Daily Current Affairs and GK | 23 February 2022

Topic: Reports and Indices

1. United Nations Environment Programme released its annual Frontiers report.

• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in its annual Frontiers report has estimated that wildfires incidents will increase in coming years.
• According to this report, wildfires incidents have increased due to climate change and human activities.
• The rising concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases have increased the risk factor of wildfires.
• The rapid expansion of cities towards forest areas has further increased the wildfires incidents.
• Wildfires have also become more common in the Savannah ecosystem. It has affected one-fourth of species in the Savannah ecosystem.
• An average of about 423 million hectares’ earth’s land has burnt every year between 2002 to 2016.
• As per this report, Africa was the most affected region due to wildfires in 2021.
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): It is an authority that sets the global environmental agenda and also helps the developing countries in implementing environment-related policies.

Topic: Agriculture

2. KISAN mobile app launched by IIT Roorkee.

• KISAN mobile app has been launched by IIT Roorkee for dissemination of Agromet Advisory Services.
• Through the KISAN mobile app, farmers can easily access the block-level weather forecast and weather-based Agromet Advisory Bulletins on their mobile phones.
• These Agromet Advisory Bulletins are being provided to the farmers for all six blocks of Haridwar district, Uttarakhand by Agro-Meteorological Field Unit (AMFU) Roorkee.
• The app is bilingual. Users can select either Hindi or English language. Farmers can also submit their feedback about bulletins.
• The app has been developed by a scientist in Regional Remote Sensing Centre, National Remote Sensing Centre of ISRO.
• AMFU Roorkee has named youth farmers from various villages as Mausam Mitra. These youth farmers disseminated Agromet Advisory Bulletins to farmers through WhatsApp groups.

Topic: Defence

3. Israel successfully tests C-Dome system.

• Israel has successfully tested C-Dome, a new naval air defense system.
• C-Dome is a naval version of Iron Dome, all-weather mobile air defense system.
• C-Dome is being installed on latest-generation corvette warships of Israel.
• During tests, C-Dome intercepted a number of incoming threats, which include rockets, cruise missiles and drones.
• C-Dome will become part of Israel's multilayer missile defense system.
• Iron Dome:
  • It has been developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (an Israeli defense technology company) and Israel Aerospace Industries.
  • It is developed to intercept and neutralize short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from 4 to 70 kilometres away.

Topic: Space and IT

4. NASA-ESA Solar Orbiter spacecraft records largest solar prominence eruption.

• NASA-ESA Solar Orbiter spacecraft has recorded largest solar prominence eruption ever observed in a single image together with full solar disc.
• The latest eruption event occurred on 15 February. It most likely originated from the side of sun facing away from the earth. 
• Full Sun Imager of Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) on Solar Orbiter has captured imagery.
• The Solar Orbiter spacecraft which has captured the image is a joint project of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European Space Agency (ESA).
• Solar prominences:
  • They are defined as large structures made up of tangled magnetic field lines that keep dense concentrations of solar plasma suspended above surface of the Sun.
  • They sometimes take form of arching loops. They are often associated with coronal mass ejections.

Topic: National News

5. Rural connectivity GIS data released in public domain by Giriraj Singh.

• It covers GIS data for eight lakh rural facilities, 10 lakh habitations and 25 lakh km of rural roads.
• It has been collected and digitized using the GIS platform developed for the PMGSY scheme.
• GIS technology will be used to enhance the planning and implementation of rural development projects.
• GIS firms ESRI India, MapmyIndia, and DataMeet signed an MoU with NRIDA and collaborated with Gati Shakti to release rural connectivity GIS data in the public domain.
• NRIDA is the nodal implementation agency of the PMGSY scheme.
• Note:
  • Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was launched in the year 2000. It was launched with the objective of providing all-weather road connectivity to unconnected habitations across the country.
  • Gati Shakti is a national master plan and digital platform for planning and executing infrastructure projects in India, with the goal of lowering logistics costs and improving infrastructure.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: States news / Himachal Pradesh

6. Himachal Pradesh's first biodiversity park established in Mandi's Bhulah valley.

• The first biodiversity park in Himachal Pradesh has been built at a cost of Rs 1 crore in the Bhulah area of the Janjehli Valley in the district of Mandi.
• This will prove to be a boon for researchers and tourists and will also help in the conservation of the endangered Himalayan herb.
• The park has been constructed by the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department as part of the National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS) project.
• Biodiversity is the shortened form of two words "biological" and "diversity". It refers to all the variety of life that can be found on Earth as well as the ecological systems in which they live.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

7. Government approved continuation of National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship (NMMSS) for next five years from 2021-22 to 2025-26.

