Daily Current Affairs and GK | 5 September 2023

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

1. Education ministry joined hands with Meta on digital skilling and entrepreneurship.

• Union Minister launched a three-year partnership with Meta titled “Education to Entrepreneurship: Empowering a generation of students, educators, and entrepreneurs."
• Three letters of intent (LoI) have been exchanged between Meta and NIESBUD, AICTE and CBSE as part of the partnership.
• This initiative is part of the vision of making India a skill capital of the world and empowering “Amrit Peedhi”.
• ‘Education to Entrepreneurship’ partnership will be a game changer to take digital skilling at the grassroots level.
• It will help in building capacities of the talented pool and connect students, youth, workforce and micro-entrepreneurs with futuristic technologies.
• Under the partnership with NIESBUD, around 5 lakh entrepreneurs will be trained in digital marketing skills by Meta over the next 3 years.
• Entrepreneurs will be trained in digital marketing skills using Meta platforms in 7 regional languages.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Miscellaneous

2. US State Georgia officially declared October as 'Hindu Heritage Month'.

• US State Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared October as 'Hindu Heritage' month.
• It has been announced to recognize and appreciate the valuable contributions made by the vibrant Hindu-American community residing in Georgia.
• As per the proclamation, Hinduism is the third-largest religion in the world with one billion devotees worldwide and around three million in the United States.
• During October, the Hindu community across the state of Georgia will collectively celebrate its heritage.
• CoHNA (Coalition of Hindus of North America) in the US welcomed this initiative and expressed gratitude to the Governor.
• Earlier, in April 2023, Georgia had become the first US state to pass a resolution condemning Hinduphobia. This resolution denounced Hinduphobia and anti-Hindu prejudice.

Topic: Important Days

3. Teachers’ Day 2023: 5 September

• Every year on 05 September, Teachers’ Day or Shikshak Divas is celebrated in India.
• It is celebrated on the birthday of educationist and former President Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
• The theme of Teacher's Day 2023 is “Teachers at the heart of education recovery”.
• Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan was the first Vice President of India (1952–1962). He became the second President of India (1962-1967). He was born on 05 September 1888.
• The National Teachers’ Award 2023 conferred by President Droupadi Murmu to 75 selected Awardees at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
• This year, the scope of the National Teacher Award has been expanded to include teachers from the Department of Higher Education and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
• This year, 50 school teachers, 13 teachers from higher education, and 12 teachers from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship were honored.
• The purpose of the National Awards to Teachers is to recognize and reward the dedication and hard work of those educators who have made a significant impact on the lives of their students.
• Each award carries a merit certificate, a cash prize of Rs 50,000, and a silver medallion.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: National News

4. Statue of Mahatma Gandhi unveiled by President Droupadi Murmu at Gandhi Darshan near Rajghat in New Delhi.

• On September 4, the 12-foot-high statue of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was unveiled, as was a 'Gandhi Vatika' at Gandhi Darshan near Rajghat in New Delhi.
• To improve the experience of visitors, a selfie point has been set up within Gandhi Vatika.
• Gandhi Vatika has many statues of Mahatma Gandhi depicting him in different postures.
• Artisans from Jaipur have carved the statue and Gandhi Vatika and he is shown sitting on a bench and in a meditative posture.
• The entire Gandhi Darshan complex is also being renovated due to damage caused by the recent floods.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Defence

5. The mega military drill 'Trishul' conducted by the Indian Air Force along the China, and Pakistan borders.

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) is conducting a significant training maneuver named 'Trishul,' running in the northern region of India, adjacent to the borders with China and Pakistan.
• The exercise will be conducted from September 4 to 14 and will be in line with the G20 summit to be held from September 8 to 10 in New Delhi.
• The exercise will involve a wide range of essential components, including frontline fighter jets, attack helicopters, mid-air refueling capability, and other critical air resources.
• The exercise will be conducted in various areas of the northern sector, including Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir as well as Punjab.
• The exercise will see the participation of major fighter aircraft fleets like Rafale, Mirage 2000, and Su-30MKI.
• The prestigious Garuda Special Forces unit of the Indian Air Force will also participate in these exercises.
• The Western Command of the Indian Air Force has organized this exercise with the primary objective of evaluating the combat prowess of the force and analyzing various operational aspects.

