Today’s Current Affairs: 6th April 2024 for UPSC IAS exams, State PSC exams, SSC CGL, State SSC, RRB, Railways, Banking Exam & IBPS, etc
Table of Contents
Glacial Lake Outburst Floods:
The Uttarakhand government has constituted two teams of experts to evaluate the risk posed by five potentially hazardous glacial lakes in the region.
- These lakes are prone to Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs), the kind of events that have resulted in several disasters in the Himalayan states in recent years.
- The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), which operates under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, has identified 188 glacial lakes in the Himalayan states that can potentially be breached because of heavy rainfall.
- Thirteen of them are in Uttarakhand.
- Glacial Lake Outburst Floods are disaster events caused by the abrupt discharge of water from glacial lakes large bodies of water that sit in front of, on top of, or beneath a melting glacier.
- As a glacier withdraws, it leaves behind a depression that gets filled with meltwater, thereby forming a lake.
- The more the glacier recedes, the bigger and more dangerous the lake becomes.
- Such lakes are mostly dammed by unstable ice or sediment composed of loose rock and debris.
- In case the boundary around them breaks, huge amounts of water rush down the side of the mountains, which could cause flooding in the downstream areas — this is referred to as a GLOF event.
- GLOFs can be triggered by various reasons, including glacial calving, where sizable ice chunks detach from the glacier into the lake, inducing sudden water displacement.
- Incidents such as avalanches or landslides can also impact the stability of the boundary around a glacial lake, leading to its failure, and the rapid discharge of water.
- GLOFs can unleash large volumes of water, sediment, and debris downstream with formidable force and velocity.
- The floodwaters can submerge valleys, obliterate infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and buildings, and result in significant loss of life and livelihoods.
- In recent years, there has been a rise in GLOF events in the Himalayan region as soaring global temperatures have increased glacier melting. Rapid infrastructure development in vulnerable areas has also contributed to the spike in such incidents.
Tornado : West Bengal
A tornado hit the Mainaguri area of Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal.
- The tornado hit caused significant destruction, resulting in the tragic loss of five lives and injuring over 300 people.
- A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that forms a connection between the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud (or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud).
- Tornadoes are funnel-shaped storms with very low pressure at the center.
- They are the smallest but most violent and disastrous of all the storms.
- Tornadoes generally occur in middle latitudes.
- Steep pressure gradients result in fast movement of air towards the center.
Green Elections:
The Election Commission of India (ECI) voiced its concern over the environmental risks associated with the use of non-biodegradable materials in elections.
- Amidst the climate crisis, shifting to sustainable practices across every sphere of human activity has become inevitable and urgent.
- Green Elections are practices that aim to reduce the environmental impact of electoral processes.
- They involve measures such as using recycled materials, promoting electronic voting, and encouraging candidates to adopt sustainable campaign practices.
- Candidates and parties can adopt sustainable alternatives such as recycled paper, biodegradable banners, and reusable materials.
- Opting for energy-efficient lighting, sound systems, and transportation during rallies can help reduce the carbon footprint.
- Leveraging digital platforms for campaigning (websites, social media, and email) reduces paper usage and energy consumption.
Shallowfakes:
With the Lok Sabha elections scheduled, social media platforms are abuzz with misinformation, mostly in the form of shallow fakes.
- Like deepfake, shallowfake is also an act of morphing people’s pictures and using them for malicious activities.
- But unlike deepfake, which is created by using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) software, shallowfake can be created by simply using basic editing software.
- They are made with existing technologies for example, a conventional edit on a photo, slowing-down a video to change the speech patterns of an individual or more often, relying on mis-captioning or mis-contextualising an existing image or video, claiming it is from a time or place which it is not from.
- And precisely because of this easier way to create them, many experts consider shallowfakes to be bigger threats than deepfakes.
- The term ‘shallow’ implies the quality of such fakes, which are lower in quality compared to deepfakes.
- They are used to create a false proof of identity or address, including photo ID documents like passports, driving licences etc.
- It is also used to create fake supporting evidence to support a claim or transaction, like contracts, agreements and invoices for services, no claims discount certificates, etc.
- Deepfakes are a compilation of artificial images and audio put together with machine-learning algorithms to spread misinformation and replace a real person’s appearance, voice, or both with similar artificial likenesses or voices.
- The term “deepfake” combines the deep learning concept with something fake.
