Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 7th March 2022

NEWS

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) System to ensure flow of equal quantity of water into the canals to ensure proper irrigation in dependent fields to be extended to other parts of the country. It is at present in place at canal gates of projects under Krishna Bhagya Jal Nigam Limited (KBJNL)

SCADA

Full form - Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition

WHAT –

• Computer system
• Collect real-time data and interpret it
• first time used in 1960s

FIELDS

• Waste and water management
• Telecommunications
• Gas and oil processing
• Electricity production
• Transportation
• Regulate and track equipment and production processes in various sectors

HOW DOES IT OPERATE

Consider an example of pipeline leakage to understand the working of SCADA. The SCADA system collects information when a pipeline starts leaking and forward the data to a central site and thus warnings the home station about the issue. The condition is also evaluated, including how significant the leakage is and how much water is being leaked.

NEWS

Foundation stone for the Cosmology Education and Research Training Centre called “COSMOS”, featuring a high-tech planetarium, on the University of Mysore’s Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar campus was recently unveiled

DETAILS

• Hosts India’s first planetarium with Digistar 7 system and a Domex Screen
• Scheduled for completion by March 2023
• Funding from MPLAD funds and support from Department of Science and Technology, Department of Atomic Energy, and Department of Space, among others
• A comprehensive education and public outreach programme will be an integral part
• Regular teaching programmes for schools and college students will be organised

NEWS

Karnataka to identify 100 backward talukas as aspirational to ensure all-round development

DETAILS

• Government aims to improve the quality of education in 93 talukas, strengthen the health services in 100 talukas and eradicate child malnutrition in 102 talukas
• A primary health centre with higher workload will be identified in each of the 100 aspirational talukas and upgraded to 25-bed model community health centres in two years
• 438 Namma Clinics will be established in major cities of the state, and in all wards of Bengaluru. These clinics will detect non-communicable diseases and refer patients to specialists for further treatment.
• Government will provide coaching for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for medical admissions in all talukas and facilitate loans for poor students securing admission under the government quota in all medical colleges
• Private medical colleges will be classed into A, B, C and D categories and fees fixed by the fee regulation committee
• Proposes to establish 300 women’s health centres under the National Health Mission. To provide well-equipped medical facilities in talukas, seven hospitals will be upgraded to 100-bedded hospitals
• Mental health programmes will be organised in Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Bengaluru Urban districts with the support of Nimhans
• A programme to provide 76 life-saving services within 48 hours of admission to hospitals for accident patients will be started through the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust
• Mobile clinics will be established under the Mukhyamantri Arogya Vahini scheme at a cost of Rs.11 crore in Bidar, Chamarajanagara, Haveri and Chikkamagalur districts to provide medical services on the doorstep in rural area
• A department of foetal medicine and neonatology will be opened in the Vani Vilas Hospital in Bengaluru.

NEWS

India celebrated 7 March as ‘Janaushadhi Diwas’

OBJECTIVE

• Aims to provide further impetus and create awareness about the use of generic medicines
• Highlights the initiatives undertaken by Government in the direction of making quality healthcare affordable for all, like Ayushman Bharat, PMBJP, etc.
• Government launched the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana to make affordable and quality generic medicines popular among the people

PRADHAN MANTRI BHARTIYA JANAUSHADHI PARIYOJANA

• Campaign launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals in 2008 under the name Jan Aushadi Campaign.
• Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) is the implementation agency for PMBJP.
• The Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India works under the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.
• PMBJP stores have been set up to provide generic drugs, which are available at lesser prices but are equivalent in quality and efficacy as expensive branded drugs.
• It also intends to extend the coverage of quality generic medicines so as to reduce the out of pocket expenditure on medicines and thereby redefine the unit cost of treatment per person.
• It will create awareness about generic medicines through education and publicity so that quality is not synonymous with an only high price

NEWS

Preliminary findings of a study by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) suggest that the density of tigers in the Sunderbans may have reached the carrying capacity of the mangrove forests, leading to frequent dispersals and a surge in human-wildlife conflict

WHAT IS THERE IN THE FINDINGS

• Availability of food and space is the primary factors deciding density
• Male in particular strives to control multiple females with typically smaller ranges
• How far a tiger will range is determined by the abundance of prey in its forest
• Correlation between prey availability and tiger density is fairly established
• A joint Indo-Bangla study in 2015 pegged the tiger density at 2.85 per 100 sq km after surveying eight blocks spanning 2,913 sq km across the international borders in the Sunderbans
• Low density of tigers in the Sundarbans is an inherent attribute of the hostile mangrove habitat that supports low tiger prey densities
• The ongoing WII study indicates a density of 3-5 tigers in the Sunderbans. Given that 88 (86-90) tigers were estimated in 2,313 sq km of the Sundarbans in 2018, the population has been close to its so-called saturation point in the mangrove delta for some time

HOW DOES IT LEAD TO MAN- ANIMAL CONFLICT

• The consequence is frequent dispersal of tigers leading to higher levels of human-wildlife conflict in the reserve
• While physical (space) and biological (forest productivity) factors have an obvious influence on a reserve’s carrying capacity of tigers, what also plays a crucial role is how the dispersal of wildlife is tolerated by people — from the locals who live around them to policymakers who decide management strategies.
• Social carrying capacity assumes wider significance for wildlife living outside protected forests, it is an equally important factor in human-dominated areas bordering reserves where periodic human-wildlife interface is inevitable
• Perceived conflict can squeeze the tiger’s domain, which the animal is bound to overstep from time to time, leading to further conflict with no immediate winners.

