Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 29th October 2024

Tardigrades:

A team of researchers has identified the genetic mechanisms that help a newly discovered species of tardigrades (Hypsibius henanensis) withstand high levels of radiation.

• These are known as water bears or moss piglets, tardigrades have long fascinated scientists as they can withstand extreme conditions.
• They are free-living tiny invertebrates belonging to the phylum Tardigrada.
• Around 1,300 species of tardigrades are found worldwide.
• They are considered aquaticbecause they require a thin layer of water around their bodies to prevent dehydration, they’ve also been observed in all kinds of environments, from the deep sea to sand dunes.
• Freshwater mosses and lichens are their preferred habitat, hence their nickname, moss piglet.
• Researchers found three factors that help this species survive radiation.
• It has ability to quickly repair double-strand breaks in DNA due to radiation exposure, by using a protein called TRID1.
• The second factor involved a gene that was switched on during exposure to radiation, resulting in the generation of two proteins that are known to be important for mitochondrial synthesis of ATP—in tardigrades, it appears they also help with DNA repair.
• It has ability to minimize damage from radiation by producing a large number of proteins that serve as effective antioxidants—they clear out free radicals before they can cause problems in the creature’s cells.
• The findings could one day be harnessed to help protect astronauts from radiation during space missions, clean up nuclear pollution or improve cancer treatment, according to a report in Nature.

200th anniversary of Kittur Vijayotsava:

On the 200th anniversary of Kittur Vijayotsava a commemorative Postage stamp was released at the historic Kittur Rani Channamma Stage, Kittur Fort Premises.

• She was born in Kakati, a small village in today’s Belagavi district of Karnataka.
• She became queen of Kitturu (now in Karnataka) when she married Raja Mallasarja of the Desai family.
• After Mallasarja’s death in 1816, his eldest son, Shivalingarudra Sarja, ascended the throne.
• Before his death in 1824, Shivalingarudra adopted a child, Shivalingappa, as the successor.
• However, the British East India Company refused to recognise Shivalingappa as the successor of the kingdom under the ‘doctrine of lapse’.
  Kittur Rebellion:
  • John Thackery, the British official at Dharwad, launched an attack on Kittur in October 1824.
  • In this first battle British forces lost heavily and the Collector and political agent, St. John Thackeray was killed by the Kitturu forces.
  • Two British officers, Sir Walter Elliot and Mr. Stevenson, were also taken as hostages.
  • However, the British army again attacked the Kittur Fort and captured it.
  • Rani Chennamma and her family were imprisoned and jailed at the fort in Bailhongal, where she died in 1829.

Nature Conservation Index:

India with an abysmal score of 45.5 (out of 100) has been ranked 176th in the Global Nature Conservation Index, 2024.

• India’s rank at the bottom is mainly attributed to inefficient land management and rising threats to its biodiversity.
• The assessment highlighted multiple threats to India’s biodiversity, including habitat loss and fragmentation caused by agriculture, urbanisation and infrastructural development, with climate change posing an additional risk.
• The top-ranking countries were Luxembourg, Estonia, and Denmark, with others including Zimbabwe and Costa Rica finding their way into the top 10.

Sohrai Painting : PM Gift To Russian President

Prime Minister of India gifted Sohrai painting to Russian President during the recently held BRICS summit in Kazan.

• Sohrai Painting is an indigenous mural art form.
• It is also interesting to note that the word ‘Sohrai’ comes from soro – translating to ‘to drive with a stick’.
• This art form dates back to the Meso-chalcolithic period (9000-5000 BC).
• The Isko rock shelter excavated in Barkagaon, Hazaribagh area also has rock paintings that are exactly similar to the traditional Sohrai paintings.
• It is usually based on natural elements of the universe, this includes forests, rivers, animals amongst others.
• These ancient paintings are made by tribal (Adivasi) women with the use of natural substances like charcoal, clay, or soil.
• The very primitive form of Sohrai art was in the form of cave paintings.
• It is practiced by indigenous communities, particularly in the States of Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal.
• It is the art of the women of the Kurmi, Santal, Munda, Oraon, Agaria, Ghatwal tribes.
• The region of Hazaribagh in Jharkhand that has received the GI tag for this art form.
• Sohrai paintings are distinctive for their vibrant colours, intricate patterns, and symbolic motifs;
• There is a Sohrai festival held every year, marking the harvesting season and the arrival of winter.

Lord’s Resistance Army:

A court in Uganda has sentenced Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commander Thomas Kwoyelo to 40 years in prison after a landmark war crimes trial over his role in the group’s two-decade reign of violence.

• Lord’s Resistance Army is a Ugandan rebel group currently operating in the border region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR), and South Sudan.
• It was established by Joseph Kony in 1988 with the claim of restoring the honor of his ethnic Acholi people and to install a government based on his personal version of the Ten Commandments.
• It has been one of central Africa’s cruelest and most enduring armed groups over the past 30 years.
• The LRA has abducted over 67,000 youth, including 30,000 children, for use as child soldiers, sex slaves, and porters, and has brutalized communities since its inception in 1987.
• It was designated as a terrorist group by the United States and prompted the first ever set of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the LRA’s leader, Joseph Kony, and other top commanders.
• The group draws income from elephant ivory, gold, and diamonds and has received support from the Government of Sudan since 1994.

DF-26 Missile:

China’s stockpile of DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) has grown substantially, with new satellite imagery capturing nearly 60 new launchers at a prominent Beijing-based production site.

• DF-26 (Dong Feng-26) is a Chinese intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).
• It possesses the capability to strike both land-based and maritime targets.
• The missile measures 14 m long, 1.4 m in diameter, and has a launch weight of 20,000 kg.
• Propulsion: Two-stage solid propellant
• It is capable of reaching targets at a range of approximately 3,000-4,000 kilometers (1,860-2,485 miles).
• The DF-26 comes with a ‘modular design,’ meaning that the launch vehicle can accommodate two types of nuclear warheads and several types of conventional warheads.
• It is known for its advanced guidance systems, including the ability to adjust its trajectory during flight, making it highly maneuverable.
• The DF-26 missile is recognized for its anti-ship variant, commonly referred to as the DF-26B.
• This variant is specifically designed to target naval vessels, including aircraft carriers.

China’s Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory:

After years of construction, China’s Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is set to begin data collection on neutrinos. This cutting-edge particle physics experiment aims to greatly enhance our understanding of the subatomic particles.

• JUNO will observe solar neutrinos for a real-time view of solar processes and study neutrinos from uranium and thorium decay within Earth to gain insights into mantle convection and tectonic plate movement.
• Set to become operational in late 2025, JUNO will start ahead of the US Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), scheduled around 2030.
• International Collaboration: JUNO’s research team includes scientists from the US, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Taiwan, demonstrating extensive international cooperation.
• Future Applications of Neutrino Research: While direct applications for neutrinos remain distant, researchers speculate about potential communication uses, such as transmitting long-distance messages through solid matter at near-light speed.
• Neutrinos are subatomic particles that have no electric charge, have a small mass, and are left-handed (the direction of its spin is opposite to the direction of its motion).
• They are the most abundant massive particles in the universe. They are produced whenever atomic nuclei combine (as in the sun) or split apart (as in a fission reactor or particle accelerator).
• The only ways neutrinos interact is through gravity and the weak nuclear force.
• They can change from one type (electron-neutrino, muon-neutrino, tau-neutrino) to another as they travel and interact with other particles, a phenomenon sometimes called neutrino oscillation.
• Neutrinos can carry information across large distances due to their low interaction rate with matter.
• They could potentially be used to transmit information, replacing electromagnetic waves in communication channels.

Dinosaur Fossil Park and Museum:

Gujarat’s Dinosaur Fossil Park and Museum in Balasinor, an iconic site is currently under consideration for a UNESCO geo-heritage tag. The park faces neglect in maintenance and management, impacting both visitor experience and the conservation of fossils.

• Dinosaur Fossil Park and Museum is Located in Raiyoli, Balasinor, Gujarat, known for Late Cretaceous fossils of dinosaurs like Rajasaurus narmadensis.
• Uncovered in the 1980s by GSI geologists, it ranks as one of the world’s largest dinosaur egg hatcheries.
• Faces neglect with overgrown vegetation, broken displays, and frequent power outages.
• A nearby irrigation project poses risks to the fossil-rich area.
• Features like 3D mapping and VR tours but is affected by structural issues and funding delays.
• The Fossil Park Society coordinates upkeep efforts, and Nawabzadi Aaliya Sultana Babi, known as the “Dinosaur Princess,” advocates for its preservation.

