Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 6th July 2023

Chabahar Port : In News

Prime Minister recently said the members of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) can work towards maximizing the utilization of the Chabahar Port following Iran’s membership of the world’s largest regional organization.

• Chabahar Port is a seaport in the Sistan-Balochistan province of Iran, on the Gulf of Oman, at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz.
• Chabahar is a deep-water port with direct access to the Indian Ocean that is outside the Hormuz Strait.
• It is Iran’s only seaport and consists of two separate ports called Shahid Beheshti and Shahid Kalantari.
• It’s geographic proximity to countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, as well as its status as a key transit center on the burgeoning International North-South Transport Corridor, gives it the potential to develop into one of the most important commercial hubs in the region.
• In May 2016, India signed a tripartite agreement with Iran and Afghanistan to develop the Shahid Beheshti Terminal at Chabahar.
• It is India’s first foreign port project.
• The deal agreement aims to establish an International Transport and Transit Corridor in Chabahar.
• The construction of the Chabahar Port and the construction of a rail line from Chabahar Port to Zahedan are the major highlights of this project.
• The idea was that the port would enable India to bypass Pakistan and access Afghanistan, and ultimately Central Asia.
• The port could serve as a hub for transit trade between India, Iran, and Afghanistan and provide an alternative route to the traditional Silk Road that passes through China.

International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC):

• INSTC is a multi-modal transportation route linking the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran and onward to northern Europe via St. Petersburg in Russia.

Bhashini Platform:

Prime Minister recently pitched for sharing India’s AI-based language platform, Bhashini, with SCO member countries to remove language barriers within the international grouping.

• Digital India BHASHINI, is India’s Artificial Intelligence (AI)-led language translation platform.
• It seeks to enable easy access to the internet and digital services in Indian languages, including voice-based access, and help the creation of content in Indian languages.
• It aims to make Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing (NLP) resources available in the public domain to be used by — Indian MSMEs, startups and individual innovators.
• This will help developers to offer all Indians easy access to the internet and digital services in their native languages.
• This online platform also has a separate ‘Bhasadaan’ section which allows individuals to contribute to multiple crowdsourcing initiatives, and it is also accessible via respective Android and iOS apps.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) : Approved USD 200 Million Additional Financing

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently approved USD 200 million additional financing for the Rajasthan secondary towns development sector project.

• Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a multilateral development bank established on 19th December 1966.
• Its primary mission is to “foster economic growth and cooperation” among countries in the Asia-Pacific Region.
• ADB assists members and partners by providing loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity investments to promote social and economic development.
• It also provides financing to certain private sector projects as well as public-private partnerships.
• The ADB regularly facilitates policy dialogues and provides advisory services.
• They also useco-financing operations that tap official, commercial, and export credit sources while providing assistance.
• Headquarters: Manila, Philippines.
• ADB has 68 members—of which 49 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.

Gutti Koya Tribe:

Gutti Koya tribes people erect stone memorials in the event of death of their three most important service providers namely physician, priest and village leader.

• Gutti Koya tribe is concentrated in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
• They speak the Koya, which is a Dravidian language.
• The most important fair celebrated by Koyas is the Sammakka Saralamma Jatraonce in two years on full moon day of the Magha Masam (January or February) at Medaram village in Mulug taluk of Warangal district.
• They practice Podu form of shifting cultivation, as practiced by various tribal groups in forest areas has for long been an economical survival versus environmental sustenance issue.
• The held ST status in Chattisgarh but they were not granted ST status in their migrated states such as Telangana.
• They earn a living through animal husbandry and minor forest produce.

CH3+ Molecule Has Been Detected In Space:

The CH3+ molecule has been detected in space for the first time by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

• Scientists found the fingerprints of the CH3+ molecule in light coming from a swirling disk of dust and gas around a young star.
• The disk is in the Orion Nebula, 1,350 light years from Earth.
• CH3+ molecule is also known as methyl cation.
• CH3+ is a very simple organic molecule, just one carbon atom and 3 hydrogen atoms.
• It reacts with other molecules to form more complex ones.
• Its presence in space tells us that basic building blocks for life are out there.
• It is an initiator of a lot of very interesting more complex reactions
• The discovery of methyl cation in a region where planets that could eventually host life are forming may help untangle this cosmic riddle and help scientists better understand how and where in the universe life could get started.

