Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 2nd July 2024

Project-76:

Under Project 76, the Warship Design Bureau of the Indian Navy is working on designing and developing the country’s first indigenously conventional diesel-electric submarine.

• The Indian Navy wants to build 12 submarines under Project 76.
• Envisioned as air-independent propulsion (AIP)-equipped diesel-electric attack submarines, these submarines, expected to have a submerged displacement of 3,000 tons, represent a leap beyond their foreign-designed predecessors like Project-751 (India) and Project-75 submarines.
• It aims to succeed the Sindhughosh (Kilo) class, emphasizing the Navy’s commitment to maintaining a robust 3,000-ton class of submarines.
• It is expected to feature some of the most advanced features such as, indigenous Weapon Control system and Lithium-ion batteries.
• It represents a pivotal milestone in India’s pursuit of maritime supremacy, amalgamating top-tier French technology from Project 75 and the expertise of German/Spanish collaboration from Project 751 (India).
• The objective is to initiate the construction of the prototype by 2028.
• This undertaking holds immense significance for India’s submarine-building capabilities, aiming to reduce reliance on foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) for submarine design.

Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis:

Due to continued rain in Kerala, the health department has issued caution on amoebic meningoencephalitis.

• Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) is a rare, usually fatal, infection of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord).
• It is caused by a type of free-living amoeba (a microscopic, single-celled organism) called Naegleria fowleri.
• Naegleria fowleri occurs in shallow surface waters and incorrectly maintained swimming pools, hot tubs, and spas, particularly in warm climates.
• The amebas can enter the brain through the nose when people swim in contaminated warm, fresh water.
• The amoeba then invades the brain and meninges through the nose.
• Symptoms, which include fever, headache, vomiting, and sensitivity to light, typically appear within five days of infection and progress rapidly.
• In the later stages, one can suffer from a stiff neck, seizures, hallucinations, and even coma.
• There are no standard treatments for the treatment of PAM.
• Combination therapy using medicines to treat parasites offers the most promise.
• PAM differs from granulomatous amebic encephalitis, which is another very rare, usually fatal infection of the central nervous system caused by different free-living amebas, Acanthamoeba species or Balamuthia mandrillaris.

European Council : Next President

The Prime Minister of India congratulated H.E António Costa on being elected as next President of the European Council.

• European Council institution that defines the general political direction and priorities of the European Union.
• It was created as an informal forum in 1974 for discussion between heads of state or government of the EU member states.
• Under this treaty the European Council acquired a formal status and role to provide the impetus and general political guidelines for the EU.
• The members of the European Council are the heads of state or government of the 27 EU member states, the European Council President and the President of the European Commission.
• It usually meets 4 times a year– but the President can convene additional meetings to address urgent issues.
• It generally decides issues by consensus but by unanimity or qualified majority in some cases. Only the heads of state/government can vote.

Snowblind Malware:

A new banking malware called ‘Snowblind’ is targeting Android users to steal banking credentials.

• Snowblind malware is a new Android malware that uses a built-in Android security feature to bypass anti-tamper mechanisms and steal banking credentials.
• This malware exploits a built-in security feature to bypass anti-tamper protection in apps handling sensitive information.
• It works by repacking an app so it is unable to detect the use of accessibility features that can be used to extract sensitive information like login credentials and get remote access to the app.
• It exploits a feature called ‘seccomp’, which stands for ‘secure computing’.
• It is part of the underlying Linux kernel and the Android operating system and is used to check applications for signs of tampering.
• The security firm discovered that Snowblind injects a piece of code that loads before seccomp initialises the anti-tampering measures.
• This enables the malware to bypass security mechanisms and utilize accessibility services to remotely view the victim’s screen.
• Snowblind can also disable biometric and two-factor authentication, two security features commonly used by banking apps to thwart unauthorized access.
• Like typical Android malware, Snowblind infects users who install apps from untrusted sources.
• While the security firm was unable to identify how many devices are affected by the new malware, it says that Snowblind is mostly active in Southeast Asia.

INS Ranvir:

The Indian Naval Ship INS Ranvir, of the Eastern Fleet under the aegis of the Eastern Naval Command arrived at Chattogram, Bangladesh as part of an Operational Deployment.

• INS Ranvir is a Rajput Class Guided Missile Destroyer which has undergone upgrade with state of art weapons and sensors, majority being indigenous.
• It is the fourth of the fiveRajput-class destroyers built for the Indian Navy which was commissioned on 28 October 1986.
• During this visit, personnel from the Indian and Bangladesh navies will engage in a wide range of professional interactions including Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE), cross-deck visits, community outreach and friendly sports fixtures.
• On completion of harbour phase, INS Ranvir will participate in a Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX)/ PASSEX with ships of the Bangladesh Navy.
• It will further strengthen the longstanding friendship, cooperation as also the robust interoperability between both nations through a series of engagements and activities aligned with Government of India’s focus on Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR).

eSankhyiki Portal:

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has developed an eSankhyiki portal.

