Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 28th November 2022

Ikshak: The Survey Vessel (Large) ships

Indian Navy launched ‘Ikshak’, the third of the four survey vessels (Large) project at Kattupalli in Tamil Nadu

• The ship, named ‘Ikshak’ which means ‘Guide’, is being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) and Larson and Toubro (L&T).
• The ship’s name honours the role that Survey ships have played in ensuring the safety of mariners when at sea.
• The first of class ship ‘Sandhayak’ was launched on December 5, 2021 at GRSE, Kolkata. SVL ships will replace the existing Sandhayak Class survey ships with new generation hydrographic equipment to collect oceanographic data.
• The Survey Vessel (Large) ships are 110 m long, and 16 m wide with a deep displacement of 3400 tons and a complement of 231 personnel.
• The ship’s propulsion system consists of two main engines with twin shafts, each capable of a maximum speed of 18 knots and a cruise speed of 14 knots.

AUSTRA HIND 22 : Bilateral Training Exercise

The bilateral training exercise “AUSTRA HIND 22” between contingents of the Indian Army and the Australian Army is scheduled to take place at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges (Rajasthan).

• Aim of the exercise is to build positive military relations, imbibe each other’s best practices and promote the ability to operate together while undertaking multi-domain operations in Semi deserts terrain under a UN peace enforcement mandate.
• This is the first exercise in the series of AUSTRA HIND with participation of all arms and services contingent from both armies.
• AUSTRA HIND” will be a yearly event that will be conducted alternatively in India and Australia.
• The joint exercise, besides promoting understanding and interoperability between the two armies, will further help in strengthening ties between India and Australia.

UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards For Cultural Heritage Conservation 2022:

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) was recently conferred with the ‘Award of Excellence’ at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation-2022.

• The UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation is supported by a partnership between UNESCO and Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation since 2021.
• UNESCO introduced the new category, ‘Special Recognition for Sustainable Development’, in 2020, together with an updated set of Awards Criteria to acknowledge the role and contribution of cultural heritage to sustainable development within the broader framework of the UN 2030 Agenda.
• Since 2000, the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation programme has been recognizing the efforts of private individuals and organizations in restoring, conserving, and transforming structures and buildings of heritage value in the region.

Awarded projects comprises:

Award of Excellence

• Chhtrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum, Mumbai, India

Award of Distinction

• Stepwells of Golconda, Hyderabad, India
• Zarch Qanat, Yazd, Iran
• Neilson Hays Library, Bangkok, Thailand

Award of Merit

• Topdara Stupa, Charikar, Afghanistan
• Nantian Buddhist Temple, Fujian, China
• Domakonda Fort, Telangana, India
• Byculla Station, Mumbai, India
• Sadoughi House, Yazd, Iran
• 25 Chivas in Kathmandu, Nepal

Special Recognition for Sustainable Development

• West Guizhou Lilong Neighborhood, Shanghai, China

Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts

• M30 Integrated Infrastructure for Power Supply and Waste Collection, Macao SAR, China
• Xiaoxihu Block, Nanjing, China

Fourth Edition Of Indo Pacific Regional Dialogue:

The fourth edition of Indo Pacific Regional Dialogue concluded in Delhi.

• Indo Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) is an apex level international annual conference of the Indian Navy.
  In 2018, the initial conception of an IPRD was made.
• The event has been hosted annually since its initial year in 2018.
• The National Maritime Foundation (NMF) is the Navy’s knowledge partner and chief organizer of each edition of the event.
• Theme for 2022: Operationalising the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative
• The IPRD reviews the current geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific region and identifies opportunities, dangers, and problems that might be present.
• IPRD remains crucial to its interests because one of the main goals of the NMF is to conduct analyses of international relations and geopolitical factors that are important to India strategically,

Times Higher Education Global Employability University Ranking And Survey (GEURS):

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi was ranked among the top 50 in the Global University Employability Rankings by Times Higher Education (THE).

