Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 28th March 2023

New Development Bank : Dilma Roussef As New Head

Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has been “unanimously elected” as the head of the New Development Bank (NDB) recently.

• NDB was formed to support infrastructure and sustainable development efforts in BRICS and other underserved, emerging economies for faster development through innovation and cutting-edge technology.
• It is headquartered in Shanghai, China.
• The NDB President is elected on a rotational basis from one of the founding members.
• K. V. Kamath, from India, is the first elected president of the NDB.

Finance Bill 2023:

The Finance Bill 2023 was approved with amendments.

• The Lok Sabha passed Finance Bill, 2023 including the setting up of the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT)

Key Highlights of the bill:-

• The withholding tax rate on royalties and fees for technical services paid to non-residents has been raised from 10% to 20%This may increase the cost of import of technology.
• Options contracts will now attract 0.021% STT from 0.017% earlier and futures will attract a levy of 0.0125%, up from 0.01%
• The Finance Bill has paved the way for setting up GST Appellate Tribunals across the country, with a principal bench in New Delhi and several State benches.
• The Tribunal will be headed by a former Supreme Court judge or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court.
• The stock market has seen an increase in Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on futures and options contracts from April 1, 2023.
• It is to discourage excessive trade in F&O.

Finance Bill:

• It means the Bill ordinarily introduced each year to give effect to the financial proposals of the Government of India.
• It contains some provisions related to taxation and expenditure and additionally contains provisions related to any other matter

Launch Vehicle Mark- 3 (LVM-3):

ISRO’s heaviest payload rocket, GSLV-Mk3/LVM3 carrying 36 OneWeb satellites onboard took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota, under the OneWeb India-1 mission.

OneWeb India-1 mission:

• It is a Network Access Associates Limited, UK (Bharti-backed OneWeb Group Company) and the NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) joint mission to launch 72 satellites to Low-Earth Orbits (LEO).
• In its second mission, LVM3 placed 36 OneWeb Gen-1 satellites totalling about 5,805 kg recently.
• It will open the door for India to advance toward gaining access to LEO connectivity and the spread of space-based internet.

DNA Profiling Of Elephants : 30 Years Of Project Elephant

Announcing the 30-year celebration of ‘Project Elephant’ recently officials from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said that the DNA profiling of 270 of the 2,675 captive elephants in the country has been completed.

• The DNA profiling was started in August 2022 for Gaj Soochna Mobile Application for forest officials.
• DNA profiling is the process where a specific DNA pattern, called a profile, is obtained from a sample of bodily tissue.
• Project Elephant was launched in 1992 as a Centrally-Sponsored Scheme to protect elephants and improve their habitat and corridors, reduce Human-elephant conflict and ensure their welfare.
• Under this project, financial and technical support is given to wildlife management efforts by states for their free-ranging populations of wild Asian Elephants.
• Project elephant is mainly implemented in 16 States.
• Conservation status of Asian Elephant
  • IUCN: Endangered
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I.
  • CITES: Appendix I

Water And Heritage Shield Award:

A sacred Hopi site in Arizona was awarded the ICOMOS Water and Heritage Shield

• The purpose of the Shield is to help the public become aware of the significance of water and indigenous sacred sites all over the world and the right to cultural and historical memory.
• The Sípàapu is a rocky dome made of limestone as well as a spring located on the Little Colorado river, a tributary of Colorado.
• Little Colorado joins the main stem of the river within the Grand Canyon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The ancestors of the Hopi dwelled throughout the Grand Canyon before the 1250 Common Era.
• Little Colorado, especially the confluence, is sacred not only to the Hopi but also to other Native American groups such as the Navajo and Zuni.
• The Hopi consider the Sípàapu to be the place from where their ancestors emerged from another world into this one.

International Committee On Monuments and Sites:

• It is a global non-governmental organization associated with UNESCO
• Its mission is to promote the conservation, protection, use and enhancement of monuments, building complexes and sites.
• It is an Advisory Body of the World Heritage Committee for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention of UNESCO.

RoDTEP Scheme : Extended Export Benefits

The central government has extended export benefits under the RoDTEP scheme to 18 items related to the textiles sector, including saari and lungi, intending to boost shipments of these goods.

• The RoDTEP scheme would refund to exporters the embedded central, state and local duties or taxes that were so far not been rebated or refunded.
• It was launched in January 2021 as a replacement for the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS).
• Under this scheme, a rebate will have to be claimed as a percentage of the Freight On Board value of exports.
• Rebates will be issued in the form of a transferable duty credit/ electronic scrip (e-scrip) which will be maintained in an electronic ledger by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
• Freight on Board is also called Free on Board (FOB) is a term used to indicate who is liable for goods damaged or destroyed during shipping.

