Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 28th December 2022

Malnutrition : NCPCR Warns NGOs

The NCPCR warns NGOs about the depiction of vulnerable children for fundraising.

• The practice of civil society organisations using representative visuals for fundraising activities concerning development issues such as malnutrition now faces new scrutiny NCPCR.
• It is a statutory body set up under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005.
• It works under the Ministry of Women & Child Development.
• A chairperson who, is a person of eminence and has done outstanding work for promoting the welfare of children.
• Six members were appointed by the Central Government out of which at least two are women, who are having experience in Education, Child Health, Juvenile justice Elimination of child labour, Child psychology or sociology Laws relating to children.
• The Commission ensures that all Laws, Policies, Programmes, and Administrative Mechanisms align with the Child Rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and also the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• The Child is defined as a person in the 0 to 18 years age group.

PRASAD Project : Srisailam In Andhra Pradesh

President of India Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the ‘PRASAD’ project at the tourism facilitation centre in the pilgrim town of Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh

About Srisailam temple:

• Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva and goddess Parvathi.
• It is referred to as one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva and one of the 18 Maha Shakti Peethas of the Goddess, Parvati
• Here Parvati is worshipped as “Mallika” and Shiva is worshipped as “Arjuna“, represented by the lingam
• There is inscriptional evidence from the Satavahana dynasty which places the temple to be existent from the 2nd century
  Most modern additions were done during the time of king Harihara I of the Vijayanagara Empire.
• The presiding deity of the place is Brahmaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy in natural stone formations in the shape of Lingam
• PRASAD scheme is ‘Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive’.
• This scheme focuses on developing and identifying pilgrimage sites across India for enriching the religious tourism experience.
• It aims to integrate pilgrimage destinations in a prioritized, planned, and sustainable manner to provide a complete religious tourism experience.
• The growth of domestic tourism hugely depends on pilgrimage tourism.

Losar Festival : Beginning Of The Tibetan New Year

PM extended his greetings on the occasion of the Losar festival

• It consists of the offering of prayers, dances, and songs in the honor of Ibex and the pilgrimage of Mount Kailash.
• Losar is the Tibetan word for ‘new year’
• Ladakhi Buddhists make a religious offering before their deities in the domestic shrines or in the Gompas
• It was developed in the pre-Buddhist era, during the 4th century AD.
• The Bon religion (indigenous religious tradition of Tibet) practices the burning of incense. When Lord Buddha arrived in Tibet, this ritual was combined with the harvest celebration, and the Losar festival was born.

‘Rooh Afza’ Trademark : Case Update

On December 21, 2022 the Delhi High Court, in the case of Hamdard National Foundation (India) vs Sadar Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., restrained Sadar Laboratories from manufacturing and selling beverages under the impugned trademark ‘Dil Afza’.

• The court observed that the trademark ‘Rooh Afza’ is prima facie a strong mark requiring a high degree of protection as it has acquired immense goodwill.

Court’s Verdict:

• The court said Rooh Afza served as the source identifier for Hamdard for over a century and has acquired immense goodwill and it was essential to ensure that the competitors keep a safe distance from the mark.
• It is not difficult to conceive that a person who looks at the label of ‘DIL AFZA’ may recall the label of ‘ROOH AFZA’ as the word ‘AFZA’ is common and the meaning of the words ‘ROOH’ and ‘DIL’, when translated in English, are commonly used in conjunction.
• Both the products have the “same deep red colour and texture” and “structure of the bottles is not materially different” and thus opined that the “commercial impression of the impugned trademark is deceptively similar to the appellants’ trademark”.

Trademark:

• A trademark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by a business organisation to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities.
• It serves as a badge of origin exclusively identifying a particular business as a source of goods or services.
• Trademark infringement is the unauthorised usage of a sign that is identical or deceptively similar to a registered trademark.
• Strong trademark: A mark is said to be strong when it is well-known and has acquired a high degree of goodwill.
• The degree of the protection of any trademark changes with the strength of the mark; the stronger the mark, the higher the requirement to protect it.

Denotified, Nomadic And Semi-Nomadic Tribes Under SC/ST/OBC Lists:

The Parliamentary panel on Social Justice and Empowerment has asked the government to expedite categorisation of Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes under either the SC/ST/OBC lists. Delay would increase their suffering and deprive them of welfare schemes.

• Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes are communities that are the most vulnerable and deprived.
• DNTs (Denotified) are communities that were ‘notified’ as being ‘born criminals’ during the British regime under a series of laws starting with the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871.
• These Acts were repealed by the Independent Indian Government in l952, and these communities were “De-Notified”.
• A few of these communities which were listed as de-notified were also nomadic.
• Nomadic and semi-nomadic communities are defined as those who move from one place to another rather than living in one place all the time.
• Historically, Nomadic Tribes and De-notified Tribes never had access to private land or home ownership.
• While most DNTs are spread across the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories, some DNTs are not covered in any of the SC, ST or OBC categories.
• Many commissions and committees constituted since Independence have referred to the problems of these communities.
• It has been estimated that South Asia has the world’s largest nomadic population.
• In India, roughly 10% of the population is Denotified and Nomadic.
• While the number of Denotified Tribes is about 150, the population of Nomadic Tribes consists of about 500 different communities.

Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming And Comic (AVGC) Sector:

The Government has recently said that the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic (AVGC) sector has the potential to provide employment to over 20 lakh people in the coming 10 years.

• It is expected that the sector will witness 16 to 17 percent growth rate in the next decade.
• The AVGC sector in the country has witnessed an unprecedented growth rate in recent times, with many global players entering the Indian talent pool to avail of offshore delivery of services.
• India today contributes about 2.5 to 3 billion dollars out of the estimated 260 to 275 billion dollars worldwide in the AVGC market.
• Task Force recently submitted report on ‘Realising AVGC-XR (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics – Extended Reality) Sector Potential in India’ on the 22nd of December, 2022 by the Chairman of the Task Force, Apurva Chandra.

Recommendations:

• To make India a global content hub and create job opportunities in the AVGC sector, the Task Force has laid emphasis on establishing a National Centre of Excellence for the sector.
• The Regional Centre of Excellence will be instituted in collaboration with the State Governments to provide access to local industries and to promote local talent and content.
• It has been recommended by the Task Force to leverage National Education Policy to develop creative thinking with dedicated AVGC course content at school levels to build foundational skills and to create awareness about AVGC as a career choice.
• It has also been recommended to establish AVGC accelerators and innovation hubs in academic institutions, on the lines of Atal Tinkering Labs.
• The Task Force has recommended establishing a dedicated production fund for domestic content creation from the country to promote Indian culture and heritage globally.

What Is Regenerative Agriculture?

Farmers in Madhya Pradesh who follow regenerative farming methods find that they reduce the need for frequent irrigation, which conserves water and energy.

Regenerative Agriculture:

• Regenerative agriculture is a holistic farming system that focuses on soil health, food quality, biodiversity improvement, water quality and air quality through methods such as reducing the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, reducing tillage, integrating livestock and using cover crops.
• It Minimize soil distribution through conservation tillage
• Diversify crops to replenish nutrients and disrupt pest and disease lifecycles
• Retain soil cover using cover crops
• Integrate livestock, which adds manure to the soil and serves as a source of carbon sinks.

What Are Geoglyphs?

Experts and conservationists have raised concerns over the proposed location for a mega oil refinery in Barsu village of Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.

Geoglyphs:

• Barsu sites in the Konkan region were added to a tentative list of UNESCO’s world heritage sites and protected by the state archaeology department and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
• Geoglyphs are a form of prehistoric rock art, created on the surface of laterite plateaus.
• They are made by removing a part of the rock surface through an incision, picking, carving or abrading.
• They can be in the form of rock paintings, etchings, cup marks and ring marks.
• Clusters of geoglyphs are spread across the Konkan coastline in Maharashtra and Goa, spanning around 900 km. Porous laterite rock, which lends itself to such carving, is found on a large scale across the entire region.
• It has more than 1,500 pieces of such art, also called “Katal Shilpa,” spread across 70 sites.
• This is evidence of the continued existence of human settlements from the Mesolithic (middle Stone Age) to the early historic era.
• UNESCO’s tentative world heritage list mentions seven sites with petroglyphs in Ratnagiri district — Ukshi, Jambharun, Kasheli, Runde Tali, Devihsol, Barsu and Devache Gothane, one in Sindhudurg district –Kudopi village, and nine sites at Phansamal in Goa.
• The figures depicted in the geoglyphs include humans and animals such as deer, elephant, tiger, monkey, wild boar, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, cattle, pig, rabbit, and monkey.
• They also include a high number of reptilian and amphibian creatures such as tortoises and alligators, aquatic animals such as sharks and sting rays, and birds like peacocks.

India To Become Third Largest Economy By 2035 : CEBR

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), a British consultancy, has said India will become third largest economy by 2035 from the current fifth spot.

• In its annual World Economic League Table, the Centre for Economics and Business Research said that over the next five years, India’s annual rate of GDP growth is expected to average 6.4 percent after which growth is expected to average 6.5 percent in the subsequent nine years.
• CEBR also adds that by 2037, world gross domestic product will be doubled as developing economies will catch up with the richer ones.
• The shifting balance of power will see the East Asia and Pacific region account for over a third of global output by 2037, while Europe’s share shrinks to less than a fifth.
• The global economy will face recession in 2023 mainly due to rises in interest rates by the central banks to arrest higher inflation.
• The global economy surpassed 100 trillion Dollar for the first time in 2022, but will stall in 2023 as policy makers continue their fight against soaring prices.