Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 1st April 2022

NEWS

115th birth anniversary of Siddaganga Mutt late shree Shivakumara Swami celebrated on 1 April

DR SHIVAKUMARA SWAMIJI

•  Popularly known as “Walking God” ( Nadedaaduva Devaru )
• Matadhipathi(Head) of Sree Siddaganga Mutt in Tumkur. He joined the Siddaganga Matha in 1930 in Karnataka and became head seer from 1941 and reigned over 76 years
• Adherent follower of Basava principles
• Famous as “Trividha Dashohi” who provided food, education, and shelter
• Founded Siddaganga Education Society was founded by the seer
• Was an Indian super-centenarian, humanitarian, spiritual leader, and educator
• Had profound knowledge of English, Kannada and Sanskrit literatures
• Established Educational institution from traditional learning of Sanskrit to the modern science and technology
• Awarded with the doctor of literature by Karnataka University in 1965
• Created a blissful atmosphere in the mutt in which people belonging to all religion and creeds can work together for common aim of uplifting their life
• Awarded the Prestigious Karnataka Ratna award, the highest civilian award given by Karnataka Government on his centenary year 2007, for his Endless Social Service

NEWS

Karnataka government has revised amount to be paid as green tax for certificates

DETAILS

• Owners of vehicles older than 15 years will have to pay a high amount to get fitness certificates as per the revised green tax announced by the Centre
• Karnataka has been collecting green tax since April 1, 2002
• The new notification is as per central government instructions

GREEN TAX

WHAT - Pollution tax or environmental tax and is the tax levied on all the goods that cause environmental pollution. It is believed that charging tax on emissions will help bring about changes in firms and households

RECENT CONTEXT - The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will levy a green tax on transport vehicles older than eight years at the time of renewal of fitness certificate at the rate of 10% to 25% of road tax.

WHY - The revenue collected through the green tax will be kept in a different account and will only be utilised for tackling pollution.

EXEMPTIONS - Vehicles like strong hybrids, electric vehicles and those running on alternate fuels like CNG, ethanol and LPG and vehicles used in farming, such as tractor, harvesters and tillers will be exempted.

DIFFERENTIAL TAXATION -

• Personal vehicles are proposed to be charged green tax at the time of renewal of registration certification after 15 years.
• Public transport vehicles, such as city buses, will be charged lower green tax.
• Higher green tax (50% of road tax) will be levied on vehicles being registered in highly polluted cities.
• Differential tax will also be charged depending on fuel (petrol/ diesel) and the type of vehicle

NEWS

Darlongs – a small community of around 11,000 people in Tripura – was officially included in the list of Scheduled Tribes after the Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

WHO ARE DARLONGS?

• Tribal community of 11,000 people
• Has a high prevalence of education, cultural activities
• Members of the community are serving in different high positions in the local administration
• Were never given ST certificates as they were considered a generic tribe under the Kuki community
• Demand for a separate statutory identity of their own started in 1995
• Tribal musicologist and Rosem (tribal instrument) maestro Thanga Darlong was conferred the prestigious Padma Shri award a few years back for his contribution to culture.

TRIBES OF TRIPURA

Tripura, the tiny Northeast state of 37 lakh people houses 19 tribal communities. These include Tripuri or Debbarma, Reangs or Brus, Jamatia, Noatia, Uchoi, Chakma, Mog, Lushai, Kuki, Munda, Kour, Oram, Santhal, Bhil, Bhutia, Chaimar or Sermai, Garo, Khasi, Lepcha and Halam.

