WHY IN THE NEWS?

• 1982-batch retired IRS officer and former chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Pramod Chandra Mody was appointed new Secretary General Rajya Sabha, replacing P.P.K. Ramacharyulu.
• Ramacharyulu meanwhile has been reassigned as an advisor for one year term. Ramacharyulu has now been appointed as an advisor in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
• Mody, a former chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), will be the new secretary-general of the Upper House of Parliament. Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu has signed an order to this effect.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Satya Narayan Pradhan has been appointed as the Director-General (DG) of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on a deputation till the date of his superannuation on 31st August 2024 or until further orders.
• He was holding the additional charge as the DG of NCB in addition to the responsibilities as the DG of NDRF. He took the additional charge as the DG of NCB succeeding Rakesh Asthana who was appointed as Delhi Police Commissioner.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Recently, a highly contagious virus named Norovirus has been detected in Kerala.

About:         

• It is a group of viruses that leads to gastrointestinal illness.
• It causes inflammation of the lining of the stomach and intestines, in addition to severe vomiting and diarrhoea.
• Norovirus is resistant to many disinfectants and can heat up to 60°C. Therefore, merely steaming food or chlorinating water does not kill the virus. The virus can also survive many common hand sanitisers.

Transmission:

• A person can be infected with different varieties of norovirus several times in their lives, but developing immunity to one type doesn’t provide protection against other varieties.
• The virus can be transferred from an infected to a healthy individual through contaminated surfaces or food.
• The virus can primarily be transmitted from oral-faecal.
  • Disease outbreaks typically occur aboard cruise ships, in nursing homes, dormitories, and other closed spaces.

Vulnerable Group:

• The virus can affect people across all age groupsbut is known to cause serious symptoms in children, the elderly and people with comorbidities.

Symptoms:

• Diarrhoea, Vomiting, Stomach ache, Gastrointestinal problems etc are the symptoms.

Treatment:

• While there is no specific treatment available to cure the virus, generic medications for diarrhoea and vomiting can help cure the disease.

Status:

• There are 685 million cases annually, of which 200 million are detected among children younger than five years.
• Nearly 50,000 children die every year due to diarrhoea caused by the virus.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Recently, scientists have observed a quasi-satellite named Kamo`oalewa, tracking the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, which could be a fragment from the moon.

• A mission to collect Kamo’oalewa’s samples has been scheduled for a launch in 2025.

Kamo’oalewa:

• Discovered in 2016 (through the PanSTARRS telescope in Hawaii), Kamo’oalewa is a word that is part of a Hawaiian chant and alludes to an offspring that travels on its own.
• It is one of Earth’s quasi-satellites, a space rock that orbits the Sun, but remains relatively close to the planet – in this case about 9 million miles away.
• The asteroid is roughly the size of a Ferris wheel – between 150 and 190 feet in diameter.
• Because of its small size (about 50 metres wide), this quasi-satellite has been difficult for scientists to study, and little was known about it so far.

Findings-Three Possibilities:

• Part of Earth Moon:
  • It could have broken away from the Moon due to a possible impact, and gone on to orbit the Sun rather than the Earth-like its parent does.
  • Spectrum of reflected light from Kamo’oalewa closely matched lunar rocks from Nasa’s Apollo missions, suggesting it originated from the moon.
  • It is in an unusual orbit, one that would be unlikely for objects that had drifted towards Earth from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
  • The team are unsure how the piece of moon came to be adrift in space, in part, because there are no other known asteroids with lunar origins. However, they narrowed down the timeframe for the violent event to have occurred between 1,00,000 and 500 years ago.
• Near Earth Objects:
  • Captured in its Earth-like orbit from the general population of Near Earth Objects.
• Earth’s Trojan Asteroids:
  • It originated from an as-yet-undiscovered quasi-stable population of Earth’s Trojan asteroids (Trojans are a group of asteroids that share an orbit with a larger planet).

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Recently, Belarusian and Russian paratroopers staged joint drills near the Polish and Lithuanian borders.

• It is taking place during a standoff between Belarus and the European Union (EU) over migrants camped in freezing forests at the frontier.