(Source: DDNews)

Topic: Sports

6. The Indian men's hockey team won the inaugural Men's Hockey 5S Asia Cup on 2 September.

• India defeated Pakistan in the final in a penalty shootout to win the inaugural Men's Hockey 5S Asia Cup 2023 in Salalah, Oman.
• In addition, India also qualified for the FIH Men's Hockey 5s World Cup Oman 2024.
• This is the first time in three encounters that India has defeated Pakistan in the 5S format of hockey.
• In the semi-finals, India defeated Malaysia 10-4.
• Hockey India announced Rs 2 lakh each for each player in the team, while Rs 1 lakh each for the support staff for their remarkable performance and important win.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Indian Economy

7. Anti-dumping duty on imports of Chinese glass has been recommended by the commerce ministry.

• The ministry has recommended anti-dumping duty of up to $ 243 per tonne of import of Chinese glass used in home appliances.
• The anti-dumping duty has been recommended with a view to guard domestic industries from cheap inbound shipments from the neighboring country.
• The final decision on imposing the anti-dumping duty will be taken by the finance ministry.
• Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has investigated the dumping of 'toughened glass for home appliances having thickness between 1.8 MM to 8 MM and area of 0.4 SqM or less' originating in or exported from China.
• The application to initiate the anti-dumping investigation had been filed by the Federation of Safety Glass.
• DGTR has found that the product was exported to India at a price below the normal level.
• DGTR has found this has led to dumping which has impacted domestic makers.

Topic: State News/Uttar Pradesh

8. UP government has directed officials to expedite the digital crop survey in Uttar Pradesh.

• It has directed officials to ensure that each surveyor completes the survey for 1,500 plots per month and 2,250 plots within 45 days.
• UP government has asked officials to complete the crop survey in all villages under the supervision of the district magistrate within the specified time frame.
• It has issued directions to complete the survey within the next 15 days in 10 revenue villages of 54 districts.
• Digital crop survey has been completed in 21 districts. It is in progress in 54 districts.
• Mirzapur leads with digital crop surveys carried out in the highest number of plots, totalling 2,607.
• Mirzapur is followed by Pratapgarh (2,543), Sultanpur (2,370), Jalaun (2,047), Jhansi (2,027), Farrukhabad (1,486), Firozabad (1,183), Ghazipur (1,147), Deoria (1136), and Lalitpur (1,124).
• Digital crop survey has been carried out in a maximum of 17 revenue villages in Mirzapur.
• Chief secretary Durga Shankar Mishra instructed to name the e-survey as ‘e-Khasra’.

Topic: International Appointments

9. Brice Oligui Nguema sworn in as interim President of Gabon.

• Military leader Brice Oligui Nguema becomes the interim President of Gabon.
• Military officers led by Gabonese General Nguema has seized power after the Coup.
• General Nguema has taken an oath administered by Gabon’s constitutional court judges in a televised ceremony.
• Nguema was given a standing ovation by an audience of military officers and officials during the oath-taking ceremony.
• The coup ended the 56-year rule of the Bongo family after the election result was annulled by the military.
• Ali Bongo's father was in power for 41 years before he died in 2009. He was succeeded by his son.
• In the last three years, Gabon has been the sixth Francophone country to come under the rule of the Military.
• Gabon has been suspended from the African Union after the military coup.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

10. WHO released the outcome of first WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit 2023 in the form of “Gujarat Declaration”.

