Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 4th March 2023

13th-Century Hindu Temple Discovered:

A 13th-century Hindu temple was discovered at Pushpagiri Kshetram in the Kadapa district.

• 13th century Hindu temple ruins have been unearthed amidst a shrub jungle northeast of the Durga temple, atop a hillock in the Pushpagiri Kshetram in Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh.
• The architectural features of the ruins reveal a style that is contemporary to a temple at Vallur, built by the Kayastha rulers.
• The Kayasthas (1239 AD – 1297 AD) were subordinates to the rulers of the Kakatiya dynasty.
• Pushpagiri is referred to as Hari-Hara Kshetra, as there are a number of temples dedicated to both Shiva and Vishnu.
• It is located on the banks of the Pennar river.
• Pushpagiri is also called the second Hampi due to its beautiful architecture.

DNA Vaccine Against Dengue:

India’s first prospective DNA vaccine against dengue is under clinical trials.

• The DNA vaccine has been in development since 2019 by scientists from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru, in collaboration with nine institutions in India, Africa, and the US.
• DNA vaccines use engineered DNA to induce an immunologic response in the host against bacteria, parasites, and viruses.
• The basic working principle behind DNA vaccine involves the use of a DNA plasmid that encodes for a protein that originated from the pathogen in which the vaccine will be targeted.
• DNA vaccine will avoid extracellular degradation and successfully enter the nucleus of target cells to induce a long-term immune response.
• It is considered to be more stable, cost-efficient, and easier to handle than traditional vaccines.

Dengue disease:

• Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas.
• The primary vectors that transmit the disease are Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
• The virus responsible for causing dengue is called the dengue virus (DENV).
• It can be transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes.

SATHEE Platform:

The Ministry of Education (MoE) is set to launch a self-assessment platform for Indian students.

• SATHEE Platform is a new initiative by the Ministry of Education in association with IIT Kanpur.
• It provides Indian students with a self-paced interactive learning and assessment platform to prepare for competitive and other exams.
• It will help students gain access to training and coaching for competitive examinations for free.
• SATHEE aims to make the students learn the concepts and focus on their weak topics so they feel confident to give any exams by watching videos prepared by IIT and IISc faculty members.
• It provides free learning resources, including 800 videos in 12 regional languages.
• The platform will also provide regular all-India mock tests to help prepare for competitive exams, in addition to mentorship sessions by IIT and AIIMS students who shall act like SATHEES.
• The interactive programme is currently open for coaching help for JEE and NEET.
• It makes use of an indigenously-developed AI programme called Prutor, which was developed by IIT-Kanpur.

World Wildlife Day 2023 : 3rd March

World Wildlife Day is celebrated every year on March 3 to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the world’s flora and fauna.

• World Wildlife Day is a United Nations International day to celebrate all the world’s wild animals and plants and the contribution that they make to our lives and the health of the planet.
• It is celebrated every year on March 3.
• This date was chosen as it is the birthday of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, signed in 1973.
• The theme of World Wildlife Day 2023 is ‘Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation’.
• CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments.
• Aim is To ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species.
• It was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of IUCN (The World Conservation Union).
• It entered into force in July 1975.

NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE):

Researchers studied a supernova explosion that occurred over 450 years ago using NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE).

• The explosion, called Tycho, was visible to people on Earth in 1572, and the shock wave from the blast is still propagating through the cosmos.
• Tycho is classified as a Type Ia supernova, which occurs when a white dwarf star shreds its companion star, triggering a violent explosion and sending debris hurtling into space at tremendous speeds.
• Tycho released as much energy as the Sun would emit over ten billion years and blasted particles out into space near the speed of light.
• Researchers used IXPE to reveal the magnetic field geometry close to Tycho’s shock wave to investigate further how particles are accelerated there and to study polarised X-rays from the supernova remnant.

Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer:

• IXPE Space Observatory is a joint effort of NASA and the Italian Space Agency.
• It studies “the most extreme and mysterious objects in the universe – supernova remnants, supermassive black holes, and dozens of other high-energy objects.”

SMART-PDS:

As per the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, SMART-PDS is an important technologically driven initiative, therefore, all states and union territories should make earnest efforts to implement it at the earliest.

• SMART-PDS is a system where smart ration cards are issued to beneficiaries of the public distribution system, and ration is given through fair price shops on the production of the smart ration card by any member of the beneficiary family.
• Major initiatives are undertaken by the Government of India to strengthen the Public Distribution System (PDS) in India which includes the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) implemented from April 2020 to December 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic in coordination with States & UTs and One Nation One Ration Card plan implemented to support migrant population, promoting millets in the PDS is important for strengthening nutrition security in the country.

Porter Prize 2023:

The Union Health Ministry has been awarded the Porter Prize 2023 for successfully combating the COVID-19 crisis.

• The prize was announced at The India Dialog, organized by Institute for Competitiveness (IFC) and US Asia Technology Management Center (USATMC) at Stanford University on February 23-24,
• The award was presented to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) in the virtual presence of Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Secretary, MoHFW.
• The theme of the two-day conference was The Indian Economy 2023: Innovation, Competitiveness and Social Progress.
• The prize recognizes the strategy followed by the government of India in managing COVID-19, the approach and involvement of various stakeholders, especially the involvement of ASHA workers in the industry to create PPE kits
• .Porter Prize is named after US citizen Michael E Porter, an economist, researcher, author, advisor, speaker and teacher.
• He has brought economic theory and strategy concepts to bear on many of the most challenging problems facing corporations, economies and societies, including market competition and company strategy, economic development, environment and healthcare.

GSMA Government Leadership Award 2023:

GSM Association (GSMA) has conferred Government Leadership Award 2023 to India for implementing best practices in telecom policy and regulation.

• The Minister for Communications, Electronics & IT and Railways, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw said “GSMA Awards represent global recognition of the telecom reforms carried out by PM Shri Narendra Modi ji.
• More than 85% mobile tower clearances are now instantaneous.
• With nearly 1 Lakh sites in 387 districts, India’s 5G roll-out is one of the fastest in the world.
• Indian telecom sector has emerged as a sunrise sector and the whole world has taken note of this rise.”
• GSMA, which represents more than 750 mobile operators and 400 companies in the telecom ecosystem, recognizes one country every year.
• India was declared winner in the ceremony held at Mobile World Congress Barcelona on 27 Feb, 2023.

GSMA:

• It is an association with more than 1200 companies as members. It was formed in 1995 to support mobile operators in the world.
• The GSMA organises the Mobile World Congress. More than 100,000 visitors attend the congress.
• In 2019, the congress was recognised as the Guinness World Record for the fourth time.
• It was recognised for holding the largest carbon-neutral tradeshow.