James Webb Space Telescope:

• This telescope was built in collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency and was launched in December 2021.
• It is presently at a point in space known as the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point, approximately 1.5 million km beyond Earth’s orbit.

Scheme For Pregnant Minor Victims Of Sexual Assault:

The Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India has unveiled a new scheme aimed at providing critical care and support to pregnant minor victims of sexual assault who lack family support.

• The scheme, with an outlay of Rs 74.10 crore, will offer shelter, food, legal aid, and other necessary assistance to these victims across the country.
• The scheme seeks to assist minor girls who have been abandoned by their families due to forced pregnancies resulting from rape or gang rape.
• It acknowledges the physical and emotional trauma experienced by minor victims of rape and aggravated assault, especially in cases where they become pregnant.
• Victims below the age of 18, who become pregnant due to rape or assault as per the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and are either orphans or abandoned by their families, will be covered under the scheme.
• It is not mandatory for victims to possess a copy of the First Information Report (FIR) to avail the benefits provided by the scheme.
• It aims to provide medical, financial, and infrastructural support to such victims under the Nirbhaya Fund.
• The funds will be utilized to set up shelters dedicated to these victims, either as standalone shelters or designated wards within existing child care institutions (CCIs).
• In the case of wards within CCIs, separate safe spaces will be provided for minor rape victims to cater to their specific needs.
• The integrated support under the scheme aims to provide immediate and non-emergency access to various services, including education, police assistance, healthcare, and legal support.
• Insurance coverage will also be provided for the minor victim and her newborn, ensuring access to justice and rehabilitation
• The scheme will leverage the administrative structure of Mission Vatsalya in collaboration with State governments and CCIs to actualise this support to minor victims.
• Also, 415 POCSO fast-track courts are already established across India to expedite justice for minor victims of rape.

Alluri Sitarama Raju : Birth Anniversary

The President of India attended the closing ceremony of the 125th Birth Anniversary of Alluri Sitarama Raju in Hyderabad.

• The 125th ceremony of Alluri Sitha Rama Raju was a year-long celebration of the birth anniversary of the legendary freedom fighter.
• The ceremony was launched by the Prime Minister on July 4, 2022.
• Alluri Sitarama Raju was an Indian revolutionary who fought against the British colonial rule in India.
• He led a guerrilla campaign in the Eastern Ghats region of present-day Andhra Pradesh, mobilizing the tribal people against the oppressive forest laws and policies of the British government.
• He is widely regarded as a hero of the jungle or Manyam Veerudu by the local people for his bravery and sacrifice.
• He was born on 4 July 1897 or 1898 in Pandrangi village, Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh.
• He belonged to a Telugu-speaking Kshatriya family.
• Alluri Sitarama Raju joined the Non-cooperation movement led by Mahatma Gandhi and witnessed the exploitation of tribal people in the Eastern Ghats region by British authorities.
• Alluri Sitarama Raju formed a guerrilla army and used Guerrilla warfare to launch attacks on British police stations and outposts.
• Alluri Sitarama Raju was captured and killed by British forces in Koyyuru village on 7 May 1924, marking the end of the Rampa Rebellion.
• A postal stamp issued by the Government of India in 1986 featuring Alluri Sitarama Raju.

Mo Jungle Jami Yojana : Odisha Government

The Odisha government has introduced the Mo Jungle Jami Yojana, a scheme aimed at bolstering forest rights among tribals and forest dwellers across the state’s districts.

• Odisha will become the first state in India to recognize community forest rights in addition to individual rights offered by the central government.
• The scheme aims to ensure livelihood and food security for the Scheduled Tribe and forest dwelling population by granting ownership of land and access to forest resources to the beneficiaries in accordance with their entitlements.
• Odisha has a significant number of villages and Scheduled Tribe families that are targeted to benefit from the scheme.
• With 62 different tribes, including 13 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), the state’s tribal population accounts for 22.85% of the overall population.