Daily Current Affairs and GK | 6 May 2023

Topic: State News/ Manipur

1. Centre invoked Article 355 after violence erupted in Manipur.

• Central government invoked Article 355 after the situation worsened in Manipur.
• More than 20,000 people have been evacuated from violence hit areas and many people have migrated to Assam and Mizoram.
• The central government has appointed Ashutosh Sinha, additional director general of police, intelligence as the overall operational commander of the law and order situation.
• Kuldip Singh, the former DG, CRPF has been appointed as the security advisor to N Biren Singh’s government.
• Article 355 of the Constitution empowers the Centre to take all necessary steps to protect the state against internal disturbances and external aggression.
• Cause of Manipur Violence:
  • A large number of people gathered in support of a state-wide "solidarity march" organised by the All Tribal Students' Union.
  • The protest march was organised against the proposal of giving Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Meitei community, which is 53% of the Manipur population.
  • Tribal like Kukis and Nagas are against this proposal because they believe that it could pose a threat to their identity.
  • The violence started in the Churachandpur and Bishenpur districts of Manipur.

Topic: Personality in News

2. Tori Bowie passed away at the age of 32 years.

• Tori Bowie was a two-time world champion in track and field and a three-time Olympic medalist.
• Tori Bowie was an American sprinter and long jumper.
• Bowie won three medals at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
• She won gold in both the 100 meters and the 4x100m at the 2017 world championships.
• She was found dead at her home. The cause of her death is not known yet.

Topic: Sports

3. Indian Archery men & women teams won 12 medals at Asia Cup- World Ranking Tournament, Stage II in Tashkent.

• Indian men & women teams won 5 Gold medals, 5 Silver medals and 2 bronze medals.
• Team of Parneet Kaur, Raginee Markoo and Pragati defeated Kazakhstan to win gold in the compound women team event.
• Team of Amit, Kushal Dalal, and Abhishek Verma defeated Hong Kong to win gold in the compound men team event.
• In the Compound Mixed Team event, Parneet Kaur and Abhishek Verma won the gold medal by defeating Kazakhstan.
• Indians won all three medals in the Compound Women individual event.
• Raginee Markoo won gold by defeating Pragati, who won silver. Parneet Kaur won the bronze medal in the category.
• Indians won all three medals in the Compound Men individual event.
• Team of Mrinal Chauhan, Tushar Prabhakar Shelke and Jayanta Talukdar defeated China to win gold in the Recurve men team event.
• Indian women team won Silver. India also won silver in the Recurve mixed team event.
• Two other silver medals were won in the Individual recurve men and women category.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

4. Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will receive the first Indian cargo ship at Sittwe Port in Myanmar on 9^th May.

• Sittwe Port development is part of the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project.
• It will enable multi-modal transit connectivity with South East Asia when operationalised.
• It has been developed as part of a framework agreement between India and Myanmar.
• The agreement is for the construction and operation of a Multimodal Transit Transport Facility on the Kaladan River connecting the Sittwe port in Myanmar with Mizoram.
• Kaladan River is also known as Beino, Bawinu and Kolodyne. It is called Chhimtuipui River in India.
• Kaladan River is a river in Mizoram State of India and in Chin State and Rakhine State of western Myanmar. It is the biggest river in Mizoram by volume.
• Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project:
  • The project was approved by the cabinet at a cost of Rs. 535.91 crores in March 2008.
  • It connects the Kolkata seaport with the Sittwe seaport in Rakhine State, Myanmar by sea.
  • In Myanmar, it will connect the Sittwe seaport to Paletwa in Chin State via the Kaladan river boat route.
  • Then it will connect Paletwa by road to Mizoram state in Northeast India.

Topic: Sports

5. Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won the Doha Diamond League title.

• On 5 May, Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra started his Diamond League title with a comfortable win in the season-opening leg in Doha.
• In September 2022, the 25-year-old Chopra had won the 2022 Diamond League Final trophy in Switzerland.
• Chopra hit his straps on his first attempt with a world-leading throw of 88.67m, the fourth best effort of his career.
• Czech Republic's Vadlejch finished second and Grenada's Peters finished third.
• With this victory, Neeraj has also achieved the world lead.
• Doha Diamond League:
  • It is an annual one-day track and field competition held at the Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
  • It is part of the Diamond League, which is the top level international circuit for the sport.
  • It is usually held in May as the first leg of the Diamond League series.
  • In 1997, it was first organized as the Doha Grand Prix.

