Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 15th April 2023

Unified Portal Of The Central Bureau Of Narcotics:

The Unified Portal of the Central Bureau of Narcotics was launched recently.

• Central Bureau of Narcotics is a central government organization dealing with the international trade of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, and Precursor Chemicals under the ambit of various United Nations Conventions and the provisions of the Narcotics Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act, 1985).
• These substances bear dual potential as strong medicinal, scientific, and industrial use as well as a diversion for illicit use creating the substances for abuse.
• It is affiliated with India’s Department of Revenue (Ministry of Finance).
• It is regulated by the country’s Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.
• Its Headquarters are in Gwalior.
• Objective is to stop opium production and trade and to issue licenses for the production of legal synthetic drugs.
  It implements various United Nations Conventions and the provisions of the NDPS Act, 1985.

Safety Across Asia For The Global Environment (SAFE):

China is not participating in a United Nations project called Safety Across Asia for the Global Environment (SAFE) to survey high-risk facilities, including Asian wet markets, that may cause the spread of infectious diseases from animals to humans.

• Also, Vietnam and Laos have yet to approve the surveys.
• The project aims to prevent future pandemics due to zoonotic, or animal-to-human, disease transmission.
• Launched in 2021 and will run until 2024.
• Coordinated by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime which monitors illegal wildlife trafficking
• Funded by the European Union
• Four Asian countries China, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos were initially selected for the survey under the project
• It is believed that the strain of coronavirus that caused the COVID-19 disease was first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan’s wet market in December 2019.
• China has since banned the sale and consumption of food from wildlife animals.

Festival Of Innovation And Entrepreneurship (FINE) 2023:

The Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (FINE) 2023, organized by the National Innovation Foundation, discussed ways to raise the profile of India’s innovation and entrepreneurship eco-system, which is inclusive, the third largest in the world, and an inspiration to many countries

• National Innovation Foundation was founded in  2000.
• Its Headquarter Ahmedabad (Gujarat).
• It is an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology.
• It is India’s national initiative to strengthen grassroots technological innovations and outstanding traditional knowledge.

Dabba Trading : NSE

National Stock Exchange (NSE) issued a string of notices naming entities involved in “dabba trading”.

• Dabba Trading is a form of informal trading that takes place outside the purview of the stock exchanges.
• In this practice, traders bet on stock price movements without incurring a real transaction to take physical ownership of a particular stock as is done in an exchange.
• This results in gambling centred around stock price movements, which is illegal and unregulated.
• The broker’s profit equates the investor’s loss and vice-versa. The equations are particularly consequential during bull runs or bear market.
• It is recognised as an offence under Section 23(1) of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act (SCRA), 1956 and upon conviction, can invite imprisonment for a term extending up to 10 years or a fine up to ₹25 crore, or both.

India’s Retail Inflation Rate:

India’s retail inflation rate declined to 5.66%, below the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upper target of 6% in March 2023, primarily due to a decrease in food prices, especially for vegetables.

• Core inflation, which excludes food and fuel prices, was at 5.95% in March, down from 6.12% in February.
• The decrease in retail inflation is a positive development for the economy.
• It provides some relief to consumers who have been dealing with rising prices for essential goods and services. Moreover, it could give the RBI more flexibility in its monetary policy decisions going forward.
• However, it remains to be seen if this trend will continue, and if the RBI will adjust interest rates accordingly.

Retail Inflation:

• Retail inflation, also known as Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation, is the rate at which the prices of goods and services that consumers buy for personal use increase over time.
• It measures the change in the cost of a basket of goods and services that are typically purchased by households, including food, clothing, housing, transportation, and medical care.
• Four types of CPI are as follows:
  • CPI for Industrial Workers (IW).
  • CPI for Agricultural Labourer (AL).
  • CPI for Rural Labourer (RL).
  • CPI for Urban Non-Manual Employees (UNME).
• Of these, the first three are compiled by the Labour Bureau in the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
• Fourth is compiled by the NSO in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
• Base Year for CPI is 2012.
• In 2020, the Ministry of Labour and Employment released the new series of Consumer Price Index for Industrial Worker (CPI-IW) with base year 2016.
• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) uses CPI data to control inflation. In April 2014, the RBI adopted the CPI as its key measure of inflation.

Exercise Orion:

Four Rafale fighter jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will soon depart to France to take part in multilateral exercise Orion at Mont-de-Marsan, an Air Force base of the French Air and Space Force (FASF).

• Exercise Orion is a multinational exercise hosted by the French government.
• It is reportedly the largest ever multinational exercise being carried out by the French defence forces which have involved their Army, Navy and Air Force.
• It includes ground troops, warships, aircraft carriers and combat aircraft and is meant to boost military cooperation and interoperability among participating nations.
• Besides the IAF and the FASF, Air Forces from Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, U.K. and U.S. would also be flying in this multilateral exercise.
• The IAF contingent will include four Rafale aircraft, two C-17, two IL-78 aircraft and 165 air warriors.
• This would be the first overseas exercise for the IAF’s Rafale aircraft.

India’s Tallest Ambedkar Statue:

Telangana Chief Minister will unveil a 125-feet-tall statue of Dr B R Ambedkar on the banks of Hussainsagar, marking the latter’s 132nd birth anniversary.

• India’s tallest Ambedkar statue On the banks of Hussainsagar near the new Secretariat complex in Hyderabad.
• It is claimed to be the tallest statue in the country ever built for Dr B R Ambedkar.
• It has an overall height of 175 feet, including a 50 feet high circular base resembling the edifice of the Parliament of India.
• The statue weighs 474 tonnes.
• 360 tonnes of stainless steel was used for building the armature structure of the statue.
• 114 tonnes of bronze was used for the casting of the statue.
• It was designed by renowned sculptors Ram Vanji Sutar and his son Anil Ram Sutar of Ram Sutar Art Creations in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, who also designed several monumental sculptures, including the world’s tallest statue — the Statue of Unity (597 feet) of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat.

Gond Painting : GI Tag

The famous Gond painting of Madhya Pradesh has received the prestigious Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

• Gond Painting is a famous folk art of the Gond tribal community of central India.
• It is done to preserve and communicate the culture of the Gond tribal community.
• Gond tribes are highly interlinked with nature and this appears in their paintings too they include animals, mahua tree, mythological stories, Hindu gods, Local deities and folktales etc.
• Each Gond artist uses his distinctive pattern and style to fill the images these style signatures are used in collage to make a complete picture such as Dots, fine Lines, Curved Lines, Dashes Fish Scales etc.

Animal Health System Support For One Health:

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying will launch the “Animal Pandemic Preparedness Initiative (APPI)” Animal Health System Support for One Health (AHSSOH) project under the aegis of National One Health Mission on 14th of April 2023 at India Habitat Center, New Delhi.

• Animal Health System Support for One Health is a collaborative project between the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and the World Bank.
• It is aiming to create an ecosystem for a better animal health management system using the One Health approach.
• It will be implemented in five States and it envisages improving capacity building of stakeholders involved in animal health and disease management.
• It will be implemented over a five-year period as Central sector scheme with a financial provision of Rs. 1228.70 Cr.
• The project calls for participation by Human Health, Forest and Environment Department at the national, regional as well as local for creating and strengthening the One Health architecture including community engagement.

Animal Pandemic Preparedness Initiative (APPI):

• The Department Animal Husbandry has conceived a focused framework of the for future animal pandemic and epidemics.
• Few key activities under APPI which are at different stages of execution are as follows:
  • Defined joint investigation and outbreak response teams (National & state)
  • Design an overall integrated disease surveillance system (built on National Digital Livestock Mission)