Daily GK Update- 13th May, 2022

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister launched Ladli Laxmi scheme 2.0: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched the second phase of the Ladli Laxmi scheme (Ladli Laxmi scheme-2.0). The scheme is an innovative initiative to encourage girl children to pursue higher education and make them self-dependent. The scheme is being implemented by the government of Madhya Pradesh since 2007 to enhance the economic and educational status of the girls.

Ladli Laxmi’s scheme: Ladli Laxmi scheme is a comprehensive scheme that offers financial assistance for a girl from birth until her marriage in instalments. The family of the girl child should be a permanent resident of Madhya Pradesh. The family should come under below the poverty line (BPL), i.e., should not be an income taxpayer. A maximum of two daughters can be registered under this scheme.

Note: Madhya Pradesh Capital: Bhopal; Madhya Pradesh Governor: Mangubhai C. Patel; Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

 

2. NSO survey: Unemployment rate of India at 8.7% in October-December 2021: The National Statistical Office (NSO) data has revealed that the unemployment rate for people above 15 years in urban areas slipped from 10.3% to 8.7% between October and December 2021. Joblessness or unemployment rate (UR) is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force. Key points of the National Statistical Office data:

a)      Among males, the unemployment rate in urban areas also dipped to 8.3% in October-December 2021 compared to 9.5% a year ago. It was 9.3% in July-September 2021.

b)      The data also showed that the joblessness or unemployment rate among females (aged 15 years and above) in urban areas also declined to 10.5% from 13.1% in the same period. It was 11.6% in July-September 2021.

c)       Labour force participation rate in CWS (current weekly status) in urban areas for persons 15 years of age and above remained unchanged at 47.3% in the October-December quarter of 2021, compared to the same period a year ago. It was 46.9% in July-September 2021.

d)      Labour force refers to the part of the population which supplies or offers to supply labour for pursuing economic activities for the production of goods and services.

e)      The work Population Ratio in urban areas for persons of age 15 years and above stood at 43.2% in October-December 2021, up from 42.4% in the same period a year ago. It was 42.3% in July-September 2021.

 

3. WEF to focus on innovative technology to assist small and marginal farmers: The World Economic Forum (WEF), in collaboration with the government’s research institute Niti Aayog, is focusing on how to better employ emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, and drones to aid farmers, especially small and marginal farmers. Key Points:

a)      Agriculture is an important part of the Indian economy, employing 43 percent of the country’s workers.

b)      Small holders, who account for 86 percent of all farmers in India and own less than 2 hectares of land (compared to 2-10 hectares for medium holders and more than 10 hectares for large holders), are still among the poorest people in the country, earning only 39 percent of what medium holders earn and only 13 percent of what large holders earn.

c)       Due to insufficient transparency of demand, exploitative intermediation, inadequate quality assurance, inadequate access to efficient and low-cost logistics, and little bargaining power, smallholder farmers are typically unable to obtain equivalent value for their produce.

d)      Improved value capture and total value production in the agricultural environment are required to increase farmer incomes. Technology has the potential to quickly develop and iterate solutions, reduce costs, improve information flow transparency, and boost connectivity across value chain actors.

e)      Given the importance of agriculture in the Indian economy and farmers’ chronic economic disadvantage, there is a pressing need to address difficulties in the farmgate-to-fork (F2F) ecosystem and making agriculture more profitable for farmers.

Solution according to WEF: In India, a plethora of high-potential innovations have arisen to solve these issues, with some proving proof of concept. India is well positioned to scale up these technologies. India’s rapidly evolving agricultural technology landscape reflects innovators, investors, and adopters who can develop, test, and adopt solutions at scale, with 560 million internet users (50 percent in rural areas), high smartphone penetration, and an AI market valued at $6.4 billion (16 percent of the global AI market).

