UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 5th February 2024 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Mekong River

Subject: Geography 

Why in News?

A multibillion-dollar dam project underway across the Mekong River in Laos has prompted concerns that it could result in Luang Prabang City losing its UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

About the Mekong River:

• It is the longest river in Southeast Asia, the 7th longest in Asia, and the 12th longest in the world.
• It has a length of about 2,700 miles (4,350 km). 
• Course:
  • It rises in southeastern Qinghai Province, China.
  • It originates from the Sanjianyuang in the Tibetan Plateau, with the area designated a national nature reserve to protect the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow, and Mekong Rivers.
  • The river drains approximately 795,000 square kilometres and flows through six Asian countries: China, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia, where it is referred to by different names. 
• Vientiane(Viangchan), the capital of Laos, and Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, both stand on its banks.
• The river drains into the South China Sea south of Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam).
• Tributaries: The left-bank tributaries (draining high rainfall areas) include Nam Ou, Tha, and Nam Khan, while the right-bank tributaries (draining the lower relief region) are Ruak, Kok, Tonle Sap, and Mun.
• Its biodiversity is only second to the Amazon River Basin and contains about 20,000 plant species, 1,200 birds, 430 mammals, 800 amphibians and reptiles, and 850 fish species.
• It is the river with the largest fish species, including giant freshwater stingrays, giant pangasius, Mekong giant catfish, and giant barb.
• The Mekong creates a huge delta, or triangular piece of land, in southern Vietnam. The delta has rich soil and is one of the world’s great producers of rice.

Source: The Hindu

GS-II

Motion of Thanks

Subject: Polity 

Why in News?

Recently, both Houses of Parliament took up a discussion on the Motion of Thanks on President Murmu’s address.

Background:-

• The President had addressed the joint sitting of both the Houses.

About Motion of Thanks:-

• As per constitutional provisions, at the commencement of the first session after each general election to the House of the People and at the commencement of the first session of each year, the President shall address both Houses of Parliament assembled together and inform Parliament of the causes of its summons.
• The Address contains a review of various activities and achievements of the Government during the previous year and sets out the policies, projects and programmes which the Government of the day wishes to pursue with regard to important national and international issues.
• The President’s speech essentially highlights the government’s policy priorities and plans for the upcoming year.
• The address provides a broad framework of the government’s agenda and direction.
• After the address, each House of Parliament discusses the Motion of Thanks, and the Prime Minister responds.
• At the end of the discussion, the motion is put to vote.

Constitutional Provisions:-

• Article 86 confers a right on the President to address either House of Parliament or both Houses assembled together, and for that purpose requires the attendance of members.
• Article 87 deals with Special Address by the President and provides that the President shall address both Houses of Parliament assembled together at the commencement of the first session after each general election to the Lok Sabha and at the commencement of the first session of each year and inform Parliament of the causes of its summons

Significance:-

• The Motion of Thanks must be passed in the House, Otherwise, it amounts to the defeat of the government.
• It is one of the ways through which the Lok Sabha can also express a lack of confidence in the government.

Source: PIB

GS-III

Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI)

Subject: Economy

Why in News?

Recently, Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) increased by 3.8 per cent (provisional) in Dec 2023 as compared to Dec 2022.

Background:-

• The production of Coal, Natural Gas, Steel, Fertilizers, Refinery Products, Cement and Electricity recorded positive growth in December 2023.

About Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI):-

• Ministry: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
• The ICI measures combined and individual performance of production of eight core industries viz. Cement, Coal, Crude Oil, Electricity, Fertilizers, Natural Gas, Refinery Products and Steel.
• The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
• IIP is a prime indicator of economic development for the measurement of trends in the behaviour of Industrial Production over a period of time with reference to a chosen base year.
• The eight core sector industries in decreasing order of their weightage: Refinery Products> Electricity> Steel> Coal> Crude Oil> Natural Gas> Cement> Fertilizers.
• The current base year for the IIP in India is 2011-12.
• Details of annual and monthly indices are compiled and released by the Office of Economic Adviser (OEA), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Source: PIB

James Webb Space Telescope

Subject: Science and Technology

Why in News?

Recently, James Webb Space Telescope captured ‘stunning’ images of 19 spiral galaxies.

Background:-

• The closest of the 19 galaxies is called NGC5068, about 15 million light years from Earth, and the most distant of them is NGC1365, about 60 million light years from Earth.
  • NGC 5068 lies around 20 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo.
  • NGC 5068’s distance from Earth is 19,194,302.83 light years.
  • NGC 5068 is called NGC 5068 in the New General Catalogue (NGC).

About James Webb Space Telescope:-

• It is an infrared observatory orbiting the Sun. (International Space Station (ISS))
• Launched: 2021.
• Type: Orbiter.
• Launched by: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
• Launch Vehicle: Ariane 5 rocket, provided by the European Space Agency (ESA).
• Launch site: French Guiana.
• Objective: to find the first galaxies that formed in the early universe and to see stars forming planetary systems.
• It is NASA’s largest and most powerful space science telescope.

Functions of the telescope:-

• It will study every phase in the history of our universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the big bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own solar system.
• It will build on the Hubble Space Telescope’s 
  • NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope: it is the first astronomical observatory placed into orbit around Earth with the ability to record images in wavelengths of light spanning from ultraviolet to near infrared.
• It will look deeper into the cosmos and thus further back in time than is possible with Hubble.
• It will attempt to detect the light from the very first population of stars in the Universe to switch on more than 13.5 billion years ago.

Source: The Hindu

What is the GRAPES-3 experiment?

Subject: Science and Technology

Why in News?

The GRAPES-3 experiment discovered a new feature in the cosmic-ray proton spectrum at about 166 tera-electron-volt (TeV) energy while measuring the spectrum spanning from 50 TeV to a little over 1 peta-electron-volt (PeV).

About the GRAPES-3 experiment:

• Gamma Ray Astronomy PeV EnergieS phase-3 (GRAPES-3) is designed to study cosmic rays with an array of air shower detectors and a large area muon detector.
• Location: It is located in Ooty, India.
• It is operated by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
• It aims to probe the acceleration of cosmic rays in different astrophysical settings.
• Its objectives are to study:
  • The origin, acceleration and propagation of >1014 eV cosmic rays in the galaxy and beyond.
  • Existence of “Knee” in the energy spectrum of cosmic rays.
  • Production and/or acceleration of the highest energy (~1020 eV) cosmic rays in the universe.
  • Astronomy of multi-TeV γ-rays from neutron stars and other compact objects.

Key facts about Cosmic rays:

• These rays were discovered more than a century ago.
• They are considered to be the most energetic particles in the universe.
• Our planet is constantly bombarded by them from outer space almost uniformly from all directions at a constant rate.
• They enter into Earth's atmosphere and induce a shower of particles that travel to the ground almost at the speed of light.
• The shower particles constitute electrons, photons, muons, protons, neutrons etc.
• They have been observed over a remarkably wide energy range (108 to 1020 eV).

Source: Psy.org

Directorate General of GST Intelligence

Subject: Economy

Why in News?

The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) is investigating Mahadev Online Book, an allegedly illegal betting application, and its promoters for suspected violation of GST rules and non-payment of tax.