Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 17 March 2021


Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 17 March 2021

::NATIONAL::

Provisional data for the Census and National Population Register 

  • According to information by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to a parliamentary committee, the provisional data for the latest Census and National Population Register (NPR) will be available before the next general elections in 2024.

About:

  • The MHA informed the committee that “Census, updation of NPR,” will be among the major thrust areas for the financial year 2021-22.
  • The last Census was conducted in 2011 and NPR, that has a database of 119 crore residents, was last updated in 2015.
  • The first phase of Census-House listing and Housing Census that was to be conducted along with NPR from April 1, 2020, was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Tentative timeline
  • The MHA shared a tentative time line with the parliamentary panel, saying that provisional Census results will be released in financial year 2023-24 and the primary Census abstracts (PCA) will provide village-level data on important indicators.
  • A mobile application has been developed for collecting the Census details and NPR and residents can also self-enumerate.
  • The fieldwork for the first phase of Census 2021 that will provide data on housing conditions, household amenities and assets possessed by the households is expected in 2021-22.
  • The fieldwork for population enumeration phase to provide data on demography, religion, SC/ST, language, literacy and education, economic activity, migration and fertility etc will be done in 2023-24.
  • The committee was informed that the mobile app through which Census will be conducted will be available in 16 languages.

Rakhigarhi

  • It is being developed as one of the 5 Identified Iconic Archaeological Sites.
  • The ancient sites of Rakhi-Khas and Rakhi-Shahpur are collectively known as Rakhigarhi.
  • It was located on the right bank of the dried up Palaeo-channel of Drishadvati.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

IQ Air report 

  • According to a report, Delhi remained the most polluted capital city in the world but India, on the whole, had improved its average annual PM 2.5 (particulate matter) levels higher in 2020 than in 2019.
  • The report from IQ Air, a Swiss air quality technology company, specialising in protection against airborne pollutants, and developing air quality monitoring and air cleaning products.

Key highlights of the report:

  • Delhi’s concentration level, based primarily on data from the Central Pollution Control Board, was 84.1 µg/m³ in 2020, a 15% improvement from the 98.6 µg/m³ recorded in 2019 — a consequence of the lockdown. 
  • Average pollution levels were 51.9 µg/m³ in 2020 compared with 58.1 µg/m³ in 2019, making India only the third most polluted country in 2020, unlike in 2019, when its air was the fifth most noxious.
  • Bangladesh and Pakistan were the countries in 2020 with worse average PM 2.5 levels than India, says the report. 
  • China ranked 11th in the latest report, a deterioration from the 14th in the previous edition of the report. In the 2020 report, 106 countries were evaluated. 
  • The pollution levels are weighted averages, meaning that the population of a country influences the pollution values reported.
  • Hotan in China was the most polluted, with an average concentration of 110.2 µg/m³, followed by Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh at 106. Of the 14 most polluted cities, 13 were in India.

World Energy Transitions Outlook report

  • International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) releases the World Energy Transitions Outlook report.

About:

  • Previewed at the virtual Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD 2021), the report proposes energy transition solutions for the narrow pathway available to contain the rise of temperature to 1.5°C and halt global warming.
  • Faster transition
  • IRENA observes the emergence of a new energy system based on renewable technologies and complemented by green hydrogen and modern bioenergy. 
  • It estimates that by 2050, 90% of total electricity needs would be supplied by renewables, followed by 6% from natural gas and the remaining from nuclear. 

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::ECONOMY::

Revised Cost Estimate (RCE) of Comprehensive Scheme for Strengthening of Transmission & Distribution in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim

  • The Union Cabinet approved the revised cost estimates of the comprehensive scheme for strengthening power transmission and distribution in Arunachal Pradash and Sikkim at Rs 9,129.32 crore.

About:

  • The scheme is being implemented through the state-run Power Grid Corporation in association with Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
  • It is targeted to be commissioned in a phased manner by December 2021 for awarded scope of works and 36 months from RCE (revised cost estimates) approval for un-awarded packages.

Key objectives:

  • •    The main objective of the scheme is government commitment for the total economic development of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim and to strengthen the intra-state transmission and distribution infrastructure by providing grid connectivity to remote distant locations.
  • •    Implementation of this scheme will create a reliable power grid and improve the states’ connectivity to the upcoming load centres.
  • •    The scheme shall also increase the per capita power consumption of these states and contribute to the total economic development.

::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::

Ultrasound vibrations can quickly inhibited coronavirus

  • •    Researchers at MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering have carried out a study that suggests the coronavirus can be inhibited by ultrasound vibrations within the frequencies used in medical diagnostic imaging.
  • •    For the examination, the team modelled the virus’s mechanical response to vibrations across a range of ultrasound frequencies via computer simulations.
  • •    Their findings revealed that vibrations between 25 and 100 megahertz ruptured the virus’s shell and spikes and the virus collapsed within a fraction of a millisecond. The effect was seen in states of matter, including air and water.

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