Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 10th February 2023

QR Code-Based Coin Vending Machine:

To improve the distribution of coins, the RBI is preparing a pilot project on QCVM in collaboration with a few leading banks

• QCVM is a cashless coin dispenser that dispenses coins in exchange for a bank account debit via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
• Unlike traditional cash-based Coin Vending Machines, the QCVM would not require banknote tendering or validation.
• This will offer ease and ready access to coins for customers via the UPI facility.

First Satellite-Based Two-Way Messaging:

Qualcomm launched the first satellite-based two-way messaging.

• It is called Snapdragon Satellite.
• .In two-way messaging like Whatsapp, both participants can send or receive messages simultaneously.
• Snap Dragon Satellite was launched at the CES 2023
• It is powered by a 5G Modem RF system
• It can support 5G non-terrestrial networks. NTN is used in flying objects
• The two-way messaging system is supported by the Iridium satellite constellation.
• The Iridium constellation was launched by the Iridium communication-based in the US.
• The main purpose of the satellites is to provide L-band data, mostly voice data.

Digital Payments Utsav:

The Digital Payments Utsav is to be launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

• The main objective of the event is to create awareness of digital payments.
• Digital Payments Utsav is to be held in Lucknow, Pune, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru
• The above cities were chosen because the Digital Economy Working Group Events are to be held in these cities
• The Utsav will focus mainly on G20 and its working
• During the Utsav, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will launch a QR code and a Coffee Table Book.
• The ministry will also launch the “Digital Payment Sandesh Yatra” during the Utsav. The main objective of the yatra is to create awareness of digital payments in the country
• Also, the ministry will present the “Digi Dhan Awards” for the top-performing banks in the country

Operation Dost:

India, under ‘Operation Dost’ has sent its sixth plane carrying National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel, essentials, and medical equipment for the earthquake-hit Turkey.

• The 6th flight carries more rescue teams, dog squads, and essential medicines.
• A field hospital under Operation Dost has been set up by the Indian Army in Hatay province of Turkey.
• India has also sent a transport aircraft with medical supplies to Syria.
• The earthquake of magnitude 7.7 on the Richter scale hit Turkey and Syria on 6 Feb 2023 followed by a series of aftershocks causing huge devastation, major loss of lives and damage to infrastructure in the two countries.

Quad Cyber Challenge:

The Quad Nations are launching Quad Cyber Challenge – a public campaign to improve cyber security across the 4 nations.

• The Internet-users are being invited across the Indo-Pacific and beyond to join the Challenge and pledge to practice safe and responsible cyber habits.
• India’s National Cyber Security Coordinator with National Security Council Secretariat is the coordinating body in this challenge.
• Internet-users worldwide are targets of cybercrime and other malicious cyber threats that can cost trillions of dollars each year and compromise sensitive, personal data. Many successful cyber-attacks can be guarded against by simple preventative measures such as; routinely installing security updates, utilising stronger and regularly changing passwords, and awareness of common online scams, like phishing.
• QUAD is the grouping of four democracies –India, Australia, the US, and Japan that aims to ensure and support a “free, open and prosperous” Indo-Pacific region.

Amrit Sarovar Mission : Target Set

A target of 50,000 Amrit Sarovars was set to be completed by August 15, 2023. So far, 60% of the target has been achieved with over 30,000 Amrit Sarovars constructed in the span of 9 months.

• Mission Amrit Sarovar was launched as part of India’s “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” celebrations for the 75th year of independence.
• The mission aims to construct/rejuvenate at least 75 Amrit Sarovars in each district across India to overcome the water crisis in rural areas.

Features of Mission Amrit Sarovar:

• Six central government Ministries are working together in conjunction with technical organisations like Bhaskaracharya National Institute of Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BISAG-N) and state/union territory governments in a “Whole of Government” approach.
• Six ministries are Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change.
• Jan Bhagidari has been the core of this Mission and involves people’s participation at all levels.
• States/UTs are leveraging the participation of freedom fighters, eldest members of the panchayat, family members of freedom fighters and martyrs, Padma Awardees, etc.

5th International Marine Protected Areas Congress:

The 5th International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5) was held in Canada in order to discuss the solutions to address the Funding Gap of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

• This meeting is crucial since nations agreed to protect 30% of Earh’s lands and oceans by 2030 at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity held in 2022.

