Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 9th May 2022

Shukrayaan-1:

The mission to Venus is likely to cost between ₹500 crore and ₹1,000 crore depending on the level of instrumentation, said S. Somanath, chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

• Shukrayaan-1 is a planned orbiter to Venus by the Indian Space Research Organisation to study the surface and atmosphere of Venus.
• Although 2024 has been doing the rounds as the likely year for the ISRO’s Venus mission, the space agency can announce a schedule only after the Indian government gives the go-ahead for the mission, said Mr. Somanath.
• Venus offers different challenges compared to Mars, given the thick atmosphere and surface activity, which make it a complex planet.

Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021:

Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021- A cow protection law that Assam enforced less than a year ago has led to an acute beef crisis in Meghalaya.

• The hill State’s main cattle market has also been closed due to non-availability of the animal for consumption.
• Various pressure groups in Assam groups recently held a rally against the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021, stating that the law was an assault on the farm economy in the name of religion.
• The law is aimed at regulating slaughter, consumption and transportation of cattle.

Highlights of the law:

• Slaughter of cow, calf and heifer is prohibited.
• Transportation of cattle from or through Assam is prohibited.
• Sale of beef or beef products is prohibited in areas predominantly inhabited by Hindu, Jains, Sikhs, and other non-beef eating communities.
• Sale of beef or beef products is prohibited within a 5-km radius of any temple, satra or other Hindu religious institutions.
• Those found violating the rules shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term not less than three years and up to eight years or a fine that may vary between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh or both.
• If someone convicted is found guilty of the same or a related offence the second time, the punishment will be doubled.

India’s Bid For Permanent Membership In Reformed UNSC, NSG:

France has reiterated its commitment to support India’s bid for permanent membership in a reformed UN Security Council and New Delhi’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group.

• The demand has been supported by: Four out of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council have bilaterally expressed support for India’s candidature.
• India is the founding member of the UN.
• India, till now has been elected for multiple terms for a two-year non-permanent member seat.
• India has almost twice the number of peacekeepers deployed on the ground than by P5 countries.
• India being the largest democracy and second-most populous country (soon to become most populous) in the world, are the primary reasons for it to be granted permanent membership in UNSC.
• India’s acquired status of a Nuclear Weapons State (NWS) in May 1998 also makes India a natural claimant as a permanent member similar to the existing permanent members who are all Nuclear Weapon States.
• India is the undisputed leader of the Third world countries, as reflected by its leadership role in the Non-Aligned Movement.

About NSG:

• The 48-member NSG is an elite club of countries that deals with the trade-in nuclear technology and fissile materials besides contributing to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
• Brought in 1974– in response to the Indian nuclear test (smiling Buddha).
• It is a Group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.
• The NSG first met in November 1975 in London, and is thus popularly referred to as the “London Club”.
• Its guidelines are not binding.

Maip Macrothorax: Largest Megaraptor Dinosaur

An apex-predator dinosaur has been discovered by Argentine palaeontologists. This dinosaur measured to be as tall as three stories building from its nose to its tail. It also used to disembowel its prey with its curved and sharp claws.

• The details regarding this newly discovered dinosaur have been detailed in a study that has been published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports. “Maip macrothorax” is the scientific name given to this dinosaur.
• A team of researchers discovered this dinosaur fossil in Argentina’s Santa Cruz Province in the year 2019. The dig was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• This dinosaur measured about 33 ft in length.
• It also had two sharp and curved claws in each front paw. The talons were 15.7 inches in length.
• This megaraptor is the largest that has been discovered.
• This megaraptor was lightweight and had powerful legs.
• This made it agile and fast.
• This newly discovered dinosaur lived around 70 million years ago somewhere during the end period of the Cretaceous period.
• This species became extinct about 66 million years ago.

New Draft Of National Youth Policy:

A new draft of the National Youth Policy (NYP) has been prepared by the central government of India. The new draft has been prepared after the government reviewed the existing National Youth Policy, 2014.

• A ten-year vision for the development of youth has been envisioned by this draft policy that India is looking to achieve by the year 2030.
• The Department of Youth Affairs has asked for suggestions and comments regarding the draft of the NYP from all stakeholders across the country.
• The suggestions, as well as the comments regarding the new draft policy, must be sent within 45 days i.e. the 13th of June 2022.
• This policy has been aligned with the country’s Sustainable Development Goals and it also looks to unlock the potential of the country’s youth.
• This policy is looking to establish extensive action regarding youth development across five priority areas which are:
  • entrepreneurship and employment
  • education
  • development and youth leadership
  • social justice
  • sports, fitness, and health
• The priority areas have been identified under the principle of social inclusion.
• This will help in achieving equitable progress by including the country’s most marginalized sections.

Khelo India University Games:

From 24th April 2022 to 3rd May 2022, the Khelo India University Games 2021 was successfully conducted at Jain University, Bengaluru. This is the second edition of these games.

