UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 18th March 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Why in News?

As per recent document published in the journal Earth’s Future, the large-scale pollution from untreated agricultural drainage and wastewater is putting existential pressure on the delta system of the Nile river.

About the Nile river:-

• The River Nile is located in Africa.
• It originates in Burundi, south of the equator, and flows northward through northeastern Africa, eventually flowing through Egypt and finally draining into the Mediterranean Sea.
• Source: The source of the Nile is sometimes considered to be Lake Victoria, but the lake itself has feeder rivers of considerable size like the Kagera River.
• The Nile River is considered one of the longest rivers in the world.
• Nile basin includes parts of Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Congo (Kinshasa), and Kenya.
• The Nile River forms an arcuate delta as it empties into the Mediterranean Sea.
• Arcuate delta: Deltas with triangular or fan-shaped are called arcuate (arc-like) deltas.
• The Nile is formed by three principal streams: the Blue Nile, the Atbara, and the White Nile.

Source: Down To Earth

Why in News?

Tamil Nadu is waiting for Centre’s next course of action as the three-month deadline fixed by the Supreme Court had expired recently.

About Pennaiyar river:-

• The river originates in the Nandi Hills in the Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka.
• It flows through Tamil Nadu before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.
• It is the second largest interstate East flowing river basin among the 12 basins lying between Pennar and Cauvery basins.
• It covers a large area in the State of Tamil Nadu besides the areas covered in the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
• Bangalore, Hosur, Tiruvannamalai, and Cuddalore are the important cities on the banks of South Pennar river.
• Major tributaries are the Chinnar, Markanda, Vaniar, and Pamban.

Source: The Hindu

GS-II

Why in News?

ISRO plans to start ‘Space Tourism’ for passenger by 2030.

About Space Tourism:

• Space tourism is another niche segment of the aviation industry that seeks to give tourists the ability to become astronauts and experience space travel for recreational, leisure, or business purposes.
• Companies including Virgin Atlantic, SpaceX, XCOR Aerospace, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin and Armadillo Aerospace are working on providing space tourism services to people.

Major highlights of the proposal:

• Price: The per ticket price is estimated to be around Rs 6 crore and People who take the trip will also be able to call themselves astronauts.
• Type of Space Travel: The module is likely to feature sub-orbital space travel which generally involves spending 15 minutes at the edge of space, experiencing a few minutes in a low-gravity environment before the spaceflight descends back to Earth.
• Partnership with Private Firms: ISRO is likely to partner with private firms for the development of the space travel module via the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe).
• Safety Measures: ISRO will also be using the Reusable Launch Vehicle—Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) to gain more knowledge about the safety of the spaceflights as space experiences are being brought to the common people.

Advantages of the Space Tourism:

• Boost to economy: Space tourism will increase the commercial activity in the time of poor state of world economy.
• Draw FDI Investors: It will renew interest in space exploration. This will draw more investors for more financial backing to support more innovations in the industry.
• Generate Employment: Space tourism will give employment to thousands of people. Manufacturing of new and better spacecraft will give employment to many skilled people.
• Pave ways to protect Earth: It would also help in identifying potential hazards dangerous for our planet.
• New resources: Help to find new minerals and other precious materials in space and other planets. This will be of great help to the people of Earth where natural resources are depleting fast.
• Adventure Tourism: Open a new avenue for adventure tourists.
• Technological advancement: Opens avenues for advanced technology which can be applied to other domains apart from space missions.

Major challenges of space tourism:

• Exposure to Sun’s Radiation: Space travel technology at the nascent stage can make entering space a dangerous venture.
  • Space travelers are likely to get exposed to harmful radiations from the sun.
• Health: Spending long hours in zero gravity condition can be dangerous for the person’s cardiovascular and musculoskeletal system.
  • If people accidentally get exposed to high-energy ionizing cosmic rays, it may lead to cancer.
• Safety: Space tourism involves a high degree of risk, and safety will be a major concern for both tourists besides operators and the Spacecraft and launch vehicles must be reliable, and emergency procedures must be in place in case of any contingencies.
• Exposure to harmful organisms: We may unwittingly introduce some harmful microorganism from space into the atmosphere of Earth.
• Inequity: Space tourism is meant for the super-rich only.
  • For example, a single 2 ½ hour flight ticket in Virgin Galactic’s upcoming space ship costs $ 250,000.
• Not a panacea: It is great to imagine people walking on the surface of Mars. It would not be wise to consider the escape to space will help in escaping the problems of earth.
  • There is nowhere in the solar system where we can find the environment as congenial as that available on earth.

Space Tourism modules of other countries:

• United States: It is a leader in space tourism, with several private companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic which has already completed several test flights, and plans to launch commercial flights in the near future.
• Russia: It has been involved in space tourism since 2001, and has sent several paying tourists to the International Space Station (ISS) on its Soyuz spacecraft.
• United Arab Emirates: The UAE recently sent its first astronaut to the ISS, and has expressed interest in developing space tourism as part of its efforts to diversify its economy.

