(FREE) UPSC Current Affairs 2024 PDF

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 02 February 2022

::NATIONAL::

The Hoysala Temples of Belur, Halebid and Somnathapura in Karnataka have been finalised as India’s nomination for World Heritage List for the year 2022-2023.
These protected monuments are on UNESCO’s Tentative list since 2014.

About:

Set in the foothills of Western Ghats, sacred ensembles included Hindu temples, Jaina temples, secondary structures, intricate sculpture and iconography, temple dances and music etc.
Ensembles were important agents in the development of spiritual beliefs of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Jainism.
Chennakeshava temple (Belur) and Hoysaleshwara temple (Halebid) are considered as masterpieces of Hoysala Art.
Hoysalas ruled around Karnataka from the 11th to 13th century.

Key features:

Architecture of the Hoysalas is a hybrid of the nagara and Dravidian style.
Most remarkable architectural achievement is intricately carved stone temples in star shaped plans.
Temples are usually built on a raised plinth known as a jagati, which provides a path to devotees for circumambulation of the temple.
Both open and closed mandapas can be found in Hoysala architecture.
Kalyani or stepped wells are commonly found.

The Kerala government proposes to amend the Kerala Lok Ayukta Act with an ordinance, a move that has drawn criticism from the opposition.

What change has been proposed?

The cabinet has recommended to the Governor that he promulgate the ordinance, which proposes to give the government powers to “either accept or reject the verdict of the Lokayukta, after giving an opportunity of being heard”.
Currently, under Section 14 of the Act, a public servant is required to vacate office if directed by the Lokayukta.

How was the Lokayukta Act originally envisaged?

The central Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 was notified on January 1, 2014.
The law was a result of demands of several decades for stronger anti-corruption laws.
The Act provides for establishing a Lokpal headed by a Chairperson, who is or has been a Chief Justice of India, or is or has been a judge of the Supreme Court, or an eminent person who fulfils eligibility criteria as specified.

How does it work in the states?

Lokayuktas are the state equivalents of the central Lokpal.
Section 63 of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 states: “Every state shall establish a body to be known as the Lokayukta for the State, if not so established, constituted or appointed, by a law made by the State Legislature, to deal with complaints relating to corruption against certain public functionaries, within a period of one year from the date of commencement of this Act.”

India has raised the incorrect depiction of the country’s map on the website of the World Health Organization (WHO) at the highest level.
This prompting the UN’s health body to issue a disclaimer that the image is not an expression of opinion on the legal status of any country.

India's framework regarding geospatial data:

In 2021, Department of Science & Technology (DST) introduced Guidelines for Acquiring and Producing Geospatial Data and Geospatial Data Services including Maps.
Guidelines have essentially removed all requirements of licenses, permissions and clearances except for certain limited categories.
Prior to Guidelines, geospatial data and maps were regulated by various policies/notifications issued by Survey of India (under DST), Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Defence, among others.

India and Russia on Monday agreed to deepen cooperation at the UN Security Council after the two sides held wide-ranging talks on issues before the global body.
Russia is set to assume the presidency of the UN Security Council in February.
The two sides held bilateral consultations on UN-related issues at a meeting in Delhi, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

About:

UNSC is one of the six principal organs of United Nations (UN).
It has been given a primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.
Under UN Charter, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.
UNSC is composed of 15 members (refer infographic).
India began its two-year term as non-permanent member of UNSC in January 2021, and will hold the position until the end of 2022.
This is India's eighth term as a non-permanent member.

PM GatiShakti is a transformative approach for economic growth and sustainable development.
The approach is driven by seven engines, namely, Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways, and Logistics Infrastructure.

PM GatiShakti National Master Plan:

Finance Minister said the scope of PM GatiShakti National Master Plan will encompass the seven engines for economic transformation, seamless multimodal connectivity and logistics efficiency.
It will also include the infrastructure developed by the state governments as per the GatiShakti Master Plan.
The focus will be on planning, financing including through innovative ways, use of technology, and speedier implementation.

Seamless Multimodal Movement of Goods and People:

The data exchange among all mode operators will be brought on Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP), designed for Application Programming Interface (API).
This will provide for efficient movement of goods through different modes, reducing logistics cost and time, assisting just-in-time inventory management, and in eliminating tedious documentation.
This will provide real time information to all stakeholders, and improve international competitiveness. She said open-source mobility stack, for organizing seamless travel of passengers will also be facilitated.

Indian scientists have devised a new process for increasing the efficiency and stability of Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanorods based on Perovskite Solar Cells (PSC) that will help develop solar cells with stable light-harvesting active layers.

About:

Perovskite solar cells have become commercially attractive because of the potential of achieving even higher efficiencies and very low production costs. However, the challenge lies in its short- and long-term stability.
The porosity of the electrode plays a vital role in perovskite infiltration and sensitization.
The inter-pore distance between the two TiO2 nanorods determines the photo-electrode's porosity, and the porosity varies as the growth of the nanorod length increases.
The power conversion efficiency for nanorod-based PSCs was enhanced with variation in the length and porosity of the TiO2-NR.
The interspacing between the TiO2-NR facilitated deep infiltration of the perovskite during the spin coating and is locally confined to the surface of the TiO2-NR. Due to the large pores present in the TiO2-NR photoelectrode, infiltration of small molecular HTM was also enhanced," the team said.
Apart from high efficiency, the crystalline structure of ETL also significantly influenced the stability of PSCs.