Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 04 June 2022

::NATIONAL::

Maruti Suzuki, wants the government to review a proposal to make six airbags mandatory in passenger vehicles, citing its impact on the price-sensitive entry-level car segment.

Key highlights:

Airbags soften the impact of collisions by keeping occupants from coming into contact with the steering wheel, dashboard, front glass, and other parts of the automobile.
In January 2022, Union Road Transport Minister said that “In order to enhance the safety of the occupants in motor vehicles carrying upto 8 passengers, I have now approved a Draft GSR Notification to make a minimum of 6 Airbags compulsory.” No timelines were mentioned then.
Dual airbags (driver and passenger) became mandatory on all vehicles this January. A driver airbag has been compulsory for all passenger vehicles since July 1, 2019.
Additional airbags are proposed in the ‘M1’ category of vehicles, with the aim of minimising the impact of “frontal and lateral collisions” to the occupants of both the front and rear compartments. As per the proposal, two side or side torso airbags, and two side curtain or tube airbags covering all outboard passengers, will be made mandatory.

What is an ‘M1’ vehicle?

Under the government’s homologation rules, vehicles are bucketed into broad categories.
‘Category M’ covers motor vehicles with at least four wheels, used for carrying passengers.
Sub-category ‘M1’ defines “a motor vehicle used for the carriage of passengers, comprising not more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat”.

The final report of Integrated Landscape Management Plan for Greater Panna Landscape was released by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

About:

This integrated landscape management plan has been prepared in respect of Ken-Betwa Link Projectby Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
The Integrated Landscape Management Plan provides for better habitat protection, and management of flagship species such as Tigers, Vultures, and Gharial.
It will help to holistically consolidate the landscape for biodiversity conservation and human well-being, especially forest dependent communities.
This integrated landscape management plan has been prepared in respect of Ken-Betwa Link Project which has been approved by the Govt. of India for implementation.

The world’s largest plant has recently been discovered off the West Coast of Australia: a seagrass 180 km in length.

About:

The ribbon weed, or Posidonia australis, has been discovered in Shark Bay by a group of researchers from Flinders University and The University of Western Australia.
These researchers have also found that the plant is 4,500 years old, is sterile, has double the number of chromosomes than other similar plants, and has managed to survive the volatile atmosphere of the shallow Shark Bay.
The ribbon weed covers an area of 20,000 hectares. The next on the podium, the second largest plant, is the clonal colony of a quaking Aspen tree in Utah, which covers 43.6 hectares.
The largest tree in India, the Great Banyan in Howrah’s Botanical Garden, covers 1.41 hectares.

Referring to the concept of Lifestyle for Environment (LIFE), The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has shared a photo of Mahatma Gandhi cycling on World Bicycle Day.

About:

World Bicycle Day is celebrated on June 3 every year. The day is marked to spread awareness about the benefits of using a bicycle.
As per the United Nations, the day highlights the uniqueness, longevity and versatility of the bicycle.
The day has been celebrated since 2018 after the adoption of a resolution by the United Nations, during the 72nd regular session of the United Nations General Assembly.

IIM-Ahmedabad, with an e-marketplace for agricultural land (SFarms India), has developed Agriculture Land Price Index (ALPI)based on the sales and purchases done on the platform.
It will track the price movements in the marketplace (Sfarms India) and come up with acomposite pricing mechanism on a monthly basis, which will be updated twice a year.
ALPI will record and present quality-controlled data on prices of agricultural land in the country.
ALPI will be a reliable source in benchmarking land prices in rural and semi-urban areas and helpin signalling converting agricultural land into real estate

Google honored Satyendra Nath Bose by featuring him on a Google doodle on June 4, 2022.

About:

Satyendra Nath Bose (1894 – 1974) was an Indian mathematician and physicist specialising in theoretical physics.
He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, in developing the foundation for Bose statistics and the theory of the Bose condensate.
The class of particles that obey Bose statistics, bosons, was named after Bose by Paul Dirac.