Way Forward:

As a whole, ISRO’s space tourism module, which is both safe and reusable is a significant step towards advancing India’s space exploration programs and providing the public with an opportunity to experience space travel. As technology continues to advance, space tourism could become more accessible and affordable, in future and thus allowing more people to experience the wonder and excitement of space exploration.

Source: PIB

Matua community

Why in News?

Recently, the Prime Minister of India has urged people to visit Matua Maha Mela in large numbers which is being celebrated by the Matua community and also paid tribute to Shri Harichand Thakur.

About the Matua community:

• Matuas trace their ancestry to East Bengal, and many of them entered West Bengal after Partition and after the formation of Bangladesh. 
• Today, Matuas constitute the second largest SC population of West Bengal.
• The Matua community has members on either side of the Bengal border.
• The Matua Mahasangha, a religious reform movement and a sect was formed by Harichand Thakur in East Bengal in the mid-1800s.
• It is a Hindu reform movement which has a considerable number of adherents in West Bengal as well as in Bangladesh.

Source: PIB

Why in News?

In 2022, the Punjab government ordered a complete ban on the public display of weapons and songs glorifying violence.

• The order also called for a review of all licenses issued within 3 months and barred the issuance of new licenses for the next 3 months, except in extraordinary circumstances.

What are the acts related to arms in India?

• The Indian Arms Act of 1959 was passed after India attained independence.
• It scrapped the erstwhile Act of 1878, passed by the British that restricted Indians from possessing firearms.
• The act was amended in 2019 decreasing the number of licensed firearms allowed per person.
• Conditions under the act
  • No one can acquire, possess or carry any firearms in India without a license.
  • The Act bars one person from carrying more than one firearm.
  • It prevents persons of unsound mind or those out on bond from getting such a license.
  • Validity: The validity of a firearm license was increased from 3 years to 5 years (2019 amendment).

What are the types of Licenses?

• Non- prohibited bore (NPB): Indian citizens aged 21 years and above are eligible to get Non-Prohibited Bore (NPB) guns and these are issued by the state governments.
• Prohibited bore (PB): Prohibited Bore guns can only be issued to defence personnel or persons facing imminent threats to life and these are issued by the Central Government or Ministry of Home Affairs.

Source: Indian Express

GS-III

Why in News?

 According to the recently released World Air Quality Report 2022, Delhi ranked fourth on a list of 50 of the world’s most polluted cities.

About the World Air Quality Report:-

• It is prepared by IQ Air.
• This 2022 World Air Quality Report presents PM2.5 air quality data from 7,323 cities across 131 countries, regions, and territories.
• It incorporates the 2021 World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines and interim targets as a basis for data visualization and risk communication.
• The WHO guideline for annual PM2.5 levels is 5 μg/m3.
• Delhi had an average PM2.5 level of 92.6 μg/m3 in 2022, a little below the average of 96.4 μg/m3 in 2021.
• The most polluted city in the world was found to be Lahore, followed by Hotan in China, and Bhiwadi in Rajasthan.
• Chad is the most polluted capital city in the world.
• India is behind Chad, Iraq, Pakistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso and Kuwait on this list
• A total of 39 Indian cities (including ‘Delhi’ and ‘New Delhi’) are on the list of 50 of the world’s most polluted cities in 2022.
• These include cities like Noida, Gurgaon, Bulandshahr, Meerut, Charkhi Dadri, Jind, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, and Greater Noida.

About IQAir:-

• It is a Swiss group that measures air quality levels based on the concentration of Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5.
• Objectives:-
• to engage, educate, and inspire governments, researchers, Non-Government Organisations, companies, and citizens to work together to improve air quality and create healthier communities and cities.
• to facilitate an informed dialogue and inspires action that improves air quality and the health of global communities and cities.

Source: Indian Express

Electronic Negotiable Warehousing Receipt (e-NWR)

Why in News?

Recently, Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Warehousing Development & Regulatory Authority (WDRA) signed an agreement to promote financing against e-NWR (Electronic Negotiable Warehousing Receipt).

About Electronic Negotiable Warehousing Receipt:

• The negotiable warehouse receipt (NWR) system was launched in 2011 allowing the transfer of ownership of a commodity stored in a warehouse without having to deliver it physically.
• These receipts are issued in negotiable form, making them eligible as collateral.
• This has been enabled by enabling the financing of warehouse receipts through the Warehouse (Development and Regulation) Act, of 2007.
• The Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) regulates the entire operation under NWR. 

What is e-NWR?

• An e-NWR is available only in electronic form.
• The single source of information for the e-NWR is the repository system where e-NWR is issued by registered warehouses.
• Confidentiality, integrity and availability of the e-NWR information are provided by the Repository system. 
• All e-NWRS can be traded through off-market or on-market Commodity Exchanges platforms. 
• An e-NWR can be auctioned under certain conditions such as loan not repaid, on expiry and delivery not taken, and on likely damage or spoilage of the commodity in the warehouse. 
• e-NWR can be transferred fully or in part.

Key facts about Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA)

• WDRA was constituted in 2010 under the Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act, of 2007. 
• It is under the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD).

Source: PIB