Indo-Tibetan Border Police:

The Prime Minister greeted the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Himveers and their families on the occasion of ITBP Raising day. ITBP is a Central Armed Police Force functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

• It was raised on 24th October, 1962 during the India-China War and is a border guarding police force specialising in high altitude operations.
• In 2004, based on the center’s “One Border One Force” recommendation, the entire 3,488 km India-China border from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh was assigned to the ITBP.
• The ITBP then took over border guarding duties from the Assam Rifles in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Motto: “Shaurya-Dridhata-Karma Nishtha”.
• Currently, it is posted in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.
• ITBP also conducts relief and rescue operations as ‘First Responders’ for natural calamities in the Himalayan region.

State Contingent Debt Instruments (SCDIs):

The Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR), which addresses challenges in debt restructuring processes, is set to discuss State Contingent Debt Instruments (SCDIs).

• SCDIs helps speed up debt restructuring by offering bonds with payouts contingent on countries meeting specific economic or fiscal targets.
• E.g., GDP-linked bonds issued by Ukraine that are tied to economic growth.
• They do not have a fixed interest rate.
• Payout structure varies depending on economic growth, natural resource revenue, or tax receipts.
• SCDIs act as “deal accelerators,” especially in cases where there are fundamental disagreements about a country’s economic outlook.
• GSDR, which is co-chaired by the IMF, World Bank, and the G20 Presidency (currently Brazil), started functioning in 2023.
• It comprises official bilateral creditors (both traditional creditors members of the Paris Club and new creditors), private creditors and borrowing countries.
• The Paris Club (1956) is an informal group of creditor countries that work together to support nations facing financial difficulties, chiefly those struggling to pay off debts.

PM Modi and Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez Jointly Inaugurate Tata Aircraft Complex in Vadodara, Gujarat:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Spain, Mr. Pedro Sanchez, jointly inaugurated the Tata Aircraft Complex for manufacturing C-295 military transport aircraft at the Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) campus in Vadodara, Gujarat. This project, a first-of-its-kind private sector Final Assembly Line (FAL) for military aircraft in India, marks a significant step forward in India’s journey towards indigenous defense production under the “Make in India, Make for the World” mission.

Shaktikanta Das Earns A+ in Central Bank Report Card 2024:

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has been awarded an A+ grade in the Central Bank Report Cards 2024, marking his second consecutive year of recognition. This accolade was presented by Global Finance during an event in Washington, D.C. The grades, ranging from “A+” to “F,” assess central banks on their effectiveness in critical areas such as inflation control, economic growth targets, currency stability, and interest rate management.

Drop in India’s Foreign Exchange Reserves:

India’s foreign exchange reserves decreased by $2.163 billion, bringing the total to $688.267 billion for the week ending October 18, as reported by the Reserve Bank of India. This decline follows a significant drop of $10.746 billion in the previous week, marking one of the largest reductions in reserves in recent times.

SBI for Solar Project Financing:

Solex Energy has partnered with the State Bank of India (SBI) to provide financing options for solar projects, targeting commercial, industrial, and institutional customers. Under this collaboration, SBI will offer loans up to ₹10 crore through its Surya Shakti Solar Finance Scheme, aiming to make solar energy more accessible and affordable in India.

Digital Memorial of Valour:

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) launched the ‘Digital Memorial of Valour’ in New Delhi, a heartfelt initiative dedicated to honoring the sacrifices of its brave personnel who laid down their lives in the line of duty. Launch Date: October 25, 2024

State Bank of India (SBI) has been recognized as the Best Bank in India for 2024:

State Bank of India (SBI) has been awarded the title of Best Bank in India for 2024 by Global Finance Magazine during its 31st Annual Best Bank Awards, held in Washington, coinciding with the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. SBI Chairman CS Setty accepted the award, highlighting the bank’s dedication to exceptional services and its role in promoting financial inclusion across the nation. This recognition underscores SBI’s long-standing commitment to winning customer trust and its pivotal role in the evolving Indian banking landscape.

Cyber-espionage group known as Salt Typhoon : In News

A cyber-espionage operation allegedly orchestrated by a Chinese hacking group known as “Salt Typhoon” has reportedly targeted the phone data of former President Donald Trump, his running mate JD Vance, and various Democratic figures, including staff from Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign. Sources indicate that investigators are assessing whether the hackers accessed or monitored any communications data through a sophisticated breach of telecom systems. The Trump campaign was informed about the breach earlier this week, highlighting the serious implications for national security amid a contentious election season