Daily Current Affairs 24/08/2022
Important News: International
Greece's exit from the EU's advanced surveillance framework
Why in News:
- Greece's exit from the EU's enhanced surveillance framework for Greece's economy is meant to end 12 years of suffering and give it more flexibility to formulate its policies.
key points:
- Greece's economic performance and policies have been closely monitored since 2018 under the framework to ensure that the reforms were undertaken during the three multilateral bailouts from the European Union (EU) and the IMF between 2010 and 2015 to be completed, totaling more than EUR 260 billion.
- It was announced by EU officials that "Athens had largely fulfilled its obligations."
- After being forced to take its first bailout in 2010, Greece was the victim of pension cuts, spending restrictions, tax hikes, and bank regulations that caused the economy to shrink by 25%.
- The monitoring system was designed to ensure that ongoing structural reforms support sustainable economic growth and steps are taken to address potential sources of economic distress.
- The country's objective of achieving an "investment grade" credit rating is also closed to being achieved if Greece emerges from increased supervision.
Source: The Hindu
Important News: National
National Awards Portal launched by Central Government
Why in News:
- The Central Government has created the National Prizes Portal, which welcomes nominations for a number of awards awarded by various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, in an effort to promote transparency and public participation.
Key Points:
- The National Prizes Portal's goal is to make it simple for the general public to suggest individuals and organizations for a variety of awards granted by the Indian government.
- The government has created this unified National Categories Portal to solicit nominations for various awards.
- The honors presented through the National Awards Portal range from the Padma Award to the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Skill Excellence Award to the Tensing Norgay National Adventure Award and the Sardar Patel National Integration Award.
- With the use of the National Awards Portal, the Government of India will be able to consolidate all of its awards across its numerous Ministries, Departments, and Agencies onto a single digital platform, promoting transparency and public participation.
- The National Prizes Portal aims to make it simpler for members of the public to suggest individuals and groups for several awards presented by the Government of India.
Source: Economic Times
Jitendra Singh unveils first fully indigenous hydrogen fuel cell bus
Why in News:
- India's first indigenous Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus developed by KPIT-CSIR has been launched by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh in Pune.
key points:
- The construction of India's first fully indigenous hydrogen fuel cell bus is in line with Prime Minister Modi's National Green Hydrogen Mission.
- Green hydrogen is an excellent clean energy vector that enables deep decarbonization of even the most difficult emissions from the refining industry, fertilizer industry, steel industry, cement industry, and the heavy commercial transport sector.
- The high efficiency of fuel cell vehicles and the high energy density of hydrogen ensures that the operating cost per kilometer for fuel cell trucks and buses is lower than for diesel-powered vehicles.
- The uniqueness of the process developed by CSIR-NCL is an innovative downstream process technology, which makes this indigenous technology competitive with global benchmarks.
- The Bisphenol-A pilot plant at CSIR-NCL was also inaugurated by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh during the event.
- Fuel cell vehicles emit zero greenhouse gas, which will prove to be important in tackling environmental pollution in India.
Source: PIB
Important News: State
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the project “Vidya Rath - School on Wheels”
Why in News:
- Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Chief Minister of Assam, has launched the 'Vidya Rath-School on Wheels' project.
Key Points:
- The Vidya Rath - School on Wheels program was launched in Assam at a ceremony held at the Gauhati High Court.
- The Vidya Rath - School on Wheels project aims to educate economically disadvantaged impoverished children with 10 months of elementary education.
- Underprivileged children will be given access to elementary education for 10 months as part of the Vidya Rath-School on Wheels program, following which they will be integrated into the traditional education system.
- The Vidya Rath - School on Wheels project will also offer children uniforms and textbooks, as well as free mid-day lunches.
- Assam State Transport Corporation, Assam Sarba Education Mission, Guwahati High Court Legal Services Committee, District Legal Services Authority Kamrup (Metro), and many other non-governmental organizations are among the participants in the School on Wheels program.
