Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 2nd October 2024

Harpoon Missile : First Shipment

The first shipment of 100 land-based Harpoon anti-ship missile systems ordered from the United States has reportedly arrived in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

• The Harpoon (RGM-84/UGM-84/AGM-84) is a United States-designed subsonic antiship cruise missile that has been in service since 1977.
• Numerous variants have been produced since its inception, including air-, ship-, and sub-launched versions.
• It is currently in service with the armed forces of more than 30 countries, including India.
• It is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system.
• A single missile measures 4.5 m in length and weighs 526 kg.
• Its low-level, sea-skimming cruise trajectory, active radar guidance, and warhead design assure high survivability and effectiveness.
• It is capable of executing both land-strike and anti-ship missions.
• This missile is fitted with a heavy 221-kilogram penetration blast warhead.
• It uses GPS-aided inertial navigation to hit a designated target point.
• Range: 90-240 km

National Mission For Clean Ganga : Meeting

The 57th Executive Committee (EC) meeting of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) approved key projects in various states.

• These projects aimed towards the conservation and cleanliness of the Ganga River, and, for IEC (Information, Education, and Communication) activities during Mahakumbh 2025.

Highlights:

• The EC approved STPs in Katihar and Supaul in Bihar and Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.
• STPs purify water by removing sewage and contaminants, making it suitable to be released into natural water sources.
• It includes the installation of an Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring System (OCEMS) for strengthening the online continuous monitoring of existing STPs in the Ganga River Basin.
• Mahakumbh 2025 IEC Activities: To enhance cleanliness and awareness during Mahakumbh 2025, an IEC (Information, Education, and Communication) activity-based project has been approved.
• The project includes decorating the mela area and city through ‘Paint My City’ and mural art.
• The Committee also approved restructuring manpower under the Pollution Inventory, Assessment, and Surveillance (PIAS) project to enhance its effectiveness.
• PIAS project is piloted by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for the monitoring of industrial pollution.
• The Committee approved key components of the ‘Smart Laboratory for Clean River’ (SLCR) project to accelerate the rejuvenation of small rivers across the country.
• Approval was granted for the freshwater turtle and gharial conservation breeding program at the Kukrail Gharial Rehabilitation Center in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Tsangyang Gyatso Peak:

A peak in Arunachal Pradesh was named ‘Tsangyang Gyatso Peak’ after the 6th Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso on which China objected.

• China condemned the naming of the peak calling it an illegal operation in “Chinese territory”.
• China claims the entire Arunachal Pradesh as “South Tibet”. Beijing calls the region “Zangnan” in the Chinese language.
  Tsangyang Gyatso was born in Tawang and lived during the 17th-18th century CE.
• India described the naming as a tribute to Tsangyang Gyatso’s “timeless wisdom” and his contributions to the Monpa community (an ethnic group native to the Tawang region).
• A team from National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports (NIMAS) scaled the 6,383-metre peak facing steep ice walls, dangerous crevasses, and a two-kilometre-long glacier.
• The peak is located in the Gorichen range of Arunachal Pradesh Himalayas.
• A crevasse is a deep, wedge-shaped opening in a glacier. Crevasses usually form in the top 50 metres of a glacier.
  NIMAS comes under the Ministry of Defence.

Bharatiya Kala Mahotsav:

The President launched the first edition of Bharatiya Kala Mahotsav at Rashtrapati Nilayam in Secunderabad (Hyderabad).

• It is an eight-day festival, organised by the Rashtrapati Nilayam in collaboration with the Ministry of Development of the North-east Region (DoNER) and the Ministry of Culture.
• It is to celebrate the vibrant cultural heritage and showcase the art, crafts, and culinary diversity of the North-Eastern states.
• It also serves as a platform for cultural exchange and aims to connect the North-East with the southern regions of the nation.
• Rashtrapati Nilayam is one of India’s three presidential retreats (one is in Delhi and the other is in Shimla) and the only one in Southern India.
• It was constructed in 1860 with a total land area of 90 acres and was taken over by the Nizam of Hyderabad after independence.