Background:

• In Belarus there were months of protests following the August 2020 election that gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in office.
  • The opposition and the West rejected the result as a sham.
• Belarusian authorities responded to the demonstrations with a fierce crackdown that saw more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten by police.
• The EU and the US reacted by imposing sanctions on the Belarus government.
• In May 2021 Belarus forcely diverted a passenger jet and scrambled a warplane to arrest an opposition journalist in an act denounced by Western powers as “state piracy” (an act of piracy where the state is involved). After which the sanctions were further strengthened.
  • The Belarus government reacted by saying he would no longer abide by an agreement to stem illegal migration, arguing that the EU sanctions deprived his government of funds needed to contain flows of migrants.
  • And it would stop trying to prevent undocumented migrants and refugees from reaching the EU.
• The Belarusian opposition has urged the EU to take even tougher measures, including a trade embargo and a ban on transit of cargo via Belarus.
  • However the Belarus government has threatened to cut off Russian gas supplies to Europe through pipelines over Belarus. But Russia appeared to distance itself from that threat.

Current Crisis:

• Thousands of people arriving from the Middle East are camping at the border with Poland, enduring freezing conditions, the migrants also include women and children.
  • Poland is a member of the EU.
• The government in Poland is not even allowing aid organizations access to provide them with supplies. This violates international conventions (United Nations Refugee Convention 1951).
  • Poland is ruled by the right-wing populist Law and Justice party (PiS), which is hostile to immigrants.

Russia’s Support:

• Belarus has received strong support from its main ally, Russia, which has helped buttress Lukashenko’s government with loans and political support.
• Russia said the migrant flows resulted from the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Western-backed Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa.
• In a response to Poland’s troop build-up along its border with Belarus, Russia dispatched two strategic, long-range Tu-22M3 bombers to patrol the border region.
• Russia has also squarely blamed the EU for the migrant crisis, arguing that it was the EU’s refusal to accept asylum-seekers that is creating the crisis.

EU’s Stand:

• The EU has made a strong show of solidarity with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. EU officials are expected to discuss another round of sanctions against Belarus.
• The EU has accused Belarus of mounting a “hybrid attack” on the bloc by flying in thousands of migrants, mainly from West Asia, and pushing them to try to cross illegally into Poland.
  • Neighbours of Belarus have expressed concern that the crisis could escalate into a military confrontation.
  • However, Belarus also denies encouraging the flow of migrants and said the EU is violating migrants’ rights by denying them safe passage.

Global Reaction:

• Western members of the United Nation Security Council have condemned Belarus for the escalating crisis over migrants stranded on its border with Poland.
• The UN Refugee Agency, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are calling for an urgent resolution of the situation and immediate and unhindered access to the EU to ensure that humanitarian assistance is provided.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

State Cabinet of Arunachal Pradesh, headed by Chief Minister Pema Khandu, approved “Kaiser-i-Hind” as the state butterfly.

About:

• Kaiser-i-Hind’ is a large and brightly coloured butterfly.
• It is an elusive swallowtail butterfly, which carries ‘India’ in its name.
• It is found in China and now it has been approved as the State butterfly of Arunachal Pradesh.

Cabinet Meeting

• The government held the Cabinet meeting outside Itanagar, for the first time. It was held in Pakke Tiger Reserve.
• During the meeting, the cabinet also adopted ‘Pakke Tiger Reserve 2047 declaration on climate change-resilient & responsive Arunachal Pradesh’ with the aim of lowering emissions and sustainable development.

About Kaiser-i-Hind

Kaiser-i-Hind is scientifically known as Teinopalpus imperialis. In literal terms, it means Emperor of India. The butterfly is having a wingspan of 90-120 mm.

Distribution of Kaiser-i-Hind

It is found across six States along Eastern Himalayas at the elevations from 6,000-10,000 feet in a well-wooded terrain. They also flutter in Bhutan, Nepal, Laos, Myanmar, southern China and Vietnam.

Background

In January 2020, State Wildlife Board accepted the proposal from Koj Rinya, which is the divisional forest officer of Hapoli Forest Division in Lower Subansiri district. The proposal was made in a bid to boost butterfly tourism and to save the species from extinction in the State.

Protection status of the butterfly

Protected areas under the Hapoli Forest Division are popular among butterfly enthusiasts. The Kaiser-i-Hind is protected under Schedule II of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Despite that, they are hunted for the supply to butterfly collectors.

