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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 04 February 2022

::NATIONAL::

· Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Statue of Equality, a gigantic statue of Ramanujacharya, on February 5 on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Who was Ramanujacharya?

Born in 1017 in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, Ramanujacharya is revered as a Vedic philosopher and social reformer. He travelled across India, advocating equality and social justice.
Ramanuja revived the Bhakti movement, and his preachings inspired other Bhakti schools of thought. He is considered to be the inspiration for poets like Annamacharya, Bhakta Ramdas, Thyagaraja, Kabir, and Meerabai.
Ramanuja appealed for the protection of nature and its resources like air, water, and soil. He went on to write nine scriptures known as the navaratnas, and composed numerous commentaries on Vedic scriptures.
Ramanuja is also credited with establishing the correct procedures for rituals performed in temples throughout India, the most famous being Tirumala and Srirangam.

Why is it called the Statue of Equality?

Ramanuja was an advocate of social equality among all sections of people centuries ago, and encouraged temples to open their doors to everyone irrespective of caste or position in society at a time when people of many castes were forbidden from entering them.
He took education to those who were deprived of it. His greatest contribution is the propagation of the concept of “vasudhaiva kutumbakam”, which translates as “all the universe is one family”.
He travelled across India for several decades, propagating his ideas of social equality and universal brotherhood from temple podiums. He embraced the socially marginalised and condemned, and asked royal courts to treat them as equals.
He spoke of universal salvation through devotion to God, compassion, humility, equality, and mutual respect, which is known as Sri Vaishnavam Sampradaya.

About:

The River Cities Alliance (RCA) has been launched with the objective to provide the member cities with a platform to discuss and exchange information on aspects that are vital for sustainable management of urban rivers, sharing best practices and supporting innovation.
The alliance has been launched initially with 30 cities.
The Alliance is open to all river cities of India. Any river city can join the Alliance at any time.
State Governments are implementing Action Plans for restoration of water quality of the identified polluted river stretches.
The implementation is being monitored regularly at State level by Chief Secretary of the respective State/UT and at Central level by the Central Monitoring Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
RCA is envisaged as a facilitatory platform for initiating river-sensitive planning and development.

A study conducted at Alps to determine the amount of plastic falling to Earth from the atmosphere concluded that plastic nanoparticles travel over 1,200 miles through air before settling.

What is called Nanoplastics?

Nanoplastics are particles resulting from the degradation of plastics. They present colloidal behaviour within the size range from 1 to 1000 nm.

Nanoparticles in the bloodstream:

It is estimated that more than 8300 million tonnes of plastic have been produced worldwide to date, about 60% of which is now waste.
This waste erodes through weathering effects and mechanical abrasion from macro- to micro- and nanoparticles.
But discarded plastic is far from the only source.
Everyday use of plastic products such as packaging and clothing releases nanoplastics.
Particles in this size range are so light that their movement in the air can best be compared to gases.

Sources of nanoplastics:

Impact:

Unlike micro-particles, they are likely capable of crossing the cell-blood barrier after respiration into the lungs and eventually entering the bloodstream.

Burkina Faso, the military government announced that it has restored the constitution a week after taking power and has appointed the coup’s leader as head of state for a transitional period.

About:

The military government had approved a fundamental act that lifts the suspension of the constitution.
The move came shortly after the African Union suspended Burkina Faso for the takeover and diplomats from West Africa and the United Nations pressed demands for a return to civilian rule.
The African Union’s 15-member Peace and Security Council announced that it had voted to suspend the participation of Burkina Faso in all AU activities until the effective restoration of constitutional order in the country.
On January 24, rebel soldiers detained president Roch Marc Christian Kabore and imposed army rule on the country

EXIM Bank has extended a line of credit (LOC) of USD 500 million to Sri Lanka for financing the purchase of petroleum products.

About:

It has already extended 10 LOCs to the Sri Lankan government on behalf of the Indiangovernment, taking the total value to USD 2.18 billion.
The Bank was established under Export-Import Bank of India Act (1981).
It extends LOCs to overseas financial institutions, regional development banks, sovereign governments and overseas entities.
It aims to enable buyers in those countries to import developmental and infrastructure projects, equipment, goods and services from India, on deferred credit terms.

Key findings:

Trojan asteroids are small space rocks that share their orbit with a planet, circling whatever host star that planet does in a stable orbit.
Detected first in 2020 by the Pan-STARRS S1 telescope survey, astronomers have now confirmed a second trojan asteroid of Earth called 2020 XL5.
It is a near-earth asteroid that is expected to stay in orbit for the next 4,000 years before deviating away.
The first known Earth Trojan asteroid was 2010TK7, just about 0.3 km wide, and discovered in 2010.

About 2020 XL5:

The 2020 XL5 earth Trojan asteroid has been spotted using the Pan – STARRS 1 survey telescope located in Hawaii.
The asteroid was added to the Minor Planet Center database of International Astronomical Union.
The asteroid orbits L4. L4 is the fourth earth - Sun Lagrange Point.
The Lagrange point is a gravitationally balanced region around the sun and the star.