 

4. Green Satellite Propulsion tested by Bellatrix Aerospace: Bengaluru-based Bellatrix Aerospace has successfully tested an environmentally friendly satellite propulsion system that offers a 20 percent increase in fuel efficiency over hydrazine-dependent fuel systems. Bellatrix’s recent testing of its green propulsion system also signals a turning point in the company’s quest to develop a space taxi for satellites. Key Points:

a)      Satellite thrusters use the poisonous substance hydrazine, which has a negative influence on the environment, prompting space experts to look for environmentally friendly replacements.

b)      According to a press statement from ISRO, the union cabinet approved two unmanned missions and one crewed mission as part of the Rs 9,023-crore Gaganyaan project.

c)       Should green propellants be explored for human flight missions, they would result in faster processing times and fewer handling needs, both of which are key roles in a crewed human flight mission.

d)      ISRO has said that it will strive to employ green fuels in all future flights, and the green fuel recently tested by Bellatrix Aerospace is particularly promising, offering both safe handling and superior performance over harmful substances such as hydrazine.

e)      Green propulsion research is critical since the world is rapidly moving toward green chemistry, and keeping up with the latest advances is critical for our country.

 

5. A book Titled “The Struggle for Police Reforms in India” by Ex-IPS Prakash Singh: Vice President (VP) of India, M Venkaiah Naidu, released a book titled “The Struggle for Police Reforms in India: Ruler’s Police to People’s Police” authored by a former IPS officer, Prakash Singh in New Delhi. The book is published by Rupa Publications India Pvt Ltd.

About the book: This book documents the efforts made to bring about police reforms in India. The book provides the historical background to the origin of the Indian Police and traces the evolution during British Rule and subsequently since independence. The book focuses on the efforts of Prakash Singh to bring transformational changes in the Indian Police.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister resigned after weeks of Protest: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahindra Rajapaksa resigned from his position. He sent his resignation letter to the president of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He has been accused of misleading Sri Lanka’s economy and pushing Sri Lanka towards Bank corruption and economic crisis.  The Sri Lankan people have been protesting against the president and the prime minister. The supporters attack the Anti-government protesters outside the president’s office which leads to massive violence.  151 people were injured and admitted in the hospital.

Reason for Protest in Sri Lanka: During this month the president has declared two state emergencies because the protest against the prime minister grew large every day. The protestors were not happy with the government and demanded the resignation of President Rajapaksa and his elder brother Mahindra Rajapaksa who is the prime minister of Sri Lanka. Mahindra Rajapaksa has been accused of mismanaging the economy of Sri Lanka and pushing it towards bankruptcy. The Paksa family has been dominating Sri Lanka for years and now the people are ready to protest against the government. The economic crisis leads to food shortages, medicine shortages, and fuel shortages. The country has no budget for foreign exchange and is under the depth of international countries. To pay the depth of all the international countries Sri Lanka needs 3 billion to four billion dollars. The main reason for the economic crisis was the setback of the tourism industry due to Covid-19, depletion of forex reserves, and the depression of currency in Sri Lanka. The protester strongly believes that the Rajapaksa family has failed Sri Lanka as a country.

 

2. Monkeypox Virus: Another virus, Monkeypox, has made an appearance in the United Kingdom. The patient has a recent travel history from Nigeria, where they are suspected to have contracted the infection, before travelling to the UK, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which confirmed the case.

Monkeypox Virus: Monkeypox is a viral disease caused by the Monkeypox virus, which belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus in the Poxviridae family and is associated with diseases such as smallpox, cowpox, horsepox, and camelpox. It was first discovered in humans in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970, two years after smallpox had been eradicated from the area.

According to WHO records, the majority of Monkeypox cases have been reported from rural, rainforest regions of the Congo Basin since 1970, mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it is currently considered endemic.

Monkeypox Virus History: According to a scientific report, the Monkeypox virus was initially discovered in a colony of Cynomolgus monkeys kept at the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen in 1958. The disease first struck giant anteaters from South America, but it quickly spread to other ape and monkey species. The Congo Basin and West African clades of the Monkeypox virus are responsible for the disease. Clades are collections of creatures that have a common ancestor. The Congo Basin clade of Monkeypox virus is the more virulent and transmissible of the two genetic clades.

