Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 25th November 2022

MAARG Portal:

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry has launched a call for startup applications for registration on the Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience and Growth (MAARG) portal.

• MAARG portal is the National Mentorship Platform by Startup India.
• It is a one-stop platform to facilitate mentorship for startups across diverse sectors, functions, stages, geographies, and backgrounds.

Key Features:

• Mentorship programs for ecosystem enablers
• Mobile-friendly user interface
• Recognition for contributing mentors
• Video and audio call options

Phases: The MAARG Portal is being operationalized in three phases:

• Phase I: Mentor Onboarding
  • Successfully launched and executed, 400+ expert mentors are onboarded across sectors.
• Phase II: Startup Onboarding
  • DPIIT is launching the onboarding of startups on the MAARG Portal with effect from 14th November 2022.
• Phase III: MAARG Portal Launch and Mentor Matchmaking
  • Final launch where the mentors will be matched to the startups DPIIT has initiated onboarding process of startups under Phase II.

Draft Prevention Of Cruelty To Animal (Amendment) Bill-2022:

The Government has introduced the draft Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (Amendment) Bill-2022 to amend the six-decade-old law Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1960.

• The draft has been prepared by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

Proposed Amendments:

• The draft includes ‘bestiality’ as a crime under the new category of ‘gruesome cruelty’.
• “Bestiality” means any kind of sexual activity or intercourse between human being and animal.
• Gruesome cruelty has been defined as “an act that leads to extreme pain and suffering to the animals which may cause lifelong disability or death”.
• A minimum fine of Rs 50,000 may be imposed and may be increased to Rs 75,000 by a judicial magistrate in consultation with the jurisdictional veterinarians, or the cost may be determined by the judicial magistrate whichever is more, or a maximum fine of one year that may be extended to three years.
• A maximum 5-year imprisonment, along with a fine on killing.
• The draft also proposes insertion of a new Section 3A, which provides ‘five freedoms’ to animals.
• It shall be the duty of every person having charge of an animal to ensure that the animal in his care or under his charge has:
  • Freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition
  • Freedom from discomfort due to environment
  • Freedom from pain, injury and diseases
  • Freedom to express normal behaviour for the species
  • Freedom from fear and distress
• In the case of community animals, the local government shall be responsible for their care.
• The draft proposals introduce the community animal as “any animal born in a community for which no ownership has been claimed excluding wild animals as defined under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Data On Daily Wage Payments In India : RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released data on daily wage payments in India.

Findings:

• In Madhya Pradesh (MP), male agricultural workers in rural areas got a daily wage of just Rs 217.8 while in Gujarat, it worked out to Rs 220.3 in the year ended March 2022.
• Daily wages in both the states are below the national average of Rs 323.2.
• Kerala leads in highly paid agricultural workers with an average wage of Rs 726.8 per worker.
• The high wages in Kerala have attracted farm workers from other poorly paid states with around 25 lakh migrant workers reportedly living in the state.
• In Jammu & Kashmir, farm workers get an average wage of Rs 524.6, Himachal Pradesh Rs 457.6, and Tamil Nadu Rs 445.6 per person.
• In the case of male non-agricultural workers, the lowest wage was in MP with an average wage of Rs 230.3 while Gujarat workers got a daily wage of Rs 252.5 and Tripura Rs 250 — all below the national average of Rs 326.6.
• Kerala again leads in non-agricultural workers’ wages with Rs 681.8 wage per person.
• Kerala was followed by J&K, Tamil Nadu and Haryana for the year ended March 2022.
• Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are again below the national average of Rs 373.3 in the case of rural male construction workers.
• Gujarat rural construction workers got an average wage of Rs 295.9, MP Rs 266.7 and Tripura Rs 250.
• Daily wage for rural construction workers was Rs 837.7 in Kerala, Rs 519.8 in J&K, Rs 478.6 in Tamil Nadu and Rs 462.7 in Himachal Pradesh.

