Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

NEWS

The number of dengue cases are increasing since January in Karnataka

DETAILS

• 939 cases were reported from January till March 31 ( 510 cases had been reported previous year)
• However, there have been no deaths so far
• Rise in cases is seen mainly in urban areas, where construction work has begun after the decline in COVID-19 cases
• There is an increase in the number of dengue cases mainly in BBMP, Udupi, Mysuru, Chitradurga, Ballari and Koppal districts 
• With nearly 22% (205) of the State’s total cases in 2022 (January to March) being reported in BBMP areas, Bengaluru city continued to record the highest number of positive cases
• Mysuru has recorded the highest number (83) - from January to March - among districts other than Bengaluru

DENGUE

• Most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease in the world
• Inflicts significant health, economic and social burden on the populations of endemic areas
• Afflicts all levels of society, but the burden may be higher among the poorest who grow up in communities with an inadequate water supply and solid waste infrastructure, and where conditions are most favourable for multiplication of the main vector, Aedes aegypti

WHAT CAUSES DENGUE FEVER?

• Spread by several species of female mosquitoes of the Aedes variety, specifically of the Aedes aegypti.
• The ideal conditions for this species of mosquitos are usually between the latitudes of 35° North and 35° South with an elevation of 1000 meters (3300 ft)
• They usually bite during the early morning and in the evening, though it does not mean that they will specifically bite at these hours.
• Even though humans are the primary host of the virus, non-human primates are also carriers.
• A single bite is more than enough to be a cause for infection.
• A female mosquito that bites a person infected person with dengue becomes infected during the initial 2-10 day febrile period.
• After 8 – 10 days, the virus spreads to other tissues including the mosquitoes salivary glands, and is subsequently released into its saliva. As per the research conducted on this species, the mosquito remains infected.

SYMPTOMS

• High fever
• Headache
• Vomiting
• Muscle and joint pains
• Skin Rash

NEWS

Chandigarh Municipal Corporation passed a resolution stating that the city should remain a Union Territory

UNION TERRITORIES

WHAT

• Federal territories
• Administered by the Union Government of India
• Lieutenant Governors (LGs) are appointed by the President of India for administering UTs

REASONS FOR CREATION OF UTS –

• Political and administrative consideration–Delhi and Chandigarh.
• Cultural distinctiveness–Puducherry, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu.
• Strategic importance–Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
• Special treatment and care of the backward and tribal people–Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh which later became states.

OTHER DETAILS

• There are 28 states, 9 UTs and no acquired territories.
• Presently(2020),UTs of Puducherry, Delhi, J&K have legislative assemblies.
• Unlike UTs, states are the members of the federal system in India and share a distribution of power with the Centre.
• Existence of these territories constitutes a conspicuous departure from federalism in India; the Government of India is plainly unitary in so far as the relationship between New Delhi and these Central enclaves is concerned.
• Ministry of Home Affairs is the nodal Ministry for all matters of Union territories.
• Former UTs – Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa.
• In Delhi, by Article 239AA and 69th Constitutional Amendment the Assembly cannot legislate on matters in entry 18 of the State List, which is land, public order and police.

NEWS

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana completes 7 years

THE PMMY SCHEME

WHEN WAS IT LAUNCHED - April, 2015

WHAT IS THE AIM - Refinance collateral-free loans given by the lenders to small borrowers

WHO CAN AVAIL

• Banks and MFIs can draw refinance after becoming member-lending institutions of MUDRA.
• Available for non-agricultural activities upto Rs. 10 lakh and activities allied to agriculture such as Dairy, Poultry, Bee Keeping etc, are also covered.

OTHER DETAILS

• Unique feature is a Mudra Card which permits access to Working Capital through ATMs and Card Machines.
• There are three types of loans under PMMY:
  • Shishu (up to Rs.50,000).
  • Kishore (from Rs.50,001 to Rs.5 lakh).
  • Tarun (from Rs.500,001 to Rs.10,00,000).

NEWS

As per Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is taking rapid strides to fulfill the government’s vision- ‘Housing for all by 2024’, with over 3 crore pucca houses already constructed under the program.

PRADHAN MANTRI AWAS YOJANA (RURAL)

• Provide pucca houses to all eligible homeless families and families living in kutcha houses by the year 2024
• The houses are provided with toilets, in convergence with Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin
• Has provisions for convergence with other schemes of Government of India for providing LPG connection under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Scheme, electricity connection, access to safe drinking water under Jal Jeevan Mission etc.
• The cost of unit assistance is to be shared between Central and State Government in the ratio 60:40 in plain areas and 90:10 for North Eastern and the Himalayan States.
• The top performing states in completion rate of pucca houses are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar
• Empowers women by providing the ownership of houses in the name of female members or registering it at joint ownership.

