Today’s Current Affairs: 15th Feb 2024 for UPSC IAS exams, State PSC exams, SSC CGL, State SSC, RRB, Railways, Banking Exam & IBPS, etc
Table of Contents
GovTech Prize 2024:
India was awarded the eminent GovTech Prize instituted by the government of UAE at the World Government Summit.
- India won in the “AI-Powered Government Services” category for its innovative iRASTE project that utilizes artificial intelligence to transform road safety.
- The prize recognized the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ pioneering implementation of predictive analytics and AI across urban transportation networks.
- The award was distributed by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, the crown prince of Dubai.
- The Intelligent Solutions for Road Safety through Technology (iRASTE) project is a collaborative initiative between the Indian government, industry leaders and academic institutions.
- It integrates AI algorithms and predictive modeling into proactive road safety engineering and planning for highways and city roads.
SWAYAM And KHUSI Schemes : Odisha Govt
The Odisha government has recently announced a one-time livelihood cash assistance of ₹1,000 for the families covered by the Public Distribution System (PDS) in the state.
- A new scheme called ‘Swayam’ was launched to provide interest-free bank loans of ₹1 lakh to rural unemployed youths aged 18-35 (18-40 for special category) to initiate new business ventures.
- The government expanded the existing KHUSI scheme, now called KHUSI+, to distribute belted sanitary napkins for institutional deliveries and medical termination of pregnancy in government facilities, aiming to improve menstrual hygiene awareness and reduce maternal mortality and morbidity rates in the state.
- Odisha boasts a high rate of 81.5% of women using hygienic menstrual protection, exceeding the national average, as per the National Family Health Survey 5.
World Government Summit (WGS) 2024:
The Indian Prime Minister will attend the World Government Summit 2024 as a guest of honour in the UAE.
- World Government Summit (WGS) is an annual global gathering that brings together world leaders, policymakers, experts, and thought leaders from various fields to discuss and address pressing global issues.
- Theme: “Shaping Future Governments”
- It was established in 2013 under the leadership of the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE.
- It is annually held in Dubai, UAE.
- The Summit, in its various activities, explores the agenda of the next generation of governments, focusing on harnessing innovation and technology to solve universal challenges facing humanity.
- Since its inception, the Summit has championed the mission of shaping future governments and creating a better future for humanity.
Rare Human Case Of Bubonic Plague : US
Officials in the US state of Oregon recently said they are dealing with a rare human case of bubonic plague that was likely transmitted by a pet cat.
- Plague is an infectious disease caused by a specific type of bacterium called Yersinia pestis, a zoonotic bacterium usually found in small mammals and their fleas.
- Pestis can affect humans and animals and is spread mainly by fleas.
- Bubonic plague is one type of plague.
- It gets its name from the swollen lymph nodes (buboes) caused by the disease.
- Called the Black Death, it killed millions of Europeans during the Middle Ages.
- The other types of plague are:
- Septicemic plague, which happens when the infection goes all through the body.
- Pneumonic plague, which happens when the lungs are infected.
- Plague can be a very severe disease in people, with a case-fatality ratio of 30% to 60% for the bubonic type, and is always fatal for the pneumonic kind when left untreated.
- Symptoms: Bubonic plague symptoms includes sudden high fever and chills.
National Generic Document Registration System:
Secretary, Department of Land Resources, rolled out National Generic Document Registration System (NDGRS) throughout Assam along with the launch of Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) seeding of geo-referenced Cadastral Maps.
- National Generic Document Registration System is a project initiated by the Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.
- It is a common, generic application developed for registration departments across the country under the One Nation One Software initiative.
- The NGDRS application is developed by the National Informatics Centre, Pune.
- It is a common, generic and configurable application developed for registration departments across the country.
- The application is specifically designed for the use of sub-registrars, citizens and apex users from registration departments.
- NGDRS facilitates states to create state-specific instances and configure the software as per requirements.
- Offering a complete user interface for property and document registration, the application enables citizens to proceed with land buying online.
- They can find out the circle rate for land, calculate property valuation as per prevailing rates and understand the type of land.
- Transactions of prohibited properties are restricted for sale like government land, tribal land, mortgaged land etc., are also available, which ultimately helps them decide where and what type of land they should buy.
- Thereafter, they can apply online for document submission, make instant payments and make prior appointments.
- Property buyers need to visit the sub-registrar’s office only once and that too at the time of final signing and registration
COP14 : Hosted By The Government Of Uzbekistan
The Fourteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (COP14) will be hosted by the Government of Uzbekistan, in Samarkand from 12-17 February 2024.
- It is also known as the Bonn Convention, is an environmental treaty under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme.
- It provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats.
- It was signed in Bonn, Germany, on 23 June 1979.
- It is the only global and UN-based intergovernmental organisation established exclusively for the conservation and management of terrestrial, aquatic and avian migratory species throughout their range.
- The Conference of Parties (COP) is the decision-making organ of this convention.
- It has two Appendices.
- Appendix I lists endangered migratory species and includes prohibitions regarding the take of these species.
- Appendix II lists species that have an ‘unfavourable conservation status’ (as per the conditions set out in the Convention) and encourages range states to draft range-wide agreements for the conservation and management of these species.
