Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 05 December 2022

::NATIONAL::

Ministry of Culture organises international conference on the contributions of J C Bose

• Ministry of Culture has recently organised an international conference on the contributions of J C Bose: A Satyagrahi Scientist” on his 164th birth anniversary.

About:

• Jagadish Chandra Bose (30 November 1858 – 23November 1937) was an Indian physicist andplant physiologist.
• He graduated from Cambridge University.
• In 1917 he established Bose Institute -Asia’sfirst modern research centre devoted tointerdisciplinary studies.
• He taught Satyendra Nath Bose, MeghnadSaha, P C Mahalanobis etc. who went on tobecome famous scientists of India.

Scientific Contributions:

• He discovered wireless communication andwas named Father of Radio Science byInstitute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineering.
• He invented the crescograph to measureplant growth and carried out important workin understanding plant neurobiology.
• He demonstratedplantsresponseto heat,cold, light, noise and other external stimuli.
• He is recognised for path-breaking work onmillimetre range wavelength microwaves.
• He was the first Asian to be awarded a USpatent in 1904 and first Asian, along withRamanujam, to become fellows of the RoyalSociety in 1920.

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Assam Project on Forest and Biodiversity Conservation

• Artificial highlands where animals can escape during floods; 200+ anti-poaching camps; alternate livelihood training for local communities — these measures at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam will form the cornerstone of an Indo-French initiative.

About:

• The Kaziranga project is a part of a larger Assam Project on Forest and Biodiversity Conservation (APFBC) for which the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) has committed funding of €80.2 million for a 10-year period, between 2014-2024.
• The project conceptualised the reforestation of 33,500 hectares of land and the training of 10,000 community members in alternate livelihoods by 2024.
• APFBC Society was created by State Government of Assam as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
• The Society has the mandate for planning, implementation, monitoring, coordination and management of all the activities proposed under the project.
• With French and Indian technical and financial support, the Indo-Pacific Parks Partnership will facilitate partnership activities for interested natural parks of the Indo-Pacific region. These activities include biodiversity conservation, wildlife management and engagement with local communities.

Kaziranga National Park:

• It is a national park in the state of Assam, India.
• It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The sanctuary hosts two-thirds of the world’s great one-horned rhinoceroses. Rhinos are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species.
• Tigers: Kaziranga is home to the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world, and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006
• Fauna: The park is home to large breeding populations of elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer

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::INTERNATIONAL::

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India prioritises engaging Lusophone world to tap potential

• India is organising the International Lusophone Festival in Goa.

AboutLusophone:

• It seeks to further India’s connection with the Lusophone world.
• The Portuguese rule over Velha Goa (or Old Goa) started in 1510 and lasted till1961.

Lusophone (World Portuguese-speaking countries) is spread across nine countries across four continents.

• Portuguese is the most spoken language in the Southern Hemisphere.
• In 1996, Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), also known as Lusophone Commonwealth was formed.
• CPLP is a multilateral forum with 9 member states and 32 associateobservers (India is associate observer).

India Lusophone relations

• In 2014. Goa organized the 3rd Lusofonia Games involving athletes fromLusophone World.
• Six-fold rise in India’s trade with CPLP countries in the last decade.
• India offers training to all CPLP member states, except Portugal, under theITEC and IAFS frameworks.

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International Civil Aviation Organisation 

• India is among the top 50 countries with best aviation safety in the latest International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)rankings and the major breakthrough will help domestic airlines in international expansion.

Key highlights:

• In the rankings by the ICAO, India is now at the 48th position, a "quantum leap" from the 102nd rank it had in 2018. The rankings are for 187 countries and assessments were done at different points of time.
• Under its Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach, an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) was undertaken from November 9 to 16.
• The rankings are topped by Singapore with a score of 99.69 per cent. It is followed by the UAE at the second position and the Republic of Korea is at the third place.
• With a score of 49 per cent each, India and Georgia are at the 48th position. Neighbouring Pakistan is at the 100th spot with a score of 70.39 per cent.

What is ICAO?

• Located in Montreal, CanadaICAO is funded and directed by 193 national governments to support their diplomacy and cooperation in air transport as signatory states to the Chicago Convention (1944).
• ‘Chicago Convention’ established the core principles permitting international transport by air, and led to the creation of the specialized agency which has overseen it ever since – the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
• ICAO develops standards for global air transport and assists its 192 Member States in sharing the world’s skies to their socio-economic benefit.

::Economy::

First Loss Default Guarantee

• Two months after the Reserve Bank issued guidelines on digital lending, banks, non-banking financial companies and fintech players are still awaiting clarity on many aspects, including the First Loss Default Guarantee (FLDG) system.

About:

• First Loan Default Guarantee (FLDG) is a lending model serviced between digital-lending fintechs, and their partner banks and NBFCs. 
• Under these agreements, the fintech originates a loan and promises to compensate the partners up to a pre-decided percentage in case customers fail to repay. The bank/NBFC partners lend through the fintech but from their own books. 
• FLDG helps expand the customer base of traditional lenders but relies on the fintech’s underwriting capabilities. 
• A report by an RBI-constituted working group on digital lending has laid down risks of FLDG agreements with unregulated entities. 
• The other concern is that FLDG costs are often passed on to customers.

::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::

Oceansat-3

• PM Narendra Modi has recently shared the first satellite images of Gujarat and Arabian Sea sent by the newly launched Oceansat-3 satellite from space.

About:

• ISRO’s PSLV-C54 rocket launched the Oceansat-3 along with eight nano satellites, including the Bhutan-SAT, from Sriharikota.
• Oceansat-3 is the third in its set of ocean satellites that are part of India’s ocean observation programme.
• It is a multi-sensor observation satellite, which is expected to operate till 2027.
• The Oceansat-3 is envisaged to observe ocean colour data, sea surface temperature (SST) and wind vector data to use in oceanography, climatic and meteorological applications. It also supports value-added products such as potential fishing zones.
• Oceansat-3, in tandem with Oceansat-2, will improve the receptivity of ocean colour measurements to every 24 hour and wind vector measurements to every 12 hour and help predict cyclones better.

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