Why in news?

• The annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April promotes the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases The World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2022 focuses on enhancing social dialogue towards a culture of safety and health.
• World Day for Safety and Health at Work represents the awareness and promotion of ways that help prevent occupational diseases and accidents worldwide. It represents the development and maintenance of a robust Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) management system. And ever since the pandemic, the OSH management system has gained more importance than it had before.
• This year’s theme of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work is ” Participation And Social Dialogue In Creating A Positive Safety And Health Culture”
• The Annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work was first observed in 2003 by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).It stresses the importance of the prevention of accidents and diseases at work. The day is considered as a crucial tool for carving out a top-shelf political position for occupational safety and health.

Why in news?

• The Cabinet has approved the opening of a new Indian Mission in Lithuania in 2022.

About Lithuania

• Lithuania is an eastern European country situated on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea.
• Largest among the three Baltic states, it shares its borders Latvia on the north, Belarus on the east and south, and Poland and the Kaliningrad region of Russia on the southwest.
• It shares a maritime border with Sweden.
• Geographical Features:
  • Largest River: Neman (Nemunas).
  • Highest Point Location: Mount Juozapine.

Why in news?

• It is a report released by the World Bank.

Key findings are

• Increase in energy prices over the past two years has been the largest since the 1973 oil crisis.
• Price increases for food commodities and fertilizers, which rely on natural gas as a production input, have been the largest since 2008.
• Global food and fuel price shocks linked to the war are set to last until at least the end of 2024 and raise the risk of stagflation.

Why in news?

• The government is planning to revamp the Civil Registration System (CRS) to resolve the current issues of timeliness, efficiency, and uniformity, leading to delayed and under-coverage of birth and death.

About CRS

• It is a continuous, permanent, compulsory recording of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events, like births, deaths, and stillbirths.
• The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 provides for the compulsory registration of births and deaths.
• Chief Registrar is mandated to publish a statistical report on the registered births and deaths during the year.
• It is one of the main sources of data on vital events in India others are Sample Registration System (SRS) and Population Census.
• It is also linked to National Population Register.
• CRS is thus the only source for providing vital rates at the district level on regular basis, as the population Census is a decennial exercise and Sample Registration System is an annual exercise.
• CRS provide legal identity to individual and access to the rights of a citizen Including entitlements such as social benefits etc.
• The Registrar General of India (RGI) under Ministry of Home Affairs coordinates and unifies the activities of registration throughout the country. However, implementation is vested with the state governments.

Why in news?

• Over the past week, the total electricity shortage in India hit 623 million units (MU).

Reasons for power shortages

• Heatwave conditions have increased the demand for energy intensive cooling infrastructure.
• States are reluctant to purchase power from the open market due to high rates and competition among states.
• Thermal plants usually face coal shortages during monsoon, however now, coal shortage started early due to lesser coal supply and shortage of wagons for ferrying coal to plants.
• Due to Russia-Ukraine Crisis, the global coal prices increased by 250% over the last few months.

Power generation via coal

• About 70% of India’s power demand is met by coal-fired power plants.
• India is the world’s 2nd largest coal producer, with the world’s 5th largest reserves as on 2020.

Classification of coal

• Anthracite (best quality): Carries 80 to 95 per cent carbon content, found in small quantity in Jammu and Kashmir.
• Bituminous: Carries 60 to 80 per cent of carbon content and a low level of moisture content. Found in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
• Lignite– It carries 40 to 55 percent carbon content. Found in Rajasthan, Lakhimpur(Assam) and Tamil Nadu.

Why in news?

• Asurgarh fortified settlement (ninth century BC) in Odisha’s Kalahandi district, has been ascertained to be the oldest among the major fortified settlements in the State.
  • Archaeologists deployed Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon technique, a technology that allows to distinguish different types of atoms on the basis of differences in atomic weights (mass).
• Major Findings:
  • Cultural sequence of the site could be divided into three phases:
    • Iron Age (ninth century BC to fourth century BC),
    • Early Historic or Rampart phase (second century BC to first century AD), and
    • Late Period/Dedine of the settlement (second century AD to third-fourth century AD).
  • Antiquities found include Beads of coral, lapis lazuli, carnelian, glass, jasper, garnet, shell, agate, milky quartz, terracotta, kaolin, and soft stone, and circular discs made out of potsherds and stone.
  • Only site in Odisha which shows highly skiled engineering of water management in comparison to contemporary sites.
• Other early historic sit es in Odisha include Sisupalgarh (near Bhubaneswar); Jaugarh, a fortified settlement on the Rushikulya valley (Ganjam); Khalkattapatna (Puri); the port site of Manikpatna (Puri) etc.

Why in news?

• World Penguin Day is annually celebrated on 25th April to celebrate penguins, the unique, aquatic, flightless birds living in the southern hemisphere. The day also aims to create awareness about the threats and challenges faced by the Penguins.
• According to the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), 25th April coincides with the annual northern migration of Adelie penguins, a species of penguin that is native to Antarctica.
• The researchers in Antarctica documented that a colony of Adelie penguins returned from spending months at sea on April 25 for multiple consecutive years.
• The scientists began celebrations on the 25th April to welcome the penguins and later the day became a global celebration of penguins.

Conservation of Penguins: 

• At present all 18 species of penguins are legally protected from hunting and egg collecting.
• 12 nations signed the Antarctic Treaty in 1959 and reauthorized it in 1991 to protect Antarctica and preserve its living resources. The treaty makes it illegal to harm, or in any way interfere with, a penguin or its eggs.
• The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) International treaty was developed in 1973 to regulate trade in certain wildlife species, including penguins.

Threats:

• The top 5 threats faced by the Penguins are overfishing, plastic pollution, industrial development, invasive Predators, and Climate Change.

Why in news?

• The Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre has developed and completed the first trials of the Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) vaccine for the Asiatic lion.
• Canine distemper is caused by the paramyxovirus virus and it spreads through body fluids like infected urine, blood and saliva.
• The virus attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous systems of puppies and dogs and can be transmitted to lions, tigers, leopards and other wild cats as well as seals.
• There is no known cure for CDV.

Why in news?

• It was launched by Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Its objective is to create complete component ecosystem in India and make India an integral part of global supply chains.
• Scheme offer an incentive of 4-6% on incremental sales of goods manufactured in India.
• The white goods industry consists of air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines and dryers, dishwashers, and LED Lights.
• PLI scheme aims to give companies incentives on incremental sales from products manufactured in domestic units, and encourage local companies to set up or expand existing manufacturing units.

Why in news?

• USCIRF has designated India as a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)” for third consecutive year.
  • Designation is reserved for worst violators of religious freedom.
  • Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea and Russia are also designated as CPCs.
• USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government agency created by 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).
• An advisory or a consultative body to US Congress on issues pertaining to international religious freedom.
• It uses international standards, such as Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to monitor violations of religious freedom or belief abroad.