27th May, 2023 Current Affairs

27th May, 2023 Current Affairs

NATIONAL
NTCA Constitutes New Committee to Oversee Cheetah Project

• National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has established an 11-member Cheetah Project Steering Committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Rajesh Gopal, secretary general of Global Tiger Forum, has been appointed as its chairman.
• The decision was taken after six cheetahs, who were brought as part of the translocation project, died in the last two months. The other 10 members include RN Mehrotra, former principal chief conservator of forest of Rajasthan; PR Sinha, former director of the Wildlife Institute of India; HS Negi, former APCCF, Wildlife; and PK Malik, former faculty at WII.
• GS Rawat, former dean of the WII; Mittal Patel, an Ahmedabad-based social worker; Qamar Qureshi, WII scientist and Inspector General of NTCA; and the MP’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Wildlife, and Chief Wildlife Warden are the other members.

Members of Cheetah Project Committee

• Rajesh Gopal, Chairman
• RN Mehrotra, former principal chief conservator of forest of Rajasthan
• PR Sinha, former director of the Wildlife Institute of India
• HS Negi, former APCCF, Wildlife
• PK Malik, former faculty at WII
• GS Rawat, former dean of the WII
• Mittal Patel, an Ahmedabad-based social worker
• Qamar Qureshi, WII scientist and Inspector General of NTCA
• MP’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Wildlife
• Chief Wildlife Warden

PM Modi chairs 8th meeting of NITI Ayog Governing Council

• The Eighth meeting of the NITI Ayog Governing Council is underway at the new Convention Centre in Pragati Maida.
•  The meeting will focus on the theme of Viksit Bharat @ 2047: Role of Team India. The meeting is being presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the Chairman of NITI Aayog.
• The day-long meeting will also discuss seven other prominent themes which include - Thrust on MSMEs,  Infrastructure and Investments,  Minimising Compliances, Women Empowerment,  Health and Nutrition,  Skill Development, and Gati Shakti for area development and social infrastructure. 
• Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors from various States and Union Territories, Union Ministers, Vice Chairman, and Members of NITI Aayog are participating in the meeting.

First Urban Climate Film Festival to Begin in New Town, Kolkata

• The first-ever Urban Climate Film Festival, which aspires to employ the powerful medium of film to enlighten audiences about the environmental, social, and economic impacts of climate change on urban settlements, is going to take place in New Town, Kolkata from 3rd to 5th June 2023. 16 films from 12 countries are scheduled to be screened, along with Q&A sessions with filmmakers in order to spark conversations about building climate-resilient cities and invite inputs from the public; further encouraging the citizens to undertake ‘environmentally responsible behavior’ in line with the U20 priority areas and the Prime Minister’s clarion call through the LiFE Mission.
• The festival will also celebrate World Environment Day on 5th June with a special closing ceremony, which will be graced by Mr. Didier Talpain, Consul General of France in Kolkata; Mr. Debashis Sen, Managing Director, West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation; Mr. Hitesh Vaidya, Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs; Mrs. Meghna Pal, CEO, NKGSCCL; and Mr. Naim Keruwala, Program Director, CITIIS.
• Launched in New Delhi in March 2023, the film festival is being organized by the National Institute of Urban Affairs, through the CITIIS program under the engagement events of U20 (the urban track of G20). The festival is supported by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the French Development Agency (AFD), the European Union, and the New Town Kolkata Green Smart City Corporation Limited.

INTERNATIONAL
King of Cambodia, Norodom Sihamoni to visit India from May 29-31

• King of Cambodia, Norodom Sihamoni, will be visiting India on his maiden State visit from 29th to 31st of May. Briefing media in New Delhi this afternoon, Secretary (East), External Affairs Ministry, Saurabh Kumar said the visit marks the culmination of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Cambodia. This visit by the King of Cambodia is taking place after almost six decades, with the last being that of the current King’s father in 1963.
• India and Cambodia enjoy warm and friendly relations marked by civilisational, cultural and economic linkages and deep-rooted people-to-people ties. The multifaceted relationship is based on shared cultural values, commitment to foster economic growth, collaboration in the fields of defence and security and convergence on regional and global issues.
• India actively assists Cambodia in capacity building and human resource development. India has also extended grants and concessional loans for developmental projects. Conservation and restoration of the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm and Preah Vihar are being carried out under India's funding. India has extended a grant of 1.5 million dollars for purchase of demining equipment and has offered a line of credit worth 50 million dollars for procurement of defence equipment from India.

