Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

NEWS

Karnataka distribution companies (discoms) have become the top seller of renewable energy under the Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) at Indian Energy Exchange Ltd. (IEX).

DETAILS

• Karnataka is a renewable rich State with a total installed capacity base of 15 GW (50% of it in solar) and is one of the pioneers in renewable energy addition in the country and a key stakeholder in achieving the country’s renewable energy (RE) goals
• It has already overachieved its target of 11 GW by FY 2022
• An additional 9 GW renewable capacity is in the pipeline, which is expected by 2030
• In another positive step, the State Cabinet last week cleared the Karnataka Renewable Energy Policy (2022-27) that looks at developing Karnataka as a hub of renewable energy generation
• Karnataka has sold 2.5 billion units of electricity under the Real-time Electricity Market (RTM) since the inception of the market segment in June 2020

GREEN TERM AHEAD MARKET (GTAM) IN ELECTRICITY

• Launched by Ministry of Power and New & Renewable Energy (MNRE)
• As a first step towards Greening the Indian short term power market
• Alternative new model introduced for selling off the power by the renewable developers in the open market without getting into long term PPAs.

BENEFITS

• Lessen the burden on the RE-rich States and incentivize them to develop RE capacity beyond their own RPO
• Benefit buyers of RE through competitive prices and transparent and flexible procurement
• Benefit RE sellers by providing access to the pan- India market

KEY FEATURES

• Transactions will be bilateral in nature with clear identification of corresponding buyers and sellers, there will not be any difficulty in accounting for RPO.
• Contracts will be segregated into Solar RPO & Non-Solar RPO as RPO targets are also segregated.
• Price discovery will take place on a continuous basis i.e. price-time priority basis

NEWS

‘Tatkal services’ proposed to be brought under Sakala Mission

SAKALA

WHAT –

• Citizen friendly governance with time bound service guarantee
• Karnataka Sakala Services Act, 2011 empowers citizens to avail services from the Government of Karnataka in a time-bound manner and claim compensation for any delays/defaults.

MISSION

• Ensure in time delivery of government services to citizens
• Practice innovative and efficient management systems through capacity building in government
• Empowering citizens to exercise their right to service.

TATKAL

• Ticketing program established by Indian Railways
• Used for booking journeys at very short notice
• Introduced it in all forms of reserved classes on almost all trains in India
• Introduced in 1997

NEWS

Unemployment rate in the country is decreasing with the economy slowly returning to normal, according to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy’s data

WHAT IS IN THE REPORT

• Overall unemployment rate in India was 8.10 per cent in February 2022, which fell to 7.6 per cent in March
• The decrease in the ratio shows that the economy is getting back on track after being hit by Covid-19
• Though the overall unemployment rate is falling, it is still high for a “poor” country like India
• Chhattisgarh has been ranked first among states with the lowest unemployment rate in the country
• According to the data, Haryana recorded the highest unemployment rate in March at 26.7 per cent, followed by Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir at 25 per cent each, Bihar at 14.4 per cent, Tripura at 14.1 per cent and West Bengal at 5.6 per cent
• Karnataka and Gujarat registered the least unemployment rate at 1.8.per cent each in March, 2022

NEWS

Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released recent report

WHAT IS IN THE REPORT

• Temperatures on Earth will shoot past a key danger point unless greenhouse gas emissions fall faster than countries have committed
• Revealed “a litany of broken climate promises” by governments and corporations, accusing them of stoking global warming by clinging to harmful fossil fuels
• Temperatures have already increased by over 1.1C (2F) since pre-industrial times, resulting in measurable increases in disasters such flash floods, prolonged droughts, more intense hurricanes and longer-burning wildfires, putting human lives in danger and costing governments hundreds of billions of dollars to confront
• Projected global emissions from (national pledges) place limiting global warming to 1.5C beyond reach and make it harder after 2030 to limit warming to 2C
• Ongoing investments in fossil fuel infrastructure and clearing large swaths of forest for agriculture undermine the massive curbs in emissions needed to meet the Paris goal

SOLUTIONS

• Removal of CO2 from the atmosphere with natural or artificial means
• Potentially risky technologies such as pumping aerosols into the sky to reflect sunlight
• Rapid shift away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy such as solar and wind
• Electrification of transport
• More efficient use of resources
• Massive financial support for poor countries unable to pay for such measures without help
• Plug methane leaks from mines, wells and landfills
• There’s still a “carbon budget” of 500 billion metric tons (550 billion US tons) that can be emitted before hitting the 1.5C threshold

NEWS

First cases of Fournier’s gangrene reported in India

DETAILS

WHAT

• Also called necrotizing fasciitis of the perineum
• Infection of the genitals and area around the genitals among Type 2 diabetes patients using sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors
• Death of body tissue of the genitals and/or perineum

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS - genital pain, tenderness, redness, and swelling with a rapid progression to gangrene

