Today’s Current Affairs: 9th April 2024 for UPSC IAS exams, State PSC exams, SSC CGL, State SSC, RRB, Railways, Banking Exam & IBPS, etc
Table of Contents
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island:
The unchecked population growth of spotted deer (Chital) is creating problems in Netaji Subhash Chandra Boss Island.
- Introduced to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for game hunting in the early 1900s by the British, the herbivore multiplied unchecked for years in the absence of large predators.
- It has become an “invasive” problem for the Union Territory’s authorities.
- Earlier Ross Island, now officially known as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island, is an island of the Andaman Islands.
- The Island is situated three kilometres East of Central Port Blair.
- It belongs to the South Andaman administrative district, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are strategically located in the Indian Ocean between the Indian mainland, Myanmar, and Indonesia, and are close to important maritime routes.
- The islands were first controlled by the Dutch, then by the British, and were taken over by the advancing Japanese military during World War II.
- The Azad Hind government was able to obtain de jure control of the islands from the Japanese by the end of 1943, and Subhash Chandra Bose arrived in Port Blair on December 29.
- Keeping in mind the historical significance of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and to honour the memory of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Ross Islands was renamed as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Dweep by Prime Minister during his visit to the Island in 2018.
- Neil Island and Havelock Island were also renamed Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep.
- All the three islands are major tourist spots.
Intersex People : UN Resolution
The United Nations Human Rights Council recently made a historic decision by adopting a resolution aimed at combating discrimination and harmful practices against intersex people.
- Intersex people are individuals born with sex characteristics (such as sexual anatomy, reproductive organs, hormonal patterns, and/or chromosomal patterns) that do not align with typical binary notions of male or female bodies.
- They may have any gender identity or sexual orientation.
- Experts estimate that up to 1.7% of the population are born with intersex traits. Intersex individuals are distinct from transgender individuals, as the former’s physical characteristics do not necessarily match their gender identity.
- The resolution calls upon member states to address root causes of discrimination, such as stereotypes and misinformation, and to ensure the rights to bodily integrity and autonomy for intersex individuals.
- The resolution on intersex rights promotes ethical values such as combating discrimination, ensuring the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, and addressing root causes of human rights violations.
Oceanic Niño Index:
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an 83% probability of the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) transitioning to a neutral range by April-June 2024.
- Oceanic Niño Index is the primary indicator for monitoring the ocean part of the seasonal climate pattern called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, or “ENSO”.
- It tracks the running 3-month average sea surface temperatures in the east-central tropical Pacific between 120°-170°W, near the International Dateline, and whether they are warmer or cooler than average.
- Index values of +0.5 or higher indicate El Niño and values of -0.5 or lower indicate La Niña.
- El Nino and La Nina are two opposing climate trends that deviate from the normal conditions and normally run nine to twelve months, but can often extend.
- These events occur every two to seven years on average (El Nino is more frequent than La Nina), but not on a regular basis and together are referred to as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation(ENSO) cycle by scientists.
Death Anniversary Of Mangal Pandey:
The death anniversary of Mangal Pandey, who played a significant role in Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, is celebrated on April 8 every year.
- Mangal Pandey is considered the hero of the first war of Independence, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857.
- He was born on July 19, 1827 near Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh.
- In 1849, Pandey joined the army of the British East India Company and served as a sepoy in the 6th Company of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry in Barrackpore.
- He revolted against the East India Company for introducing cartridges that were greased with animal fat as it hurt the religious sentiments of the soldiers.
- This movement of rebels reached other parts of India and led to a mass revolt against the colonial rulers.
- Common people too came out and opposed anti-India laws.
- On March 29, 1857, Pandey mutinied and fired at his Senior Sergeant Major.
- He was overpowered and hanged on April 8, 1857, by the order of a Court Martial at Lal Bagan in Barrackpore.
- His regiment was disbanded, like the 19th infantry at Behrampore, for showing resentment.
