Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 27th April 2023

20th Anniversary Of SWAGAT Initiative:

PM Modi is to attend the 20th anniversary of SWAGAT initiative in Gujarat via video conferencing soon.

• State Wide Attention on Grievances by Application of Technology (SWAGAT) initiative of the Government of Gujarat was started in 2003.
• It is an innovative concept that enables direct communication between the citizens and the Chief Minister, as also between the citizens and other functionaries of the Government.
• The fourth Thursday of every month is designated as SWAGAT day, wherein the highest office in administration attends to the grievances of the common man.
• There is a three-tier grievance redressal system under SWAGAT – at State, District andTaluka levels.
• It is now extended to the village level also.
• Grievances submitted at the taluka and district levels are first resolved by the authorities at the respective levels and, thereafter, all pending grievances are reviewed by the Chief Minister himself.
• An applicant under SWAGAT is given a unique ID through which he/she can access the case details and status online.
• The focus in SWAGAT is primarily on the long pending issues.
• SWAGAT program up to the village level, named as GRAM SWAGAT, was launched on 1st February 2011.
• SWAGAT Online program going rural has helped the rural people living even in the remotest corner of the state to get their problems solved quickly.

2nd North Sea Summit:

Nine European countries have convened for a summit aimed at boosting the deployment of offshore wind turbines in the North Sea to make it the largest green energy centre in Europe.

• Summit held in Ostend, Belgium
• Participants :
  • 7 EU countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands
  • 2 non-EU countries: Norway, and the United Kingdom
• Objective is to Accelerate deployment of offshore wind turbines to make the North Sea the “largest green energy centre in Europe”
• Targets is 120 GW offshore wind energy capacity by 2030, and 300 GW by 2050
• The first summit in 2022 had Esbjerg Declaration (signed by Belgium, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands in 2022)
• The Netherlands and the United Kingdom announced a new interconnection to link a Dutch offshore wind farm to the UK

Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya And Sri Ramanujacharya Birth Anniversary:

Prime Minister has paid tributes to Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya and Sri Ramanujacharya on his birth anniversary and on his Jayanti.

Ramanujacharya:

Ramanujacharya, born in 1017 in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, is widely respected as a Vedic philosopher and social reformer.

• He is renowned for advocating social equality and justice, which was revolutionary for his time, and for his propagation of the Bhakti movement, which inspired other Bhakti schools of thought.
• He was instrumental in reviving the Vishishtadvaita subschool of Vedanta philosophy, which posits non-dualism of the qualified whole.
• Ramanujacharya wrote nine scriptures known as the navaratnas and composed numerous commentaries on Vedic scriptures, including the Vedanta Sutras and the Bhagavad-Gita.
• His teachings emphasized the need for harmony with nature and compassion, humility, equality, and mutual respect among all people.
• He advocated the concept of “vasudhaiva kutumbakam,” which translates to “all the universe is one family.”
• Ramanujacharya embraced the socially marginalized and condemned them and asked royal courts to treat them as equals.
• He liberated millions from social, cultural, gender, educational, and economic discrimination with his belief that every human is equal regardless of nationality, gender, race, caste, or creed.
• Because of his work to promote social equality, the 213-feet tall statue of Ramanujacharya in Hyderabad is known as the Statue of Equality.

Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya:

Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya, born in the 8th century AD in Kerala, is one of the most revered philosophers in Indian history.

• He is considered to be the founder of the Advaita Vedanta school of philosophy, which emphasizes the ultimate unity and oneness of all existence.
• Shankaracharya is credited with reviving Hinduism and restoring its philosophical and spiritual foundation.
• He was a prolific writer, composing commentaries on the Vedas, Upanishads, and other important texts.
• His most significant works include the commentary on the Brahma Sutras (Bhashya), Bhajagovinda Stotra, Nirvana Shatakam, and Prakaran Granths. Shankaracharya was also a social reformer and worked to eliminate caste-based discrimination and promote social equality

World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, And Societies:

The ‘World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and Societies’ was recently released by the World Bank.

• The World Development Report (WDR) is an annual report published since 1978 by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or World Bank.
• It provides an in-depth analysis of a specific aspect of economic development.