Source: Livemint
India's first observatory to monitor space activity in Uttarakhand
Why in News:
- Diganta, a startup in the space industry, will build India's first commercial space situational awareness observatory in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, with the ability to track objects as small as 10 cm in size orbiting the Earth.
Key Points:
- The Space Situational Awareness (SSA) observatory would help India monitor all astronomical activity, including the movement of military satellites and space debris.
- The United States is currently a key player in the space debris monitoring field, with observatories spread around the country and commercial enterprises around the world contributing additional data.
- In particular, in geostationary, medium-Earth, and high-Earth orbits, the ability to monitor deep-space phenomena will be enhanced by high-quality observations with its partner ground-based sensor networks.
- By more precisely forecasting satellites' location, speed, and trajectory, cutting-edge technology can lower the possibility of collisions with another spacecraft.
- Multi-object Tracking Radar, which the SSA observatory is currently utilizing to track space objects for India, would significantly advance this sector.
Source: Times of India
Important News: Science & Tech
NASA's Moon Landing Site for the Artemis III Mission
Why in News:
- NASA has announced 13 potential landing sites for the Artemis III mission, which will send a woman and a person of color to the Moon for the first time.
Key Points:
- The following 13 places have been chosen by NASA as probable landing sites for NASA's Artemis III mission: Peak Near Shackleton, Connecting Ridge, Connecting Ridge Extension, Howarth, Malapert Massif, Leibnitz Beta Plateau, Nobel Rim 1, Nobel Rim 2, and the Amundsen rim.
- The lunar South Pole is within six degrees of each region's location, lending scientific significance to these regions.
- Sunlight is required for the Moon's long stay since it serves as a power source and regulates the temperature.
- NASA and large scientific and engineering organisations will negotiate over the 13 prospective landing locations.
- The United States initially attempted to send humans into space in 1961; eight years later, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission.
- The astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission left an American flag and a sign on the Moon.
- Along with the goal of space exploration, NASA's mission to return Americans to the Moon aims to demonstrate American leadership in space and build a strategic presence on the Moon.
Source: The Hindu
Important News: Sports
Last Panghal: India's first under-20 world champion in wrestling
Why in News:
- Haryana's 17-year-old wrestler Last Panghal defeated Kazakhstan's Atlin Shagayeva 8-0 to win the Under-20 World Champion title.
key points:
- Last Panghal is the first Indian woman to become the under-20 world champion.
- The Under-20 World Wrestling Championship was held in Sofia, Bulgaria.
- With an early 11–0 win over German amary Olivia, the last Panghal has won due to his superior technical prowess.
- The last Panghal is a resident of Bhagana village in the Hisar district of Haryana.
- Last Panghal won a gold medal at the Asian Junior Championships (2022) and a bronze medal at the Cadet World Championships (2021).
- Last year, Panghal also won a silver medal at the U23 Asian Championships.
- In her second match, Ayaka Kimura of Japan was defeated by an Indian wrestler by a fall.
- Panghal faced Ukrainian Natalia Klivchutska in the semi-final match and won the match decisively with a score of 11–2.
- Other wrestlers from India participating in the final have not won a gold medal.
- Two-time U-17 world champion Sonam Malik had to settle for a silver medal after losing to Nonoka Ozaki in the 62kg final.
- India's Priyanka lost in the 65kg final to Japan's Mahiro Yoshitake by a score of 0-8.
Source: Indian Express
Important Days
World Water Week 2022: 23 August to 1 September
Why in News:
- World Water Week for the year 2022-23 has been organized from August 23 to September 1.
key points:
- World Water Week is an annual event organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) since 1991 with the aim of addressing global water issues and concerns related to international development.
- The theme of the 2022 World Water Week is "Seeing the Unseen: The Value of Water".
- This broad theme for the World Water Week 2022-23 has been selected for three main approaches-
- The value and development of water for the people.
- The value of water for nature and climate change.
- The financial and economic value of water.
- World Water Week is a community of change-makers who collaborate on solutions to some of the world's greatest water-related challenges.
- World Water Week also includes organizing a meeting to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and other international processes.
Source: Indian Express
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