OTHER DETAILS

• Although the condition can affect men and women of all ages, it is most commonly diagnosed in adult males
• Most cases of Fournier gangrene are caused by an infection in the genital area or urinary tract
• People with impaired immunity (i.e. due to diabetes or HIV) have an increased susceptibility to the condition
• Treatment generally includes surgery and medications such as antibiotics and/or antifungal therapy
• SGLT2 inhibitors and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors are recommended as preferred add-on oral anti-diabetic drugs (OADs) after metformin among Type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), heart failure (HF), and chronic kidney disease (CKD)

NEWS

Google Pay has recently launched a new feature in India, ‘Tap to pay for UPI’, in collaboration with Pine Labs. The feature makes use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology

DETAILS

WHAT IS NFC AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

• Short-range wireless connectivity technology
• Allows NFC-enabled devices to communicate with each other and transfer information quickly and easily with a single touch
• Pay bills, exchange business cards, download coupons, or share a document
• Transmits data through electromagnetic radio fields, to enable communication between two devices
• Both devices must contain NFC chips, as transactions take place within a very short distance
• NFC-enabled devices must be either physically touching or within a few centimetres from each other for data transfer to occur.

How will this technology work with the recently launched feature, ‘Tap to pay for UPI’?

• Google Pay has been the first among UPI apps to bring the Tap to Pay feature working on POS terminals
• It will allow users with UPI accounts configured on Google Pay to make payments just by tapping their NFC-enabled Android smartphones on any Pine Labs Android POS terminal
• Once users tap their phones on the POS terminal, it will automatically open the Google pay app with the payment amount pre-filled. Users can then verify the amount and merchant name and authenticate the payment, using their UPI PIN. They will be notified once the payment is successful
• The process is much faster compared to scanning a QR code or entering the UPI-linked mobile number which has been the conventional way till now.

What are the other applications of NFC technology?

• NFC tech has a wide range of applications besides driving payment services like Google Wallet and Apple Pay
• Used in contactless banking cards to perform money transactions or to generate contact-less tickets for public transport
• Contactless cards and readers use NFC in several applications from securing networks and buildings to monitoring inventory and sales, preventing auto theft, keeping tabs on library books, and running unmanned toll booths
• Behind the cards that we wave over card readers in subway turnstiles and on buses to check tickets. It is present in speakers, household appliances, and other electronic devices that we monitor and control through our smartphones
• NFC can also set up WiFi and Bluetooth devices in our homes
• It also has an application in healthcare, to monitor patient stats through NFC-enabled wristbands. NFC is used in wireless charging too

NEWS

Shree Mandira Parikrama Project (SMPP) of Odisha government has already run into a controversy

WHAT IS THE ISSUE?

• State government have permission of the National Monuments Authority (NMA) nor does it have approval from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to plan
• Execution of the project could potentially pose a threat to the centuries-old temple

ANCIENT MONUMENTS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND REMAINS ACT

• Passed in 1958
• Act of the Parliament
• Provides for the preservation of ancient and historical monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national importance
• Provides for the regulation of archaeological excavations and for the protection of sculptures, carvings and other like objects
• The Archaeological Survey of India functions under the provisions of this act
• Area in the vicinity of the monument, within 100 metres is prohibited area
• Area within 200 meters of the monument is regulated category
• Any repair or modifications of buildings in this area requires prior permission

JAGANNATH TEMPLE

• Important Vaishnavite temple
• Dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Sri Krishna in Puri in Odisha.
• Present temple was rebuilt from the 10th century onwards, on the site of an earlier temple, and begun by Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, the first king of the Eastern Ganga dynasty.
• The Puri temple is famous for its annual Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival, in which the three principal deities are pulled on huge and elaborately decorated temple cars.

NEWS

Babu Jagjivan Ram on his 114th birth anniversary celebrated

ABOUT

• National leader, a freedom fighter, a crusader of social justice, a champion of depressed classes and an outstanding Parliamentarian
• Born on 5th April 1908 in Chandwa in Bihar to a Dalit family
• Pursued his schooling at the nearby town of Arrah where he faced discrimination for the first time.
• He was considered ‘untouchable’ and had to drink water from a different pot. Jagjivan Ram protested against this by breaking the pot. The principal then had to remove the separate pot from the school.
• Met scholar Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and was greatly inspired by him. On Malaviya’s invitation, he joined the Banaras Hindu University.
• Even at the university, Jagjivan Ram faced discrimination. This inspired him to protest against such social boycotts of a section of society.
• Organised the scheduled castes to protest against injustice.
• Organized a number of Ravidas Sammelans and had celebrated Guru Ravidas Jayanti in different areas of Calcutta (Kolkata).
• In 1931, he became a member of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party).
• He was instrumental in the foundation of the All India Depressed Classes League, an organisation dedicated to attaining equality for untouchables, in 1934-35.
• He was a champion of social equality and equal rights for the Depressed Classes.
• In 1935, he proposed at a session of the Hindu Mahasabha that drinking water wells and temples be open to untouchables.
• In 1935, Babuji also appeared before the Hammond Commission at Ranchi and demanded, for the first time, voting rights for the Dalits.
• He was jailed twice in the early 1940s for his political activities associated with the Quit India movement against British rule.
• When Jawaharlal Nehru formed the provisional government, Jagjivan Ram became its youngest minister.
• After independence he held the labour portfolio until 1952. Thereafter he served in Nehru’s cabinet in the posts of minister for communications (1952–56), transport and railways (1956–62), and transport and communications (1962–63).
• He served as minister for food and agriculture (1967–70), and in 1970 he was made minister of defence.
• The Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 was fought when he was the defence minister.
• He left Congress in 1977 and joined the Janata Party alliance, along with his Congress for Democracy (new party). He later served as the Deputy Prime Minister of India (1977–79).
• Member of the Parliament uninterrupted from 1936 to 1986 (40 years) and this is a world record.
• Longest-serving cabinet minister in India (30 years)
• His memorial at his cremation place is named Samta Sthal (Place of Equality)