• In this competition, a total of 20 games were played.
• 3900 students from across 210 Universities in the country have participated in this edition of the Khelo India University Games.
• Mallakhamba and Yogasana were introduced for the first time in this edition of the games.
• A total of 852 medals were awarded which have been categorized into
  • Gold medals- 259
  • Silver medals- 258
  • Bronze medals- 335
• The top three universities in this competition were:
  • JAIN University- They won 20 gold, 7 silver, and 5 bronze medals.
  • Lovely Professional University- They won 17 gold, 15 silver, and 19 bronze medals.
  • Punjab University- They won 15 gold, 9 silver, and 24 bronze medals.

Parashurama Theme Park : Karkala

Karnataka Government will release ₹1.5 crores to the Parashurama theme park coming up at Karkala.

• Parashurama is the traditional founder of Malabar and is said to have bestowed land there on members of the priestly class whom he brought down from the north in order to expiate his slaughter of the Kshatriyas.
• He is the sixth incarnation among the Dashavatara of the god Vishnu in Hinduism.
• He is believed to be one of the Chiranjeevis (Long-Lived Ones or Immortal Ones), who will appear at the end of the Kali Yuga to be the guru of Vishnu’s tenth and last incarnation, Kalki.

PM MITRA Parks Scheme:

The Ministry of Textiles has organized a National Conference on PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks Scheme.

• A park will be developed by a Special Purpose Vehicle which will be owned by the Central and State Government and in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) Mode.
• Each Park will have an incubation centre, common processing house and a common effluent treatment plant and other textile related facilities such as design centres and testing centres.
• The Master Developer will not only develop the Industrial Park but also maintain it during the concession period.
• The centre will provide development capital support for the development of common infrastructure of Rs 500 crore for each greenfield MITRA park and upto Rs 200 crore for each brownfield park.
• Greenfield describes a completely new project that has to be executed from scratch, while a brownfield project is one that has been worked on by others.
• An additional Rs 300 crore will be provided as Competitiveness Incentive Support for the early establishment of textiles manufacturing units in each of these parks.
• Investors who set up “anchor plants” that employ at least 100 people will be eligible for incentives of upto Rs 10 crore every year for upto three years.

Enterprise India National Coir Conclave 2022 : Tamil Nadu

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises inaugurated the ‘Enterprise India National Coir Conclave 2022’ at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

• The event is being organized with the idea of bringing about a co-ordinated effort between the State and Central Governments to promote production of coir and coir products and to identify new areas of application of coir.
• A ‘Run for Coir’ is also being organized on 6th may, 2022 to promote the use of coir, as a natural, degradable, eco-friendly product.
• More than a thousand people, including dignitaries, college students and the general public are expected to participate in the run.

Coir:

• It is a material found in nature; a hearty byproduct of coconuts produced in abundance by coconut palms.
• It is the naturally occurring fibrous material found on the outside of coconut husks that is naturally processed for use.
• Coir Board was set up under the Coir Industry Act, 1953 by the Government of India for the overall sustainable development of coir industry in the Country.
• The functions of the Board are undertaking, assisting and encouraging scientific, technological and economic research, modernization, quality improvement, human resource development, market promotion and welfare of all those who are engaged in this industry.
• The functions mandated under the Coir Industry Act are carried out by Coir Board under the various Schemes/Programmes, including research and development activities, training programmes, extending financial support for setting up of coir units, domestic as well as export market development, welfare measures to the workers etc.

What Is West Bank?

The Israel’s Supreme Court has rejected a petition against the eviction of more than 1,000 Palestinian inhabitants of a rural part of the occupied West Bank in an area which Israel has designated for military exercises.

• Recently, tensions flared up again at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque between the Palestinians and Israeli police.
• The judgment has paved the way for the demolition of eight small villages in a rocky, arid area near Hebron known to Palestinians as Masafer Yatta and to Israelis as the South Hebron Hills.
• Masafer Yatta residents and Israeli rights groups say that many of the Palestinian families have been permanently residing in the 3,000 hectares area since before Israel captured the West Bank, in the 1967 Six-Day War.
• West Bank is a landlocked territory in West Asia. It also contains a significant section of the western Dead Sea.
• It was captured by Jordan after the Arab-Israeli War (1948) but Israel snatched it back during the Six-Day War of 1967 and has occupied it ever since.
• The West Bank is sandwiched between Israel and Jordan.
• One of its major cities is Ramallah, the de facto administrative capital of Palestine.
• At present, there are around 130 formal Israeli settlements along with 26 lakh Palestinians at West Bank.
• Masafer Yatta is in the 60% of the territory where the Palestinian Authority is prohibited from operating.
• The Palestinians want the West Bank to form the main part of their future state.

Neobank : 100th Unicorn In The Country

India’s wave of unicorns reaches an all-time high with Neobank Open becoming the 100th unicorn in the country.

• Neobank startup, OPEN becomes the 100th unicorn in India with the latest funding of 50 million dollars from IIFL along with existing investors.
• The Indian Startup Ecosystem, the third-largest in the world in number of Unicorns, is now home to 100 unicorns with a total valuation of 332.7 billion dllars.
• Commerce & Industry Ministry said that one out of every 10 unicorns born globally belongs to India.
• The term ‘Unicorns’ is referred to startups that attain a valuation of more than 1 billion dollars.
• As per the ministry, in the first four months of 2022, India has given birth to 14 unicorns with a total valuation of 18.9 billion dollars.