• eSankhyiki Portal provides real-time inputs for planners, policy-makers, researchers and the public at large.
• The objective of this portal is to establish a comprehensive data management and sharing system for ease of dissemination of official statistics in the country.
• It has two modules namely:
  • Data Catalogue Module:This module catalogues the major data assets of the Ministry at one place for ease of access.
    • It allows users to search within datasets, including within tables, and download data of interest to increase its value and re-usability.
    • The module has seven data products, namely National Accounts Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Index of Industrial Production, Annual Survey of Industries, Periodic Labour Force Survey, Household Consumption Expenditure Survey and Multiple Indicator Survey.
    • The Data Catalogue section already includes over 2291 datasets along with specific metadata and visualization for each dataset for user convenience.
  • Macro Indicators Module:This module offers time series data of key macro indicators with features for filtering and visualizing data enabling ease of access for the users.
    • The module also allows users to download custom datasets, visualizations and share them through APIs, thereby increasing the re-usability of data.
• The first phase of the module includes four major products of MoSPI: National Accounts Statistics, Consumer Price Index, Index of Industrial Production, and Annual Survey of Industries, encompassing the data of the last ten years.
• The portal currently hosts more than 1.7 million records.

Nova Explosion:

Global professionals and amateur astronomers are waiting for an once-in-a-lifetime nova explosion which will occur in September, 3,000 light-years from the Earth.

• Nova Explosion is the dramatic instance of a star exploding as it interacts with another, nearby star.
• It’s a one of many, repeated moments during the long, slow, death of two neighboring stars in the same system.
• Astronomers are waiting for the fiery explosion of T Coronae Borealis, also dubbed the “Blaze Star” and known to astronomers as “T CrB”.
• For T CrB, this nova event happens roughly every 80 years — it’s like Halley’s Comet event every 76 years — so, astronomers call T CrB a “recurrent” nova.
• They believe T CrB’s prior eruptions were observed as long ago as December 1787 and even in October 1217 AD.
• When T CrB erupts, its luminosity will increase dramatically, making it visible to the naked eye for several days.
• The system contains two stars — a white dwarf and a red giant.
• The white dwarf is an incredibly dense remnant of a once larger star. It’s about the size of planet Earth but with the same mass as our sun.
• Its neighbor, the red giant, is in its final years of existence and is slowly being stripped of hydrogen by the gravitational pull of the denser white dwarf.
• This star “cannibalism” causes a tremendous buildup of pressure and heat, which eventually triggers a huge thermonuclear explosion.

International Asteroid Day 2024:

International Asteroid Day is observed on 30th June to commemorate the Tunguska event in 1908 and aims to raise awareness about the threat of asteroid impacts.

• The Tunguska event was caused by an asteroid explosion in Siberia, flattened 80 million trees over an area of 830 square miles.
• International Asteroid Day was designated by the United Nations in 2016 to promote global efforts in planetary defence.
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) stated that a collision of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) with Earth is the only natural disaster humanity could completely prevent.

World Drug Report 2024 : United Nations Office On Drugs And Crime

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released its World Drug Report 2024, drawing global attention to escalating concerns in the international drug landscape.

Highlights of the Report:

• In 2022, the number of drug users worldwide reached 292 million, representing a 20% increase over the past decade.
• Cannabis remains the most popular drug, with 228 million users, followed by Opioids, Amphetamines, Cocaine, and Ecstasy
• The report warns about nitazenes, a new class of synthetic opioids more potent than fentanyl.
• These substances are linked to an increase in overdose deaths, particularly in high-income countries.
• Out of 64 million people suffering from drug use disorders, only one in 11 receive treatment.
• The report reveals a significant gender gap in treatment access.
• Only one in 18 women with drug use disorders receive treatment, compared to one in seven men.

Revised Currency Swap Framework For SAARC:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has decided to put in place a revised framework for currency swap arrangements for SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries for the period 2024 to 2027.

• A currency swap agreement between two countries is a contract to exchange currencies with predetermined terms and conditions for liquidity support.
• Central banks and Governments engage in currency swaps with foreign counterparts to meet short-term foreign exchange liquidity requirements or to ensure adequate foreign currency to avoid the Balance of Payments (BOP) crisis till longer arrangements can be made.
• These swap operations carry no exchange rate or other market risks as transaction terms are set in advance.
• The SAARC currency swap facility first came into operation on 15th November 2012, to provide a backstop line of funding for short-term foreign exchange liquidity requirements or balance of payment crises of the SAARC countries till longer-term arrangements are made.
• The RBI can offer a swap arrangement within the overall corpus of USD 2 billion.
• The swap can be made in US dollars, euro or Indian rupees. The framework provides certain concessions for swap in the Indian rupee.
• The facility will be available to all SAARC member countries, subject to their signing the bilateral swap agreements.
• Under the framework for 2024-27, a separate INR (Indian Rupee) swap window has been introduced with various concessions for swap support in Indian Rupee.
• The total corpus of the rupee support is Rs. 250 billion.
• The RBI will continue to offer swap arrangements in USD and Euro under a separate US Dollar/ Euro swap window with an overall corpus of USD 2 billion.

Glucagon Manufacturing In PLI Scheme:

The government decided to manufacture a Glucagon-like peptide receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) drug in India under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme from 2026.

• GLP-1RA is a class of anti-diabetic drugs which are also used for weight loss.
• Apart from GLP-1RA, investors are planning to make other drugs like Ozempic (for diabetes), and Wegovy (for obesity) at the site and the PLI scheme will provide manufacturing avenues in India.
• The PLI scheme is an ambitious central scheme to scale up domestic manufacturing capability, accompanied by higher import substitution and employment generation.
• Launched in March 2020, the scheme at present covers 14 sectors.
• Under the scheme, Domestic and Foreign companies receive financial rewards for manufacturing in India, based on a percentage of their revenue over up to five years.