Current Affairs for IAS Exams -09 February 2023

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 09 February 2023

::NATIONAL::

NITI Aayog proposes setting up separate central board for vocational education

• The NITI Aayog has proposed setting up a separate central board for recognition of vocational education, on the lines of an education board such as the central board of secondary education. 

About:

• The suggestions are part of a report in which the Aayog proposed a seven-pronged strategy to transform more than 15,000 ITIs in India.
• It also suggested conducting national centralised examinations for admission to Industrial Training Institute (ITIs) to streamline the system and ensure transparency.
• NITI Aayog’s report titled Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs)” “Transforming had recommended to set up separate board for VEon lines of an education board such as CentralBoard of Secondary Education.
• It will ensure better credibility andrecognition of institutes providing vocational education(VE).
• Credit framework implemented throughBoard will facilitate equivalence andmobility between general and VE andenable lifelong learning.
• VE refers to training in skills and teaching ofknowledge related to a specific trade,occupation or vocation.

Significance:

• To make students work ready upongraduation by providing practical education in professional environment.
• To help people move forward in theircareers.
• The programs are often shorter and moreflexible than college or university programs.

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IEEE C-DOT Certified Telecom Expert Program 

• The Secretary (Telecom), Government of India launched the ‘IEEE C-DOT Certified Telecom Expert Program (ICCTEP).
• It was collaborated by IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and C-DOT (Centre for Development of Telematics) to bring learning in the areas of Telecom including 5G, Cyber Security and Quantum Communication to bridge the skill gap.

About:

• ICCTEP is a concrete step in furtherance of wide-ranging collaboration between C-DOT and IEEE. 
• This platform will offer specially-tailored certification program that aims at providing quality learning in diverse areas of Telecom. 
• The key focus is on building skills that would accelerate the participation of students, academia, technologists, industry, start-ups and other relevant stakeholders in developing globally-competitive Telecom technologies and solutions. 
• The first program launched on the platform is on 5G and beyond.
• The aim of this collaboration is to jointly create telecommunication courses, promote and train students and professionals, create jobs opportunities, and bridge the digital divide. 
• IEEE Blended Learning Program (BLP) aims to upskill young professionals in Wireless, Optical, Broadcasting, Telecom Validation & Security.
• IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. IEEE and its members inspire a global community through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional & educational activities.
• Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) is the premier R&D centre of the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India. 
• C-DOT has indigenously designed various cutting-edge Telecom technologies including 4G/5G, Disaster Management, Cyber Security and Quantum Communications.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

50 years of establishment of full diplomatic relations between India and Qatar

• This year marks 50 years of establishment of full diplomatic relations between India and Qatar.

Key areas of engagement

• India’s bilateral trade with Qatar in 2021-22 was US$ 15.03 billion.
• Qatar’s exports to India include LNG, LPG, chemicals and petrochemicals, fertilisers, plastics etc.
• India’s exports to Qatar include cereals, copper articles, iron and steel articles, fruits, spices etc.
• India-Qatar Start-up bridge is a joint initiative to link the start-up ecosystems of two countries as well as helping theireconomies mutually.
• India regularly participates in biennial Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) in Qatar.
• Za’ir-Al-Bahr (Roar of Sea) is naval exercise between Indian and Qatar Navy.
• Over 8 lakhs Indian nationals residing in Qatar. They comprise largest expatriate community in Qatar and are engagedin professions like medicine, engineering etc.

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Hittite Empire

• By studying juniper timbers, researchers from Cornell University & Cyprus Institute found that series of droughts may have precipitated empire’s collapse.

About:

• The Hittites were an ancient group of Indo-Europeans who moved into Asia Minor and formed an empire at Hattusa in Anatolia (modern Turkey) around 1600 BCE.
• The Hittite language was a member of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family.
• The Hittite economy was based on agriculture, with the main crops being emmer wheat and barley.
• Although their civilization thrived during the Bronze Age, the Hittites were the forerunners of the Iron Age and were manufacturing iron artifacts from as early as the 14th century BCE.
• The Hittites were famous for their skill in building and using chariots.

Hittite empire:

• Between 1400 and 1200 B.C.E. the Hittites established one of the great empires of the ancient Middle East.
• The Hittite Empire reached great heights during the mid-1300s BCE, when it spread across Asia Minor, into the northern Levant and Upper Mesopotamia.
• The Hittite empire, with its capital at Bogazköy (also called as Hattusas), was the chief power and cultural force in Western Asia from 1400 to 1200 BC.
• The head of the Hittite state was the king, but other officials exercised independent authority over various branches of the government.

::Economy::

Core Inflation

• S&P Global Ratings on February 7 said core inflation in India has been declining sequentially, and an elevated 6.25% policy rate limits the need for further rate hikes.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the short-term lending rate by 225 basis points since May last year to contain inflation, mostly driven by external factors, especially global supply chain disruption, following the Russia-Ukraine war outbreak.

About Core inflation:

• The term core inflation was coined by Eckstein (1981) who defined it as ‘the trend increase of the cost of factors of production’ that ‘originates in the long-term expectations of inflation in the minds of households and businesses, in the contractual arrangements which sustain the wage-price momentum, and in the tax system’. 
• Core inflation is the change in the costs of goods and services but does not include those from the food and energy sectors.
• Food and energy prices are exempt from this calculation because their prices can be too volatile or fluctuate wildly.

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Why it is important?

• Core inflation is used to determine the impact of rising prices on consumer income.
• If the increase in the price index is due to temporary shocks that could soon reverse themselves, it may not require any monetary policy action.
• To deal with such situations, many central banks use measures of core inflation that are designed to filter the transitory price movements.
• Core inflation by eliminating the volatile components from the headline helps in identifying the underlying trend in headline inflation and is believed to predict future inflation better.
• Core inflation is a convenient guide to help the central bank achieve its objective of controlling total inflation.

::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::

Jupiter Moons 

• Jupiter, with 92 moons, beats Saturn to become planet with most moons.
• The observations were led by astronomer Scott Sheppard of Carnegie Institution for Science, who has spearheaded the discoveries after accidentally discovering a plethora of previously unknown Jovian moons during a hunt for the mysterious hypothetical Planet Nine in the outer Solar System. The details and confirmation of the new moons have been published quietly by the Minor Planet Center (MPC). 

About:

• Jupiter is home to first moons discovered in our solar system, functions like a mini solar system.
• Jupiter’s four largest moons are called Galilean satellites: Lo, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
• Lo is most volcanically active body in solar system.
• Europa’s surface is mostly water ice.
• Ganymede is largest moon in solar system and is only moon known to have its own internallygenerated magnetic field.
• Callisto’s surface is extremely heavily cratered and ancient.

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