UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 14th March 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Why in News?

India shines bright at the recently held Oscars 2023 ceremony.

About Oscars:-

• The Oscars, also known as the Academy Awards, are widely considered to be one of the most prestigious awards in the film industry.
• The Oscars are decided by the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is made up of a relatively small group of industry professionals.
• As such, the nominees and winners are often determined by factors such as industry politics, personal relationships, and even campaigning and lobbying by studios and filmmakers.
• The Oscars 2023 was the 95th Academy Awards ceremony.

Categories Under Which India Nominated for Oscars 2023:-

• Best Original Song Category – ”Naatu Naatu” from the movie RRR, which recently won Golden Globe.
• Best Documentary Short category – ‘‘The Elephant Whisperers”, directed by, Kartiki Gonsalves.
• Best Documentary Feature category – Shaunak Sen’s acclaimed ”All that Breathes.”.

Categories Under Which India won Oscars 2023:-

• Best Original Song Category – ”Naatu Naatu” from the movie RRR.
  • Naatu Naatu‘ is an Indian Telugu-language song from the movie ‘RRR’. The song was composed by M.M. Keeravani, lyrics of the song were written by Chandrabose and recorded by Rahul Sipligunj & Kaala Bhairava.

Best Documentary Short category – ‘‘The Elephant Whisperers”, directed by, Kartiki Gonsalves.

• The duo of Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga have produced a stellar documentary named ‘The Elephant Whisperers’, the film has earned an Oscar for itself in the Oscars 2023. The bond between an orphaned baby elephant and a couple is the central theme of the documentary.

• Naatu Naatu was the first Indian win in the Best original song category, and Gonsalves the first Indian to win in the short documentary category.

Source: THE INDIAN EXPRESS

Bumchu Festival

Why in News?

Recently, the Bumchu Festival was celebrated in the Tashiding Monastery, located in the state of Sikkim.

About Bumchu Festival:

• Bumchu Festival is the Tashiding holy water vase ritual which is a unique and important occasion that draws travellers from all over the world.
• Annual performances of this ancient ceremony are held at the Tashiding Monastery, located in the western part of Sikkim.
• The Bumchu festival commemorates a supernatural occurrence that took place in the 18th century under Chogyal Chakdor Namgyal.
• Bumchu means “pot of sacred water” in Tibetan. The vase is opened during the event, and the water inside is shared among the worshippers.
• The water is thought to have healing qualities and to grant luck and riches to those who drink it.
• The celebration takes place on the 14th and 15th of the first lunar month, which often falls in February or March.
• In Sikkim, the Bumchu festival is a time of intense delight and celebration. At the event, pilgrims travel to Tashiding from all around India as well as from close by nations like Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Key facts about the Tashiding Monastery

• It is one of the most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage sites, located on a hilltop overlooking the Rangeet River in Sikkim.
• Guru Padmasambhava, better known as Guru Rinpoche, the great Buddhist guru who brought Buddhism to Tibet, blessed the location of the monastery.
• A Nyingma teacher named Ngadak Sempa Chempo Phunshok Rigzing later founded the monastery in the 17th century.

Source: The Print

GS-II

Why in News?

AUKUS meet was held recently.

About Australia, United States, and United Kingdom (AUKUS) Alliance:-

• It is a trilateral security partnership for the Indo-Pacific, between Australia, the UK, and the US (AUKUS).
• It is based on a shared commitment of its three members to deepen diplomatic, security, and defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
• Under it, the U.S., and the U.K. will help Australia deploy nuclear-powered submarines in the Pacific region.
• The focus would be on protecting shared values and promoting security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

Significance of AUKUS Alliance:-

• It will involve a new architecture of engagements across emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, cyber capabilities, and additional undersea capabilities.
• It will help Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) in cooperation with the UK & the US.
• AUKUS will contain the rise of China, particularly its rapid militarisation and aggressive behavior in the Pacific region, especially in and around the South China Sea.
• It also gives US focus for its post-Afghanistan tilt to Asia.
• The AUKUS deal seeks to address core US concerns of regional security, deterrence, and balance of power in the Indo-Pacific. 
• It will enhance Australia’s contribution to its other partnerships, including the QUAD.
• The Quad and AUKUS are distinct, yet complementary.

Source:  THE HINDU

Compassionate Appointment

Why in News?

In a recent judgment, the Supreme Court rejected some applications for ‘compassionate appointment’ that were filed by the dependents of deceased government employees in West Bengal.

About Compassionate Appointment:-

Background:-

• The concept of compassionate appointments can be traced to the Indian Constitution’s Article 39.
• Art 39 is under the Directive Principles of State Policy and talks about the right to livelihood.
• Compassionate Appointment aims to provide employment on compassionate grounds to the dependent family members of a government servant who dies in harness or retires on medical grounds, leaving the family without any source of sustenance.
• These appointments can only be made for “Group ‘C’ posts against the direct recruitment quota.

Eligibility:-

• Compassionate appointments can extend to dependent family members of a government servant who:-
• Dies while in service (including death by suicide).
• Retired on medical grounds.

The measure can also extend to the family members of an Armed Forces employee who:-

• Dies during service.
• Is killed in action.
• Is medically boarded out and is unfit for civil employment.
• The government servant must have been appointed on a “regular basis” and not on a daily wage, casual, apprentice, ad-hoc, contract, or reemployment basis.
• The deceased’s dependents can only be first[1]degree relations such as their spouse, son, or daughter (including adopted ones), etc.
• The applicant should also be eligible and suitable for the post.

