4th January, 2024 Current Affairs

NATIONAL
North India’s first river rejuvenation project, ‘Devika’, is in the final stages

• Built on the lines of ‘Namami Ganga’, the project was launched in February 2019.It is north India’s first river rejuvenation project.The project is implemented along the Devika River in Jammu and Kashmir.It has been included in the Government of India’s National River Conservation Project (NRCP).
• Under the project, bathing “ghats” (places) on the banks of the Devika River will be developed, encroachments will be removed, natural water bodies will be restored, and catchment areas will be developed along with cremation ground.
• The project includes the construction of three sewage treatment plants with 8 MLD, 4 MLD and 1.6 MLD capacities, a sewerage network of 129.27 km, the development of two cremation ghats, protection fencing and landscaping, small hydropower plants, and three solar power plants.
• Built at a cost of over Rs 190 crore, the sharing of fund allocation is in the ratio of 90:10 by the centre and UT, respectively.On completion of the project, the rivers will see a reduction in pollution and an improvement in water quality.It will offer a unique destination both for pilgrim tourists as well as recreation tourists, in addition to being a state-of-the-art cremation centre.
• Devika River is considered the sister of the sacred river Ganga, and it has great religious significance.

INTERNATIONAL
India started its four-year term as a member of the United Nations Statistical Commission

• It was established in 1947 and is the highest body of the global statistical system.
• It brings together the Chief Statisticians from member states from around the world.
• The Commission consists of 24 member countries of the United Nations elected by the United Nations Economic and Social Council based on an equitable geographical distribution according to the following pattern:

1. Five members from African States
2. Four members from Asia-Pacific States
3. Four members from Eastern European States
4. Four members from Latin American and Caribbean States
5. Seven members from Western European and other States

• India was a member of the Statistical Commission last in 2004 and the country is returning to the UN agency after a gap of two decades.

South Africa moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ), for an urgent order declaring that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention

• The term ‘genocide’ is often loosely used when speaking of attacks against various communities across the world.
• It has been defined using set criteria in the UN’s Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, moved in the General Assembly in 1948.
• It says, “In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
• Killing members of the group;
• Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
• Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
• Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
• Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
• As per this convention the genocide is a crime whether committed during wartime or peacetime.
• India ratified the convention in 1959; there is no legislation on the subject.

Also Read: Weekly Current Affairs (Science & Technology) 25 Nov - 02 Dec 2023 Bitbank: Which country will jointly launch the Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite with India?

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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
The Kármán line lacks a specific national demarcation, resembling the concept of international waters

• Located at 100 km (62 miles) above sea level, it is an imaginary line that demarcates the earth’s atmosphere from space.
• It was established in the 1960s by a record-keeping body called the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).It was named after aerospace pioneer Theodore von Kármán.
• Though not all scientists and spacefarers accept it (for example, the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, and the U.S. military place the line between outer space and the atmosphere at 80 km (50 miles) above the Earth’s surface) , a majority of countries and space organisations recognise this boundary between earthsky and space.
• It is based on physical reality in the sense that it roughly marks the altitude where traditional aircraft can no longer effectively fly.
• Anything traveling above the Kármán line needs a propulsion system that doesn’t rely on lift generated by Earth’s atmosphere—the air is simply too thin that high up.
• In other words, the Kármán line is where the physical laws governing a craft’s ability to fly shift.Anyone who crosses this line qualifies as an astronaut.

SPORTS
Australian batter David Warner announces retirement from One Day International cricket

• Australian batter David Warner has announced his retirement from One Day Internationals (ODIs). The 2 time ODI World Cup Winner had previously announced that he would be ending his Test career after Australia's upcoming Test against Pakistan. However, the opener has said that he will keep himself available for selection in the Champions Trophy in 2025.
• Warner is Australia's sixth-highest run scorer in the ODI format and is only second to former captain Ricky Ponting's tally for most Centuries for Australia in ODIs.

Published date : 05 Jan 2024 11:55AM