5th September, 2023 Current Affairs

Sakshi Education

NATIONAL
About The Pradhan Mantri Dakshata Aur KushalataSampannaHitgrahi (PM-DAKSH) Yojana

The Pradhan Mantri Dakshata Aur KushalataSampannaHitgrahi (PM-DAKSH) Yojana, a Central Sector Scheme, was launched during 2020-21. The main objective of the Scheme is to enhance competency level of the target groups to make them employable both in self- employment and wage-employment for their socio-economic development.
The target group under this scheme are SCs, OBCs, EBCs, DNTs Safai Karamcharis including waste pickers etc. The age criterion of scheme between 18-45 years and income criteria is no income limit for SCs, SafaiKaramcharis Including wastepicker and DNT. The annual family income should be below Rs.3 lakhfor OBCs and the EBCs (Economically Backward Classes) annual family income below Rs.1 lakh.

IREDA and IIFCL team up to finance renewable energy projects

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL), to finance renewable energy projects.
The MoU will empower IREDA and IIFCL to engage in Co-Lending / Co-Origination and Loan Syndication for all categories of Renewable Energy projects, including Small Hydro projects. Both organisations will strive to also fix interest rates for IREDA borrowings for a period of three to four years. Further, IIFCL may invest in the bonds issued by IREDA, as per the terms and conditions of the issue.
IREDA established a specialised Business Development and Consultancy division two years ago to meet the growing demand in the RE sector. In the past, IREDA has signed MoUs with other central and state agencies. This MoU will enable a synergy of green financing expertise of IREDA and Infra financing expertise of IIFCL.
Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) is a PSU under the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) and India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) is a wholly-owned Government of India company set up in 2006 to provide long-term financial assistance to viable infrastructure projects.

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INTERNATIONAL
EU Chief warns return of wolves to Europe a 'real danger' for humans

European Union (EU) Chief Ursula von der Leyen has warned that the return of wolves to parts of Europe has become a real danger for livestock and potentially also for humans. She has promised a review of the predator’s protected status. Wolves had once been hunted almost to extinction in Europe, but in the 1950 countries began granting them protected status. Now populations are growing in several regions.
Ms von der Leyen urged local communities, scientists, and officials to submit data on wolf numbers and their impact to a European Commission email address by the 22nd of September. Using this information, the commission will then decide how to modify wolf protection laws to introduce, where necessary, further flexibility.
Conservationists, however, have hailed the return of healthier wolf populations to Europe’s mountains and forests, seeing the large predator as part of the natural food chain. Under the EU Habitat Directive, first adopted in 1992, the wolf enjoys protected status.

Gabon's military leader Brice Oligui Nguema sworn in as interim President

Brice Oligui Nguema, the leader of Gabon's military junta, has been sworn in as the nation's interim President. This comes after military officers led by Gabonese General Nguema seized power of the Central African nation last week, ousting Gabon President Ali Bongo, minutes after he was named winner of a disputed election.
The coup ended a 56-year hold on power by the Bongo family after the election result was annulled by the military who said it was not credible. Ali Bongo's father, Omar, was in power for 41 years before he died in 2009 and was succeeded by his son.
Gabon is the sixth Francophone country to fall under military rule in the last three years as former colonial power France struggles to maintain its influence on the continent. Gabon has been suspended from the African Union following the coup, which has been condemned by the United Nations and France.

ECONOMY
Morgan Stanley raises India GDP forecast after Q1 data ‘surprises positively’

In light of a positive surprise in the April-June quarter data, Morgan Stanley, the multinational investment bank, has revised its economic growth forecast for India for the fiscal year 2024. The bank has raised its projection from an earlier estimate of 6.2 percent to a more optimistic 6.4 percent. This upward revision is attributed to the strong performance of the Indian economy, driven primarily by robust domestic demand.
In light of a positive surprise in the April-June quarter data, Morgan Stanley, the multinational investment bank, has revised its economic growth forecast for India for the fiscal year 2024. The bank has raised its projection from an earlier estimate of 6.2 percent to a more optimistic 6.4 percent. This upward revision is attributed to the strong performance of the Indian economy, driven primarily by robust domestic demand.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
ISRO successfully performs second earth-bound orbit raising manoeuvre of its solar mission Aditya L1

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said that Aditya L1, the country's first solar mission, successfully performed the second Earth-bound manoeuvre.
The space agency's Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) carried out the operation.The spacecraft moving to L1 point has now moved from its previous orbit of 282 by 40,225 kms to 245 by 22,459 kms around Earth. The satellite will undergo four Earth-bound orbital manoeuvres before placing in the transfer orbit towards the Lagrange point L1 in 125 days.
The third Earth-bound manoeuvre is scheduled on 10th September at 2.30 am. Aditya L1 mission will provide information on Solar corona and conduct in-situ observations of the solar wind at L1 point which is about 1.5 million kilometres away from Earth. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C57 had successfully launched Aditya L1 spacecraft on 2nd September.

Scientists fabricated optically active flexible biodegradable polymer-nanocomposite films

Researchers have fabricated an optically active biodegradable nanocomposite film with excellent mechanical properties that can be used as a stretchable optical devices like flexible display, flexible organic LED, etc.
Polymers have become an indispensable part of our daily life. However, different engineering applications demand highly flexible and optically active polymers. In this regard, numerous methodologies have been adopted to improve the properties of polymeric materials by using suitable nanomaterials. The nanomaterials are known to enhance the properties of the polymers keeping the inherent properties of the polymers intact. Scientists have reported that polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is one of the most widely studied synthetic biodegradable polymers having good film-forming and excellent mechanical properties. Moreover, its optical and mechanical properties can be tuned by incorporating suitable nanomaterials.
A research group from physical sciences division of the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), Guwahati, an autonomous institute of North-East India under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), fabricated a biodegradable PVA-CuO nanocomposite film using a facile solution casting technique, where Cu salt used as a precursor for the in-situ CuO nanoparticles formation under different heat treatment.
This research group is led by Dr. Sarathi Kundu, Associate Professor, along with Mr. Saiyad Akhirul Ali, working as a Junior Research Fellow (JRF). Their tests have proved superior optical, mechanical, and antimicrobial properties of the nanocomposite films under different heat treatments. The formation of the CuO nanoparticles inside the polymer matrix under heat treatment is confirmed by different spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The evaluation of mechanical properties validated the formation of a highly flexible and robust nanocomposite film with tensile strength as high as 39 MPa and flexibility of 169% with copper chloride loading.
The PVA-CuO nanocomposite film fabricated by the simple solution casting technique followed by the heat treatment method recently published in the journal of Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, can be used as a stretchable optical device.

Published date : 06 Sep 2023 11:19AM