About Monkeypox Virus Outbreak:

a)      According to the WHO, the first large Monkeypox outbreak was detected in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1996–97, with lower case fatality and a greater attack rate.

b)      A Monkeypox epidemic was detected in the United States in 2003, marking the first time the disease had been reported outside of Africa. “n 2003, 47 cases of Monkeypox were confirmed or suspected in six states: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin.All Monkeypox patients in this outbreak became ill after coming into contact with pet prairie dogs.

c)       In 2017, Nigeria saw the largest documented outbreak in 40 years.

d)      Travellers from Nigeria who became ill with Monkeypox after arriving in Israel in September 2018, the United Kingdom in September 2018 and December 2019, and Singapore in May 2019 carried the disease.

Symptoms of monkeypox: During a Monkeypox viral attack, the symptoms can be divided into two categories: invasion and skin rash. Monkeypox typically takes 6 to 13 days to incubate. The incubation period is the time between when an infection occurs and when symptoms develop in a person. The patient has fever, acute headache, lymphadenopathy (swelling of the lymph nodes), back pain, myalgia (muscle aches), and an intense asthenia during the invasion stage, which is within the first 5 days of the illness (lack of energy).

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

 

1. 12th IBA Womens World Boxing Championships kick-started in Istanbul: The 12th edition of the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships was kick-started in Istanbul, Turkey. In this event, more than 400 boxers from a record 93 countries are set to take part in this year’s event, which also marks the 20th anniversary of the prestigious event.

Olympian Lovlina Borgohain will represent the Indian country. The other representatives of this game are Pooja Rani (81 kg), Nandini (+81 kg) and Nikhat Zareen (52 kg), Nitu (48kg), Anamika (50kg), Shiksha (54kg), Manisha (57kg), Parveen (63kg) and Sweety (75kg).

Note: International Boxing Association (IBA) was formed in 1946; Headquarters of IBA: Lausanne, Switzerland; President of IBA: Umar Nazarovich Kremlev.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

1. GoI releases Rs 7,183.42 crore to 14 states as revenue deficit grant: The central government has released Rs 7,183.42 crore as a revenue deficit grant to 14 states including Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Punjab, Assam and Kerala. The Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance released the money. This is the 2nd monthly instalment of Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) grant to states. The grant has been released as per the recommendations of the Fifteenth Finance Commission. The States which have been recommended Post Devolution Revenue Deficit grant by the Fifteenth Finance Commission during 2022-23 are: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

Key points:

a)      Fifteenth Finance Commission recommended Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) grant to states. Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) grant is provided under Article 275 of the Indian Constitution.

b)      The Fifteenth Finance Commission has recommended a total Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) Grant of Rs 86,201 crore to 14 states for the financial year 2022-23.

c)       The Department of Expenditure (Ministry of Finance) will release the grant to the recommended states in 12 equated monthly instalments (EMIs). With the recent release, the total amount of Revenue Deficit Grants released to the States in 2022-23 has gone up to Rs 14,366.84 crore.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Former Union Minister Pandit Sukh Ram passes away: Veteran Himachal Pradesh Congress leader and former Union minister, Pandit Sukh Ram has passed away at 94. He was the Union Minister of State, Communications (Independent Charge) from 1993 to 1996 and a member of Lok Sabha from the Mandi constituency (Himachal Pradesh). He won the Lok Sabha elections three times and the Vidhan Sabha elections five times. In 2011, he was sentenced to five years of imprisonment for corruption when he was Communications Minister in 1996.

 

2. World’s oldest chess grandmaster Yuri Averbakh passes away: Russian chess grandmaster, Yuri Averbakh who was among the world’s best players for a decade, trained world champions and was the last surviving participant in one of the greatest competitions in history, has died in Moscow at 100. He won the Moscow Championship in 1949 and earned the Grandmaster title in 1952. In 1954, he became the champion of the USSR. He also chaired the Chess Federation of the USSR from 1972 to 1977.