Highlights of the WDR 2023:

• The share of working-age adults will drop sharply in many (developed) countries over the next few decades.
• Spain, with a population of 47 million, is projected to shrink by more than one-third by 2100, with those above age 65 increasing from 20 to 39% of the population.
• Most low-income countries are expected to see rapid population growth, putting them under pressure to create more jobs for young people.
• The report introduces the “Match-Motive Framework,” a labour economics-based approach that emphasizes how well migrants’ skills and attributes match the needs of the destination countries.
• The framework also considers the reasons why migrants move in search of opportunity and determines the extent to which migrants, origin countries and destination countries gain from migration.
• The framework combines “match” and “motive” to determine policy priorities for countries of origin, transit, destination, and the global community.

World Malaria Day 2023: Theme

World Malaria Day is observed every year on 25th April.

• It was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2007 to raise awareness about malaria.
• The theme for World Malaria Day 2023 is “Time to deliver zero malaria: invest, innovate, implement”.
• Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite.
• This parasite is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
• Malaria is most common in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, including sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America.
• Symptoms:
  • Once inside the human body, the parasites multiply in the liver and then infect red blood cells, causing symptoms such as fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, and fatigue.
  • In severe cases, malaria can lead to organ failure, coma, and death.
• Vaccine:
  • Till now, no malaria vaccine has shown the benchmark efficacy of 75% set by WHO.
  • Still, WHO gave a go-ahead for the first malaria vaccine called RTS,S to be rolled out in high transmission African countries understanding the urgency of malaria control and prevention.
  • It has relatively low efficacy somewhere between 30-40%.

Pradhan Mantri Schools For Rising India (PM-SHRI) Scheme:

A total of 6,448 schools from 28 states and Union territories have been selected for upgradation under the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI) scheme.

• It is a Centrally Sponsored scheme announced in 2022.
• Objective is Development of more than 14500 schools across the country by strengthening selected existing schools being managed by Central Government/ State/ UT Government/ local bodies.
• The duration of the scheme is from 2022-23 to 2026-27, after which it shall be the responsibility of the States/UTs to continue to maintain the benchmarks achieved by these schools.
• The selected schools will act as exemplar schools showcasing all components of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) and offering mentorship to other schools in their vicinity.
• The PM SHRI Schools will be developed as Green Schools, incorporating environment-friendly aspects.
• The pedagogy adopted in these schools will be more experiential, holistic, integrated, play/toy-based (particularly in the foundational years), inquiry-driven, discovery-oriented, learner-centric, discussion-based, flexible and enjoyable.
• The focus will be on the learning outcomes of every child in every grade.
• Assessment at all levels will be based on conceptual understanding and application of knowledge to real-life situations and will be competency-based.
• Linkage with Sector Skill Councils and local industry for enhancing employability and providing better employment opportunities will be explored.
• A School Quality Assessment Framework (SQAF) is being developed, specifying the key performance indicators to measure outcomes.

T-14 Armata Battle Tanks:

Russia has recently begun using its new T-14 Armata battle tanks to fire on Ukrainian positions

• T-14 Armata battle tank is a new Russian Main Battle Tank (MBT).
• It is designed by the Russian Defense Company Uralvagonzavod.
• It has an unmanned turret, with crew remotely controlling the armaments from “an isolated armoured capsule located in the front of the hull.
• Maximum Speed: 75 km/h.
• The tank has a maximum range of 500 km on internal fuel.
• It is one of the most protected MBTs in the world. It has newly-developed composite base armour made of steel, ceramics and other materials.
• It is capable of firing gun-launched anti-tank guided missiles in the same manner as ordinary projectiles. These missiles have a range of about 5 km and can also target low-flying helicopters.