US President Biden, Republican McCarthy closing in on deal that would raise govt's 31.4 trillion dollar debt ceiling for 2 years

• United States President Joe Biden has said, progress has been made in talks with top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy over the US debt ceiling. The pair aim to reach a deal on raising the government borrowing limit for two years so it can keep paying its bills. A US debt default - with a 1st of June deadline looming, would upend the economy and have a global impact.
• As per media reports, a US official has said, President Biden and Republican McCarthy are closing in on a deal that would raise the government's 31.4 trillion dollar debt ceiling for two years while capping spending on most items. The official said, the deal, which is not final, would increase funding for discretionary spending on military and veterans while essentially holding non-defense discretionary spending at current year levels. Republicans are seeking spending cuts in exchange for raising the 31.4 trillion dollar cap on government borrowing.
• The debt ceiling is a spending limit set by Congress that determines how much money the government can borrow - an issue on which Democrats and Republicans disagree. With no deal yet struck, the Treasury has warned that the United States will not have enough money to pay all of its bills as soon as the 1st of next month. Analysts say there could be severe economic consequences if the US fails to honor its obligations.

ECONOMY
India moves WTO dispute panel over ICT import duties

• India has moved the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) apex dispute resolution body, the Appellate Body, against a WTO panel ruling that said its import duties on some information and technology products are inconsistent with global trade norms.
• The ruling could have serious implications for India’s trade policies and could potentially result in changes to the way the country provides support measures. However, the Commerce Ministry has stated that the appeal will not have any adverse impact on domestic industry.
• India will appeal the ruling in the WTO’s appellate body, which is the final authority on such trade disputes. However, the appellate body is currently not functioning due to differences among member countries to appoint members, with the US blocking the appointment of members. Even if the appellate body starts functioning now, it could take over a year to take up India’s appeal.
• The dispute is the latest in a series of trade disputes involving India, which has been at the center of several WTO cases in recent years. Last year, India appealed against a WTO ruling that found the country’s domestic support measures for sugar and sugarcane to be inconsistent with global trade norms.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
WMO Approves Global Tracker for Greenhouse Gas Emissions

• The World Meteorological Congress has made a groundbreaking decision to approve a new greenhouse gas (GHG) monitoring initiative, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
• This initiative aims to support urgent action in reducing heat-trapping gases that contribute to rising global temperatures.
• The newly established Global Greenhouse Gas Watch will address critical information gaps, integrating various observing systems, modeling capabilities, and data assimilation under one comprehensive framework. The unanimous support from WMO’s 193 members highlights the growing importance of greenhouse gas monitoring and the need to strengthen the scientific foundation for climate change mitigation efforts.

The Importance of the Global Greenhouse Gas Watch

• Filling information gaps and providing an integrated framework
• Unifying surface-based and space-based observations, modeling, and data assimilation
• Overcoming limitations in international exchange of greenhouse gas observations and modeling products.

Components of the Global Greenhouse Gas Watch
A. Comprehensive Observations

• Surface-based and satellite-based monitoring of CO2, CH4, and N2O
• Monitoring of concentrations, total and partial column amounts, vertical profiles, and fluxes
• Exchange of data internationally to facilitate rapid information sharing

B. Prior Estimation of GHG Emissions

• Utilizing activity data and process-based models to estimate emissions
• Providing crucial insights for mitigation planning

C. Global Earth System Models

• Developing high-resolution models representing GHG cycles
• Enhancing understanding of the carbon cycle and its implications

D. Data Assimilation Systems

• Combining observations with model calculations for higher accuracy
• Generating valuable products to support decision-making

NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) Satellite

• NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) is a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) observatory being jointly developed by NASA and ISRO. NISAR will map the entire globe in 12 days and provide spatially and temporally consistent data for understanding changes in Earth’s ecosystems, ice mass, vegetation biomass, sea level rise, ground water and natural hazards including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and landslides. NISAR. It carries L and S dual band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), which operates with Sweep SAR technique to achieve large swath with high resolution data. The SAR payloads mounted on Integrated Radar Instrument Structure (IRIS) and the spacecraft bus are together called an observatory. Jet Propulsion Laboratories and ISRO are realizing the observatory which shall not only meet the respective national needs but also will feed the science community with data encouraging studies related to surface deformation measurements through repeat-pass InSAR technique.
• This flagship partnership would have major contributions from both agencies. NASA is responsible for providing the L-Band SAR payload system in which the ISRO supplied S-Band SAR payload and both these SAR systems will make use of a large size (about 12m diameter) common unfurl able reflector antenna . In addition, NASA would provide engineering payloads for the mission, including a Payload Data Subsystem, High-rate Science Downlink System, GPS receivers and a Solid State Recorder.
• This would be the first dual frequency radar imaging mission in L-Band & S-Band using an advanced Sweep SAR technique to provide L & S band space-borne SAR data with high repeat cycle, high resolution, and larger swath, with capability of full-polar metric and interferometric modes of operation. It will provide a means of disentangling and clarifying spatially and temporally complex phenomena, ranging from ecosystem disturbances, to ice sheet collapse and natural hazards including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and landslide This is expected to provide impetus to the fast maturing microwave remote sensing applications in geosciences. The precision interferometric orbits of the mission will enable in mapping few millimetres of deformations in the land surface. The selection of lower frequency bands will cater to the need for better characterization of vegetation, which is vital for global carbon stock estimation and monitoring of carbon fluxes from vegetation. Similarly, the selection of L- and S-band frequencies will enable characterizing targets beneath tree canopy and sub-surface features due to differential penetration of the signals in two frequency NISAR studying concepts for a Synthetic Aperture Radar mission is to determine Earth change in three disciplines: ecosystems (vegetation and the carbon cycle), deformation (solid Earth studies), and cryosphere sciences (primarily as related to climatic drivers and effects on sea level NISAR will acquire data over the Indian Coasts and monitor annual changes in the bathymetry along the deltaic regions. The shoreline and the erosion accretion also will be monitored. The NISAR mission will observe sea ice characteristics over the seas surrounding India’s Antarctic polar stations, can be used to detect the marine oil spill and disseminate the spill location during accidental oil seepage for preventive measures.
• The NISAR observatory carries a 12m wide deployable mesh reflector mounted onto a deployable 9m boom developed by JPL which shall be used by both-JPL-NASA developed L-Band SAR payload system and ISRO developed S-Band SAR payload. The IRIS hosts the S-SAR and L-SAR tiles along with their electronics and data handling systems. The spacecraft incorporates all the attitude and orbit control elements, power systems, thermal management system. JPL also will provide the LSAR Data Handling system, High-rate Science data Downlink System, GPS receivers and a Solid State Recorder. ISRO is responsible for providing the SSAR data handling system, High rate downlink system, spacecraft bus systems, the GSLV launch system and Mission Operations Related Services. A perfect blend of two cultures and a creation by two sets of craftsmen is what NISAR is.

SPORTS
India beat Japan 3-1 in Men's Junior Asia Cup at Salalah in Oman

• In Hockey, the Indian junior men’s hockey team registered 3-1 win over Japan in their second Pool A game of the Men's Junior Asia Cup 2023 in Salalah, Oman.
• This was India's second win in as many games at the Men's Junior Asia Cup 2023.

CULTURE

Tungnath temple built by Pandavas declared national monument

• Tungnath, located in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand, is not only one of the highest Shiva temples in the world but also the highest among the five Panch Kedar temples. Recently, it has been designated as a national monument. The Central Government declared Tungnath a monument of national importance in a notification dated March 27.
•  The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), led by Devraj Singh Rautela, confirmed that they had been working towards this recognition for a significant period. During the process, ASI actively sought public opinions and objections regarding the declaration of Tungnath as a national heritage.
• The temple is located in the Tungnath mountain range, which is part of the Garhwal Himalayas.
• The temple is believed to have been built by Adi Shankaracharya, the 8th-century Hindu philosopher and reformer. The temple is a simple structure, built in the Nagara style of architecture. The main deity of the temple is a lingam, a representation of Lord Shiva. There are also shrines to Goddess Parvati and other Hindu deities.

Published date : 27 May 2023 05:28PM