Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 2nd April 2022

NEWS

Karnataka government has decided to celebrate UGADI as “Dharmika Dina”

UGADI

• New year in Hindu Mythology
• Marks the creation of the universe by Lord Brahma, according to Hindu mythology
• Celebrated on the first day of the Hindu calendar month of Chaitra
• Mainly celebrated by the Kannada and Telugu people in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu
• Followers of the Souramana calendar system, observe Ugadi in Karnataka, when the Sun transits into the Aries Constellation, which is also the festival of Baisakhi, and is locally known as Souramana Ugadi or Mesha Sankranti
• The festival is observed in several parts of India under different names: Yugadi in Karnataka, Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra, Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Cheti Chand in the Sindhi region, Sajibu Cheiraoba in Manipur, etc. Some parts also celebrate it as Navreh

WHAT : Notice issued to make sure that an individual who is absconding or wanted by law enforcement agencies is not able to leave the country

HOW IS IT USED

• Mostly used at immigration checkpoints at international airports and seaports by the immigration branch
• In certain cases, the police can approach a court asking for the restriction of a person’s movement outside the country, when that person is a suspect and there is an apprehension that they may not join the investigation at a later stage
• The subject of an LOC can challenge the circular and get relief from a court

WHO CAN ISSUE

• Can be initiated by a large number of authorised officers
• In the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs
• In 2018, the government also empowered the heads of public sector banks to directly request the authorities to issue an LOC against wilful defaulters to prevent them from leaving the country
• An officer not below the rank of chairman/managing director/chief executive of any public sector bank can make a request.
• Can be modified/deleted/withdrawn by the Bureau of Immigration only on the specific request of the authorised originator on whose request the LOC was issued

DOES AN LOC LEAD TO ARREST

• Not necessarily. LOCs can be of several types
• They can seek to merely stop a person against whom the circular has been issued from travelling outside the country, to prevent a person from entering the country, or inform the concerned investigation agencies
• The proforma of the LOC also contains a request to detain the individual at the local police/investigation agency, which generally leads to arrest.

NEWS

Union Cabinet approved the “Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance” (RAMP) scheme

ABOUT THE SCHEME

• World Bank assisted Central Sector Scheme
• Aims to support Covid hit Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

HOW

• Improving access to market and credit
• Strengthening institutions and governance at the Centre and State
• Improving Centre-State linkages and partnerships
• Addressing issues of delayed payments and greening of MSMEs

COMPONENTS

• Preparation of Strategic Investment Plans (SIPs), in which all states/UTs will be invited.
• The SIPs would include an outreach plan for identification and mobilisation of MSMEs
• Identify key constraints and gaps, set milestones and project the required budgets for interventions in priority sectors including renewable energy, rural & non-farm business, wholesale and retail trade, village and cottage industries, women enterprises etc
• Monitoring would be done by an apex National MSME Council. The council will be headed by the Minister for MSME, including representation from various Ministries and supported by a secretariat.

NEWS

Record nesting of Olive Ridley turtles noticed in Rishikulya

DETAILS

Olive ridley turtles

• Smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world
• Get their name from their olive colored carapace
• Coast of Odisha in India is their largest mass nesting site
• Carnivores
• Found in warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
• Migrate thousands of kilometers between feeding and mating grounds in the course of a year.
• Best known for their unique mass nesting called ARRIBADA, where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs. They lay their eggs over a period of five to seven days in conical nests about one and a half feet deep which they dig with their hind flippers.
• Protection Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
  • CITES: Appendix I
  • Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule 

BY - United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

DETAILS

• Titled “Seeing the Unseen: The case for action in the neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy”
• Between the years 2015 to 2019, there was a rise in unintended pregnancies which numbered around 121 million across the globe annually.
• There was a lack of modern and safe methods of contraception and across the globe, around 257 million women are not using such methods of contraception to avoid pregnancies.
• During the first 12 months of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a disruption in contraceptive supplies due to which around 1.4 million unintended pregnancies were reported.
• There has been a rise in rape-related pregnancies. Among women who have experienced partner violence contraceptive use is 53 percent lower. There is more chance of pregnancies occurring due to rape than consensual sex.
• A rise in abortion has been noticed with more than 60 percent of pregnancies that are unintended, and around 30 percent of all pregnancies, ending in abortion. Across the globe, 45 percent of all abortions performed were unsafe. USD 553 million per year in treatment costs is the cost of unsafe abortion in developing countries.
• There is a rise in humanitarian emergencies with the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war due to which many women are facing sexual violence and losing access to contraception. Studies have shown that more than 20 percent of refugee girls and women will and might have faced sexual violence

• The midday meal scheme of the Karnataka Government for school children will bear the name of late Shivakumara Swami who started the concept of mid-day meal for poor children in institutions run by the Siddaganga mutt of Tumakuru
• The Chairperson of SEBI has launched the ideathon ‘Manthan’, to promote innovations
• Recently, Geological Survey of India (GSI) has identified two geological heritage sites in the Indian Himalayan Region of India. The sites identified are Siwalik Fossil Park, Himachal Pradesh and Stromatolite bearing Dolomite / Limestone of Buxa Formation of Buxa Formation, Sikkim.
• The 20th edition of the Indian and French Navy bilateral exercise ‘VARUNA-2022’ is being conducted in the Arabian Sea.
• The largest electric cruise ship in the world has returned back to port in Yichang in central Hubei province, China after traveling up and down the Yangtze River for its maiden voyage
• NOTE - Mes Aynak is a site that is located 40 km southeast of Kabul, Afghanistan. It is located in the Logar Province’s barren region. This region contains the largest copper deposit in Afghanistan. Also, in this region, there are remains to be found of an ancient settlement that has 400 Buddha stupas, statues, and a monastery complex of 100 acres.