(Source: News on Air)

Topic: State News/ Haryana

6. A new facility on the Haryana-e-Samiksha portal will be launched by the Haryana government.

• The new facility will enable Administrative Secretaries and Head of Departments to monitor the follow-up action taken on decisions made during their meetings and presentations.
• This was discussed in a meeting with the officials of Human Resource Department and National Informatics Center under the leadership of Chief Secretary Mr. Sanjeev Kaushal.
• If necessary, the system can also be configured to review follow-ups from other meetings.
• The portal will provide updates on Minutes of Meeting (MoM) like file number, date of meeting, chairman, meeting details, and other documents, which can be accessed by officials of the concerned departments.
• Additionally, the portal facilitates automated tracking of action points, proposals, issues, projects, plans and targets from online submission to compliance.
• The new facility will enhance monitoring and tracking of important decisions thereby increasing accountability and transparency in administrative processes.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

7. India needs to introduce a broad-based carbon pricing system and a carbon tax.

• The carbon tax may require the implementation of complementary redistributive policies, according to the ‘Report on Currency and Finance 2022-23’ released by the RBI on 03 May 2023.
• The theme of the report is ‘Towards a Greener Cleaner India’. The report does not represent the views of the RBI.
• It is based on the findings of the contributors from the Department of Economic and Policy Research.
• The report recommends Emissions Trading System (ETS) linked to green taxonomy should be introduced.
• The report says there is an urgent need for green taxonomy in India.
• Green taxonomy should clearly spell out what constitutes green.
• Once green taxonomy is introduced, public spending on climate change needs to be properly recorded and reported in a climate budget report. 
• The report adds that effective green taxonomy is also required to recognize sustainable green assets and activities.
• Effective green taxonomy is also required to limit the potential risk of greenwashing.
• Greenwashing is deceptive advertising in which products seem more sustainable than they are.
• Carbon tax is a tax that is levied on carbon dioxide emissions. It could also cover other greenhouse gases.  

Topic: National Appointments

8. Justice P Krishna Bhat has been appointed as administrator for the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).

• Justice P Krishna Bhat has been appointed by Delhi High Court.
• Justice P Krishna Bhat is the former judge of the Karnataka High Court.
• The administrator will function till a newly elected body takes over the charge of BFI.
• Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, who passed the order, asked the administrator to ensure the conclusion of the election process as per the National Sports Code.
• In February, 21 petitioners complained to the high court against the rejection of the nominations of contesting parties by the returning officer on hyper-technical grounds.
• Justice Kaurav set aside the rejection order and results declared based on insignificant and flimsy reasons.
• The court observed that 27 members of the Electoral College were against the manner of selection of candidates.
• Basketball Federation of India:
  • It was founded in 1950. It is headquartered in New Delhi. Its president is K. Govindraj.
  • It is the controlling and governing body of basketball in India.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

9. A Nationwide AHDF KCC campaign has been launched for providing Kisan Credit Card facility.

• Union Minister Parshottam Rupala officially launched a Nationwide AHDF KCC Campaign for 2023-24 on 3rd May 2023.
• It has been launched to extend the KCC facility to all small landless farmers involved in animal husbandry and fisheries activities.
• “Nationwide AHDF KCC Campaign” is being organized from 1st May 2023 to 31st March 2024.
• Since June 2020, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying in association with the Department of Financial Services are organizing various campaigns for providing the Kisan Credit Card facility to all eligible farmers.
• More than 27 lakh fresh KCC has been sanctioned to Animal Husbandry and Fishery Farmers.
• The last Nationwide AHDF KCC Campaign was organized from 15.11.2021 to 15.03.2023. District Level KCC Camps were organized every week during the campaign.
• About 1 lakh farmers joined the awareness program virtually from Common Service Centers.
• Kisan Credit Card (KCC):
  • It was launched in 1998 to issue Kisan Credit Cards to farmers based on their holdings by the banks.
  • Farmers can use the credit to purchase seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Revised Scheme to Kisan Credit Card in 2018.
  • Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme main aim is to provide financial assistance to farmers at different stages of farming.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