• “Gujarat Declaration” shows global commitments towards indigenous knowledge, biodiversity and traditional, complementary and integrative medicine.
• The first WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit 2023 was hosted at the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre at Jamnagar, Gujarat.
• Director General of the World Health Organization Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the “Gujarat Declaration” will serve as a catalyst to use the potential of traditional medicine with the help of science.
• It will focus on the integration of traditional medicines into national health systems and reveal the power of traditional medicine.
• Gujarat declaration also talks about the efforts to implement evidence-based TCIM (Traditional complimentary integrative medicine) interventions and approaches in support of the goal of universal health coverage (UHC).
• It also talks about the role of multi-regional, multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder collaborations demonstrated at the Global Summit through the WHO GCTM.
• The main focus of the summit was how to enable the appropriate development and application of digital health technologies, and especially Artificial Intelligence (AI), to advance digital health resources on TCIM for the health and well-being of people.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Environment and Ecology

11. India could lose groundwater by 3 times the current rate by 2080.

• As per a recent study, if Indian farmers continue to draw groundwater at the current rate, the rate of groundwater depletion could triple by 2080, threatening the country's food and water security.
• The study, led by the University of Michigan in the US, found that a warming climate has forced farmers in India to adapt by speeding up the withdrawal of groundwater used for irrigation.
• The study published in the journal Science Advances said that as a result, reduced water availability could threaten the livelihoods of more than a third of the country's 1.4 billion inhabitants and can have global implications.
• This is a matter of concern, given that India is the largest consumer of groundwater in the world and a vital region for regional and global food supplies.
• The study analyzed recent changes in withdrawal rates due to warming by looking at historical data on groundwater levels, climate, and crop water stress to estimate future rates of groundwater loss across India.
• When researchers used temperature and precipitation projections from 10 climate models, they found that earlier estimates of groundwater depletion in India did not take into account farmers' adaptation strategies to rapid groundwater withdrawal.
• Most models see increased temperatures, increased monsoon (June to September) rainfall, and decreased winter rainfall over India in the coming decades.
• Across different climate-change scenarios, the groundwater-level decline between 2041 and 2080 were, on average, three times the current depletion rate.

Topic: Banking System

12. SBI has offered UPI integration with the digital rupee.

• State Bank of India (SBI) has introduced UPI interoperability in its Digital Rupee (eRupee), which is also known as Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
• The facility is accessible through the 'eRupee by SBI' application and allows SBI CBDC users to scan merchant UPI QR codes for transactions.
• In December 2022, SBI's participation in RBI's retail digital e-rupee project paved the way for this integration to promote the use of digital currencies in everyday transactions.
• According to the SBI, this integration will have a significant impact on the digital currency ecosystem.
• The Bank strives to provide secure and efficient transaction solutions.
• The move links the CBDC to the widely used UPI platform, potentially changing the payment landscape in India.
• Similarly, CBDCs will play a more central role in everyday financial transactions.

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

13. Delhi High Court allowed stem cell therapy for two children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

• This order of the Delhi High Court came after a petition filed by family members of two children against the recommendation of the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB).
• EMRB of the National Medical Commission (NMC) was against the use of stem cell treatment for ASD.
• EMRB recommendation said that the use, promotion and advertisement of stem cell treatment can lead to professional misconduct.
• The regenerative properties of stem cells are very useful in the treatment of many diseases. Stem cell treatments are also known as regenerative medicine.
• Autism spectrum disorder is a neurological and developmental disorder. It can affect people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave.
• At present, there is no cure for the autism spectrum disorder.
• Conventional therapies include social skills training, early intensive behaviour therapy, and applied behaviour analysis, are generally used.
• There has been evidence which shows that some types of stem cells can improve the overall regulation of the immune system and the neural connectivity in the brain.
• However, stem cell therapy is not typically used for treating ASD yet.

Topic: Personality in News

14. N Valarmathi, Voice of ISRO Launches, passed away at the age of 64.

• ISRO Scientist N Valarmathi who lent her voice on countdowns for many rocket launches passed away in Chennai due to cardiac arrest.
• She used to announce the countdown on all launches at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. Her announcement of launching Chandrayaan-3 turned into her last.
• She was a part of the Range Operations Programme Office at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
• She was a recipient of the first APJ Abdul Kalam Award in 2015.
• She was the project director for RISAT-1, India's first domestically designed Radar Imaging Satellite (RIS).