IUCN Status

International Union for Conservation of Nature has red-listed the Kaiser-i-Hind.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Padma Vibhushan Babasaheb Purandare took his last breath on November 15, 2021, at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune.

About:                         

He was 99 years old and on life support. His last rites were performed at Vaikunth crematorium in Pune.

Who was Babasaheb Purandare?

Babasaheb Purandare was a celebrated historian, author, and theatre personality. His full name was Balwant Moreshwar Purandare. He was famous for his work on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The author wrote several books on Shivaji Maharaj, his administration as well the forts from Shivaji’s era. He also directed ‘Jaanta Raja’, which is a popular play on Chhatrapati’s life. His works are mostly related to Shivaji, as a result, he was often called as Shiv-Shahir.

His awards

The historian was awarded India’s second-highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan, in January 2019. He was also awarded Maharashtra Bhushan Award in 2015, which happens to be Maharashtra’s highest civilian award. Madhya Pradesh government had awarded him the Kalidas Samman in 2007–08, for his works in the field of drama.

Works of Babasaheb Purandare

Purandare had started writing stories on Shivaji’s reign at a young age. These stories were later compiled and published in a book called “Thinagya” (“Sparks”). His other works include-

1. Book titled Raja Shiva-Chatrapati
2. Book titled Kesari
3. A book on life of Narayanrao Peshwa.
4. A drama called Janata Raja.

Janata Raja Drama

Janata Raja Drama is a widely popular play on Shivaji. It was first staged in 1985. The drama has been staged more than 1000 times across 16 districts of Maharashtra, Delhi, Agra, Bhopal, and the United States, since then. It was originally written in Marathi and later translated into Hindi. The performance of the drama usually starts around Diwali, each year. It is performed by 200 artists, elephants, horses and camels.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Bhadla Solar Park, located in Rajasthan, is the World’s largest solar power park.

About:

• The solar park is located in Bhadla, a dry & sandy region in Rajasthan.
• It spans over 14,000 acres.
• The Park comprises 10 million solar panels at the park. These solar panels contribute to an operational capacity of 2245 MW.

Bhadla Solar Park

As of 2020, Bhadla solar park is the largest solar park worldwide. It is spread over an area of 5,700 hectares in Bhadla, Jodhpur district of Rajasthan. Park has a total capacity of 2245 MW. It had witnessed the lowest bid for solar power in India at Rs 2.44 per kilowatt-hour.

About Bhadla region

Bhadla region of the Jodhpur district is officially recognized as a sandy, dry, and arid region with an area of around 45 km2. It is located around 200 km north of Jodhpur and 320 km west of Jaipur. Because of its climate, this region is described as “almost unlivable”. Normal temperatures of the region are between 46-48 °C while, hot winds & sand storms occur frequently.

Commissioning of the project

NTPC had announced the commissioning of the 115 MW of capacity at this solar park on February 22, 2017. Currently, its full capacity is of 2,245 MW, making it world’s largest solar park, with its investment rising to Rs 100 billion.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched two innovative customer-centric initiatives of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). These initiatives are the RBI Retail Direct Scheme and the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme. There will be a single point of reference for customers to file their complaints, submit the documents, track status, and provide feedback.
• RBI Retail Direct Scheme is aimed at enhancing access to the government securities market for retail investors. It offers them a new avenue for directly investing in securities issued by the Government of India and the state governments.
• The Reserve Bank- Integrated Ombudsman Scheme aims to further improve the grievance redress mechanism for resolving customer complaints against entities regulated by RBI. The central theme of the scheme is based on ‘One Nation-One Ombudsman’ with one portal, one email and one address for the customers to lodge their complaints.

WHY IN THE NEWS?        

• US Space agency NASA and the Elon Musk-owned private rocket company SpaceX have launched the “Crew 3” mission on November 10, 2021. The “Crew 3” mission consists of Indian-origin NASA astronaut Raja Chari as its mission commander.
• The other three astronauts are NASA’s Tom Marshburn (pilot); and Kayla Barron (mission specialist); as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer (mission specialist).
• Under this mission, four astronauts have been sent to the International Space Station (ISS) for a six-month science mission until April 2022. The four-member international crew of astronauts lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida onboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule named Endurance fixed to Falcon 9 rocket.