Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

 NEWS

Channaveera Kanavi, a prominent figure in modern Kannada literature and often referred to as ‘Samanvaya Kavi’ (Poet of Reconciliation), breathed his last

ABOUT

• One of the major poets and writers in the Kannada language
• Received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his work Jeeva Dhwani (Poetry) in 1981
• Popularly known as "Samanvayada Kavi" and "Soujanyada Kavi"
• Born in Hombal,Gadag on 18 June 1928
• Completed education in Dharwad
• Worked as a Director for 'Prasaranga' of Karnataka University
• Won Rajyotsava Award, Nrupatunga Award, Pampa Award
• Won Nadoja Award from Kannada University Humpi

NEWS

The high-powered committee set up by the Union Government has approved the proposal to declare the Upper Bhadra Project as a national project, which would enable the State to get a ₹12,500 crore grant from the Centre to implement it

UPPER BHADRA

WHAT – Major lift irrigation Scheme

AIM –

• Irrigate 2.25 lakh hectares in Chitradurga, Davangere, Tumakuru, and parts of Chikkamagaluru
• Providing sustainable irrigation facility in Kharif season
• Recharge the groundwater table, dilute the chemical contaminants of which Fluoride is predominant

LAUNCHED IN - 2000

OTHER DETAILS

Envisages lifting of water in first stage from Tunga to Bhadra and lifting of water in second stage from Bhadra reservoir and providing it to Tunnel near Ajjampura through gravity canal in Tungabhadra sub-basin of Krishna basin.

NATIONAL PROJECT STATUS

• By - Central Water Commission (CWC)
• Only projects covering over 2 lakh hectares under drip irrigation
• Receive funding from the Centre if they receive national project status.
• Criteria
  • International projects where usage of water in India is required by a treaty or where planning and early completion of the project is necessary in the interest of the country.
  • Interstate projects are dragging on due to non resolution of Inter-State issues relating to sharing of costs, rehabilitation, aspects of power production etc., including river interlinking projects.
  • Intra-State projects with additional potential of more than 2,00,000 hectare (ha) and with no dispute regarding sharing of water and where hydrology is established

BHADRA RIVER

• ORIGIN - Gangamoola near Kudremukha, Western Ghats range
• Flows east across the southern part of Deccan Plateau
• Tributaries - Somavahini Thadabehalla, and Odirayanahalla
• Bhadra Dam is built across the river at BRP -Bhadravathi, Karnataka, which forms the Bhadra reservoir (186 ft)
• River continues its journey through the city of Bhadravathi, Karnataka
• Meets the Tunga River at Koodli, a small town near Shivamogga

NEWS

Maharashtra assembly will get a new Speaker in its budget session

ABOUT

• Article 178 for state Assemblies state that these Houses “shall, as soon as may be”, choose two of its members to be Speaker and Deputy Speaker
• Governor sets a date for the election of the Speaker
• The legislators of the respective Houses vote to elect one among themselves to these offices
• The Constitution provides that the office of the Speaker should never be empty
• So, he/she continues in office until the beginning of the next House, except in the event of death or resignation

NEWS

Chief Justice of India has questioned the Centre over vacancies in various tribunals despite the Supreme Court nudging the government to fill them up soon

TRIBUNALS

WHAT - Statutory, quasi-judicial body

FUNCTION - Resolve disputes in a speedy, cost-effective and inefficient manner that are brought before it

OTHER DETAILS

• Added by 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 with a new Part XIV-A to the Constitution on recommendation of Swaran Singh Committee
• 323-A – deals with Administrative Tribunals
• 323-B – deals with tribunals for other matters
• Works on principle of natural justice, not abide by civil procedure code.
• Members are drawn from Judicial and administrative streams.
• Chairpersons of tribunals accorded Status of judges of HC

NEWS

Jal Jeevan Mission Achieves Milestone Of Providing Tap Water To 9 Crore Rural Homes

JAL JEEVAN MISSION

 Launched in 2019

Envisages supply of 55 litres of water per person per day to every rural household through Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) by 2024.

Under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Also encompasses

• Prioritizing provision of FHTCs in quality affected areas, villages in drought prone and desert areas, Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) villages, etc.
• Providing functional tap connection to Schools, Anganwadi centres, Gram Panchayat buildings, Health centres, wellness centres and community buildings.
• Technological interventions for removal of contaminants where water quality is an issue.

Implementation:

• Based on a community approach to water and includes extensive Information, Education and Communication as a key component of the mission.
• Create a jan andolan for water, thereby making it everyone’s priority.
• Fund sharing pattern between the Centre and states is 90:10 for Himalayan and North-Eastern States, 50:50 for other states, and 100% for Union Territories.