10. WHO ended the global emergency status for COVID-19.

• World Health Organization announced that it has ended the global emergency status of COVID-19.
• On 30 January 2020, after the recommendation of the Emergency Committee, WHO had declared Covid-19 as a global health emergency.
• WHO said that decision to lift the emergency does not signal the end of the pandemic.
• As of 3 May, globally, there have been 765,222,932 confirmed cases of Covid, including 6,921,614 deaths.
• In the first two years of the pandemic, 15 million more people had died than the normal deaths.
• In Egypt, excess deaths were roughly 12 times than normal deaths. In Pakistan, the figure was eight times as high.
• The WHO issued an updated Covid management plan on 3 May. It will guide countries to manage Covid for the next two years.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

11. JNPA Port achieved a global benchmark with record container turnaround time of 22 hours.

• A month after the record handling performance in the last financial year, India's premier container port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) has achieved yet another milestone.
• Now it has set a global benchmark in container cargo handling.
• According to the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) report, 2023, published by the World Bank, JNPA has an effective turnaround time (TAT) of only 22 hours (equivalent to 0.9 days).
• Due to various measures taken to reduce the dwell time, JNPA was able to accomplish this feat.
• Most importantly, improved landside-rail and road connectivity, introduction of Centralized Parking Plazas (CPPs), digitization of processes, etc. as well as operational efficiencies of terminal operators have been the biggest contributors.
• The streamlining of berthing and unberthing of vessels, deployment of more tugs for the smooth operation of vessels etc. are some of the other initiatives taken by JNPA to facilitate the efficient functioning of the port.
• Only last month, JNPA achieved the record of handling 6.05 million TEUs in 2022-23.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Important Days

12. International No Diet Day 2023: 6 May

• Every year on 6 May, International No Diet Day is celebrated.
• The day is observed to raise awareness about the consequences of dieting.
• It is dedicated to encouraging a healthy way of life. The day is celebrated to tackle issues related to diet and body awareness.
• The first International No Diet Day was celebrated in the UK in 1992. It was started by Mary Evans.

Topic: State News/ Uttar Pradesh

13. Uttar Pradesh government plans to build 'Ramland' in Ayodhya on the lines of Disneyland.

• The Uttar Pradesh government is planning to develop a theme park ‘Ramaland’ modelled on Disneyland.
• It will be developed to narrate the story of Lord Ram. It will attract children and adults to showcase the story of Ramayan.
• UP government is also planning to set up six grandiose arched gateways at the roads leading from other districts to Ayodhya.
• Each gateway complex will be named after the characters of Ramayana.
• The proposed Ayodhya international airport will get completed by June 2023.
• Under ‘Ayodhya Vision 2047’, the planned transformation of Ayodhya is estimated to cost Rs 30,000 crore. The expenditure will be jointly borne by the central and the UP governments.
• Ayodhya Municipal Corporation and Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Indore signed MoU to make Ayodhya an international tourist hub.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

14. Petersberg Climate Dialogue held in Berlin from May 2-3, 2023.

• Germany and the United Arab Emirates hosted the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin ahead of COP 28.
• Ministers from 40 countries attended the conference. The main aim of the Dialogue is to discuss the way forward towards COP28.
• United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres emphasised the need for decarbonisation in every sector and for reducing the use of fossil fuels.
• German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated that to lower global warming to 1.5°C, the world needs to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions significantly.
• COP28 President-designate Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber calls on meeting participants to accelerate renewable energy capacity building.
• 2023 is the year for the Global Stocktake. It is the first Global Stocktake year since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015.
• Union Minister Bhupender Yadav participated in the Petersberg Climate Dialogue on 3 May.
• He said that the first Global Stocktake should convey a message on sustainable lifestyles as well as sustainable consumption for the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions.