Daily Current Affairs 01.04.2022
Important News: India
' Business Blasters' programme
Why in News?
- Recently the Delhi government has announced the extension of its Business Blasters programme to the private schools of Delhi.
Key Points:
What is the Business Blasters programme in Delhi?
- Business Blasters is the Delhi government's startup programme where students of Classes 11 and 12 propose business ideas, and the government helps them give these ideas a shape.
- It was launched in 2021.
- Here, students of classes 11 and 12 are mentored and then provided a financial capital of Rs 2,000 as seed money to finance their business ideas.
- As many as 1,000 student-led startups out of 51,000 ideas have been selected for the next round of the Delhi government's 'Business Blasters' programme.
Programme Extension
- Chief Minister of Delhi has declared that there are plans for the Business Blasters programme to also be implemented in the various private schools, colleges and universities.
Source: Indian Express
Union Government Announces Merger of Four Film Media Units
Why in News?
- Recently, the Government of India announced the merger of four film media units – Films Division, Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), National Film Archive of India (NFAI), and Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI) – with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).
Aim:
- To reduce the overlap of various activities and ensure better utilisation of public resources.
Key Points:
- In December 2020, the Union Cabinet had decided to merge these four film media units with the NFDC.
- The government has also made a budgetary allocation of Rs 1304.52 crore up to 2026 for all these activities.
About National Film Development Corporation (NFDC):
- The National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) is the central agency established in 1975 to encourage high-quality Indian cinema.
- Main objectives:
- Film financing,
- Film production
- Film distribution under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.
- National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) Headquartes:
About National Film Archive of India (NFAI):
- The National Film Archive of India was established as a Ministry of Information and Broadcasting media unit in February 1964.
- It has Headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra; NFAI has three regional offices in Bangalore, Calcutta and Thiruvananthapuram.
- The main objective of the National Film Archive of India is to preserve the Heritage of Indian Cinema.
Source: PIB
Prevention of Blindness Week 2022: 1st April to 7th April 2022
Why in News?
- The government of India is celebrating the Prevention of Blindness Week 2022 from 1st April to 7th April to make people aware of their eyes and eye-related diseases.
Historical Background
- It was founded in 1960 (Under the Societies Registration Act of 1860), with Jawaharlal Nehru and Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur founding patrons.
- Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, the then Health Minister, Government of India was elected as its first President.
Key Points:
- NSPB is an entirely voluntary organization receiving funds through contributions and donations.
- Globally, at least 2.2 billion people have a near or distance vision impairment. There are around 10 million blind people in our country.
Common Eye Disorders and Diseases
There are three common eye defects, and they are-
(i) myopia or near-sightedness,
(ii) Hypermetropia or far-sightedness, and
(iii) Presbyopia.
Note: Another defect of the eye that usually comes in old age is the Cataract.
Source: Indian Express
Disturbed areas under AFSPA in Nagaland, Assam and Manipur reduced
Why in News
- The Government of India has reduced disturbed areas under Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Nagaland, Assam and Manipur for decades.
- In comparison to 2014, there has been a reduction of 74 per cent in militancy incidents in 2021.
Key Points
- The Disturbed Area Notification is in force in the whole of Assam since 1990.
- Due to the significant improvement in the situation, now AFSPA is being removed with effect from 01.04.2022 completely from 23 districts and partially from 1 district of Assam.
- The Disturbed Area Declaration is in force in the entire Manipur (except the Imphal Municipality area) since 2004.
- 15 police station areas of 6 districts of Manipur will be excluded from the Disturbed Area Notification with effect from 01.04.2022.
- The Disturbed Area Notification is in force in the whole of Nagaland since 1995. It is being withdrawn from 15 police stations in 7 districts in Nagaland with effect from 01.04.2022.
Note:
- The Disturbed Area Notification under AFSPA was completely removed from Tripura in 2015 and Meghalaya in 2018.
- The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 grants special powers to the security forces to conduct operations anywhere and to arrest anyone without any prior warrant.
Source: Indian Express
Massive fire in Sariska Tiger Reserve
Why in News
- Recently, a massive fire has broken out in the Sariska Tiger Reserve.
Key Points
- An 8-10 sq km area in the Akbarpur range has been affected despite timely satellite warnings and the availability of a real-time mobile application-based fire response system.
About Sariska Tiger Reserve:
- Sariska Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in Alwar district, Rajasthan, India.
- It stretches over an area of 881 km2 comprising scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and rocky hills.
- This area was a hunting preserve of the Alwar state and was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1958.
- It was given the status of a tiger reserve making it a part of India's Project Tiger in 1978.
- The wildlife sanctuary was declared a national park in 1982, with a total area of about 273.8 km2.
- It is the first reserve in the world with successfully relocated tigers.
Note: Recently, the Ramgarh Vishdhari wildlife sanctuary received a nod from the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s technical committee to become the 4th Tiger reserve in Rajasthan.
Source: Indian Express
“MyGov” platform launched for Jammu & Kashmir
Why in News
- To take forward the idea of citizen engagement and achieve the goal of ‘Good Governance in India’s first Union Territory, MyGov Jammu & Kashmir has been launched by Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor, Jammu & Kashmir.
Key Points
- MyGov Jammu and Kashmir is the 16th MyGov Instance and 1st ever MyGov for any Union Territory in the 7+ years journey of
About MyGov:
- MyGov was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 26th July 2014, with the idea of bringing the Government closer to the common man by creating an interface for a healthy exchange of ideas and views toward the social and economic transformation of India.
