Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 07 June 2022

::NATIONAL::

India has achieved the target of 10% ethanol blending in petrol.
The “Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India 2020-25”, released in June 2021, mentioned an intermediate milestone of 10% blending by November, 2022.The 20% target was advanced to 2025-26.

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The Centre promotes the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme with the aim of enhancing energy security, reducing import dependency on fuel, saving foreign exchange, addressing environmental issues and giving a boost to agriculture.
The ‘National Policy on Biofuels’ notified by the government in 2018 envisaged an indicative target of 20% ethanol blending in petrol by 2030.
Government is encouraging sugar mills and distilleries to enhance their distillation capacities for which Government is facilitatingthem to avail loans from banks for which interest subvention up to 6% is being borne by Government.
The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) has amended Motor Spirit & High-Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply,Distribution & Prevention of Malpractices) Order, 2005 by permitting direct sale of Bio-ethanol (E100).
Ethanol Blended Programme (EBP) to increase indigenous production of Ethanol.

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SUP refers to “a plastic commodity intended to be used once for the same purpose
before being disposed of or recycled”.
Centre has banned the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and useof carry bags made of virgin or recycled plastic less than 75 microns with effect fromSeptember 2021 [Plastic Waste Management (Amended) Rules, 2021].
The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has issued a detailed advisory to States and UTs to take up a range of activities to fulfill the “Clean and Green” mandates.
Under the Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban 2.0, every Urban Local Bodies (ULB) is required to adopt 100% source segregation of waste, and have access to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) for sorting the dry waste (including plastic waste) into further fractions for recycling and/ or processing into value-added products.
The Government has banned the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of carry bags made of virgin or recycled plastic less than seventy-five microns with effect from September 30, 2021 as per Plastic Waste Management (PWM) (Amended) Rules, 2021.

A member since 1869, India is contesting re-election, to the International Telecommunications UnionCouncil (ITU), for the term 2023-2026, the government said.

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ITU is the UN specialized agency for information and communication technologies.
It works for aconnected society, and enabling ICTs to achieve Sustainable Development Goals-2030.
The Council takes all steps to facilitate the implementation of the provisions of the ITUConstitution, the ITU Convention, the Administrative Regulations (InternationalTelecommunications Regulations and Radio Regulations), etc.
The World Summit of Information Society (WSIS) is co-organized by International Telecommunications Union (ITU)in close collaboration with all WSIS Action Line co-facilitators and other UN organizations.

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The idea of LiFE was introduced by the PM during the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of theParties (COP26), 2021 at Glasgow.
Its vision is to live a lifestyle that is in tune with our planet and does not harm it. People livingsuch a lifestyle are called “Pro-Planet People (P3)”.
The Mission seeks to create an ecosystem that will reinforce and enable environmentallyfriendly behaviours to be self-sustainable.

Government eMarketplace [GeM] is promoting sustainable public procurement [SPP] of products and services in association with the United Nations Environment Program [UNEP].

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Since the launch of Green Room Air Conditioners [RAC] in June 2021, GeM has taken a series of path-breaking steps to roll out new features and functionalities on the portal to promote the adoption of environmentally sustainable products and services.
The purchase of Green RACs is on a voluntary basis. and the faster adoption of such products by government buyers will pave the way for realizing India’s Sustainable Development Goal [SDG] target 12.7 – aims to “Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities.”
GeM has introduced “The Green Gold Collection”, a dedicated online market store to showcase a range of bamboo accessories for potential use in the construction sector and exquisitely handcrafted bamboo handicrafts, daily-utility products/ disposals for government buyers.

Malaria remains a menace across Africa.
The continent carries by far the world’s largest disease burden: 94 per cent of cases and 96 per cent of deaths occur across the continent.

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Light is a fundamental cue in nature. It regulates much of the timing of biological events, like when birds breed, lions hunt — and humans’ sleep patterns.
It is also an ancient cue. While species have been exposed to changes in climate cycles over the eons, the timing of day and night has remained relatively constant over evolutionary time, owing to the rotation of the earth.
This means that all life on the planet has evolved with such regular day-night cycles.
The gene for the melatonin hormone, which regulates sleep-awake cycles, is shared between widely different and old taxonomic groups, such as plants and animals.

In French Open tennis, Spaniard Rafael Nadal has won the 14th singles title of the tournament beating Casper Ruud of Norway in the final.
With this victory, he has become the oldest champion at Roland Garros. It is his 22nd Grand Slam title.
In women’s singles, World Number One Tennis player IgaSwiatek clinched this year’s title by beating US teenager Coco Gauf in Paris last evening.