UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 7th February 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Rann of Kutch

Context

 The first G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting recently held in Kutch region of Gujarat.

About Rann of Kutch:

• It is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan.
• It is located mostly in the Kutch district of Gujarat, with a minor portion extending into the Sindh province of Pakistan.
• It is divided into the Great Rann and Little Rann.
• The Great Rann of Kutch is the larger portion of the Rann.
• It extends east and west, with the Thar Desert to the north and the low hills of Kutch to the south.
• The Indus River Delta lies to the west in southern Pakistan.
• The Little Rann of Kutch lies southeast of the Great Rann, and extends southwards to the Gulf of Kutch.
• The climate of the ecoregion is
  • Temperatures average 44 °C during the hot summer months, and can reach highs of 50 °C.
  • During the winter the temperature can drop to or below freezing.
• The Rann of Kutch is the only large flooded grasslands zone in the Indomalayan realm.
  • The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms.
• It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia.
• The Little Rann of Kutch is home to the Indian wild ass (khur).
• The area has desert on one side and the sea on the other enables various ecosystems, including mangroves and desert vegetation.
• The history of the Rann of Kutch began with early neolithic settlements.
• It was later inhabited by the Indus Valley civilization as well as the Maurya and Gupta empires of India.

Kutch Desert:

• Kutch Desert covers a vast area to the north of India and northwest by Sindh (Pakistan), west and southwest by the Arabian Sea, and to the northeast by Rajasthan.
• The Rann of Kachchh comprises a unique example of Holocene sedimentation.
• It is connected to the Arabian Sea through Kori Creek in the west and the Gulf of Kachchh in the east, and is very close to sea level.
• The Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary, situated in the Indian state of Gujarat, is the largest wildlife sanctuary in the country.
  • It is spread in the entire area of the little Rann of Kutch where small grass-covered areas, known as baits, forms the flora and is an important source to support the fauna of the region.

Source: NewsOnAir

Anatolian Plate

Context

Recently an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck Turkiye, one of the most seismically active regions in the Mediterranean and the world.

About the Anatolian Plate:

• Turkiye (the Turkish/Anatolian plate) sits between three major tectonic plates: African, Arabian and Eurasian.
• The Anatolian Plate is a continental tectonic plate comprising most of the Anatolia (Asia Minor) peninsula (and the country of Turkey).
• To the east, the East Anatolian Fault, a left lateral transform fault, forms a boundary with the Arabian Plate.
  • To the south and southwest is a convergent boundary with the African Plate.
• The Anatolian plate is divided into three major fault zones: North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ), East Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ), South Eastern Anatolian Thrust Zone (SAT)
• Collisions between the Arabian and African plates with Eurasia typically result in earthquakes.

Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale

• It is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake.
• It describes the effects of an earthquake on human beings, natural structures and industrial installations in a given region.
• The scale is designated in roman numerals.

Source: DownToEarth

GS-II

Green Deal Industrial Plan

Context

Recently , the European Union revealed the “Green Deal Industrial Plan” that aims to cut red tape and provide massive subsidies in a bid to support and expand its green industry.

Regulatory Framework:

• By regulatory framework, the Green Deal Industrial Plan seeks to formulate a strategy for the “Net-Zero Industry Act.”
• This will not only simplify rules for traders to trade and operate freely but will expedite the process of trade permits and insurance for green projects, such as renewable energy generation arrays, carbon capture and renewable hydrogen production facilities.

Faster funds arrangement:

• The rules will be relaxed to facilitate easier investment and raising of funds for the EU’s 27 governments to operate and work on clean energy projects.
• The proposal has been formulated to help European (Non-rich) by offering subsidies and allowing the usage of existing EU funds.

Enhancement of skills:

• The ‘Green Deal Industrial Plan’ aims to create a “Net-Zero Industry Academies” that will provide up-skilling and re-skilling programmes in strategic industries.

Trade improvement:

• The deal plan also emphasizes on the significance of free and open trade and aims to further ‘develop EU’s network of Free Trade Agreements and other forms of cooperation with partners to support the green transition.”

