Daily Current Affairs 12 April 2024, OPSC Exam Current Affairs

Daily Current Affairs for OPSC Exam

India secures second overseas port: Sittwe agreement approved by MEA

• After Chabahar, India has gained the rights to operate a second overseas port, Sittwe, in Myanmar.
• The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has approved a proposal for India Ports Global (IPGL) to take over the operations of the entire port located on the Kaladan River.
• IPGL is a company 100 per cent owned by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
• In the Indian Ocean, China and India are engaged in a struggle to expand their economic influence. Ports have become highly significant in this rivalry.
• China, in particular, has been aggressively seeking to acquire operating rights for numerous ports.

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• Capital– Naypyidaw
• Currency– Myanmar Kyat
• Official language– Burmese

India eyes 100 GW nuclear power by 2047: AEC

• India aims to increase its nuclear power production to 1 lakh MW by 2047, a significant jump from the current 8,000 MW.
• This goal was highlighted by Atomic Energy Commission Chairman A K Mohanty at the release of a report on energy transitions.
• He said the breeder reactors would contribute 3 GW of nuclear power, while 17.6 GW would come from light water reactors built with international cooperation and another 40-45 GW would come from the pressurized heavy water reactors.

57 companies account for 80% of greenhouse gas emissions since 2016

• According to a report released by thinktank ‘InfluenceMap’. Just 57 companies are responsible for 80% of the world’s carbon emissions from fossil fuels and cement since 2016.
• These 57 companies are involved in the production of oil, gas, coal and cement in the world.
• Although governments pledged in Paris to cut greenhouse gasses, the analysis reveals that most mega-producers increased their output of fossil fuels and related emissions in the seven years after that climate agreement, compared with the seven years before.
• In the database of 122 of the world’s biggest historical climate polluters, the researchers found that 65% of state entities and 55% of private-sector companies had scaled up production.
• During this period, the biggest investor-owned contributor to emissions was ExxonMobil of the United States, which was linked to 3.6 gigatonnes of CO2 over seven years, or 1.4% of the global total. Close behind were Shell, BP, Chevron and TotalEnergies, each of which was associated with at least 1% of global Emissions.

Manoj Panda appoints as member of 16th Finance Commission

• The Centre has appointed economist Manoj Panda as a full-time member of the Sixteenth Finance Commission, tasked with formulating recommendations on the revenue sharing formula between the Centre and States for the five-year period beginning April 2026.

• The Government had constituted the Commission on December 31, and named former Niti Aayog vice chairman and Columbia University professor Arvind Panagariya as its chairman.
• Other members of the Commission — Ajay Narayan Jha, Annie George Mathew, Niranjan Rajadhyaksha and Soumya Kanti Ghosh — were notified a month later.

• The Finance Commission is a constitutionally-mandated body established once every five years to devise a formula for distributing net tax proceeds between the Centre and the states as well as among states and local bodies.
• Currently, India shares 41 per cent of federal taxes with states as recommended by the 15th panel.
• The Sixteenth Finance Commission was constituted on 31.12.2023 with Shri Arvind Panagariya, former Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog as its Chairman.

Harendra Singh appointed as national women’s hockey coach

• Former Indian Hockey player and Dronacharya awardee Harendra Singh has been selected by Hockey India as the coach of the senior national women’s hockey team.
• He will be appointed coach until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
• Harendra Singh will replace Janneke Schopman of Holland Janneke Schopman.
• Schopman is a former Dutch hockey player, resigned last month as the coach of the national women’s team after the Indian team failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024.

Coastal security exercise ‘Sagar Kavach’

• A two-day exercise involving all maritime security agencies of the country was conducted off the Lakshadweep Islands.
• The primary objective of the exercise was to validate the effectiveness of the coastal security mechanism in dealing with asymmetric threats emanating from the sea.
• The exercise involved the participation of all maritime security agencies, including the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, Marine Police, Fisheries, Customs, and other security agencies.

Tata launches India’s first private earth observation satellite

• Tata Advanced Systems (TASL), Tata Sons’ wholly-owned subsidiary, has launched India’s first private sector-built sub-metre resolution earth observation satellite, TSAT- 1A, in collaboration with Satellogic.
• The satellite was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, by SpaceX.
• The satellite was assembled at TASL’s facility in Karnataka. Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched a total of 11 satellites in its maiden Bandwagon flight.
• TSAT-1A will provide high-resolution satellite images with low-latency delivery. The Indian armed forces are expected to be one of its major users.
• This is the first sub-metre high-resolution earth observation satellite by the private sector in India. The satellite, weighing less than 50 kg, is in low-earth orbit.
• TASL is focusing on four areas: assembly, integration, and testing of the satellite and launching it from either SpaceX or ISRO; data download; processing raw data and adding layers of AI; and satellite control centre.

Indian Army gets portable Igla-S Air defence system

• The Indian Army has received the first batch of 24 Russia-made Igla-S Man Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS) and 100 missiles as part of a larger deal that includes domestic production in India.
• This procurement aims to enhance the Army’s Very Short-Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) capabilities, particularly in high mountainous terrain along the northern border.
• India signed a contract with Russia in November lastyear for 120 launchers and 400 missiles.
• The Igla-S is a hand-held defence system that can be operated by an individual or crew. It is designed to bring down low-flying aircraft and can also identify and neutralise air targets such as cruise missiles and drones.

• MANPADS are portable surface-to-air missile systems and air defence units in high mountainous regions use MANPADS to neutralize low-altitude aerial threats such as aircraft, drones, and missiles.

Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital wins ‘Best Scientific Poster Award’ 2024

• Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital’s research team have been honoured with the prestigious ‘Best Scientific Poster Award’ at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS).
• This recognition comes in light of their groundbreaking study on ‘The efficacy of RevitalVision vision-training software in improving best-corrected vision in stable keratoconus patients post Cross Linking surgery.’

World Homeopathy Day

• World Homeopathy Day is observed on April 10. The day commemorates the birth anniversary of Dr Samuel Hahnemann.
• Objective – To raise awareness about homeopathy by bringing practitioners, and supporters together from all around the world.
• Theme 2024 – Homeoparivar: One Health, One Family
• The name homeopathy is derived from the Greek ‘homeo’, which denotes similar, and ‘pathos’ means suffering or disease. It is a practice that believes in curing the disease based on the principle of ‘like cures like’.

What is Homoeopathy?

• Homoeopathy is a therapeutic method of treatment based on the concept of individualisation and holism.
• Homoeopathy is a unique system of medicine in terms of its sources and preparation.
• Method of preparation includes the potentisation of medicinal substance to the minute level by which the most inert substance can become the most potent dynamic medicine, enough to stimulate the body’s self-healing capability.