The way ahead

• Artificially boosting the prey base in a reserve is often an intuitive solution but it can be counter-productive. However, government’s policies have discouraged reserve managers from striving to increase tiger densities by artificial management practices of habitat manipulation or prey augmentation.
• To harness the umbrella effect of tigers for biodiversity conservation it is more beneficial to increase areas occupied by tigers
• Create safe connectivity among forests and allow tigers to disperse safely to new areas. But though vital for genes to travel and avoid a population bottleneck, wildlife corridors may not be the one-stop solution for conflict.
• Not all dispersing tigers will chance upon corridors simply because many will find territories of other tigers between them and such openings
• While it has never been easy to share space with wildlife, particularly carnivores, the contours of conflict largely depend on the local perception of animals
• Removing tigers or any wildlife cannot eliminate the chances of future interface as another lot invariably turns up. The remedy lies in smarter land use to minimise damage and adequate incentives to promote acceptance of wildlife.
• Generous compensation policies can take care of the financial cost of losing livestock or crops, or wasted man hours when a workplace is avoided due to a passing tiger.
• Percolation of financial benefits of having charismatic wildlife in the neighbourhood can also nudge some towards better tolerance.
• Ultimately, it is the people of the Sunderbans who will decide how many tigers can be accommodated in their neighbourhood
• In a landscape squeezed in by climate change, rising sea level and salinity, their future is nearly as precarious as the tiger’s

NEWS

HANSA-NG has completed sea-level trials in Puducherry

HANSA-NG

 WHAT - First-of-its-kind indigenous aircraft trainer

WHO DEVELOPED - CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL)

OTHER FEATURES

• One of the most advanced flying trainers
• Powered by a Rotax digital control engine
• Composite lightweight airframe e, a glass cockpit, a bubble canopy with a wide panoramic view, and electrically operated flaps.
• Ideal aircraft for commercial pilot licensing due to its low cost and low fuel consumption
• Benefits cruise to Puducherry (140 nautical miles in an hour and a half at a cruising speed of 155 kmph )
• Two-seater
• Revamped version of the original Hansa developed three decades ago

WHAT ARE HUMANITARIAN CORRIDORS?

• Demilitarized zones, in a specific area and for a specific time
• Both sides of an armed conflict agree to them
• United Nations considers humanitarian corridors to be one of several possible forms of a temporary pause of armed conflict.

WHAT ARE THEY FOR?

• Via these corridors, either food and medical aid can be brought to areas of conflict, or civilians can be evacuated.
• Necessary when cities are under siege and the population is cut off from basic food supplies, electricity and water
• In cases where a humanitarian catastrophe unfolds because the international law of war is being violated — for example through large-scale bombing of civilian targets — humanitarian corridors can provide crucial relief.

WHO SETS THEM UP

• In most cases, humanitarian corridors are negotiated by the United Nations. Sometimes they’re also set up by local groups. Since all sides need to agree to set up the corridors, there is a risk of military or political abuse. For example, the corridors can be used to smuggle weapons and fuel into besieged cities.
• On the other hand, they can also be used by UN observers, NGOs and journalists to gain access to contested areas where war crimes are being committed

NEWS

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has included United Arab Emirates (UAE) in its grey list.

REASONS

• Lack of adequate financial intelligence capabilities to check illicit flows of money.
• Inability to proactively identify and report suspicious financial transactions.
• Inadequate investigation & prosecution of terror financing and money laundering cases.
• Inability to manage risks and vulnerabilities in industries like jewelry, real estate, etc.

FINANCIAL ACTION TASK FORCE

• Inter-governmental body
• Established in 1989 during the G7 Summit in Paris
• Objectives - set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
• Secretariat - Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) headquarters in Paris.
• Member Countries: As of 2019, it consists of thirty-seven member jurisdictions. India is one of the members.
• LISTS:
  • Grey List: Countries that are considered safe haven for supporting terror funding and money laundering are put in the FATF grey list. This inclusion serves as a warning to the country that it may enter the blacklist.
  • Black List: Countries known as Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories (NCCTs) are put in the blacklist. These countries support terror funding and money laundering activities. The FATF revises the blacklist regularly, adding or deleting entries.
• The FATF Plenary is the decision making body of the FATF. It meets three times per year.

SNIPPETS

• Hatchlings of the critically endangered Olive Ridley Sea Turtles rescued at Ankola
• The Indian Navy successfully demonstrated the accuracy of an extended-range land attack Brahmos supersonic cruise missile from the stealth destroyer INS Chennai, on 5th March, 2022. The missile hit its intended target with pinpoint accuracy after traversing an extended range trajectory and performing complex manoeuvres.
• 4th March is observed as National Safety Day. This day aims to raise awareness regarding all safety protocols which includes workplaces, on-roads, the environment, and health. On March 4, 1966, the National Safety Council was established. Theme 2022 - “Nurture young minds – develop a safety culture”
• India celebrates National Security Day on March 4th. It is also known as Rashtriya Suraksha Diwas, and it honors the security forces of India. The aim of the day is to express gratitude to the nation’s security forces, which include paramilitary, military, police officers, commandos, guards, and India’s security forces, as well as those who help in maintaining the security and peace of the country.
• Sambhav’ and ‘Svavlamban’ initiatives were launched by Indian government at the International Summit on Plastics Recycling and Waste Management. These initiatives aim to encourage young entrepreneurs, especially from the aspirational districts of India.