Oxygen Bird Park (Amrit Mahotsav Park):

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways inaugurated Oxygen Bird Park (Amrit Mahotsav Park) in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

• It is an eco-initiative developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) along the Nagpur-Hyderabad National Highway-44.
• It has fast-growing, oxygen-producing trees aimed to combat air pollution and foster a healthier environment.
• It is designed to mimic natural ecosystems to conserve both local and migratory bird species.
• It aims to preserve rare and endangered tree species native to Central India like the Vulnerable Indian Bael, Gum Karaya and the Endangered Yellow Flame of the Forest.
• It also features a lotus/lily pad pond, reed bed (natural water filtration), bamboo and palm plantation.
• A part of the park is dedicated to social forestry. Social forestry focuses on growing trees on unused land, either individually, in groups, or in strips.

Cruise Bharat Mission:

The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) launched the ‘Cruise Bharat Mission’ from the Mumbai port.

• Cruise Bharat Mission is aimed at boosting the tremendous potential of cruise tourism in the country and to propel the country’s cruise tourism industry by doubling cruise passenger traffic within five years; i.e. by 2029.
• It will be implemented in three phases, beginning from 1 October 2024 up to 31 March 2029.
• Phase 1 (01.10.2024 – 30.09.2025) will focus on conducting studies, master planning, and forming cruise alliances with neighbouring countries. It will also modernise existing cruise terminals, marinas, and destinations to enhance the potential of cruise circuits.
• Phase 2 (01.10.2025 – 31.03.2027) will concentrate on developing new cruise terminals, marinas, and destinations to activate high-potential cruise locations and circuits.
• Phase 3 (01.04.2027 – 31.03.2029) will focus on integrating all cruise circuits across the Indian Subcontinent, marking the maturity of the cruise ecosystem while continuing the development of cruise terminals, marinas, and destinations.

Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award For Year 2022:

Legendary actor Mr. Mithun Chakraborty will be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award for the year 2022.

• Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India’s highest award in the field of cinema.
• It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• The recipient is honoured for their “outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema”.
• Dhundiraj Govind ‘Dadasaheb’ Phalke was born in 1870 at Trimbak in Maharashtra.
• He studied engineering and sculpture and developed an interest in motion pictures after watching the 1906 silent film The Life of Christ.

Mount Erebus:

Antarctica’s second largest volcano, Mount Erebus, is spewing out gold dust, which has left scientists in complete shock.

• Mount Erebus is the world’s southernmost active volcano.
• It is situated on Ross Island, Antarctica.
• It was discovered in 1841 by the British explorer Sir James Clark Ross, who named it after his ship, the Erebus.
• It’s a stratovolcano characterized by a conical shape and layers of hardened lava, tephra, and volcanic ash.
• Mount Erebus is known for its persistent lava lake.
• The lake has been active since at least 1972and is one of only a few long-lived lava lakes on Earth.
• It constantly churns and occasionally spews bombs of molten rock in Strombolian eruptions.
• Because the volcano is in a remote location, researchers monitor it using satellites.
• The largest Antarctic settlement—McMurdo Station, operated by the United States—stands within sight of the volcano (about 40 kilometers or 25 miles away).

Exercise KAZIND:

The 8th edition of Exercise KAZIND is scheduled to be conducted from 30th September to 13th October 2024 at Surya Foreign Training Node, Auli, Uttarakhand.

• Exercise KAZIND is a joint military Exercise held every year between India and Kazakhstan.
• The Indian Armed Forces, comprising 120 personnel, are being represented by a battalion of the KUMAON Regiment of Indian Army, along with other arms and services, as well as personnel from the Indian Air Force.
• The Kazakhstan contingent will be represented mainly by personnel from Land Forces and Air Borne Assault Troopers.
• Aim is to enhance the joint military capability of both sides to undertake counter-terrorism operations in a sub-conventional scenario under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.
• It will focus on operations in the semi-urban and mountainous terrain. Objectives to be achieved from the Joint Exercise are a high degree of physical fitness, rehearsing and refining drills for operations at the tactical level and sharing of best practices.
• Tactical drills to be rehearsed during the Joint Exercise include joint response to terrorist action, establishment of a Joint Command Post, establishment of an Intelligence and Surveillance Centre
• Joint Exercise KAZIND-2024 will enable both sides to share best practices in tactics, techniques and procedures of conducting joint operations.
• It will facilitate the development of inter-operability, bonhomie and camaraderie between the two armies. The Joint Exercise will also enhance defence cooperation, further augmenting bilateral relations between the two friendly nations.

Kosi River : Severe Flood In Bihar

Several regions of Bihar are facing severe flooding due to the heavy release of water from the Kosi Barrage in Birpur, following intense rainfall.

