Daily Current Affairs and GK | 7 July 2022

Topic: National News

1. Union Minister Jitendra Singh inaugurated India’s first Autonomous Navigation facility ‘TiHAN’ at the IIT Hyderabad campus.

• TiHAN (Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation) will help India in creating futuristic and next-generation ‘smart mobility’ technology.
• It is a first-of-its-kind “Autonomous Navigation” facility to develop unmanned ground and aerial vehicles.
• The main vision of TiHAN-IITH is to make India a global leader in smart mobility technologies.
• At present, India has no such testing facility to assess the performance of autonomous vehicles.
• TiHAN is developing and deploying a real-time CPS system utilising autonomous UAVs and ground/surface vehicles for different application sectors.
• TiHAN will provide a platform to academia, industry and R&D labs for high quality research at national and international levels.
• IIT Hyderabad has created a new Post-Graduation course of M.Tech in “Smart Mobility”, which is the first of its kind in India
• The mobility sector of India is one of the world’s largest markets.

Topic: State News/Jammu and Kashmir

2. Statue of Peace of Swamy Ramanujacharya in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir unveiled by Home Minister Amit Shah via video conferencing on 07 July 2022.

• Ramanujacharya is revered as a Vedic philosopher and social reformer.
• He revived the Bhakti movement. He is considered to be the inspiration for poets like Annamacharya, Bhakta Ramdas, Thyagaraja, Kabir, and Meerabai.
• In February 2022, PM Modi unveiled a 216-foot 'Statue of Equality' in Hyderabad. ‘Statue of Equality' is also a statue of Ramanujacharya.
• In November 2020, PM Modi unveiled the Statue of Peace on the occasion of the 151^st birth anniversary of Jainacharya Shree Vijay Vallabh Surishwer Ji Maharaj in Rajasthan.
• Ramanujacharya:
  • He was born in a Brahmin family in Tamil Nadu.
  • He opened doors of temple for all cast, creed, race, and gender.
  • He is famous as the chief proponent of Vishishtadvaita.

Topic: Important Days

3. World Kiswahili Language Day: 07 July

• World Kiswahili Language Day is celebrated on the 7^th of July every year.
• On November 23, 2021, the 41^st session of the General Conference of UNESCO proclaimed 7 July of each year as World Kiswahili Language Day.
• The theme for the first celebration of the World Kiswahili Language Day is ‘Kiswahili for peace and prosperity’.
• Kiswahili is one of the most widely spoken languages in Africa. It is most widely spoken in sub-Saharan Africa.
• It is the only African language that is an official language of the African Union.

Topic: New Developments

4. Scientists at CERN recently discovered a new kind of “pentaquark” and the first-ever pair of “tetraquarks”.

• European nuclear research centre CERN said that scientists working with LHC have discovered three subatomic particles that were not seen earlier.
• Newly observed subatomic particles will help scientists in understanding the binding of quarks into composite particles.
• Quarks are elementary particles. They combine in groups to form hadrons such as protons and neutrons.
• The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a 27-kilometre-long (16.8 mile) machine that found the Higgs boson particle in 2012.
• Higgs boson particle is considered vital to the formation of the universe after the Big Bang. Higgs boson was first mentioned by Peter Higgs in 1964. In the Standard Model, the Higgs particle is a massive scalar boson with zero spin, no electric charge.

Topic: National Appointment

5. Smriti Irani and Jyotiraditya Scindia got additional charges of Ministry of Minority Affairs and Ministry of Steel respectively.

• Smriti Irani, the Minister of Women and Child Development, has been given the additional charge of the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
• Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation, has been given the additional charge of the Ministry of Steel.
• These appointments come after the resignation of Steel Minister Ram Chandra Prasad Singh and Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi from the Union Council of Ministers.
• The President of India has accepted the resignation under clause (2) of Article 75 of the Constitution.
• All the Union Ministers are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Indian Polity

6. Ilaiyaraja, PT Usha, Virendra Hegde, and Vijayendra Prasad have been nominated as Rajya Sabha members.

• The renowned screenwriter V Vijayendra Prasad, sports legend P T Usha, music legend Ilaiyaraaja, and philanthropist and spiritual leader Veerendra Heggade were nominated for the Rajya Sabha.
• Under Article 80, the President of India nominates a total of 12 persons as his nominees to the Rajya Sabha. 
• These persons are nominated in the domains of arts, literature, science and public service.
• Every second year, one-third of the members of Rajya Sabha retire, and their positions are filled by newly elected members.
• The maximum strength of the Rajya Sabha member is 250. Out of this, 12 are nominated by the President while 238 represent the states and UTs.
• Each member is elected to serve a six-year term.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

7. PM Modi inaugurated Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam at Varanasi on 07 July 2022.

• Education Ministry is organizing the Samagam in association with University Grants Commission and Banaras Hindu University.
• It is a three-day-long event that brings together over 300 Vice-Chancellors and Directors from public and private universities, educationists, policymakers and industry representatives.
• They will deliberate on how the implementation of the National Education Policy-2020 can be taken further across the country.
• The key highlight of the Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam will be the adoption of the Varanasi Declaration on Higher Education.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

8. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change will organize “Hariyali Mahotsav” on 8^th July 2022 at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi.