9th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus:

The Defence Minister of India participated in the 9th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) Plus in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Key Highlights :

• India called for urgent and resolute global efforts to counter transnational and cross-border terrorism, terming it as the gravest threat to regional and global security.
• India brought to the forum’s attention other security concerns arising out of the global Covid-19 pandemic, such as Energy and Food Security .
• India advocates a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region and calls for peaceful resolution of disputes while respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.
• It was also stated that the ongoing ASEAN-China negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea should be fully consistent with international law, in particular United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and should not prejudice the legitimate rights and interests of nations that are not party to these discussions.

Exercise GARUDA SHAKTI:

A contingent of Indian Special Forces troops are currently engaged in a bilateral joint training Exercise GARUDA SHAKTI.

• It is a joint training exercise between Indian Special Forces and the Indonesian Special Forces.
• It is held at Sangga Buana Training Area,in
• The Exercise is the eighth edition of the series of bilateral exercises under this banner and this is a part of military-to-military exchange programs.
• It aims at enhancing understanding, cooperation and interoperability between the Special Forces of both armies.

Agni-3 : Test Fired

India recently test fired intermediate-range ballistic missile Agni-3 from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha.

• The successful test was part of routine user training launches carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command.
• The launch was carried out for a predetermined range and validated all operational parameters of the system
• Agni-3 is the third entrant in the Agni missile series and was first tested on July 9, 2006.
• But it developed a technical snag and had fell into the sea off Odisha coast without hitting the target.
• The Agni-3 missile was test fired successfully in its second flight in 2007 and then at its third consecutive launch in 2008.
• It has a range of 3,500 km and has the capability of carrying warhead weighing as much as 1.5 tonnes.
• Due to its high range of circular error probable (CEP), Agni-3 missile is known as world’s most accurate strategic ballistic missile of its range class.
• The accuracy of the nuclear warhead also provides an opportunity of deploying larger number of nuclear force using less fusion material.
• The low weight of the payload has increased the target range of the missile to 3,500 kilometre.

Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (TNNAA) 2021:

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India recently announced the National Adventure Awards called “Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award” (TNNAA) for the year 2021.

• Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards are given every year.
• It aims to recognize the achievements of persons in the fields of adventure, to encourage young people to develop the spirit of endurance, risk–taking, cooperative teamwork and quick, ready and effective reflexes in challenging situations and to provide incentive to the young people for getting exposed to the adventure activities.
• Awardees will receive statuettes, certificates and award money of Rs. 15 lakh each.
• The award will be given in four categories namely, Land Adventure, Water Adventure, Air Adventure and Life Time Achievement.

Guru Tegh Bahadur:

November 24 is commemorated as the Shaheedi Divas of Guru Tegh Bahadur.

• Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621 – 1675) was the ninth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion.
• He was born as Tyaga Mal. He came to be known by the name Teg Bahadur (Mighty of The Sword), given to him by Guru Hargobind after he shown his valour in a battle against the Mughals.
• His father was the Sixth guru, Guru Hargobind. His son Guru Gobind Singh, became the tenth Sikh guru.
• He built the city of Anandpur Sahib (in Rupnagar/Ropar district, on the edge of Shivalik Hills, near the Sutlej River, in Punjab).
• Here the last two Sikh Gurus lived and where Guru Gobind Singh Ji founded the Khalsa Panth in 1699.
• He contributed more than 100 poetic hymns to Granth Sahib which cover various topics, such as the nature of God, human attachments, body, mind, dignity service etc.
• He resisted the forced conversions of Kashmiri Pandits and non-Muslims to Islam.
• He was publicly beheaded in 1675 on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi for himself refusing to convert to Islam. He is remembered for giving up his life for freedom of religion.
• His martyrdom is remembered as the Shaheedi Divas of Guru Tegh Bahadur every year on 24 November, according to the Nanakshahi calendar released by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in 2003.
• Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib mark the place of his execution.
• Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib mark the places of cremation of his body.