(FREE) UPSC Current Affairs 2024 PDF

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 05 February 2022

::NATIONAL::

On the eve of the World Wetlands Day, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands designated Khijadia Bird Sanctuary near Jamnagar in Gujarat and Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh as wetlands of international importance.

About:

The Ramsar Convention, which came into existence in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands defines wetlands as “areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters.”
Globally, wetlands cover 6.4 per cent of the geographical area of the world.

Indian scenario:

In India, according to the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment compiled by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), wetlands are spread over 1,52,600 square kilometres (sq km) which is 4.63 per cent of the total geographical area of the country.
Of the 1,52,600 sq km, inland-natural wetlands account for 43.4% and coastal-natural wetlands 24.3%. Rivers/streams occupy 52,600 sq km, reservoirs/barrages 24,800 sq km, inter-tidal mudflats 24,100 sq km, tanks/ponds 13,100 sq km and lake/ponds 7300 sq km.
India has 19 types of wetlands. In state-wise distribution of wetlands, Gujarat is at the top with 34,700 sq km (17.56 percent of total geographical area of the state), or 22.7 percent of total wetlands areas of the country thanks to a long coastline.
It is followed by Andhra Pradesh (14,500 sq km), Uttar Pradesh (12,400 sq km) and West Bengal (11,100 sq km).

A petition challenged constitutional validity of various provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for allegedly being violative of basic principles of natural justice and criminal jurisprudence.

Petition raised concerns on following reasons:

The coercive powers provided under the Act, including the power of arrest under Section 19 without a warrant on a mere subjective satisfaction of the officer concerned
Section 45(1) of the Act for putting limitations for granting bail.Earlier, Section 45 was struck down by SC. However, it was amended later.

Supreme Court observes that:

The offence of money laundering damages the economy and the financial system of the country.
As it affected the entire economy whose growth could be put on hold or derailed because of it, and thus it was a more serious and heinous crime than murder.
The court said that money laundering is not only used for drug trading but also for terrorist activities and such crimes affects integrity and sovereignty of the country.

Prevention of Money Laundering Act:

PMLA was enacted to fight against the criminal offence of legalising the income/profits from an illegal source.
It enables authorities to confiscate the property earned from illegally gained proceeds.
Enforcement Directorate under Ministry of Finance, is responsible for investigating the offences of money laundering under the PMLA.
3 stages of laundering i.e., Placement, Layering, Integration.

India announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which get underway recently.
By doing so, India has joined a growing list of countries that will not send government delegations to the Chinese capital for the Winter Olympics.

Background:

In December, the United States had announced a diplomatic boycott of the event.
The United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the Netherlands, among others, followed the US’s lead and made a similar decision.
The Winter Games have been dogged by controversies, ranging from the diplomatic boycotts to the safety of one of China’s top players and concerns over the privacy of the visiting athletes.

What is a diplomatic boycott?

It simply means these countries will not send official government delegations to Beijing during the Games.
Given the scale of the Olympics, high-ranking officials from a country’s government often travel to the Olympics. These officials are often labeled as the ‘VIP visitors’.

Does a diplomatic boycott affect athletes’ participation?

It doesn’t. Athletes and officials from all countries will continue to take part in the Winter Olympics in Beijing unhindered.
A diplomatic boycott is a token protest that has no impact on the sporting spectacle.
So far, no athlete has withdrawn from the Beijing Games, and India will continue to be represented by just one athlete, alpine skier Arif Khan.

US President Joe Biden has announced a goal of bringing down cancer death rates by 50 per cent by the year 2047 in light of the progress made in cancer therapeutics, diagnostics and patient-driven care.

About:

The announcement has re-initiated the ‘cancer moonshot’ programme, launched first in 2016 by Biden, when he was the Vice President, during the final year of the Barack Obama administration.
The programme includes various cancer-related projects such as improving immunotherapy, mapping tumours, engaging with patients, addressing drug resistance, early detection and expanding cancer research.
“Moonshot” evokes the space race first triggered by president John F Kennedy in 1962 during the Cold War, when he took up the challenge of sending a man on the Moon before the Russians could.
His declaration led to the Apollo 11 mission, resulting in the first footsteps taken on the Moon in 1969.

The Indian government is expected to finalise incentives under its new battery swap scheme for electric vehicles (EVs).

About:

The policy will initially focus on battery swap services for electric scooters, motorcycles and three-wheeled auto rickshaws.
It will introduce a new policy to promote swapping, a service that allows EV drivers to replace depleted battery blocks for freshly charged ones at swap stations. This is faster than charging the vehicle and reduces range anxiety for drivers.

Concern:

A battery is also the most expensive part in an EV and swapping allows companies to offer it as a service through lease or subscription models, bringing down the cost of owning and operating the vehicle, industry executives say.
The government is likely to offer EV owners an incentive of up to 20% of the total subscription or lease cost of the battery and this will be in addition to what they already get for buying clean vehicles.
Globally, battery swapping has been slow to gain traction especially among carmakers.

It is one of the most powerful supercomputers in India, and the largest in an Indian academic institution.

About:

It was installed and commissioned by Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) under National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).
NSM was launched to enhance the research capacities and capabilities in the country by connecting them to form a Supercomputing grid, with National Knowledge Network as backbone.
Mission is being jointly steered by Department of Science and Technology and Ministry ofElectronics and Information Technology and implemented by Centre for Development ofAdvanced Computing, and IISc.