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.

Why in news?

• MeghEA’s e-proposal system recently won UN World Summit on Information Society Forum (WSIS) award 2022.
• MeghEA project aims to improve service delivery and governance for people using power of Digital technologies.
• It was launched by Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology.
• It’s spread across 6 pillars i.e. Governance, Human Resources, Entrepreneurship, Primary Sector, Infrastructure and Environment, and envision to make Meghalaya a high income state by 2030.
• This is a first of its kind project which is based on India’s National Enterprise Architecture (IndEA) framework.

Why in news?

• The Kerala government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Netherlands for the ‘Cosmos Malabaricus Project’, which aims to illustrate the historical significance of Kerala using the 18th century documents. In addition, the agreement aims to establish painting academics in Kerala’s Kollam and Malappuram.
• The Cosmos Malabaricus project is being jointly implemented by the Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR), the National Archives of the Netherlands, and the Leiden University in the Netherlands. The project is expected to be completed in six years.

About the Cosmos Malabaricus Project:

• The project focuses on the Dutch documents on Malabar from the 18th century, which are often regarded as the most comprehensive source of information on the period in Kerala between 1643 and 1852.
• It contributes to a better knowledge of Kerala’s political, social, economic, and cultural histories.
• It intends to make digitised Dutch archival material available to a wide range of audiences, international and Indian scholars and the people of Kerala.
• It will be accomplished through the translation and publication of English summaries.
• The material is written in classical Dutch language and is available in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Netherlands.

Why in news?

• Recently, Pakistan objected to the construction of Rattle and Kwar hydroelectric projects on the Chenab River in Kashmir.
• Chenab River is formed by the confluence of Chandra and Bhaga streams (originating from Baralacha La) in Lahaul and Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh.
• It flows through Pangi valley (parallel to the Pir Panjal Range) before entering Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir and enters Sialkot (Pakistan) via Akhnoor of J&K.
• In Pakistan, Jhelum, Ravi and Satluj rivers merges with Chenab to form Panjnad River before draining into the Arabian Sea after its confluence with Indus River.

Why in news?

• UBA 2.0 has completed four years.
• UBA is a flagship programme of Ministry of Education which aims to involve Higher Education Institutions (HEI) of the country in indigenous development of self-sufficient and sustainable village clusters.
• Major areas of intervention are Human development and Material (economic) development.
• UBA 1.0 was the Invitation Mode in which Participating Institutions were invited to be a part of UBA. Whereas UBA 2.0 is the Challenge Mode where all HEI are required to willingly adopt at least 5 villages.
• IIT Delhi is the National Coordinating Institute for UBA.