PRADHAN MANTRI AWAS YOJANA (URBAN)

• Launched on 25th June 2015
• Empowers women by providing the ownership of houses in the name of female members or registering it at joint ownership.
• Address urban housing shortage among the EWS/LIG and MIG categories including the slum dwellers.
• The program allots preference to differently abled persons, senior citizens, SCs, STs, OBCs, minority, single women, transgender and other weaker & vulnerable sections of the society.

NEWS

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) as an additional tool for absorbing liquidity

DETAILS

WHAT –

• Monetary policy tool
• Absorbs liquidity without any collateral
• There is binding collateral constraint
• Replace the fixed rate reverse repo (FRRR) as the floor of the liquidity adjustment facility corridor
• Available on all days of the week, throughout the year, like MSF (marginal standing facility)

HOW IS IT INTRODUCED - Through amended Section 17 of the RBI Act (Amended in 2018)

MAIN AIM - Reduce the excess liquidity of Rs 8.5 lakh crore in the system, and control inflation

HOW IT WILL OPERATE

• SDF rate will be 25 bps below the policy rate (Repo rate)
• Will be applicable to overnight deposits at this stage
• It would, however, retain the flexibility to absorb liquidity of longer tenors as and when the need arises, with appropriate pricing
• The RBI’s plan is to restore the size of the liquidity surplus in the system to a level consistent with the prevailing stance of monetary policy.

REVERSE REPO RATE - The fixed rate reverse repo (FRRR) rate which is retained at 3.35 per cent will remain part of the RBI’s toolkit, and its operation will be at the discretion of the RBI for purposes specified from time to time

NEWS

The Ministry for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has inaugurated the Comprehensive Training Programme on Natural Farming

NATURAL FARMING

• Chemical- free farming and livestock based
• Diversified farming system that integrates crops, trees and livestock
• Allows optimum use of functional biodiversity.
• Introduced by Masanobu Fukuoka, a Japanese farmer and philosopher, in his 1975 book The One-Straw Revolution.
• Builds on natural or ecological processes that exist in or around farms
• Internationally, Natural Farming is considered a form of regenerative agriculture—a prominent strategy to save the planet.
• Has the potential to manage land practices and sequester carbon from the atmosphere in soils and plants, where it is actually useful instead of being detrimental.
• In India, Natural farming is promoted as Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati Programme (BPKP) under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY).
• BPKP is aimed at promoting traditional indigenous practices which reduce externally purchased inputs.
• Natural Farming, as the name suggests, is the art, practice and, increasingly, the science of working with nature to achieve much more with less.

NEWS

Russia to lose the membership of UNHRC

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

• Inter-governmental body within the United Nations system
• Responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the world
• Addresses and makes recommendations on situations of human rights violations, and can discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations

WORKING OF THE COUNCIL

• Replaced the former UN Commission on Human Rights
• Created by the UNGA on March 15, 2006, and the body met in its first session from June 19-30, 2006.
• In 2007, the Council adopted an “institution-building package” to set up its procedures and mechanisms
• Among these were the mechanism of Universal Periodic Review to assess the human rights situations in all UN Member States, the Advisory Committee that serves as the Council’s think tank providing it with expertise and advice on thematic human rights issues, and the Complaint Procedure, which allows individuals and organisations to bring human rights violations to the Council’s attention
• Also works with the UN Special Procedures established by the former Commission on Human Rights, consisting of special rapporteurs, special representatives, independent experts, and working groups that monitor, examine, advise and report on thematic issues or human rights situations in specific countries.

MEMBERSHIP OF THE COUNCIL

• Council meets at the UN Office in Geneva, Switzerland
• Made up of 47 UN Member States who are elected by majority vote through a direct and secret ballot at the UNGA
• According to the Council’s website, the UNGA takes into account the candidate States’ contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights, as well as their voluntary pledges and commitments in this regard
• Membership of the Council is based on equitable geographical distribution
• African and Asia-Pacific states have 13 seats each, Latin American and Caribbean states have 8 seats, Western European and other states 7 seats, and Eastern European states 6 seats
• The members serve for three years and are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.
• With membership on the Council comes a responsibility to uphold high human rights standards. This is a criteria insisted on by States themselves when they adopted resolution 60/251 in March 2006 to create the Human Rights Council. It is this responsibility that Russia is alleged to have wilfully violated in Ukraine. Russia’s three-year term as member of the Council began on January 1, 2021

LEADERSHIP OF THE COUNCIL

• Has a five-person Bureau, consisting of a president and four vice-presidents
• Each represent one of the five regional groups
• Serve for a year each, in accordance with the Council’s annual cycle

• Litterateurs Go Ru Channabasappa, Prof T V Venkatachala Sastry and Bhashyam Swamy have been selected for the prestigious Nadoja award conferred by the Hampi Kannada University. The Nadoja is a prestigious award presented annually to eminent personalities for their contribution in various fields.The word "Nadoja" belongs to Adikavi Pampa which means `teacher to the Land's.
• United states of America gets first judge who is a black woman. The Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.