USA’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA):

• It is a landmark United States federal law which aims to curb inflation by reducing the deficit, lowering prescription drug prices, and investing into domestic energy production while promoting clean energy.

Source: Indian Express

What is the doctrine of res judicata?

Context

The Madras High Court recently dismissed a civil revision petition filed by a woman against an order of a lower court that had allowed a second divorce petition filed by her husband on the ground of res-judicata.

What is res judicata?

• The concept of res judicata has evolved from the English Common Law System.
• Res judicata literally means ‘the thing has been judged”.
• The principle of res judicata applies when a litigant attempts to file a subsequent lawsuit on the same matter after having received a judgment in a previous case involving the same parties.
• It is a judicial concept which means that the issue before the court has already been decided by another court, between the same parties, and the courts do not allow a petition to be filed in the same or to the other Court.
• Therefore, the court will dismiss the case before it as being useless.
• Res Judicata as a concept is applicable both in the case of the Civil as well as Criminal legal system.
• Purpose:
• To prevent injustice to the parties of a case supposedly finished.
• To avoid unnecessary waste of resources and time of the Judicial System

Source: Indian Express

GS-III

Operation Sadbhavana

Context

As part of ‘Operation SADBHAVANA’, Indian Army is undertaking multiple welfare activities in remote areas of Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh.

About Operation Sadbhavana:

• Operation Sadbhavana (Goodwill) is a unique humane initiative undertaken by Indian Army in the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to address aspirations of people affected by terrorism, sponsored and abetted by Pakistan.
• As part of ‘Operation SADBHAVANA’, Indian Army is undertaking multiple welfare activities such as running of Army Goodwill Schools, Infrastructure Development Projects and Education Tours for the children living in remote areas of Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh.
• To improve the standard of education and to provide them with quality education, Indian Army is presently running seven (07) Army Goodwill Schools (AGS) under ‘Operation SADBHAVANA’ in Ladakh Region.
• Some of the objectives achieved through ‘Operation SADBHAVANA’ are national integration tours, women empowerment, employment generation, education and development activities towards nation building.
• ‘Operation SADBHAVANA’ projects are selected after taking local aspirations into consideration, in conjunction with local civil administration and it is ensured that there is no duplicates with projects of civil administration.

Source:  PIB

Context

Finance Minister recently announced government’s plan to launch a mission to eliminate sickle cell anaemia by 2047.Finance Minister recently announced government’s plan to launch a mission to eliminate sickle cell anaemia by 2047.

• It is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders.
• In someone who has SCD, the hemoglobin is abnormal, which causes the red blood cells to become hard and sticky and look like a C-shaped farm tool called a “sickle.”
• The sickle cells die early, which causes a constant shortage of red blood cells.
• Also, when they travel through small blood vessels, they get stuck and clog the blood flow.
• This can cause pain and other serious complications (health problems) such as infection, acute chest syndrome and stroke.
• SCD is a genetic condition that is present at birth.
• It is inherited when a child receives two genes—one from each parent—that code for abnormal hemoglobin.
• A blood test can determine whether you have SCD or sickle cell trait.
• SCD can also be diagnosed before a baby is born.
• SCD can only be cured by bone marrow or stem cell transplantation.

Source: Indian Express

Keoladeo National Park

Context

The Rajasthan state Forest Department has recently proposed to construct a zoo inside Keoladeo National Park.

About Keoladeo National Park:

• The Keoladeo National Park formerly known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary hosts thousands of birds, especially during the winter season.
• It is located in the eastern part of Rajasthan.
• It attracts several migratory birds that make the region their breeding and wintering grounds.
• It is strategically located in the middle of the Central Asian migratory flyway.
• The Siberian crane is one of the rare species that was spotted here till about the turn of the century.
• Fauna: Sambar, Nilgai, wild cats, hyenas, wild boar, birds, including raptors and waterfowl, and Jackals.
• It is a Ramsar site and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Source: The Hindu