Funding Winter:
Investments from large foreign investors fell by as much as 80 per cent on average in 2023, amid the Indian startup ecosystem’s so-called funding winter.
- Funding Winter refers to a period of market correction in capital inflow, which lowers the probability of startups getting higher valuations in the short to mid-term.
- Simply put, founders find it difficult to raise funding and achieve sky-high valuations.
- It often leads to investors avoiding firms without a set path chalked out for profitability.
- This, in turn, prompts a need to correct the value of the start-up.
- Further, one of the prominent effects of funding winter is that it requires business owners to reset their priorities in terms of profit maximization.
- With the funding winter in place, start-ups resort to measures which help them save their working capital, as the expectations of funding from investors are minimal.
- The advertisement expenses, capital expenditures and expansion plans are put to a halt in order to increase the sustainability of the firm.
- Only the expenditure essential to the survival of the firm is undertaken and all possible steps are put in place to ensure unnecessary expenses.
- Funding winter is not a new concept but a cyclical effect that happens due to multiple factors which impact the free flow of investments in the market.
- These factors may either be generically applicable to the entire market, such as geopolitical unrest in countries, monetary policies or financial irregularities or may be centric to the relevant sectors.
- The duration of a funding winter is unpredictable, and it may last for a long time depending on the multiple factors acting upon it.
Lab-Grown Minibrains:
Minibrains grown in the lab may help explain why concussions and other traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) raise people’s risk of dementia.
- Lab-grown minibrains are scientifically known as brain organoids, but often called “minibrains” and serve as miniature, simplified models of full-size human brains.
- Scientists typically grow brain organoids from stem cells, a type of immature cell that can give rise to any cell type, whether blood, skin, bowel or brain.
- The stem cells used to grow organoids can either come from adult human cells or more rarely, human embryonic tissue.
- Scientists collect adult cells and then expose them to chemicals in order to revert them into a stem cell-like state.
- The resulting stem cells are called “induced pluripotent stem cells” (iPSC), which can be made to grow into any kind of tissue.
- To give rise to a minibrain, scientists embed these stem cells in a protein-rich matrix, a substance that supports the cells as they divide and form a 3D shape. Alternatively, the cells may be grown atop a physical, 3D scaffold.
- These organoids can potentially be useful in basic research, drug development and even computer science.
Suvidha Portal : Election Commission
The Election Commission recently said its Suvidha portal has received over 73,000 applications since the Lok Sabha polls were announced.
- Suvidha Portal is developed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure a level playing field upholding the democratic principles of free, fair and transparent elections.
- It streamlined the process of obtaining and acting upon requests for permissions and facilities from political parties and candidates during the election period.
- It caters to a diverse range of permission requests transparently on the First in First Out principle.
- Political parties and candidates can seamlessly submit permission requests online from anywhere, at any time.
- Offline submission options are available.
- It caters to permissions for organising rallies, opening temporary party offices, door-to-door canvassing, video vans, helicopters, obtaining vehicle permits, distributing pamphlets.
- It is supported by a robust IT platform, managed by nodal officers across various state departments.
- It also has a companion app that enables applicants to track the status of their requests in real time.
- Furthermore, the permission data available on the portal serves as a valuable resource for scrutinising election expenditures, contributing to greater accountability and integrity in the electoral process.
AUKUS:
The U.S., Britain and Australia are set to begin talks on bringing new members into their AUKUS security pact.
- AUKUS is a trilateral security partnership between the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Australia agreed in 2021.
- It is intended to strengthen the ability of each government to support security and defense interests, building on longstanding and ongoing bilateral ties.
- It consists of two key pillars.
- Pillar 1 focuses on supporting Australia to acquire its first conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine (It does not involve the transfer of nuclear weapons to Australia.)
- Pillar 2 focuses on cooperation in eight advanced military capability areas: artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technologies, innovation, information sharing, and cyber, undersea, hypersonic and counter-hypersonic and electronic warfare domains.