Taam Ja Blue Hole Discovered:

Scientists have discovered a massive blue hole off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

• It is a type of underwater sinkhole or vertical cave that is typically found in low-lying coastal karst platform regions.
• These are formed when limestone or other carbonate rock is dissolved by slightly acidic groundwater over a long period.
• Taam Ja Blue hole is around 900 feet deep and scientists have dubbed it the second-deepest blue hole found on the planet.
• It has a nearly circular shape at its surface with steep sides that form a large conic structure covered by biofilms, sediments, limestone, and gypsum ledges.
• It was found in the central portion of Chetumal Bay, where submerged coastal karstic sinkholes locally named ‘pozas’ have been reported.
• A series of discontinuous terraces were detected at water depths, near the eastern and north-western walls of the blue hole before developing steep and almost vertical slopes.
• There is variation in salinity and temperature inside the blue hole.
• Yucatan Peninsula is a Northeastern projection of Central America which is lying between the Gulf of Mexico to the west and north and the Caribbean Seato the east.
• The peninsula is almost wholly composed of beds of coralline and porous limestone rocks.

Bengaluru Experienced a Zero Shadow Day:

Bengaluru experienced a ‘Zero Shadow Day’, when vertical objects appear to cast no shadow.

• Zero Shadow Day is a sub-solar point where the sun is directly overhead at a particular latitude.
• When the sun is at the zenith (the highest point in the sky) its rays will be hitting a particular point exactly perpendicular to the surface.
• This will make the shadow of a person exactly under him, making it look like there are no shadow
• There are two zero shadow days every year in May and July/August, observed in places that lie between the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn.
• One falls during the Uttarayan (when the Sun moves northwards), and the other is during Dakshinayan (when the Sun moves southwards).
• It lasts for a small part of a second, but the effect can be seen for a minute to a minute-and-a-half.

SUPREME Initiative:

The Union Minister of Science and Technology launched the SUPREME initiative to provide financial support for the upgradation and maintenance of analytical instrumentation facilities (AIFs).

• The Support for Up-gradation Preventive Repair and Maintenance of Equipment (SUPREME), is a first-of-its-kind programme by the government.
• It extends financial support for repair, upgradation, maintenance, retrofitting, or acquiring additional attachments to increase the functional capabilities of existing analytical instrumentation facilities.
• Different facilities created under the projects/ Analytical instrumentation facilities (AIFs) created earlier from the support of DST, only will be considered for the funding support under this Scheme
• Such facilities at institutions recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC) are eligible to apply for grants under this initiative.
• The duration of support will be for a period not exceeding 3 years.
• The funding pattern in the scheme would be 75:25 for all private and govt owned institutions (except for state-funded institutions for which 100% funding would be considered).
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Science and Technology

Mexican Giant Turtle:

The Mexican Giant Turtle, also known as the Red Eared Slider was recently found in West Bengal’s Howrah district.

• Mexican Giant Turtle, also called the Red Eared Slider, is the most destructive among the seven turtle species found in the world.
• It is considered as one of the world’s 100 worst invasive non-native species.
• Scientific Name: Trachemys scripta elegans
• They are native to the south-eastern USA and Mexico but have found their way across the globe, including India, through the trade of exotic animals.
• It occurs in a wide variety of aquatic habitats, but it prefers a mud bottom, plenty of aquatic plants, and abundant basking sites.
• It lives in both natural waters (including rivers, sloughs, and oxbow lakes) and human-made waters (such as ditches, ponds, and reservoirs).
• It is known for its bright red circular or oblong spots near its ears.
• The carapace (upper shell) is olive-brown with numerous black and yellow lines.
• The exposed skin is dark green with narrow black and yellow lines.
• It is primarily aquatic and will emerge from the water for basking on rocks and logs.
• Average Life Span: 20 to 30 years.

Exercise Ajeya Warrior 2023:

Indian Army contingent will participate in the 7th edition of the bilateral training exercise ‘Ajeya Warrior 2023’

• Exercise Ajeya Warrior 2023 is a bilateral training exercise between the armies of India and the UK.
• This is the 7th edition of the exercise.
• It aims to improve interoperability between the two forces while carrying out operations in accordance with UN mandates.
• The exercise will witness the participation of an infantry company from India and a unit of equal strength from the British Army.
• The soldiers of both countries will practice using each other’s weapons, war tactics, equipment, war strategies, and procedures for conducting combined military operations in difficult situations.
• In addition, there will also be a number of expert academic discussions on a range of topics of common interest, such as the combined arms concept, operation logistics, sharing of joint force experience, etc.