Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 24th February 2023

Losar Festival:

The Tibetan New Year is called the Losar.

• Tibetan Buddhists follow the Lunisolar calendar.
• The first day of the Luni Solar calendar is celebrated as Losar.
• The Buddhists in Nepal celebrate the same festival in the name of Lhochhar and celebrated eight weeks before Tibetan Losar.
• Different Indian states celebrate Losar in different ways.
• Recently the Tibetans in Dharamshala celebrated the festival.
• Members of the Tibetan community offered prayers at the Buddist temple in Happy Valley here before starting the festivit ..

Asia Economic Dialogue 2023:

The Ministry of External Affairs recently hosted the Asia Economic Dialogue in Pune.

• The main focus of the dialogue was on Geo-economics.
• It was conducted under the theme “Asia and the Emerging World Order”.
• The dialogue also focused on the metaverse, the role of the global south in shaping the G20 agenda, meeting climate targets, etc.
• More than 44 countries participated in the dialogue. This includes Mexico, Singapore, Maldives, South Africa, the USA, Brazil, Switzerland, etc.
• According to the IMF, Asia is one of the fast-growing markets in recent days.
• The major consumers of the world India and China are in Asia.
• Therefore, no country shall increase their trade market without including Asia!

Earthquake In Tajikistan:

An earthquake of 7.2 Ritcher recently hit Tajikistan.

• The epicentre of the earthquake was just 82 km away from China border.
• The quake was felt in the western part of the Xinjiang region. The earthquake was first reported by the Chinese.
• A severe earthquake of 7.8 Richter struck Turkey and Syria.
• There were 2100 aftershocks.
• On 20 February 2023, more than 6,000 aftershocks were recorded.
• It was one of the deadliest earthquakes in the history of Turkey.
• Turkey is located in a seismically fragile zone.
• It is at the tri-junction of three plates namely the Arabian plate, the African plate, and the Eurasian plate.
• .The recent earthquakes are because of the movement of the African plate, Arabian plate, and Indian plate.
• After the collision, they release a few aftershocks to settle down.

Keeladi Findings : Archaeological Survey Of India

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has submitted a detailed report on the findings during the first two phases of the digging at the Sangam-era site and their significance.

• Also, the Keeladi Site Museum is coming up in Sivaganga that would house significant ones of the over 18,000 artefacts unearthed so far.
• Keeladi is a tiny hamlet in the Sivaganga district in south Tamil Nadu. It is about 12 km south-east to the temple city of Madurai and is located along the Vaigai river.
• The excavations here from 2015 prove that an urban civilization existed in Tamil Nadu in the Sangam age on the banks of the Vaigai river.

Key Findings:

• In the eight rounds of excavations, including the first three by the ASI, over 18,000 artefacts have been unearthed from the site and the unique artefacts will be on display at the museum to be opened soon.
• Unearthing of heaps of pottery suggest the existence of a pottery making industry, mostly made of locally available raw materials.
• Over 120 potsherds containing Tamil Brahmi inscriptions have been found.
• Over a thousand inscribed potsherds, found at Keeladi and other sites clearly suggest the long survival of the script.
• Spindle whorls, copper needles, terracotta seal, hanging stones of the yarn, terracotta spheres and earthen vessels to hold liquid suggest various stages of a weaving industry. There also existed a dyeing industry and a glass bead industry.
• Gold ornaments, copper articles, semi-precious stones, shell bangles, ivory bangles and ivory combs reflect the artistic, culturally rich and prosperous lifestyle of the Keeladi people.

Jute Packaging Act, 1987:

The Government of India approved Reservation norms for the mandatory use of jute in the packaging of rice, wheat and sugar for the Year 2022-23.

• The reservation norms under JPM Act provide for direct employment to 3.70 lakh workers and protect the interest of approximately 40 lakh farm families in the jute sector.
• It protects the interest of Jute farmers, workers and persons engaged in jute goods’ production
• The Mandatory norms for full reservation for packaging of food grains and 20% reservation for packaging of sugar in jute bags will be a big boost for West Bengal.
• Jute is one of the most important natural fibres after cotton in terms of cultivation and usage
  • Climatic conditions required for its growth
  • Temperature: Between 25-35°C
  • Rainfall:Around 150-250 cm
  • Soil Type: Well-drained alluvial soil.
• India is the largest producer of jute followed by Bangladesh and China.
• It is mainly grown in eastern India because of the rich alluvial soil of the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta.
• In India, major jute-producing states include West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura.

Long-Range Artillery Weapon System:

Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) has recently signed an MoU with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for the domestic manufacture and supply of its LORA Weapon System for the Indian Tri-services.

• LORA Weapon System is a sea-to-ground and ground-to-ground system which comprises a long-range ballistic missile, a unique launcher, a command and control system, and a ground/marine support system.
• It is developed by IAI’s Missiles & Space Group MALAM division.
• It provides ballistic assault capabilities for multiple ranges with a precision level of 10 meters CEP (circular error probable).
• The ballistic missile can be launched from both ground- and sea-based platforms.
• It has a range of 280 km.
• It is propelled by a single-stage, solid-fuel rocket motor.
• Its guidance system is based on both the Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Inertial Navigation System (INS), with possible in-flight maneuvering capability.

Open Pit Mine Collapsed In China:

An open pit mine recently collapsed in China’s northern Inner Mongolia region, killing at least two people and leaving more than 50 missing.

• Open-pit mining, also known as opencast mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts minerals from an open pit in the ground.
• It is the most common method used worldwide for mineral mining and does not require extractive methods or
• It is an appropriate extraction method when mineral or ore deposits are found relatively close to the earth’s surface, which is overlain by relatively thin vegetation, topsoil, and rock (collectively called overburden).
• It uses a series of level surfaces or benches to reach the deposit, forming an open pit that looks similar to an inverted pyramid.
• Open-pit mines undergo constant expansion until all mineral resources are exhausted.
• Most of the world’s annual output of copper, gold, and iron ore is from open-pit mining
• Other commodities produced from open-pit mining include diamonds, molybdenum, manganese, lead and zinc, uranium, and a variety of industrial minerals, such as borates, talc , etc.
• Open-pit mining has higher productivity, lower operating costs, and is relatively safer than other mining methods.

22nd Law Commission : Extended

The Union Cabinet recently extended the term of the 22nd Law Commission by one-and-a-half years.

• The 22nd law panel was constituted for a period of three years on February 21, 2020 and its chairperson, Justice Rituraj Awasthi (retd), assumed office on November 9, 2022.
• The Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body constituted by the Government of India from time to time.
• It functions to the Ministry of Law and Justice as an advisory body.
• The first Law Commission was established during the British Raj era in 1834 by the Charter Act of 1833 and was chaired by Lord Macaulay.
• In 1955, the first independent Law Commission was created.
• Objective is to carry out research in the field of law and makes recommendations to the Government (in the form of Reports) as per its terms of reference.