• Hariyali Mahotsav 2022 will be organized in collaboration with the State Governments, Police Institutions and Schools of Delhi.
• Hariyali Mahotsav, the “Tree Festival” will be organized to create awareness about the importance of trees.
• As part of this Mahotsav, plantation drives will be organized with the participation of 75 Nagar Vans throughout the country, 75 Police Stations and 75 Schools in Delhi/NCR and 75 degraded plantation sites in the different states.
• The highlight of the event includes a concert by Ricky Kej, a Grammy Award-winning Indian music composer and environmentalist.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

9. Maryna Viazovska becomes the second woman to win Fields Medal.

• Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska is one of the four recipients of the prestigious Fields medals.
• She has won the prize for finding out the best way to pack spheres in eight dimensions in the least space. It was a centuries-old mathematical problem.
• Hugo Duminil-Copin, June Huh, and James Maynard are the other winners of this year’s Fields medals.
• The award-giving ceremony was held in Finland's Helsinki.
• The winners of this award are generally announced at the International Congress of Mathematicians.
• Fields medal:
  • It is also dubbed as the Nobel Prize for mathematics.
  • It is awarded every four years to mathematicians under the age of 40.
  • It is named after Canadian mathematician John Charles Fields.

Topic: State News/ Rajasthan

10. Rajasthan government to introduce Right to Health Bill in Legislative Assembly.

• It is the first of its kind bill in India, which provides the Right to Health.
• It aims to improve the quality of health care services and to make them more affordable with the help of government and private healthcare providers.
• The government had prepared the draft of the bill in January. It defines the right of patients, their attendants and health care providers.
• This bill is part of the Rajasthan government’s commitment to expand and strengthen medical services in the state.
• The government is providing free treatment to every family up to Rs 10 lakh through Mukhyamantri Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojana.
• Accident insurance of up to Rs 5 lakh is also provided under this scheme.
• Recently, the government has approved Rs 117 crore for the expansion of the facilities in Mahila Chikitsalaya in Jaipur.
• The economic, social, and cultural right to a minimum level of health is considered as the right to health.

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

11. Researchers have discovered a new pathway to regulate nitrate absorption in plants.

• The researchers from the National Centre of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (NCBS-TIFR) have found gene MADS27 which regulates nitrate absorption, root development and stress tolerance.
• The gene MADS27 is activated by the micro-RNA, miR444. The mechanism was studied by the researches in both rice (monocot) and tobacco (dicot) plants.
• miR444 is known to turn off at least five genes called MADS box transcription factor genes.
• The MADS27 gene regulates nitrate absorption by switching “on” proteins involved in this process.
• Nitrogen is an important macronutrients required for the growth of plants. Roots mainly absorb nitrogen from the soil in the form of nitrates and ammonium.
• Excess nitrogen causes iron deficiency in plants hence, there is a need to regulate nitrate absorption in plants.

Topic: Geography

12. Landslide in Manipur, death toll rises to 47.

• A landslide occurred in the Noney district of Manipur on 30 June 2022. It occurred near the Ijei river.
• 14,000 crore 111 km Imphal-Jiribam railway project has been affected by landslide in Noney district. The project that started in 2013 is part of the Trans-Asian Railway Network that aims to connect countries across the continent.
• What is a Landslide?
  • A landslide is the movement of a mass of rock or debris or earth down a slope. It can be initiated by movement of rainfall, snowmelt, earthquakes, changes in water level, stream erosion, volcanic activity, disturbance by human activities, etc.
  • It restricts human movement, causes loss of life and property, creates financial burden, and increase the risk of floods.

Topic: Geography

13. NHRC asked for submission of report regarding harassment of Chakmas in Arunachal Pradesh.

• National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the Deputy Commissioner of Changlang district to submit its report on harassment of some Chakma villagers.
• Who are Chakmas?
  • The Chakma People are a tribal group from the eastern regions of India. In Myanmar, they are known as Daingnet people.
  • They mainly live in Chittagong hill tracts of Bangladesh, Chin and Myanmar. They are second largest ethnic group in Mizoram. They also live in Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Assam.
  • Many of the Chakma people are Theravada Buddhists.
  • Bizhu or Bizu is the most important festival of the Chakma tribe. Bamboo shoots are a traditional dish for the Chakma people.
  • Among Chakma there are 3major groups (i) Anokia, (ii) Tandugia, and (iii) Mangla.
  • Linguistically Chakma language is mixed with some words of Indo-Aryan language, Tibeto-Chinese and mainly Arakan language.

Topic: National News

14. RPF recovered narcotics products of worth more than Rs. 7 crore under “Operation NARCOS”.

• Operation NARCOS was launched by Railway Protection Force (RPF) in June 2022 to bring attention to the dangers of NDPS and restrict the smuggling of narcotics via rail.
• RPF has been empowered to conduct search, seizure and arrest under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 since April 2019.
• The NDPS Act prohibits a person from the production/ manufacturing/ cultivation, possession, sale, purchase transport, storage, and/or consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance.
• India is a signatory to UN Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs 1961, Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971 and Convention on Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988.
• In June 2022, the government announced to move NDPS from Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) to Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Railway Protection Force is a security force established by the RPF Act, 1957 (modified in 1985). It works under the Ministry of Railways.