Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 10th October 2022

Deaths In Gambia By India-Made Syrups:

The World Health Organisation (WHO) issued an alert about four Indian-manufactured cough syrups, which are said to be linked to acute kidney injury in children and 66 deaths in the small West African nation of The Gambia.

• The WHO analysis of samples of each of these products had confirmed the presence of “unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants”.
• These ingredients are not allowed in food or drugs, as they can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, headache, severe renal injury and neurological toxicity.
• The company said these were not sold in India and are only for export markets already approved by the DGCI.

Sustainable Finance:

A Committee on Sustainable Finance, constituted by International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) submitted its report on Sustainable Finance suggesting development of the carbon market among others.

• Sustainable finance is defined as investment decisions that take into account the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors of an economic activity or project.
• Environmental factors include mitigation of the climate crisis or use of sustainable resources.
• Social factors include human and animal rights, as well as consumer protection and diverse hiring practices.
• Governance factors refer to the management, employee relations, and compensation practices of both public and private organizations

E-Rupee:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon commence pilot launches of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), referred to as Digital Rupee (e₹), for specific use cases.

• The RBI in its concept note detailed various aspects including the technological measures to operationalise its electronic currency, its underlying digital infrastructure and various technological options the central bank is exploring.

E-Rupee:

• e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment.
• It is a QR code or SMS string-based e-Voucher, which is delivered to the mobile of the beneficiaries.
• The users of this seamless one-time payment mechanism will be able to redeem the voucher without a card, digital payments app or internet banking access, at the service provider.
• It has been developed by National Payments Corporation of India on its UPI platform, in collaboration with the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and National Health Authority.

Nobel Peace Prize 2022:

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2022 has been awarded to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial, and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties.

• Ales Bialiatski, who is in jail since 2021, is a vocal critic of Putin’s ally, President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus. In 1995, Bialiatski founded the Belarus human rights group Viasna (Spring).
• He was first jailed in 2011 for evading taxes.
• He was released in 2014, before being arrested again in 2021 during mass public protests in Minsk against elections that opposition activists said had kept Lukashenko in power the previous year.
• Memorial group of Russia : It was established by human rights activists in the former Soviet Union during the Gorbachev years of glasnost and perestroika, and among its founders were 1975 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov and Russian mathematician Svetlana Gannushkina.
• Its objective was to record atrocities committed during the communist regime, especially under Joseph Stalin. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Memorial grew to become the largest human rights organisation in Russia.
• Center for Civil Liberties, Ukraine :It is a Ukrainian rights organisation that is documenting alleged war crimes by Russia in Ukraine.
• The Center was founded in Kyiv in 2007 with the aim of advancing human rights and democracy in Ukraine.

Credit Guarantee Scheme For Startups (CGSS):

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry has notified the establishment of the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS).

• CGSS is aimed at providing credit guarantee up to a specified limit against loans extended by Member Institutions (MIs) to finance eligible borrowers viz. Startups.
• This scheme would help provide collateral-free debt funding to startups
• The credit guarantee cover under the Scheme would be transaction-based and umbrella based.
• In transaction-based guarantee cover, the guarantee cover is obtained by the MIs on single eligible borrower basis. It will promote lending by Banks/ NBFCs to eligible startups.
• The umbrella-based guarantee cover will provide guarantee to Venture Debt Funds (VDF) registered under AIF regulations of SEBI.
• The exposure to individual cases would be capped at Rs. 10 crore per case or the actual outstanding credit amount, whichever is less.
• DPIIT will be constituting a Management Committee (MC) and a Risk Evaluation Committee (REC) for reviewing, supervising and operational oversight of the Scheme.
• The National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) will be operating the Scheme.

Weapon System Branch For Officers In The Indian Air Force (IAF):

The government has approved the creation of a Weapon System branch for officers in the Indian Air Force (IAF) which will bring all weapon systems operators of the force under one roof.

• This is the first time since Independence that a new operational branch is being created.
• The IAF also unveiled a new digital camouflage uniform for its rank and file.
• Creation of the new branch would entail unification of all weapon system operators under one entity dedicated to the operational employment of all ground-based and specialist airborne weapon systems.
• This will essentially be for manning of four specialised streams of Surface to Surface missiles, Surface to Air Missiles, Remotely Piloted Aircraft and weapon system operators in twin and multi crew aircraft.
• Creation of this branch would result in savings of over ₹3,400 crore due to reduced expenditure on flying training.

Modhera : First Solar-Powered Village

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be declaring Modhera in Gujarat as a 24 x 7 solar-powered village 

• Modhera will be India’s first village to become a net renewable energy generator.
• It will be the first modern village to have a solar-based ultra-modern electric vehicle charging station.
• It is India’s first grid-connected megawatt-hours (MWh) scale battery energy storage system.
• People in Modhera would be saving 60% to 100 % on electricity bills.
• The heritage lighting and 3-D projection at the Sun Temple would operate on solar energy.
• The 3-D projection will inform visitors about the history of Modhera.

Indian Air Force Day:

Indian Air Force Day is celebrated on October 8 every year.

• The day aims to pay a tribute to the Air Force of India and acknowledge their contribution for a successful nation.
• As a part of the 90th anniversary celebration, nearly 80 military aircraft and helicopters participated in the Air Force Day fly-past on October 8 at the Sukhna Lake complex, Chandigarh.
• It is for the first time that the IAF decided to hold its annual Air Force Day parade and fly-past outside the Delhi NCR.
• On October 8, 1932, the former British Empire established the IAF.
• It was created to support the British Royal Air Force, particularly against Japan in World War II.
• The IAF was used to attack Japanese bases in Burma in order to stop the Japanese army’s advance toward India.
• King George VI gave the IAF’s accomplishments the prefix “Royal” in 1945.
• This honorific title was dropped in 1950, when India became a republic.

National Mobile Monitoring System:

The usage of the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) is 50% or less in many states even after the Union government’s order making it mandatory to record attendance of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

• National Mobile Monitoring Software (NMMS) App was launched by the Minister of Rural Development on May, 21 2021.
• This app is aimed at bringing more transparency and ensure proper monitoring of the schemes.
• The NMMS App permits taking real time attendance of workers at Mahatma Gandhi NREGA worksites along with geo-tagged photograph.
• The app helps in increasing citizen oversight of the programme.
• The National Mobile Monitoring App is applicable for the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA workers for all the States/ Union Territories.