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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 10 July 2021

::NATIONAL::

Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, released 4thinstallment of PDRD grant of Rs.9,871 crore to 17 States.

About PDRD:

Provided to the States under Article 275 of the Constitution.
Aim is to help the states to meet the gap in Revenue Accounts post devolution.
Eligibility of States to receive this grant and the quantum of grant was decided by fifteenthfinance Commission (FFC) based on the gap between assessment of revenue and expenditure of the State.

About:

ZV spreads mostly by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, which bites during the day (the same mosquito that transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever).
The virus can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus and can cause infants to be born with microcephaly (birth defect where a baby's head is smaller than expected), congenital malformations, etc.
Presently, there is no specific treatment or vaccine for the ZV.

The Taliban have captured a major border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran. This was informed by the Afghan officials.

About:

The Islam Qala crossing is one of the biggest trade gateways into Iran, generating estimated USD 20 million monthly revenue for the government.
The Taliban are rapidly retaking land across Afghanistan as the US-led mission removes the last of its troops.
Taliban officials say they have taken control of 85 per cent of territory in Afghanistan, a claim impossible to independently verify and disputed by the government.
The Afghan government today acknowledged the loss of the Islam Qala border crossing, in Herat province.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had sent a consignment of Haribhangamangoes for President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 4.
Prime Minister Hasina also sent mangoes for the Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Mizoram, Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya as a gesture of goodwill.

About:

Haribhanga is a special variety of mango grown mostly in the Rangpur area of Bangladesh.
Haribhanga is highly fleshy and typically weighs 200 to 400 grams.
In July 2021, India received 2600 kilos of Haribhanga mangoes from Bangladesh as a memento of friendship between the two neighbouring countries. It was sent through the Petrapole border of Bangaon in West Bengal.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued an advisory to banks and other financial institutions for transition from London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) by December 2021 to any widely accepted alternative reference rate (AAR) likeAONIA (Australian Interbank Overnight Cash Rate) to SARON (Swiss Average Rate Overnight).
LIBOR will be phased out by June 30, 2023.

About LIBOR:

London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is a benchmark interest rate at which major global banks lend to one another in the international interbank market for short-term loans.

Why is the LIBOR transition important?

LIBOR is the benchmark rate for all transactions by global banks.
According to the RBI, the transition from LIBOR and the adoption of accepted alternative reference rates (ARRs) developed in various jurisdictions is significant and one that needs careful preparation in order to manage potential customer protection, reputational and litigation risks as well as avoid disruptions to the safety and resilience of financial institutions and overall financial stability of the economy.

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has detected an unusually high concentration of methane, along with carbon dioxide and dihydrogen, in the moons of Saturn by flying through their plumes.
The spacecraft has found that Titan has methane in its atmosphere and Enceladus has a liquid ocean with erupting plumes of gas and water.

Key findings:

This suggests that the moon has deep-sea hydrothermal vents producing these compounds- the same environment that may have been life's cradle here on Earth.
Saturn's other moon Titan, also has methane in its atmosphere.
Earlier in 2005, Cassini had discovered geysers blasting particles of water ice into space from fractures near Enceladus 1 South pole that feeds Saturn's ring.

Are there methane-producing organisms on Earth?

Most of the methane on Earth has a biological origin.
Microorganisms called methanogens are capable of generating methane as a metabolic byproduct.
They do not require oxygen to live and are widely distributed in nature. They are found in swamps, dead organic matter, and even in the human gut.
They are known to survive in high temperatures and simulation studies have shown that they can live in Martian conditions.
Methanogens have been widely studied to understand if they can be a contributor to global warming.