Weekly Current Affairs (16th to 28th February 2024) | Current Affairs: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - CLAT PDF Download

What is Lying Flat Lifestyle (tangping) in China?

The “lying flat” lifestyle (tangping) is a minimalist approach to work and life adopted by a segment of Chinese youth in response to bleak economic prospects and societal pressures.

Origins

• The term “lying flat” originated in an April 2021 blog post titled “Lying Flat is Justice” by Luo Huazhong, who described quitting his job and embracing simple rural living. This resonated with many young Chinese struggling with unemployment, underemployment and burnout.

Economic Context

• Lying flat emerges amid China’s economic slowdown, rising youth joblessness and soaring costs of living. College graduates especially face limited social mobility, insecure jobs and intense competition – prompting reevaluation of work ethics.

Key Tenets

• Lying flat centres on working only enough to get by, then focusing time on rest, passions and wellbeing. It questions the reward from overwork and material pursuit in an unjust system. The approach aligns with a broader generational shift valuing work-life balance and mental health.

Government Response

• Authorities have censored lying flat content online and urged youth to stay positive. Lying flat is seen as undermining state messaging on the importance of work and national development. Policy efforts to create jobs and boost entrepreneurship attempt addressing structural factors.

Social Implications

• The lying flat phenomenon symbolizes Generation Z’s distinct pessimism on social mobility and future security compared to older generations. With over 280 million Chinese born after 1995, addressing their dissent and disengagement is an emerging policy challenge.

Outlook

• As economic prospects remain subdued, the lying flat attitude may persist among educated youth despite censorship. It represents passive defiance of top-down social contracts. Accommodating this demographic shift toward self-determination could necessitate reforms rebalancing growth and wellbeing.

Gurudas Ravidas Jayanti

Guru Ravidas Jayanti has been recently observed on February 24, 2024, in the honour of birthday of Guru Ravidas.

Key Facts

• This festival is celebrated with joviality in North India, specifically in Punjab.
• The day marks the birthday of Indian mystic poet-saint, Ravidas and is celebrated on Magh Purnima.

Who was Guru Ravidas?

• Guru Ravidas or Bhagat Ravidas was a renowned saint, who is remembered for his contribution to Bhakti movement. He was contemporary to saint Kabir.
• Guru Ravidas was born in Seer Goverdhanpur village in Uttar Pradesh in an underprivileged family.
• He was an advocate of human rights and a progressive thinker who spread the message of equality by means of his poems and teachings based on spirituality.
• His written verses are included in Sikh scriptures “Guru Granth Sahib”.
• Meera Bai, who was an eminent personality in Hindu spiritualism, recognised Guru Ravidas as her spiritual guide.
• He is considered as the founder of 21st-century Ravidassia religion.

How is the day celebrated?

• To celebrate the Guru Ravidas Jayanti, Amritbani Guru Ravidas Ji is read. A special aarti is performed as well as Nagar Kirtan possession is taken out on the streets. Devotees gather to take a dip in the river, as a part of customary practice. Prayers are offered in temples dedicated to Guru Ravidas. Celebration takes place at Shri Guru Ravidass Janam Asthan Mandir at Seer Goverdhanpur in Varanasi, to remember him and his teachings.

When this day is celebrated?

• Guru Ravidas Jayanti is observed on the full moon of Magh month, according to Hindu calendar. As per the Gregorian calendar, festival falls in February month.

Significance of the day

• The Guru Ravidas Jayanti is of great significance for people, who entrust in beliefs and ideologies of Ravidas religion. It is considered as most significant day of the year.

National Science Day

India celebrates National Science Day on February 28. National Science Day is celebrated in the country to mark the discovery of the Raman Effect. Raman discovered the Raman Effect on February 28, 1928, and received Nobel Prize for his discovery in 1930.

History of National Science Day

• National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC) under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in 1986 proposed to mark National Science Day on February 28. The Government of India agreed to the proposal.

The objective of National Science Day

• National Science Day is celebrated to spread the importance of science in day-to-day life. On the occasion, the importance of science and achievements in the field are discussed. New technologies are implemented.

The theme of National Science Day 2024

• The theme of this year’s ‘National Science Day’ is Indigenous Technologies for Viksit Bharat, emphasizing the importance of home-grown Technologies in shaping the future of India.

Department Initiatives

• The Department of Science and Technology organised a function in New Delhi to commemorate the outstanding discovery of Raman’s Effect by great Indian physicist Sir C.V. Raman.
• On the occasion, Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated the exhibition, featuring a diverse range of innovative projects selected under the Initiative for Research and Innovation in Science.

About Raman Effect

• Raman effect is inelastic scattering of the photons by matter where there is an exchange of energy and change in the direction of light. This effect comprises the vibrational energy which is gained by the molecule when the incident photons from visible laser are shifted to the lower energy. This effect takes place when light enters in the molecule and interacts with the electron density of chemical bond. This causes the electromagnetic field in molecule which in turn leads to vibrational and deformation of the frequency shift.

National Council for Science and Technology Communication

• It operated under the purview of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The main objectives of NCSTC are to develop and build scientific thinking, develop scientific knowledge, conduct training, and spread awareness.