UNIVERSITIES MANAGED

• Under the Central Universities Act, 2009, and other statutes, the President of India shall be the Visitor of a central university. 
• With their role limited to presiding over convocations, Chancellors in central universities are titular heads, who are appointed by the President in his capacity as Visitor.
• The VCs too are appointed by the Visitor from panels of names picked by search and selection committees formed by the Union government.
• The Act adds that the President, as Visitor, shall have the right to authorise inspections of academic and non-academic aspects of the universities and also to institute inquiries.

NEWS

Prime Minister paid deposit insurance to  depositors who could not access their money as their banks faced financial crises

DEPOSIT INSURANCE

• Providing insurance protection to the depositor’s money by receiving a premium.
• By Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) under RBI
• to protect depositors if a bank fails.
• DICGC charges 10 paise per ₹100 of deposits held by a bank.
• The premium paid by the insured banks to the Corporation is paid by the banks and is not to be passed on to depositors.
• DICGC last revised the deposit insurance cover to ₹5 lakh in Feb, 2020, raising it from ₹ 1 lakh since 1993.
• It will be provided within 90 days in the event of a bank coming under the moratorium imposed by the RBI.
• Coverage: All deposits such as savings, fixed, current, recurring deposits, etc. in all commercial banks, functioning in India. Deposits in State, Central and Primary cooperative banks, functioning in States/Union Territories are also covered.
• Does not include
  • Deposits of foreign governments.
  • Deposits of central/state governments.
  • Inter-bank deposits.
  • Deposits of the state land development banks with the state co-operative bank.
  • Any amount due on account of any deposit received outside India.
  • Any amount specifically exempted by the DICGC with previous approval of RBI.

NEWS

The Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) designed for Indian Naval warships was successfully flight tested

ABOUT

• Designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation
• Has the capability of neutralising various aerial threats at close ranges including sea-skimming targets
• Tactic of sea skimming is used by various anti-ship missiles and some fighter jets to avoid being detected by the radars onboard warships
• Designed to strike at the high-speed airborne targets at the range of 40 to 50 km and at an altitude of around 15 km.
• Design is based on Astra missile which is a Beyond Visual Range Air to Air missile.
• Two key features are cruciform wings and thrust vectoring.
• The cruciform wings are four small wings arranged like a cross on four sides and give the projective a stable aerodynamic posture.
• The thrust vectoring is an ability to change the direction of the thrust from its engine control the angular velocity and the attitude of the missile, an official said.
• The key DRDO facilities that contributed to the development of the system are Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) and Research Centre Imarat (RCI), both from Hyderabad, and Research & Development Establishment (Engineers) based in Pune.
• Is a canisterised system, which means it is stored and operated from specially designed compartments, making its transport and storage easier and improving the shelf life of weapons

PINAKA ER

NEWS

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) tested several weapons over the last three days including the extended range Pinaka missile with the Army and a flight test of the indigenously designed and developed Stand-off Anti-Tank Missile (SANT)

About Pinaka-ER

• The system is jointly designed by laboratories of DRDO - Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune.
• The DRDO, after establishing the performance efficacy of the enhanced range Pinaka, transferred the technology of the system to the industry.
• The Industry Partner has manufactured enhanced Pinaka Mk-1 rockets with DRDO's hand holding during the production and Quality Assurance.
• The Pinaka-ER is the upgraded version of earlier Pinaka version which has been in service with the Indian Army for the last decade.
• The system has been designed in the light of emerging requirements with advanced technologies enhancing the range.

NEWS

The 400-metre-long Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi connecting the ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva to the banks of the Ganges was inaugurated by Prime Minister

ABOUT THE PROJECT

• Ahalya Bai Holkar, Holkar queen of Indore, created a series of temples and vistas leading up to the Ganga ghat.
• THE PROJECT
  • Encapsulates vision of Ahalya Bai Holkar
  • Connects the temple with the ghats of the Ganga, with a paved walkway around 320 metres long and 20 metres wide.
  • Facilities for a museum, library, a facilitation centre for pilgrims and a Mumuksha Bhawan (salvation house).
• NEED
  • Ease the congestion
  • Boost Tourism

KASHI VISHWANATHA TEMPLE

• Famous temple in Varanasi
• Known as the Golden temple dedicated to the Lord Shiva.
• Constructed in the year 1780 by the Maratha monarch, Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar of the Indore.
• On the western bank of the holy river Ganga
• One of the twelve Jyotirlingas, or Jyotirlingams, the holiest of Shiva Temples.
• Main deity is known by the names Shri Vishwanath literally meaning Lord of the Universe.
• Referred to in Hindu scriptures for a very long time as a central part of worship in the Shaiva Philosophy.
• Mentioned in the Puranas including the Kashi Khanda (section) of Skanda Purana.
• Demolished by many Muslim rulers many times, last time It was demolished by Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor who constructed the Gyanvapi Mosque on its site.

Architecture –

• Constructed in the 18th century in the Nagara style of architecture, it has five shikharas (spires), which start from the bottom and converge on the top.
• The main temple is quadrangle and is surrounded by shrines of other gods.
• There is a small well in the temple called the Jnana Vapi also spelt as GyaanVapi (the wisdom well).
• According to the structure of the temple, there is a Sabha Griha or Congregation Hall leading to the inner GarbhaGriha or Sanctum Sanctorum.
• It is locally known as ‘Monkey temple’ because of the large number of monkeys inhabiting the place.

PRANAB MUKHERJEE

NEWS

President of India pays homage to  Pranab Mukherjee on his Birth Anniversary

PRANAB KUMAR MUKHERJEE

• 11 December 1935 – 31 August 2020
• Born in Mirati, a village in the Bengal Presidency of British India
• Senior leader in the Indian National Congress and occupied several ministerial portfolios in the Government of India
• Awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 2019
• Elected Rajya Sabha in 1969
• Finance Minister of India in 1982–84
• Union Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012
• Formed his own party, the Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress, which merged with Congress in 1989
• P. V. Narasimha Rao appointed him Planning Commission head in 1991 and foreign minister in 1995
• Principal architect of Sonia Gandhi's ascent to the party's presidency in 1998
• Won a Lok Sabha seat for the first time in 2004, Mukherjee
• 13 President of India
• In June 2018, Mukherjee became the first former President of India to address a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) even

• Karnataka won in Elite Group B of the Vijay Hazare Trophy cricket tournament
• An ancient Indian idol of a goddess missing from a temple in Uttar Pradesh, presumed stolen over 40 years ago, will soon find its way back home to India after it was discovered in a garden in a country home in England. The Yogini, which refers to the divine feminine in Hinduism, dates back to the 8th century and went missing from the village of Lokhari in Banda district around the late 1970s and early 1980s.
• IISF is an annual event considered to be the biggest platform in the country which brings together students, the public, researchers, innovators and artists from around the globe. IISF 2021 is being organised jointly by the MoES, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, in collaboration with Vijnana Bharati.
• National Highway 334B targeted for early completion. NH-334B which starts at UP/Haryana border (Baghpat) and ends at Rohna will provide seamless connectivity from UP to Rajasthan border via Haryana ensuring users can bypass Delhi traffic.
• An increase in the forest density and the big cat prey base, especially deer, had attracted a Royal Bengal tiger, a first such sighting in 23 years, to the Buxa reserve in Airpurduar district in north Bengal. It is believed that a favourable habitat at the tiger reserve would invite more tigers, which had migrated to neighbouring Bhutan. The state shares a contiguous range of the protected area with Bhutan.