Planetary Parade Or Alignment:

Five planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus will align in the sky which is often called a planetary parade or alignment, and will be visible to the naked eye.

• The best viewing time is on March 28th 2023, shortly after the sun sets below the horizon.
• Venus will be the most visible planet, followed by Mars with its special orange hue.
• Uranus will be near Venus but difficult to detect without proper equipment, while Mercury and Jupiter will appear at the bottom.
• The last time these five planets aligned was in 2004.
• The alignment is often referred to as a planetary parade and can be seen in the nighttime sky.
• Experts have pointed out that the visibility of certain planets in the alignment depends on certain conditions, such as light pollution and the location of the viewer.
• A similar alignment occurred in June 2022, where five planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn – aligned.
• This lineup will not occur again until 2040.

National Rabies Control Programme (NRCP):

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the National Rabies Control Programme (NRCP) for prevention and control of Rabies.

• Objectives of NRCP :
  • Provision of rabies vaccine & rabies immunoglobulin through national free drug initiatives;
  • Training on appropriate animal bite management, prevention and control of rabies, surveillance and intersectoral coordination;
  • Strengthening surveillance of animal bites and rabies deaths reporting;
  • Creating awareness about rabies prevention.

Rabies:

• Rabies is a vaccine-preventable, zoonotic, viral disease.
• It is caused by a Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) virus that is present in the saliva of a rabid animal (dog, cat, monkey, etc).
• It is invariably transmitted following a bite of an infected animal that leads to deposition of the saliva and the virus in the wound.
• Once clinical symptoms appear, rabies is virtually 100% fatal. The death invariably occurs in four days to two weeks due to cardio-respiratory failure.
• In up to 99% of cases, domestic dogs are responsible for rabies virus transmission to humans.
• The incubation period varies from 2–3 months but may vary from 1 week to 1 year, or rarely even more.
• Symptoms:
  • The first symptoms of rabies may be similar to flu and may last for a few days, which includes:
    • Fever, Headache, Nausea, Vomiting, Anxiety, Confusion, Hyperactivity, Difficulty swallowing, Excessive salivation, Hallucinations, Insomnia.
• Treatment:
  • Rabies can be prevented by vaccinating pets, staying away from wildlife, and seeking medical care after potential exposures before symptoms start.

IMF Bailouts:

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently confirmed a USD 3 billion bailout plan (under Extended Fund Facility (EFF)) for Sri Lanka’s struggling economy.

• Bailout is a general term for extending financial support to a company or a country facing a potential bankruptcy threat.
• It can take the form of loans, cash, bonds, or stock purchases.
• A bailout may or may not require reimbursement and is often accompanied by greater government oversee and regulations.
• When a country borrows from the IMF, the government agrees to adjust its economic policies to overcome the problems that led it to seek financial assistance.
• These policy adjustments are conditions for IMF loans and help to ensure that the country adopts strong and effective policies,
• For instance in the case of Sri Lanka and Pakistan, both countries have witnessed domestic prices rise rapidly and the exchange value of their currencies drop steeply against the U.S. dollar.
• A rapid, unpredictable fall in the value of a currency can destroy confidence in said currency and affect economic activity as people may turn hesitant to accept the currency in exchange for goods and services.
• In the case of Sri Lanka, a decrease in foreign tourists visiting the country led to a steep fall in the flow of U.S. dollars into the nation.

IMF:

• IMF was set up in 1945 out of the Bretton Woods conference.
• It is governed by and accountable to the 190 countries that make up its near-global membership.
• Headquartered in Washington, D.C.
• India became a member in December 1945.

Women’s World Boxing Championship:

Nikhat Zareen (2nd world title) and Lovlina Borgohain (1st world title) won two gold medals for India in the Women’s World Boxing Championship.

• Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain made gold for India at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi.
• While Nikhat Zareen won the gold in the 50kg category, Lovlina Borgohain clinched the yellow metal in the 75kg category.
• Nikhat Zareen registered a 5-0 victory in the final bout against Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Tam to claim India’s third gold in the tournament before Lovlina Borgohain won the summit clash against Australia’s Caitlin Parker with a split 5-2 verdict.
• The Women’s World Boxing Championship was organised by the International Boxing Association (IBA).
• The mission of IBA is to promote, support and govern the sport of boxing worldwide in accordance with the requirements and spirit of the Olympic Charter.
• The Olympic Charter is the codification of the fundamental principles of Olympism, and the rules and bye-laws (a set of rules or laws established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself) adopted by the International Olympic Committee.