Purple-Striped Jellyfish:
A bloom of venomous mauve stinger or purple-striped jellyfish was reported by marine researchers across the Visakhapatnam coast.
- Purple-striped jellyfish usually appears a blue purple (mauve) colour with a globe shaped umbrella covered in orangey brown warts.
- It is primarily pelagic or in the open ocean.
- However, this species can survive in benthic and temperate coastal habitats.
- It is found worldwide in tropical and warm-temperature seas. It is mainly found in the Indo-Pacific, Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
- Unlike other jellyfish species, it has stingers not just on the tentacles, but on the bell too. These are bioluminescent, having an ability to produce light in the dark.
- It is venomous and causes varying degrees of illness such as diarrhoea, extreme pain, vomiting and anaphylactic shock.
- A jellyfish bloom is when the population of the species increases dramatically within a short period of time, usually due to a higher reproduction rate.
- According to marine biologists, jellyfish blooms are reported frequently as a result of rising ocean temperatures, one of the main causes of substantial population growth.
Green Steel Policy:
The Steel Ministry is developing a comprehensive green steel policy, encompassing the manufacturing process, required skill set, and funding support, as part of a complete decarbonization strategy.
- Green steel is the eco-friendly production of steel with lower greenhouse gas emissions, possibly reducing costs and enhancing quality compared to traditional methods.
- The steel manufacturing process, involving blast furnaces, basic oxygen furnaces, and electric arc furnaces, is a major global source of carbon emissions, primarily due to the high coal and coke consumption in blast furnace operations.
- A study suggests that with steel demand projected to rise through the 21st century, there is a strong incentive to seek low greenhouse gas (GHG) emission alternatives for steel production.
- India’s domestic steel sector contributes 12% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, with an emission intensity of 2.55 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of crude steel, higher than the global average of 1.9 tonnes of CO2.
Unite Aware Platform : New Database
India launched a new database (Unite Aware platform) to record crimes against UN peacekeepers and monitor progress in holding perpetrators accountable.
- It was launched by the India-led Group of Friends (GOF) initiative in its second meeting to promote accountability for crimes against peacekeepers.
- The database will serve as an online repository to monitor and address cases of malicious acts against Peacekeepers.
- It will facilitate comprehensive analysis and drive effective strategies for promoting accountability.
- It is hosted on the Unite Aware platform.
- It implements the provisions of UN Security Council resolution 2589 (adopted in August 2021) which called upon troops hosting member states to bring to justice perpetrators of all acts of violence against United Nations personnel.
- On 16th December 2022, India launched a ‘Group of Friends’ to promote accountability for crimes against peacekeepers.
- It comprises 40 member states.
- It calls on member states to investigate, arrest, and prosecute perpetrators of crimes against peacekeepers (Blue Helmets) in line with international obligations, and to promote accountability both within and outside the UNSC in practical terms.
Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index:
According to a survey released by Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC), India’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reached a 16-year peak of 59.1 in March 2024.
- PMI is an economic indicator, which is derived after monthly surveys of different companies.
- It shows trends in both the manufacturing and services sector.
- A PMI above 50 represents an expansion when compared with the previous month.
- It helps in determining whether the market conditions, as seen by purchasing managers, is expanding, contracting or staying the same.
- It is used to provide information regarding the current and future business conditions.
- The HSBC India Manufacturing PMI is compiled by S&P Global.
India’s Stock Market:
India’s stock market capitalization is currently the fifth largest globally at $4.5 trillion, according to a report titled ‘Recap 2024.
- Crystal Gaze 2025’ by financial conglomerate Pantomath Group.
- The report predicts that India’s market cap is likely to hit $10 trillion by 2030, driven by strong economic growth and favorable government policies.
- This would make India the third-largest economy in the world by 2027.
- As of 2024, the top five countries by market capitalization are:
- United States: $44.7 trillion
- China: $9.8 trillion
- Japan: $6 trillion
- Hong Kong: $4.8 trillion
- India: $4.5 trillion
- In the fiscal year 2023-24, the Indian equity market witnessed a phenomenal performance, with benchmark indices soaring to unprecedented all-time highs:
- Nifty: Scaled a milestone of 22,526.60
- Sensex: Reached a peak of 74,245.17
- NSE Midcap 100: Advanced around 60.06%
- NSE Smallcap 250: Advanced around 63.07%
- India emerged as one of the best-performing markets in the last four years, ending a time-wise correction in March 2023 and continuing its strong momentum.
