Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 06 July 2022

::NATIONAL::

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), a government flagship programme has reduced indoor air pollution deaths by 13%, according to an independent study.
The researchers have claimed that the scheme had prevented 1.5 lakhs of pollution-related premature deaths in the year 2019 alone.
The study also claimed that the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) had aided in avoiding at least 1.8 million tones of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) emissions that year.

About PM Ujjwala Yojana:

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, launched on May 1, 2016, aimed at providing concessional LPG connections to over 50 million below poverty line (BPL) families, in three years, with an initial outlay of Rs 1,600 per connection.
Government had achieved the target of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in September 2019 by providing cleaner fuel to over 28 crore households in India.
The numbers had upsurged from 61.9% in the year 2015 to 99.8% in the year 2019. According to the Indian Oil Corporation, over new nine crore beneficiaries are also now availing the benefits of the government’s flagship Ujjwala 2.0 scheme.

Himachal Becomes First ‘smoke-free state’

Himachal Pradesh has become the first ‘smoke-free state’ in India.
Further, the Himalayan state has also become the 100% LPG-enabled state in the country.

Government has extended the timeline for startups to change convertible notes into equity shares from earlier 5 years to now 10 years.

What is a Convertible Note?

A convertible note is a way for seed investors to invest in a startup that isn’t ready for valuation.
They start as short-term debt and are converted into equity in the issuing company. Investors loan money to the startup and are repaid with equity in the company rather than principal and interest.
The convertible note is automatically changed into equity once a specific milestone has been reached, usually when the company is officially valued for later investments.

Why Are Convertible Notes Used?

Startups that need pre-seed or seed funding use convertible notes to raise money before offering equity funding.
Since founders can buy their shares when they’re incorporated at a price specified in the articles of incorporation, turning around a few months later and selling shares at a significant markup would look suspicious. 
Convertible notes are used to avoid this issue. There often isn’t enough data to form a valuation of the company in the early stages.
Using the seed funding to get the company up and running provides a stronger foundation for valuation before the Series A funding round.

Benefits of Convertible Notes:

Convertible notes allow startups to focus on growing their business before they have to start paying back debt. This is particularly important for tech companies that need to spend a lot of time fine-tuning their product.
Convertible notes are a fast and straightforward way for startups to raise money. Issuing equity is a more complicated process, and convertible notes bypass that by using debt. 
Startup companies with high-growth potential offer an outsized return on their investment when everything goes well.

At least 18 people were killed and 243 wounded during last week’s government crackdown on protests in Uzbekistan’s autonomous province of Karakalpakstan. The protests had broken out in response to the government’s plan to restrict the region’s long-held autonomy.

About:

The name Karakalpakstanis derived from the Karakalpak people, an ethnic minority group of around 2 million. Karakalpak translates to ‘black hat’, referring to their traditional headgear.
The Karakalpaks consider themselves to be a distinct cultural group in Uzbekistan. Their Turkic language – Karakalpak – is closely related to Kazak. Their separate language is a crucial aspect of their cultural identity.
In their genealogical narrative, the Karakalpaks claim to share a common point of origin with the neighbouring Kazakhs, Uzbeks and Turkmen, but believe that over time they diverged from the others. This narrative marks the Karakalpaks as culturally separate from their neighbouring groups.
When Uzbekistan declared its independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991, Karakalpakstan was formally recognized as an autonomous republic in Uzbekistan’s constitution of 1992, and has the right to secede from on the basis of a nation-wide referendum.

Australia is all set to supply critical minerals required for India’s electric vehicles, solar power projects and other strategic areas, said Canberra’s Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia Madeleine King.

About:

Australia will commit $5.8 million to the three-year India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, soon after his May 23 election victory, had participated in the Quad Summit in Tokyo along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, where all sides pledged to focus on green and sustainable forms of energy.

Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) and Cochin Shipyard signed an agreement to build India's first domestically-manufactured high-capacity dredger.
It will help in bringing down the logistic costs of cargos.

About:

DCI is a premier dredging organization catering to the dredging and allied services to Major Ports, Minor Ports, Indian Navy etc.
Dredging is the process of desilting river bodies, or removal of soil, mud, and dirt at the shores or the bottom.
Currently, 70% of our dredging requirement is for maintenance dredging (maintaining water bodies previously dredged), while the rest accounts for capital dredging (desilting for new projects).

They are small unmanned aircraft that are packed with explosives that can be flown directly at a tank or a group of troops that are destroyed when it hits the target and explodes.
Also called Switchblade drones as their bladelike wings spring out on launch.

Key features:

Difficult to detect on radar, can hit targets without human intervention, based on facial recognition, can adjust the blast radius and are cost effective.
They are presently being supplied to Ukraine by US in war against Russia.