• Kosi River is a trans boundary river which flows through China, Nepal and India.
• It is a prominent tributary of the Ganges.
• The river Kosi is formed by the confluence of three streams, namely the Sun Kosi, the Arun Kosi, and the Tamur Kosi, all of which have their origin in the Himalayan region of Nepal and Tibet.
• About 30 miles (48 km) north of the Indian-Nepalese frontier, the Kosi is joined by several major tributaries and breaks southward through the Siwalik Hillsat the narrow Chatra Gorge.
• The river then emerges on the great plain of northern India in Bihar state on its way to the Ganges River, which it enters south of Purnea after a course of about 450 miles (724 km).
• The Kosi drains an area of 74,500 sq.km, of which only 11,070 sq.km lie within Indian Territory.
• The Kosi River valley is bounded by steep margins that disconnect it from the Yarlung Zangbo River to the north, the Mahananda River to the east, the Gandaki to the west, and the Ganga to the south.
• Because of its great outflushing of debris, the Kosi has no permanent channel in its course through the great plain of northern India.
• It is well known for its tendency to change course generally in a westward direction. During the last 200 years, the river has shifted westwards for a distance of about 112 km and has laid waste large tracks of agricultural land.
• Kosi is known as the “sorrow of Bihar”, as it has caused widespread human suffering in the past due to flooding and very frequent course changes when it flows from Nepal to Bihar.
• It has seven major tributaries: Sun Koshi, Tama Koshi or Tamba Koshi, Dudh Koshi, Indravati, Likhu, Arun, and Tamore or Tamar.

Tsetse flies : Recent Study

According to a new atlas published by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Tsetse flies are present in 34 African countries.

• Tsetse flies (genus Glossina) are unicellular blood-sucking insects.
• They are holometaboulos insects, females giving birth to full-grown larvae which rapidly pupate in the soil.
• They are arranged taxonomically and ecologically into three groups: the fusca, or forest, group (subgenus Austenina); the morsitans, or savanna, group (subgenus Glossina); and the palpalis, or riverine, group (subgenus Nemorhina)
• They are found in local patches of dense vegetation along banks of rivers.
• Also found in lakes in arid terrain, and also in dense, wet, heavily forested equatorial rainforest
• They feed on blood and transmit the Trypanosoma parasites, which are responsible for sleeping sickness in humans and animal trypanosomosis or “Nagana” in cattle.
• They are also linked to nagana in African livestock, resulting in annual agricultural losses estimated in the billions of dollars.
• The collected data confirmed the presence of Glossina species in 34 countries, ranging from Northern Senegal (around 15 degrees north) to South Africa (Kwazulu-Natal province at 28.5 degrees south).

Army Sports Conclave Hosted By Indian Army:

The Indian Army hosted the much-anticipated “Army Sports Conclave” today, highlighting the role of the Indian Army in India’s sporting ecosystem. As India sets its sight on hosting the 2036 Olympics, the Army Sports Conclave serves as a crucial platform to align efforts and contribute to this national mission.

Ishpreet Entered Into Semi-Final & First Indian After a Decade:

Ishpreet Singh Chadha beat the four time world champion Mark Selby in the Pro circuit snooker to make place in the semi final of that tournament. He became the first player from his country to make the semi-finals of a ranking tournament since Aditya Mehta reached the last four of the 2013 Indian Open.

2024 AYUSH Medical Value Travel Summit Inaugurated:

Shri Prataprao Jadhav, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Ayush, and Union Minister of State, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, inaugurated the Ayush Medical Value Travel Summit 2024. The event took place in Mumbai. Aim To strengthen India’s position in Medical Value Travel (MVT) by integrating traditional Indian systems

IBBI to Celebrate Its 8th Annual Day:

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) celebrates its Eighth Annual Day on 1st October 2024. Senior officers of the Government and regulatory bodies will grace the occasion. Over the past eight years, the IBC has significantly accelerated the resolution of insolvency cases.

Current Account Deficit Widens to $9.7 Billion in April-June Quarter:

In the April-June 2024 quarter, India’s current account deficit (CAD) increased to $9.7 billion, or 1.1% of GDP, up from $8.9 billion (1% of GDP) in Q1 FY2024, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

New asset class and a liberalized Mutual Funds Lite:

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has announced the introduction of a new asset class and a liberalized Mutual Funds Lite (MF Lite) framework, aimed at enhancing the investment landscape in India.