Appointment Authority: –

• Compassionate appointments are made by either the Joint Secretary in charge of administration in the Ministry or the Department concerned or the Head of the Department.
• They can also be made by the Secretary of a Ministry or Department in special cases.

Supreme Court judgments:-

• In its decision, the apex court cited its rulings from 2008 and 2014 in the cases of “Mumtaz Yunus Mulani vs, the State of Maharashtra and State Bank of India vs. Surya Narain Tripathi” respectively, to say that “the existence of a policy issued by the State Government is a sine qua non for making appointments on the compassionate basis“.
• Observing the absence of a policy governing compassionate appointments the Court refused to grant the posts under local authorities in West Bengal.
  • Moreover, the Court said that even if the policy existed, it would be of no use to consider the applications several years after they were filed.
  • The Court also referred to a slew of its rulings from 1989 and 1994 in Sushma Gosain vs. Union of India and Umesh Kumar Nagpal vs. the State of Haryana respectively, to say that there shouldn’t be any delay in compassionate appointments and the same should be “provided immediately to redeem the family in distress”, provided that the government or public authority examines the financial condition of the deceased’s family and is satisfied that the family will not be able to meet the crisis.

Source: THE INDIAN EXPRESS

GS-III

Why in News?

Recently, the Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare approved a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Dragon Fruit (Kamalam Fruit) to be established by the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bengaluru, Karnataka.

About Dragon Fruit:

• Dragon Fruit is a herbaceous perennial climbing cactus widely known as Pitaya, has its origin in Southern Mexico, Central America and South America.
• Its flowers are hermaphrodites (male and female organs in the same flower) in nature and open at night.
• It grows in all kinds of soil and does not require much water.
• The plant sustains yield for more than 20 years, is high in nutraceutical properties(medicinal effects) and good for value-added processing industries.
• It is widely cultivated in South-East Asia, India, the USA, The Caribbean Islands, and Australia throughout the tropical and sub-tropical world.
• The world’s largest producer and exporter of dragon fruit is Vietnam, where the plant was brought by the French in the 19th century.
• In India, the cultivation of Kamalam Fruit is done in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Mizoram and Nagaland.
• In this endeavor under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), a roadmap is being prepared for the cultivation of this crop.

Key facts about the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) Mission

• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root & tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo.
• Under MIDH, the Government of India (GOI) contributes 60%, of the total outlay for developmental programmes in all the states except states in the North East and the Himalayas, and 40% share is contributed by State Governments.
• In the case of North Eastern States and Himalayan States, GOI contributes 90%.
• In the case of the National Horticulture Board (NHB), Coconut Development Board (CDB), Central Institute for Horticulture (CIH), Nagaland and the National Level Agencies (NLA), GOI contributes 100%.

Source: PIB

Why in News?

According to a recent report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the five largest arms importers in the world during 2018-22 were India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Australia, and China.

About India’s Arms Imports:

• India remained the world’s largest arms importer for the five-year period between 2018-22.
• India accounted for an 11 percent share of total global arms imports in 2018–22.
• Russia accounted for 45% is India’s imports, followed by France (29%) and the US (11%).
• Russia was the largest supplier of arms to India in both 2013–17 and 2018–22, but its share of total Indian arms imports fell from 64% to 45%.
• India has seen an 11 percent drop in its arms import between 2013-17 and 2018-22.
• India was the biggest arms export market to three countries — Russia, France, and Israel and the second largest export market to South Korea.

Highlights of the SIPRI Report:

• The US was the world’s topmost military exporter in the past five years, accounting for 40% of global exports, followed by Russia (16%), France (11%), China (5.2%), and Germany (4.2%).
• United States' share of global arms exports increased from 33 to 40 percent, while Russia's fell from 22 to 16 percent between 2013-17 and 2018-22.
• France’s arms exports jumped 44% between 2013-17 and 2018-22, with India receiving 30% of its exports during the past five years.

Source: The Hindu

Why in News?

A tigress recently died of electrocution in a buffer zone of Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.

About Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve:

• Location:
  • It is located in the Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh.
  • It is situated in the northeastern part of the state of MP and is bordered by the Guru Ghasidas National Park on the south.
• It consists of Sanjay National Park and Dubri Sanctuary, along with buffer areas taken from Sidhi and Shahdol districts.
• The reserve is part of the Bandhavgarh-Sanjay-Guru Ghasidas-Palamau landscape.
• It forms a wildlife corridor connecting Bandhavgarh and Palamau Tiger Reserve.
• Rivers: Banas, Gopad, Mawai, Mahan, Kodmar, Umrari and others.
• Flora:
  • It comprises of North Indian moist deciduous peninsular sal and North Indian dry deciduous peninsular sal.
  • The forests in the Dubri sanctuary range from dense to open sal forests with remains of degraded bamboo stumps.
• Fauna: The major species found are tiger, Sloth bear, Chital, Nilgai, Chinkara, Sambar, leopard, Dhole (wild dog), Jungle Cat, Hyena, Porcupine, Jackal, Fox, Indian Wolf, Indian Python Four-horned Antelope, and Barking deer.

Source: Indian Express