Highlights of the Meet:

• As many as 70% of MPAs are underfunded. A well-managed and sufficiently funded MPA can restore good health to vulnerable ecosystems.
• Achieving sustainable and resilient MPA networks depends on an overall commitment to protection, leadership, engagement from stakeholders, institutions, governments and organizations, Indigenous peoples, coastal communities, and individuals in an inclusive and equitable manner to advance ocean protection.
• IMPAC5 aims to provide a forum for sharing knowledge, successes and best practices in an open and respectful environment for the exchanging of ideas among a diversity of views.

IMPAC:

• IMPAC congresses are a collaborative effort between the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the chosen host country.
• The congress brings together scientists, policy makers, practitioners, and stakeholders from around the world to discuss the latest scientific knowledge, best practices and challenges in the management of MPAs.

Report On “Making India a Global Power House On Farm Machinery Industry”:

National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) Report on “Making India a Global Power House on Farm Machinery Industry” released recently.

• NCAER has analyzed the non-tractor farm machinery industry from both demand and supply side perspectives, bringing out the challenges in the sector, and recommending measures & reforms by benchmarking global practices in their report.

National Council of Applied Economic Research:

• The NCAER is one of India’s premier economic policy research think tanks.
• The NCAER Report on Farm Machinery Industry in India study was sponsored by Mahendra & Mahendra.
• The NCAER Report on Farm Machinery, amongst other things, stresses that India needs a vision for the next 15 years to convert itself into a production and export hub for non-tractor farm machinery.
• The report also recommends measures and reforms by benchmarking global practices, which will be examined by the team of policy makers for making best solutions in farm mechanization.

Vikas Engine : ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully tested the throttling of Vikas, its workhorse launch-vehicle engine.

• VIKAS (an acronym for Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai) engine is a family of liquid-fuelled rocket engines conceptualized and designed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre of ISRO in the 1970s.
• The early productions involved imported French components, which were later replaced by domestically produced equivalents.
• These engines are deployed for ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) series of expendable launch vehicles for space launch use.
• The fuel load of the Vikas engine is 40 tonnes for the PSLV, GSLV Mark I and II, and 55 tonnes for the GSLV Mark III.
• Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) is a research and development center functioning under ISRO.

Quaoar : Dwarf Planet

Astronomers have recently spotted a ring around a Pluto-sized dwarf planet called Quaoar in the outer reaches of the solar system.

• Quaoar is a dwarf planet that’s located in the Kuiper Belt at the solar system’s edge.
• It is about 697 miles wide (1,121 kilometers).
• It is roughly one-twelfth the diameter of Earth, one-third the diameter of the Moon, and half the size of Pluto.
• Quaoar is greater in volume than all known asteroids combined.
• Quaoar has its own moon, the 100-mile-wide (160 km) Weywot.
• Its surface is moderately red and composed of low-density ices mixed with rock.
• It takes about 288 years for Quaoar to go once around the sun in a roughly circular orbit.
• Kuiper belt, also called the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt, is a flat ring of small icy bodiesthat revolve around the Sun beyond the orbit of the planet Neptune.

Corbet Tiger Reserve : All Construction activities Banned

The Supreme Court recently banned all construction activities in the core areas of tiger reserves national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

• A Supreme court-appointed panel noticed that illegal constructions for the establishment of a tiger safari were being done within the buffer area of Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand.

Corbet Tiger Reserve:

• It is located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand. This reserve encompasses the Patli Dun valley.
• The Ramganga, Sonanadi, Palain and Mandal, and Kosi rivers form the prominent hydrological resource for the Corbett.
• The core area of the reserve contains the Corbett National Park and the Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary is part of its buffer area.
• Flora: The trees which contribute to the Flora of Corbett consist of evergreen Sal and its combined trees, the Sheesham, and the Kanju found extensively on the ridges.
• Fauna: Tiger, Leopard, Elephant, Hog deer, spotted deer, Samber etc.

IEEE C-DOT Certified Telecom Expert Program (ICCTEP):

The Secretary (Telecom) of, the Government of India launched the ‘IEEE C-DOT Certified Telecom Expert Program (ICCTEP)’

• IEEE C-DOT Certified Telecom Expert Program is a concrete step in the furtherance of wide-ranging collaboration between the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT).
• IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.
• IEEE and its members inspire a global community through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional & educational activities.
• Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) is the premier R&D centre of the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India.
• C-DOT has indigenously designed various cutting-edge Telecom technologies including 4G/5G, Disaster Management, Cyber Security and Quantum Communications.
• This platform will offer a specially-tailored certification program that aims at providing quality learning in diverse areas of Telecom.
• The key focus is on building skills that would accelerate the participation of students, academia, technologists, industry, start-ups and other relevant stakeholders in developing globally-competitive Telecom technologies and solutions.
• The first program launched on the platform is on 5G and beyond