Daily Current Affairs for State Exams 30 May 2023

दैनिक करंट अफेयर्स 30 मई 2023

 Global Wealth Conference

Why in news: The conference is expected to be attended by several sovereign wealth funds, family offices from around the world, pension and public funds, institutional global asset managers, and prominent personalities from royal families to policymakers.

1. The Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute® (SWFI®), a source on institutional investors and global capital, has announced its Global Wealth Conference (GWC), taking place in historic locations on May 31 and June 1 in London.
2. The GWC platform has attracted some of the world’s largest pools of capital, some of which are coming from India. Sovereign wealth funds globally see India as a destination for direct investments. Sovereign wealth funds have directly invested $6.714 billion into India in 2022, compared to just $4.3 billion in 2021.
3. The conference will be attended by 40 sovereign wealth funds, 50+ family offices from around the world, 30+ pension and public funds, 50+ institutional global asset managers, and 30+ prominent personalities from royal families to policymakers. From India, law firm Nishith Desai Associates, SUN Group, Jindal Steel and Power, and a few others will attend the conference.

The Global Wealth Conference will bring together an impressive array of attendees, including major investors such as sovereign wealth funds, pensions, foundations, official institutions, endowments, large family offices, and other asset owners, alongside top-level industry leaders.

WMO approves a global tracker for greenhouse gas emissions

Why in news: Global greenhouse gas watch to fill critical information gaps, provide an integrated and operational framework.

1. The World Meteorological Congress has approved a new greenhouse gas (GHG) monitoring initiative in a landmark decision. The initiative supports urgent action to reduce heat-trapping gases, which are fuelling temperature increases.
2. The new global GHG watch will fill critical information gaps and provide an integrated and operational framework. The framework will bring all space-based and surface-based observing systems, as well as modelling and data assimilation capabilities, under one roof.
3. Many of the existing international and national activities dealing with greenhouse gases are supported mainly by the research community. At present, there is no comprehensive, timely international exchange of surface and space-based greenhouse gas observations or modelling products.
4. The GHG watch will consist of four main components:
   • A comprehensive, sustained, global set of surface-based and satellite-based observations of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations, total column amounts, partial column amounts, vertical profiles and fluxes and supporting meteorological, oceanic, and terrestrial variables, internationally exchanged as rapidly as possible, pending capabilities and agreements with the system operators;
   • Prior estimates of the GHG emissions based on activity data and process-based models;
   • A set of global high-resolution Earth System models representing GHG cycles;
   • Associated with the models, data assimilation systems that optimally combine the observations with model calculations to generate products of higher accuracy.

 (SOURCE – INDIAN EXPRESS)

Powassan virus

Why in news: Powassan virus is generally transmitted to humans through bites by infected deer ticks, groundhog ticks, or squirrel ticks, commonly found in the Great Lakes region of North America between late spring and mid-autumn.

1. A tick-borne virus called Powassan virus has claimed its first victim in the United States of America. Health officials are alerting people about the deadly tick-borne illness.
2. Often called a ticking time bomb, this virus may become more common with the changing climate, leading to a significant public health challenge in the future.
3. Currently, there are “no medications” that can prevent or treat Powassan virus infection. Antibiotics are ineffective against viruses. However, according to the expert, symptoms can be relieved by resting, consuming fluids, and using over-the-counter pain medications.
4. A considerable number of people infected with the virus exhibit no symptoms. For individuals with symptoms, the time from tick bite to feeling ill ranges from one week to one month. The early signs of Powassan virus infection include fever, headache, vomiting, and weakness.

 (SOURCE – HINDUSTAN TIMES)

 India sees reduction in stunting; but wasting, obesity are concerns: report

Why in news: 1.6 crore fewer stunted children aged under five in 2022 than in 2012, show Joint Malnutrition Estimates released by UNICEF, WHO and World Bank; prevalence of obesity marginally increased during the decade, report says.

1. India continues to show a reduction in stunting and recorded 1.6 crore fewer stunted children under five years in 2022 as compared to 2012, according to the Joint Malnutrition Estimates (JME) released by UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank.
2. Stunting among children under five years in India dropped from a prevalence rate of 41.6% in 2012 to 31.7% in 2022 — with the numbers dropping from 52 lakh to 36 lakh. This was accompanied by India’s share of the global burden of stunting declining from 30% to 25% in the past decade.
3. The overall prevalence of wasting in 2022 was 18.7% in India, with a share of 49% in the global burden of this malnutrition indicator.
4. The prevalence of obesity marginally increased in a decade from 2.2% in 2012 to 2.8% in 2022 with the numbers growing to 31.8 lakh from 27.5 lakh thereby contributing to 8.8% of the global share. But the overall classification for obesity is low and much lower than the global prevalence of 5.6%.
5. The JME report says there is insufficient progress to reach the 2025 World Health Assembly (WHA) global nutrition targets and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 targets; only about one-third of all countries are ‘on track’ to halve the number of children affected by stunting by 2030.
6. Even fewer countries are expected to achieve the 2030 target of 3% prevalence for overweight, with just one in six countries currently ‘on track’.

