Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 09 July 2022

::NATIONAL::

The monsoon has usually meant respite from the heat, but temperatures during these months — June to September — are seeing a rise, says an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), an environment group.

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At an all-India level, average temperatures during the season are 0.3 degrees Celsius higher than the average summer temperatures (March to May) when compared from 1951 to 1980. In the past decade, 2012-2021, this anomaly has risen to 0.4 degrees Celsius.
India’s average temperature has risen 0.62 degrees Celsius from 1901 to 2020, according to India Meteorological Department records.
However, in a breakdown of this rise, the CSE analysis shows it has translated to summer temperatures rising slower than not only monsoon but even post-monsoon (October-December) and winter (January and February) temperatures.
The increase in these two seasons are 0.79 degrees and 0.58 degrees, respectively, whereas summer temperatures has risen only 0.49 degrees. This year, India saw record pre-monsoon temperatures in northern and western regions, in the absence of rain.
These numbers had a bearing on heatwave deaths. From 2015 to 2020, 2,137 people had reportedly died of heat stroke in the States in northwest but the southern peninsula region had reported 2,444 deaths due

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It is a tropical fruit belonging to Cactaceae family and a native to Central America.
It is grown in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, West Bengal, AndhraPradesh etc.
Considering its global demand due to its nutritional values, plan is to increase cultivation to 50,000 hectares (from 3,000 hectare) in five years.
It is also known as Kamalam (in India) or Hylocereus Undatus (Scientifically).

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Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving leader, died after being shot while campaigning for a parliamentary election.

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The assassin was identified by the Japanese media as Tetsuya Yamagami, a 41-year-old, who was an ex-marine in Japan’s self-defence forces. It was the first assassination of a sitting or former Japanese Premier since the days of pre-war militarism in the 1930s.
Abe — one of the most consequential leaders of Japan in its post-war history — was the country’s longest serving Prime Minister, having served two terms from 2006 to 2007 and then from 2012 to 2020.
Transformation in India-Japan ties
During his first stint in 2006-07, Abe visited India and addressed Parliament. During his second stint he visited India thrice: in January 2014, December 2015, and September 2017. No other Prime Minister of Japan has made so many visits to India.
He was the first Japanese PM to be Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade in 2014.

The 17th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will happen in November in Bali. After Indonesia, India will assume the presidency of G20 from December 2022.

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The G20 was formed in 1999 in the backdrop of the financial crisis of the late 1990s that hit East Asia and Southeast Asia in particular. Its aim was to secure global financial stability by involving middle-income countries.
Together, the G20 countries include 60 per cent of the world’s population, 80 per cent of global GDP, and 75 per cent of global trade.
Its prominent members are: Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the EU. Spain is invited as a permanent guest.
The presidency of the G20 rotates every year among members, and the country holding the presidency, together with the previous and next presidency-holder, forms the ‘Troika’ to ensure continuity of the G20 agenda. Italy, Indonesia, and India are the Troika countries right now.

StrengtheningTeaching-Learning andResults for States (STARS)Projectaims to improve the quality and governance of school education in six states: Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha.
It is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under Ministry of Education.
States will get support for interventions for improved education outcomes and school for improved labour market outcomes.

It has 2 major components:

At National level: Strengthening of learning assessment systems, Establishing a National Assessment Center (PARAKH) etc.
At State level: Strengthening Early Childhood Education, classroom instruction, Vocationaleducation etc.

A workshop was conducted by Aditya-L1 Science Support Cell (AL1SSC) to perform scientific analysisusing Aditya-L1 data.

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Aditya-L1 mission is India's first dedicated spacecraft mission tostudy the Sun. It will be inserted in a halo orbit around Lagrangianpoint 1 (L1).
At Lagrange points, gravitational pull of two large masses (likeSun and Earth) precisely equals centripetal force required for asmall object to move with them.