• The Global Employability University Ranking and Survey (GEURS) reveals the top 250 universities in the world that are producing employable graduates as per the recruiters.
• This report is produced and owned by the HR consultancy Emerging.
• It is exclusively published by the Times Higher Education (THE).

Key findings of the 2022 GEURES:

• At the global level, a total of 44 countries featured in the list.
• In the recently released edition, India is in the 13th position in terms of the number of institutions. It is ahead of countries like Sweden, Hong Kong, Italy and Singapore.
• Among the Indian educational institutions, IIT Delhi is the only one to feature among the top 50 in the GEURS.
• The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, at the 58th rank, is the second-best performer in India. It has improved its ranking by three spots. It is followed by IIT Bombay at 72nd position, a raise from the 97th rank in 2021.
• Five Indian institutions are among the top 200 and a total of seven are in the top 250.
• Except for IIT Delhi, the remaining institutions improved their rankings, with the IIT Bombay climbing 25 positions.
• IIM-Ahmedabad (154) improved its ranking by 8 places and IIT Kharagpur (155) improved its ranking by 15 positions.

Anwar Ibrahim : Malaysia’s New Prime Minister

Anwar Ibrahim was appointed as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia by King Sultan Abdullah.

• His appointment concludes the five-day political impasse caused after no party managed to secure a majority to form the government for the first time since the independence in 1957.
• Anwar Ibrahim is a veteran politician in Malaysia who started his political career as a student activist.
• He founded the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM) in 1971.
• In the early days of his political career, Ibrahim led protests against rural poverty and other socio-economic challenges afflicting the country.
• He later joined the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party and became the finance minister.

FIRSTAP : India’s First Sticker-Based Debit Card

IDFC First Bank, in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), recently launched FIRSTAP – India’s first sticker-based debit card. The IDFC FIRST Bank was established following the merger of the erstwhile IDFC Bank

• A sticker-based debit card allows the user to make transactions by simply tapping the sticker on near-field communication (NFC)-enabled point-of sale terminal.
• It can be used to tap and pay in stores, restaurants and other places without the need to carry a debit card.
• The FIRSTAP was launched by the IDFC First Bank in line with its customer-centric philosophy.
• It is one-third the size of a regular debit card.
• It can be stuck on any surface of the customer’s choice, like cell phones, identity cards, wallets, tabs, airpod cases etc.
• It can be stuck on wearable devices like watches and rings as well.
• It enables transactions up to Rs.5,000 without a PIN and those beyond that requires the entry of PIN.
• This sticker debit card comes with a complementary personal accidental cover and 24/7 concierge services.
• It also includes several RuPay offers.

Initiatives Under The e-court Project:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched various initiatives under the e-court project on Constitution Day, 26th November 2022.

Constitution Day:

• It is celebrated on 26th November every year.
• It is also known as National Law Day.
• On this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India formally adopted the Constitution of India that came into force on 26th January 1950.
• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on 19th November 2015, notified the decision of the Government of India to celebrate 26 November as ‘Constitution Day’.

Initiatives:

Virtual Justice Clock:

• It is an initiative to exhibit vital statistics of the justice delivery system at the Court level giving the details of the cases instituted, cases disposed and pendency of cases on day/week/month basis at the Court level.
• The effort is to make the functioning of the courts accountable and transparent by sharing with the public the status of case disposals by the court.
• Public can access the Virtual Justice Clock of any court establishment on the District Court’s website.

JustIS Mobile App 2.0:

• It is a tool available to judicial officers for effective court and case management by monitoring pendency and disposal of not only his court but also for individual judges working under them.
• This App is also made available to High Court and Supreme Court Judges who can now monitor pendency and disposal of all the States and Districts under their jurisdiction.

Digital Court:

• It is an initiative to make the court records available to the judge in digitised form to enable the transition to Paperless Courts.

S3WaaS Websites:

• It is a framework to generate, configure, deploy and manage websites for publishing specified information and services related to district judiciary.
• S3WaaS is a cloud service developed for government entities to generate Secure, Scalable & Sugamya (Accessible) websites.
• It is multilingual, citizen friendly and disability friendly.