NEWS

Reserve Bank of India celebrates its annual establishment day

R B I

• Central institution of the country that manages all major monetary policies of India and handles economic stability and growth
• Established on April 1, 1935, in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 based on the recommendation of Hilton Young Commission Report (1926) with a share capital of Rs. 5 crores
• Central Office of the Reserve Bank was initially established in Kolkata but was permanently moved to Mumbai in 1937
• Acts as the representative of the Government in the International Monetary Fund and represents the membership of India
• Zonal offices: New Delhi for North, Chennai for South, Kolkata for East, and Mumbai for West
• Reports - Financial Stability Report; Monetary Policy Report; Report on Financial Review
• Governed by a central board of directors. The board is appointed by the Government of India in keeping with the Reserve Bank of India Act. They are appointed/nominated for a period of four years
• Role
  • The central bank issues and regulates currency notes.
  • It keeps reserves with a view to securing monetary stability and is called banker to banks.
  • The RBI plays a vital role in economic growth of the country and maintaining price stability.
  • Monetary Policy of the Country: The RBI has been tasked to have a monetary policy framework to meet the challenges of the economy and to maintain price stability while keeping in mind the objective of growth.
  • Inflation control: The RBI has targeted to keep the mid-term inflation at 4 four percent (+/- 2 percent).
  • Decides benchmark interest rate: A six-member Monetary Policy Committee, headed by RBI Governor, decides the benchmark repo rate.
  • Government’s banker: RBI acts as a banker for both the central as well as state governments. It sells and purchases government securities on their behalf.
  • Regulator of Foreign Exchange: Foreign Exchange Management Act (“FEMA”) envisages that RBI will have a key role in management of foreign exchange.
  • The central bank plays a key role in creating financial awareness among the masses.
  • It also supervises if the banks and other financial institutions are doing the job assigned to them regarding financial inclusion.

NEWS

The dolphin population along Odisha’s coast and in its waterbodies has increased but the number of Irrawaddy dolphins in Chilika lake has fallen

IRRAWADDY DOLPHINS

• Euryhaline species of oceanic dolphin
• Found in
  • Discontinuous subpopulations near sea coasts and in estuaries and rivers in parts of the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia
  • Coastal areas in South and Southeast Asia
  • In three rivers: the Ayeyarwady (Myanmar), the Mahakam (Indonesian Borneo) and the Mekong.
• The total population of these aquatic mammals in the world is estimated to be less than 7,500.
• Of these, more than 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins have been reported from Bangladesh, while the dolphin distribution in Chilika is considered to be the highest single lagoon population.
• IUCN Status: Endangered
• Scientific Name: Orcaella brevirostris
• Habitats: Lakes, Rivers, Estuaries, and Coasts

NEWS

The second P-8I aircraft squadron of the Navy has been commissioned by the Indian Navy in a ceremony that was held at INS Hansa, Goa

DETAILS

• Aircraft with multi-role Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance Anti-Submarine Warfare (LRMR ASW) capabilities
• Equipped with a range of Torpedoes as well as Air-to-Ship Missiles
• Play an important role in electronic warfare missions, search and rescue, and maritime surveillance and strike
• Will provide
  • Targeting data to the weapon platforms
  • Surveillance information that is time-critical and will also help in detecting and destroying enemy submarines and ships

NEWS

Utakala Dibasha or Odisha Day is celebrated every year on April 1

DETAILS

• Why - Celebrated to remember Odisha’s formation after the struggle it faced to be recognized as an independent state of the country
• Earlier the state was called Orissa but in 2011 the Orissa Bill and Constitution Bill (113rd amendment) was passed by the Lok Sabha and the state was renamed Odisha
• The present-day Odisha was a major part of the ancient Kalinga. The epic Kalinga War was witnessed by this region. This war was led by King Ashoka who in 260 BC had invaded and conquered this region
• Mughals invaded and took over this state and from them, in 1803 the British took over power and divided this region into small units.
• The northern and western districts were merged with Bengal while the coastal region was the part of Orissa and Bihar. After struggling for decades, on 1st April 1936, the new province of Odisha came into existence.

• A new genus of Braconid wasp has been named ‘Atree’, after the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), a leading research institution and environmental think tank based in Bengaluru
• CS Rajan has been appointed as the chairman of Infrastructure Leasing and Finance Ltd (IL&FS) and will take office after Uday Kotak’s term ends this week.