• The eligibility criteria for the scheme has been slightly modified. Income ceiling has been increased from Rs 1.5 lakh per annum to Rs 3.5 lakh per annum.
• Government has proposed to award scholarships to 14.76 lakh students with a financial outlay of Rs 1827 crores.
• Since the launch of the NMMSS in 2008-09, 22.06 lakh scholarships have been sanctioned till 2020-21.
• National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship (NMMSS):
  • It is a Central Sector Scheme. It was launched in May 2008 to provide scholarships for meritorious students of classes IX to XII.
  • It aims to award scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to prevent them from dropping out of class VIII and encourage them to continue their study and complete secondary stage.
  • Under the scheme, 1 lakh fresh scholarship of Rs 12,000 per annum per student are awarded to selected students of Class IX every year.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

8. NITI Aayog, WRI India and GIZ India conduct virtual consultation workshop on ‘Financing for Decarbonization of Transport’. 

• The workshop was held as part of NDC-Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA) project in New Delhi on 22 February.
• The workshop aimed to identify strategies and mobilize financing institutions and transport organizations to jointly work for promoting innovative financing policies for the decarbonization of transport.
• World Resources Institute is a global research non-profit organization headquartered in Washington.
• GIZ is a German development agency. It provides services in the field of international development cooperation.
• NDC-Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC-TIA):
  • It is a joint programme of seven organizations that includes India, China and Vietnam in furthering a comprehensive approach to decarbonizing transport in their respective countries.
  • It is a part of International Climate Initiative (IKI). It is supported by Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.
  • NITI Aayog is the implementing partner for the India component of the NDC-TIA project.

Topic: Art and Culture

9. Indian Council for Cultural Relations to organize three-day Craft festival in New Delhi.

• The Craft Festival ‘Coalescence: Craft-Culture-Community-Climate' will be organized from 23^rd to 25^th February at Bikaner House in New Delhi.
• It will be inaugurated by the Minister of State for Culture and External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi.
• This will be celebrated as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Week by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
• The three-day festival will be curated by Jaya Jaitly of Dastkari Haat Samiti.
• It will be based on Craft, Culture, Community, and Climate.
• The main objective of this festival is to not only showcase India’s music and dance but also promote the cuisine, crafts, and literature of India.
• Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR):
  • It is an autonomous organization that was founded in 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
  • It is the governmental organization responsible for cultural and academic engagement with the world.
  • Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe is its current President.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

10. Bharti Airtel joined 'SEA-ME-WE-6' undersea cable consortium.

• In order to increase its high-speed global network capacity, Airtel has joined the 'SEA-ME-WE-6' named undersea cable consortium as a major investor.
• The 19,200 Rkm ‘SEA-ME-WE-6’ will connect Singapore and France. It will be one of the largest undersea cable systems in the world.
• 'SEA-ME-WE-6' cable system consortium has 12 other members from different countries.
• Airtel will add 100 TBps capacity to its global network through SEA-ME-WE-6. It will build four Fiber Pairs between Singapore – Chennai – Mumbai.
• SEA-ME-WE-6 will be integrated with Airtel’s Data Centers in Mumbai and Chennai. It will strengthen India’s position as an emerging data center hub.
• Reliance is also constructing Asia-Xpress (IAX) and India-Europe-Xpress (IEX) cable systems for providing better internet connectivity.

Topic: Miscellaneous

11. A week-long 'Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate' exhibition began at different locations.

• The government is organizing a week-long 'Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate' exhibition at 75 different locations across the country.
• Under this, various activities highlighting the role of science and technology are being organized in 75 cities of the country.
• The exhibition will display India’s scientific legacy and technology that helped in finding solutions in the fields of defence, space, health, agriculture, etc.
• It will aware people about the scientists who have played a key role in making India self-reliant.
• The exhibition will be organized in various Indian languages and it will culminate on National Science Day.
• The Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate events have been grouped under four themes.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Agriculture and allied sectors

12. Government is planning to commence Purple Revolution in Ramban District.

• Under the CSIR-IIIM’s Aroma Mission, Government is planning to start Purple Revolution in Ramban District by encouraging ‘Lavender Cultivation’.
• Lavender cultivation will increase the income of youths in the district and it will give boost to agri-entrepreneurs in the state.
• Lavender cultivation is practiced in almost all the 20 districts of Jammu & Kashmir.
• The Purple or Lavender Revolution was launched in 2016 by the Union Ministry of Science & Technology.
• The main objective of the Lavender Revolution is to take advantage of the geographical conditions and promote lavender cultivation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Topic: Personality in News

13. Industries Minister of Andhra Pradesh Mekapati Goutham Reddy passes away.

• He was a two-time MLA from the Atmakur Assembly constituency in the Nellore district.
• He was also holding the Information Technology portfolio. He is the son of former MP Rajamohan Reddy.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

14. 16-year-old Indian chess GM Praggnanandhaa defeated World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen.

• Indian chess GM R. Praggnanandhaa defeated World No. 1 player, Magnus Carlsen, in an online rapid chess tournament.
• He defeated Magnus Carlsen in the 8th round of the Airthings Masters.
• R. Praggnanandhaa is only 16 years old and is the 5th youngest Grandmaster in the world.
• He became the youngest International Master at the age of 10 years, 10 months and 19 days in 2016.
• He had earlier won the World Youth Chess Championship Under-8 title in 2013.

(Source: News on AIR)