 (SOURCE –NEWS ON AIR)

From ‘Jeetu the dear’ to Lucknow’s chikankari, Khelo India winners being given ODOP gifts

Why in news: The gifts include -- soft toy version of KIUG mascot ‘Jeetu the dear’, KIUG 2022-embossed cups from Khurja, and a chikankari stole from Lucknow, among others.

1. Hitting two targets with one arrow, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is presenting Khelo India University Games (KIUG) winners with ‘One District One Product’ gifts. This not only encourages the athletes but also pushes the Uttar Pradesh government’s to popularise locally-made products across the country under the ODOP initiative.
2. One District One Product (ODOP) Initiative was launched by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries in 2018.
3. The aim is to help districts reach their full potential, foster economic and socio-cultural growth, and create employment opportunities, especially, in rural areas.
4. The initiative aims to select, brand, and promote at least One Product from each District of the country for enabling holistic socioeconomic growth across all regions.
5. The ODOP Initiative has identified a total of 1102 products from 761 districts across the country.

(SOURCE – THE HINDU)

 Centre on flora, fauna at Himalayan national park

Why in news: All four state symbols — the state bird, Western tragopan; state animal, snow leopard; state flower, pink rhododendron; and state tree, deodar — have been showcased with their descriptions. All four state symbols are found in this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

1. This project will be developed by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Limited. The estimated cost of this 2,880-megawatt hydropower project is 319 billion INR.
2. An Interpretation Centre has been developed in the Sainj valley of the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) at Sainj Ropa. It gives information about the flora and fauna found in the GHNP. It will focus on orchids and medicinal plants, along with birds and beautiful locations.
3. The GHNP claims about 10 per cent of the wild population of Western tragopan of the world. The cut outs of large mammals such as brown bears, black bear, snow leopard and musk deer, which are found in the park area, have also been displayed at the centre.
4. Great Himalayan National Park:
   • It is located in Banjaar Sub-Division of Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh in the far Western Himalayas.
   • It spreads across a total area of 1171 sq km.
   • It was constituted in 1984 and was formally notified as a national park in 1999.
   • GHNP was awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2014.

 (SOURCE – NEWS ON AIR)

 Praveen Kumar Srivastava sworn in as Central Vigilance Commissioner

Why in news:  Vigilance Commissioner Praveen Kumar Srivastava was sworn in by President Droupadi Murmu, as the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the ceremony.

1. Praveen Kumar Srivastava belongs to the distinguished Assam-Meghalaya cadre of the Indian Administrative Service. His background and extensive experience have equipped him with the necessary skills and insights to tackle multifaceted challenges in public administration.
2. Prior to assuming the role of Central Vigilance Commissioner, Praveen Kumar Srivastava served as the acting CVC following the completion of Suresh N. Patel’s tenure. This seamless transition ensures the continuity of essential functions and underscores Srivastava’s competence in handling critical responsibilities.
3. CVC is an apex vigilance institution, which is free from any executive authority. It is an independent body whose accountability is only to the Parliament.
4. It was established in February 1964 on the basis of the recommendations of the Anti-Corruption Committee constituted under the chairmanship of K. Santhanam.
5. The Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003 (CVC Act) has been enacted by the Parliament conferring statutory status on CVC.
6. It submits its report to the President of India.

(SOURCE – TIMES OF INDIA)

Atal Bhujal Yojana water scheme extended by two years

Why in news: The extension aims to make up for implementation delays due to covid-19 and to further community behaviour change initiatives.

1. Initially launched in 2020, Atal Jal is active across 8,220 water-stressed Gram Panchayats within 80 districts of seven Indian states.
2. The Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal), India's central sector water conservation scheme, will continue for an additional two years beyond its original 2025 end date, according to a decision made by the National Level Steering Committee (NLSC). The extension aims to make up for implementation delays due to covid-19 and to further community behaviour change initiatives.
3. Initially launched in 2020, Atal Jal is active across 8,220 water-stressed Gram Panchayats within 80 districts of seven Indian states, including Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. It has focused on driving community behavioural change towards conservation and smart water management.
4. In addition to conservation efforts, the scheme also encourages innovative irrigation techniques to enhance water efficiency.
5. Atal Jal also seeks to unite various line departments working on water issues to maximize resource utilization. The scheme plans to bring 450,000 hectares of irrigated area under efficient water techniques like drip irrigation and crop diversification. The project's performances will be measured through pre-set targets, with states performing well eligible for additional funding incentives.

(SOURCE – NEWS18)