ALSO IN NEWS: The State Government has decided to honour five people with the Babu Jagjivan Ram Award for their contribution to the upliftment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

NEWS

India and Australia signed an Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) recently

MAIN FEATURES OF THE AGREEMENT

• Guided by a Preamble
• Divided into multiple sections that will govern what is hoped to be the most expansive bilateral trade
• Has a section on goods exports, and lays out clearly “Rules of Origin” that are aimed at creating anti-dumping measures
• There are also sections that are aimed at providing remedies and mechanisms for resolving trade disputes
• Has a compulsory review mechanism after 15 years of implementation

WILL AUSTRALIA GET ACCESS TO INDIA’S AGRICULTURE MARKET

• Australia will get the opportunity to export certain varieties of agricultural produce like potatoes, lentils, and meat products with some caveats
• Bovine meat is not part of the agreement
• Australia may also send machineries that are required for food processing
• In a historic first, India may open up to a wide-range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks including Australian beer. Australian wines costing over $5 may face lower import duties in the Indian market
• Australia will provide ‘preferential access’ to “all the labour-intensive sectors” of export items from India such as gems and jewellery, textiles, leather, footwear, furniture, food, engineering products, medical devices and automobiles
• India will also allow Australia to export raw materials under preferential terms like coal and mineral ores.

SERVICES SECTOR

• Australia has “offered wide ranging commitments” in around 135 sub-sectors and Most Favoured Nation in 120 sub-sectors which cover key areas of the Indian services sector like IT, ITES, business services, health, education and audio-visual services.
• Indian chefs and yoga teachers will get specific entry quotas into Australia, while Indian students in Australia will be able to secure work visas for periods ranging from 18 months to four years on a ‘reciprocal’ basis
• Students completing a diploma Down Under will be considered for an 18-month work visa; and those completing their undergraduation may get two years and those with a Ph.D. may be considered for a four-year visa.

PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR

• India and Australia have agreed to enable fast track approval for patented, generic and biosimilar medicines
• Therapeutic Goods Regulators of both sides will have a role to play in monitoring and ensuring smooth trade in pharma products between the two sides
• Both sides have agreed to audits of imports that require sanitary and phytosanitary inspection as per the law of the land
• The importing side will ensure that plants and plant products, animal products and other goods, and their packaging are inspected through recognised methodologies
• If either party finds examples of non-compliance, remedial measures will be taken by both sides.

DISPUTE SETTLEMENT MECHANISM

• Both parties have agreed to hold consultations — and make “every effort” to find a solution — in case of disputes that may emerge in the course of trade in goods or services
• In case they have to resort to international arbitration, they may opt for an organisation (i.e, World Trade Organization) where both are member
• May also use “good offices” and form panels with qualified members drawn from government and business to resolve the disputes.
• The dispute resolution may range from 45 days to 15 months

RULES OF ORIGIN

• The rules of origin are based on the principle that they should be “wholly obtained or produced in the territory of one or both of the parties”
• This section ensures that waste material will not be exported by either side unless they contribute to the production of any of the items listed in the ECTA.

• Cricketer Karun Nair, table tennis player Anargya Manjunath and hockey player Pradhan Somanna were among 15 athletes chosen for the Karnataka Government’s Ekalavya Award for 2020.
• Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s Broadcast Seva Portal. It is  single-point facility to the various applicants and stakeholders who will be applying for various permissions, registrations, and licences
• The 20th edition of the bilateral naval exercise that is named ‘Varuna’ is being conducted by India and France
• Surat, Gujarat is the first Indian city to get a road built from processed steel slag (industrial waste)
• The Union government has appointed Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra as the next Foreign Secretary.
• Arooj Aftab is the "first ever female Pakistani GRAMMY winner", the Academy posted on its official Instagram page
• Viktor Orban has again been elected as the Prime Minister of Hungary
• Annually, on 2nd April, World Autism Awareness Day is celebrated across the world to spread awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the social interaction and communication skills of a person.
• March Madness is most commonly used in respect of the men's basketball tournament, a single-elimination competition among 68 teams that takes place over seven rounds.