Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 05 July 2022

::NATIONAL::

The NIA took over the investigation into the June 28 murder of seamstress Kanhaiyya Lal in Udaipur, Rajasthan over a social media post supporting suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma. Now the Union Home Office has turned over to the agency the investigation into a similarly executed murder of pharmacist Umesh Kolhe in Amravati in Maharashtra on June 21.

About:

NIA is a central agency in charge of investigating all crimes affecting the sovereignty, security and integrity of India, friendly relations with foreign states and offenses under laws related to the implementation of treaties, agreements, conventions and international resolutions were enacted United Nations, its agencies and other international organizations.
These include terrorist attacks and their possible links to crimes such as smuggling of arms, drugs and counterfeit Indian currency, and infiltration across borders.
The agency has the power to search, detain, detain and prosecute any person complicit in such crimes.
The NIA is headquartered in Delhi and has offices in Hyderabad, Guwahati, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, Raipur, Jammu, Chandigarh, Ranchi, Chennai, Imphal, Bengaluru and Patna.
The agency was established on 31 December 2008 and started its operations in 2009 following the 26 November 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai.

The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare released the 9th edition of Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP)at the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) conference.

About:

IPC is an autonomous institution, fully operational from 2009, to set and regularly updatestandards of drugs in India.
IP is the official book which contains these standards for drugs under Second Schedule of theDrugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
These standards are authoritative and legally enforceable.

As the war in Ukraine stretches over four months with no end in sight, it has given rise to apprehensions on Russia’s ability to adhere to timely deliveries of spares and hardware.

Status of India-Russia defence cooperation

Between India and Russia, the defence tradehas crossed $15 billion since 2018, in the backdrop of some big deals including the $5.43 billion S-400 long range air defence systems.
Other major contracts currently under implementation are construction of four additional stealth frigates in Russia and India, licensed production of the Mango Armor-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds for the T-90S tanks as also additional T-90S tanks, AK-203 assault rifles among others.
However, there is some delay. For instance, the delivery of the second regiment of the S-400 is delayed by a few months as also the operationalisation of the agreement for the manufacture of 6.1 lakh AK-203 rifles at Korwa, Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.

The second UNOC ended with the Lisbon Declaration, a political declarationentitled ‘Our Ocean, Our Future: call for action’.

About:

It is co-hosted by Kenya and Portugal at Lisbon
In 2017, first UNOC was held at UN Headquarters in New York, co-hosted bythe Governments of Fiji and Sweden.
As part of it, over 150 countries collectively agreed to scale up science-based and innovative actions to address ocean emergency, supporting the implementation of SDG 14 (Life Below Water).

Key highlights:

Emphasized the particularimportance ofimplementing the ParisAgreement (2015) andGlasgow Climate Pact tohelp ensure the health,productivity, sustainableuse, and resilience of theocean.
States made voluntary commitments to conserve or protect at least 30% ofthe global ocean within Marine Protected Areas, and other effectivearea-based conservation measures, by 2030.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued guidelines here asking hotels and restaurants not to collect service charge from customers.

About:

These establishments should not add service charge automatically or by default to the food bill, the guidelines say.
The guidelines adds that if any consumer finds that a hotel or restaurant is violating the guidelines, he or she may make a request to remove the service charge from the bill amount or lodge a complaint with the National Consumer Helpline.
Complaints can be filed with the Consumer Commission too or with the District Collector.
The guidelines added that component of service is inherent in the price of food and beverages offered by the restaurant or hotel.

The UCAV is a precursor to the Ghatak armed stealth drone programme called AURA (Autonomous Unmanned Research Aircraft).

About:

AURA is described as a self-defending, high-speed, reconnaissance UAV with a weapon firingcapability.
It is powered by a small turbofan engine.
Indigenous stealth drone makes maiden flight from test range in Karnataka.
The stealth drone, also referred to as an Unmanned Combat Airborne Vehicle (UCAV).
It has been designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE).

Varroa mite that lives on the European honeybee (Apis mellifera) has been detected in managebeehives in New South Wales (Australia).

About varroa mite:

Parasitic insect that lives off honeybee larvae and adult honeybees.
If left unmanaged, heavy mite infestation can cause colony collapse in some circumstances.