Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 24th May 2023

Panch Karma Sankalp:

The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, made five major announcements focusing on green shipping and digitization of ports.

• During the Chintan Shivir, Sarbananda Sonowal unveiled the ‘Panch Karma Sankalp,’ which represents the five major announcements made by the ministry.

The five major announcements made during the event were as follows:

• MoPSW will provide 30% financial support for the promotion of Green Shipping.
• Under the Green Tug Transition Programme, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, VO Chidambaranar Port, Paradip Port, and Deendayal Port, Kandla will procure two tugs each.
• Deendayal Port, Kandla, and VO Chidambaranar Port, Tuticorin will be developed as Green Hydrogen Hubs.
• A Single Window Portal will be designed to facilitate and monitor river and sea cruises and their bookings.
• Jawaharlal Nehru Port and VO Chidambaranar Port, Tuticorin, will become smart ports by 2024.

These announcements aim to revolutionize the maritime industry and promote sustainable practices.

• Under the Green Tug Transition Programme, four major ports, namely Jawaharlal Nehru Port, VO Chidambaranar Port, Paradip Port, and Deendayal Port, Kandla, will procure two tugs each.
• This move will contribute to the promotion of green shipping practices and reduce environmental impact.

International Day For Biological Diversity 2023:

The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB), celebrated on 22nd May 2023, raises awareness about the importance of biodiversity for sustaining life on Earth.

• The Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services highlights the risk of extinction for around one million species.
• To address the biodiversity crisis, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity
• This framework sets ambitious targets for 2030 and provides a roadmap for conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity.
• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1993 proclaimed 22nd May as IDB to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.
• The UNGA also declared the period 2011-2020 as the United Nations (UN) Decade on Biodiversity to promote the implementation of a strategic plan on biodiversity and its overall vision of living in harmony with nature.
• It also declared 2021-2030 as the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
• The theme for 2023 is “From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity”, which signifies the pressing requirement to go beyond mere commitments and transform them into concrete actions aimed at revitalizing and safeguarding biodiversity.

Pangenome Reference Map:

A new study has been published in the Nature journal describing a Pangenome Reference Map, built using genomes from 47 anonymous individuals (19 men and 28 women), mainly from Africa but also from the Caribbean, Americas, East Asia, and Europe.

• A reference genome or reference map is like a standard map that scientists use when they sequence and study new genomes.
• It serves as a guide to compare and understand the differences between the newly sequenced genome and the reference genome.
• The first reference genome created in 2001 was a significant scientific achievement.
• It helped scientists discover disease-related genes, understand genetic aspects of diseases like cancer, and develop new diagnostic tests.
• However, it had limitations and wasn’t perfect
• The pangenome, unlike the previous linear reference genome, is represented as a graph.
• Each chromosome in the pangenome can be imagined as a bamboo stem with nodes.
• These nodes represent stretches of sequences that are similar among all 47 individuals. The internodes between the nodes vary in length and represent genetic variations among individuals from different ancestries.
• To create complete and continuous maps of the chromosomes in the pangenome project, researchers used a technology called long-read DNA sequencing, creating complete and continuous chromosome maps by producing accurate, long DNA strands.

Orang National Park : Old Age Rhino Dies

One old age Rhino dies due to infighting in Orang National Park and tiger reserve.

• Orang National Park is located on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Darrang and Sonitpur districts of Assam, India.
• It was established as a sanctuary in 1985 and declared a National Park in April 1999.
• It spreads over an area of 78.80 sq. kms.
• It is also a Tiger Reserve (49th)of the country which was notified in 2016.
• It is also known as the mini Kaziranga National Park (IUCN site) since the two parks have a similar landscape made up of marshes, streams and grasslands and are inhabited by the Great Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros.
• The park has a rich fauna, including Great Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros, pigmy hog, elephants, wild buffalo and tigers.

FIPIC Summit, 2023:

Prime minister of India meets with Pacific Island nation leaders on sidelines of FIPIC Summit in Papua New Guinea.

• The third forum for India-Pacific islands co-operation (FIPIC Summit), which was held today at Port Moresby was jointly hosted with Papua New Guinea.
• Prime minister of India co- chaired the summit with PM of Papua New Guinea.
• The discussions encompassed various areas of cooperation, including commerce, technology, healthcare, and climate change.
• Forum for India-Pacific Islands cooperation (FIPIC) is a multinational grouping for cooperation between India and 14 Pacific Islands nations.
• It include 14 islands named- Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
• All Head of state/head of government of the above countries met in Suva, Fiji in November 2014 for the first time where the annual summit was conceptualised.
• The FIPIC initiative marks a serious effort to expand India’s engagement in the Pacific region.
• A major part of India’s engagement with these countries is through development assistance under South-South Cooperation, mainly in capacity building and community development projects.

NVS-01 : ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch the navigation satellite ‘NVS-01’ onboard its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

• The GSLV-F12/NVS-01 mission is designed to deploy the NVS-01 navigation satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).
• NVS-01 is the first in the series of second-generation navigation satellites built by ISRO’s UR Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru.
• At present, India uses its Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) series of satellites for civilian and defence navigation in the Indian mainland and even 1500 kms beyond India’s borders.
• NVS series of satellites will sustain and augment the NavIC with enhanced features.
• This series incorporates L1 band signals additionally to widen the services.
• For the first time, an indigenous atomic clock will be flown in NVS-01.
• Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) is a regional navigation satellite system established by the ISRO to meet the positioning, navigation and timing requirements of the nation.
• NavIC was erstwhile known as Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).

GBU-57:

The US Military recently posted pictures of a powerful bomb called the GBU-57, designed to penetrate deep into the earth and destroy underground facilities.

• It is known as the “Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP)”.
• It is a GPS-guided, earth-penetrating strike weapon for use against hard and deeply buried targets.
• MOP is one of the most powerful non-nuclear bombs in the world.
• It is manufactured by Boeingand used by the United States Air Force.
• It is used to destroy deeply entrenched enemy bunkers such as those concealing a supply of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
• The bomb is 20.5 feet long with a diameter of 31.5 inches.
• Weight: 14,000 kg
• The warhead case is made from a special high-performance steel alloy that can reportedly penetrate up to 200 feet of concrete.

44th Edition Of The Coveted Annual ISO COPOLCO Plenary:

India is hosting the 44th edition of the coveted annual ISO COPOLCO Plenary from 23-26 May 2023 in New Delhi.

• COPOLCO : The Committee on Consumer Policy of the International Organization for Standardization
• This event is being organized by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the national standards body of India.
• It is anticipated that the ISO COPOLCO Plenary is an event that has a significant impact on the global economy and on the lives of people.
• ISO COPOLCO is reckoned as the major international event that brings together representatives from ISO member countries to discuss and develop strategies for accelerating the development of standards for the world.
• Committee on Consumer Policy is a committee of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) responsible for promoting consumer interests in the standardization process and for ensuring that standards are developed with the needs of consumers in mind.
• COPOLCO members are ISO members.

International Standards Organisation (ISO):

• ISO is an independent, non-governmental international organization made up of members from the national standards bodies of 168 countries.
• Central Secretariat is in Geneva, Switzerland.
• India is one of the founding members of ISO.