WHAT IS REPO RATE - Interest rate that the RBI charges when commercial banks borrow money from

WHAT IS REVERSE REPO RATE - Rate that the RBI pays commercial banks when they park their excess cash with the central bank

WHAT IS PRESENT REPO & REVERSE REPO –

• Since RBI is also a bank and has to earn more than it pays, the repo rate is higher than the reverse repo rate
• At present, the repo rate is 4%, and the reverse repo rate is 3.35%

HOW DOES REPO RATE AFFECT THE ECONOMY

• Using these two rates, the RBI sets the tone for all other interest rates in the banking system, and through that route, in the broader economy. For instance, when the RBI wants to encourage economic activity in the economy, it reduces the repo rates.
• Doing this enables commercial banks such as the SBI to bring down the interest rates they charge (on their loans) as well as the interest rate they pay on deposits.
• This, in turn, incentivises people to spend money, because keeping their savings in the bank now pays back a little less, and businesses are incentivised to take new loans for new investments because new loans now cost a little less as well.
• It is for this reason that the repo and reverse repo rates are often referred to as the “benchmark” interest rates in the economy.

 NEWS

The pristine beach of Dhanushkodi at the southern-most tip of the Rameswaram island in the Indian peninsula has witnessed a rare phenomenon over the past few days. Thousands of Crimson Rose butterflies swarmed all available flowering plants along the beach.

CRIMSON ROSE BUTTERFLY

• Large butterfly with a mix of black, white and crimson colours on its wings and body
• Known for crossing the sea to migrate to Sri Lanka
• Recent migration from Dhanushkodi in large numbers is significant
• One by one, the butterflies used the coastline like a predetermined path and continued their journey.
• Butterflies made small pit stops on flowering plants to fuel their journey
• Spotted on Ipomoea flowers and Half leaf flowers on the beach

NEWS

75^th raising day of Delhi police recently celebrated

ABOUT

• Law enforcement agency for the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT)
• Under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA
• One of the largest metropolitan police forces in the world
• About 25% of Delhi Police strength is earmarked for VIP security
• Headquarters of Delhi Police are located at Jai Singh Marg, Connaught Place, New Delhi

NEWS

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said February 15 would henceforth be commemorated as “Shahid Diwas” in memory of the 34 freedom fighters who were killed by police in Tarapur town of Bihar

WHAT HAPPENED

• On February 15, 1932, a group of young freedom fighters planned to hoist an Indian national flag at Thana Bhavan in Tarapur
• Police were aware of the plan, and several officers were present at the spot
• Around 2 pm, even as the police carried out a brutal lathicharge, one Gopal Singh succeeded in raising the flag at Thana Bhavan
• A 4,000-strong crowd pelted the police with stones, injuring an officer of the civil administration
• The police responded by opening indiscriminate fire on the crowd
• After about 75 rounds were fired, 34 bodies were found at the spot, even though there were claims of an even larger number of deaths

WHAT TRIGGERED THE PROTEST

• The hanging of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru in Lahore on March 23, 1931, sent a wave of grief and anger around the country
• Following the collapse of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, the Mahatma was arrested in early 1932
• The Congress was declared an illegal organisation, and Nehru, Patel, and Rajendra Prasad were also thrown in jail.
• In Munger, freedom fighters Srikrishna Singh, Nemdhari Singh, Nirapad Mukherjee, Pandit Dasrath Jha, Basukinath Rai, Dinanath Sahay, and Jaymangal Shastri were arrested
• There were two centres of activity for the freedom fighters in Munger: Dhol Pahadi near Tarapur, and Supaur-Jamua village in Sangrampur
• A call given by the Congress leader Sardar Shardul Singh Kavishwar to raise the tricolour over government buildings resonated in Tarapur
• At a meeting of freedom fighters held at Shri Bhavan in Supaur-Jamua, it was decided that a group of five freedom fighters, each carrying the national tricolour, would march towards government buildings, while hundreds would cheer them from a distance of 200 metres.

NEWS

Medaram Jathara 2022 recently commenced

DETAILS

• Second-largest fair of India, after the Kumbh Mela
• Celebrated by the second-largest Tribal Community of Telangana- the Koya tribe
• Also known as Sammakka Saralamma Jatara.
• Tribal festival honoring the fight of a mother and daughter, Sammakka and Saralamma, with the reigning rulers against an unjust law.
• Celebrated in the state of Telangana(declared a State Festival in 1996)
• Begins at Medaram in Tadvai Mandal in Warangal district
• Remote place in the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary, a part of Dandakaranya, the largest surviving forest belt in the region.
• Celebrated once in two years in the month of “Magha” (February) on the full moon day
• People offer bangaram/gold (jaggery) of a quantity equal to their weight to the goddesses and take holy bath in Jampanna Vagu, a tributary to River Godavari
• Ministry of Tribal Affairs has approved a budget of 2.26 crores for the fair. 

KOYA TRIBE

• Largest adivasi tribe(SCHEDULED) of Telangana
• Spread across Telugu speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
• Call themselves as Dorala Sattam (Lords group) and Putta Dora (original lords)
• Exercise profound influence on Koyas’ economic, social and cultural life in Godavari and Sabari rivers plain
• Settled cultivators( grow Jowar, Ragi, Bajra and other millets)

SNIPPETS

• Former Vice-Chief of Naval Staff Vice-Admiral G. Ashok Kumar has been appointed the first National Maritime Security Coordinator (NMSC) in the National Security Council Secretariat
• MEA sets up control room to help Indians based in Ukraine.