(FREE) UPSC Current Affairs 2024 PDF

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 16 August 2022

::NATIONAL::

The National Flag, which is flying high across India as the nation celebrates 75 years of freedom, was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on July 22, 1947.

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According to the official record of the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly, Dr Rajendra Prasad, who was in the Chair, announced that the first item on the agenda was “a Motion by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru about the Flag”.
Thereafter, Nehru rose to move the following Resolution: “Resolved that the National Flag of India shall be horizontal tricolour of deep Saffron (Kesari), white and dark green in equal proportion.
In the centre of the white band, there shall be a Wheel in navy blue to represent the Charkha. The design of the Wheel shall be that of the Wheel (Chakra) which appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Asoka.
“The diameter of the Wheel shall approximate to the width of the white band.
“The ratio of the width to the length of the Flag shall ordinarily be 2:3.”

The Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry launched the ‘SMILE-75’ initiative for comprehensive rehabilitation of persons engaged in begging in 75 identified municipalities as a part of the celebrations of 75 years of Independence.
The initiative is part of the Ministry’s ongoing SMILE project (Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) for which ₹100 crore has been allocated till 2025-2026.

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‘Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation for Welfare of Transgender Persons’ with following components:
Scholarships for Transgender Students for studying in IX and till post-graduation.
Setting up of Transgender Protection in each state to monitor cases of offences.
Composite Medical Health package in convergence with PM-JAY supporting Gender-Reaffirmation surgeries through selectedhospitals.
Skill Development and Livelihood under PM-DAKSH (scheme for skilling of marginalized persons).

Howitzers started shelling on the Ukrainian town of Nikopol from the side of Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

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Experts have repeatedly raised an alarm over the plant being in an active combat zone. The International Atomic Energy Agency has underlined that the current situation poses a grave risk of a nuclear catastrophe.
Located in southern Ukraine on the banks of Kakhovka reservoir on the Dnipro river, Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant is Europe’s largest, and 10th biggest in the world. Before the war started, it produced half of Ukraine’s power with a total capacity of 5,700 MW.
The plant has six reactors with a capacity of 950 MW each. However, only three reactors are currently active.
Geographically, the plant is located 200-km from Russia-annexed Crimea, and 500-odd km from Ukraine’s capital Kyiv.

Earlier this month Nicaragua shuttered seven radio stations belonging to the Catholic Church and launched an investigation into the bishop of Matagalpa, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, accusing him of inciting violent actors “to carry out acts of hate against the population.

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Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the northwest, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest.
Managua is the country’s capital and largest city.
As of 2015, it was estimated to be the second largest city in Central America.
Nicaragua has three distinct geographical regions: the Pacific lowlands – fertile valleys which the Spanish colonists settled, the Amerrisque Mountains (North-central highlands), and the Mosquito Coast (Atlantic lowlands/Caribbean lowlands).

MoU was signed between Ministry of Ayush and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology(MeitY) for providing technical support to Ministry of Ayush for digitalisation of Ayush Sectorunder the Ayush Grid project for 3 years.

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Ayush Grid is a central IT platform offering multiple IT services for all systems of medicines underAyush viz. Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homeopathy.
The components of Ayush Grid initiative will cover all the verticals of the Ayush Sector, like
Health Services,
Education,
Ayush Research,
Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes,
Training Programmes,

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson and Johnson (J&J) announced that it would discontinue the sale of its talc-based baby powder globally in 2023.

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The announcement came amidst the tens of thousands of lawsuits from women who claim that the product caused them to have ovarian cancer, due to the alleged contamination of asbestos, a known carcinogen.
Talc is the softest known mineral and is mined from underground deposits. Chemically, it is hydrous magnesium silicate, according to the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and is used in a variety of cosmetic and personal care products, like baby powder, lipstick, eyeshadow and foundation.
When reduced to a fine powder, it is able to absorb moisture and reduce friction which keeps the skin dry, helps prevent rashes, stops makeup from caking and generally helps improve the feel and texture of a product.

Does it cause cancer?