- Taking forward the idea of participative governance, MyGov initiated the implementation of MyGov State Instances and has successfully implemented Instances for 15 states namely Haryana, Maharashtra, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
Source: PIB
Mumbai International Cruise Terminal to be commissioned by July 2024
Why in News
- The Mumbai International Cruise Terminal, the iconic sea cruise terminal coming up at BPX-Indira Dock, is expected to be commissioned by July 2024.
- This was informed by the Chairperson, Mumbai Port Authority, Rajiv Jalota on the occasion of the completion of 7 years of Sagarmala - Government of India’s flagship programme for port-led development of the nation.
Key Points
- The terminal will have a capacity of handling 200 ships and 1 million passengers per annum.
- Out of the total project cost of Rs. 495 crore, Rs. 303 crores will be incurred by Mumbai Port Authority and the remaining by private operators.
About Sagarmala:
- Sagarmala is an ambitious national initiative aimed at bringing about a step-change in India’s logistics sector performance, by unlocking the full potential of India’s coastline and waterways.
- The vision of Sagarmala is to reduce logistics cost for both domestic and EXIM cargo with optimized infrastructure investment.
Source: PIB
Important News: Defense
20th edition of India France Naval Exercise VARUNA – 2022
Why in News
- The 20th edition of the bilateral Naval Exercise between Indian and French Navies – ‘VARUNA’ is being conducted in the Arabian Sea from 30 March – 03 April 2022.
Key Points
- The Bilateral Naval Exercises between the two Navies were initiated in 1993.
- The exercise was christened ‘VARUNA’ in 2001 and has become a vital part of India – France's strategic bilateral relationship.
- Various units including ships, submarines, maritime patrol aircraft, fighter aircraft and helicopters of the two navies are participating in the exercise.
Source: India Today
Important News: Science and Technology
ISRO to step up tracking of space debris
Why in News
- With space junk posing an increasing threat to Indian assets in space, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is building up its orbital debris tracking capability by deploying new radars and optical telescopes under the Network for Space Objects Tracking and Analysis (NETRA) project.
Key Points
- Space debris tracking radar with a range of 1,500 km and an optical telescope will be inducted as part of establishing an effective surveillance and tracking network under NETRA.
Space Junk:
- Space junk or debris consists of spent rocket stages, dead satellites, fragments of space objects and debris resulting from the Anti-satellite (ASAT) System.
- Hurtling at an average speed of 27,000 kmph in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), these objects pose a very real threat as collisions involving even centimetre-sized fragments can be lethal to satellites.
NETRA Project:
- It is an early warning system in space to detect debris and other hazards to Indian satellites.
- Once operational, it will give India its own capability in Space Situational Awareness (SSA) like the other space powers.
Note: At present, India uses a Multi-Object Tracking Radar at the Sriharikota range (Andhra Pradesh), but it has a limited range.
Source: The Hindu
Petascale Supercomputer Param Shakti
Why in News?
- A Petascale Supercomputer PARAM Shakti AT IIT Kharagpur has been dedicated to the nation under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).
Key Points:
- The supercomputer was inaugurated on March 27, 2022, by Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, Honourable Governor, West Bengal in the gracious presence of Prof V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur.
About Supercomputer:
- Supercomputers are high-performance computing (HPC) systems, allowing organizations to solve problems that would be impossible with regular computers and to better assess associated revenue streams.
- They usually have more than one CPU (central processing unit), which contains circuits for interpreting program instructions and executing arithmetic and logic operations in proper sequence.
- The CDC 6600, released in 1964, is sometimes considered the first supercomputer in the world.
- Param 8000 is considered India's first supercomputer.
- The NSM has so far established 10 supercomputer systems across India with a cumulative computing power of 17 petaflops.
National Supercomputing Mission (NSM):
- The Mission envisages empowering our national academic and R&D institutions spread over the country by installing a vast supercomputing grid comprising more than 70 high-performance computing facilities.
- These supercomputers will also be networked on the National Supercomputing grid over the National Knowledge Network (NKN).
- The NKN is another programme of the government which connects academic institutions and R&D labs over a high-speed network.
About Supercomputer PARAM Shakti:
- The supercomputer PARAM Shakti is based on a heterogeneous and hybrid configuration of Intel Xeon Skylake processors and NVIDIA Tesla V100.
- The system was designed and implemented by the HPC Technologies team, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).
Source: PIB
Important News: Important Day
1st April - Odisha Day or Utkal Divas
- Every year 1st of April is celebrated as Utkal Divas or Utakala Dibasha or Odisha Foundation Day.
History:
- Under British rule, Odisha was a part of the Bengal Presidency.
- The state was separated from the Bengal and Bihar province on 1 April 1936 after a long struggle of three centuries. Since then, 1 April is marked as Odisha's foundation day.
About Odisha:
- Officially Orissa is known as ‘Odisha’ and the Oriya language is known as ‘Odia’ by the Parliament.
- The current Chief Minister of Odisha is Shri Naveen Patnaik, and Prof. Ganeshi Lal is the Governor of the State.
- Talcher is the Coal City of Odisha is one of the fastest-growing industrial and coal hubs in the state.
- Simlipal National Park, Bhitarkanika National Park and Satkosia Tiger Reserve are located in Odisha.
Source: PIB
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