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DAILY DOSE 16th APRIL -2024 CURRENT AFFAIRS

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DAILY DOSE 16th APRIL -2024 CURRENT AFFAIRS

 

1) Sustainable Hydrogel:

  • Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a sustainable hydrogel to address the issue of microplastic pollution in water.
  • Microplastics, posing significant threats to human health and the environment, can enter our bodies through water consumption.
  • The three-layer polymer hydrogel, consisting of chitosan, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyaniline, forms an interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) architecture.
  • Infused with nanoclusters of copper substitute polyoxometalate (Cu-POM), the hydrogel can bind and degrade microplastics under UV light irradiation.
  • The team ensured efficient microplastic removal and degradation by tracking their adsorption and degradation using fluorescent dye.
  • The hydrogel exhibited high efficiency, removing about 95% and 93% of two different microplastic types at near-neutral pH levels.

 

2) Home Voting : ECI

  • The Election Commission of India (ECI) has introduced a ground-breaking initiative for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, providing the option of home voting for elderly citizens above 85 years of age and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) with a 40% benchmark disability.
  • This initiative aims to enhance inclusivity and accessibility in the electoral process.
  • Additional steps taken by the Election Commission (EC) to promote inclusive voting include:
  • Abolishing Form-M requirement for Kashmiri migrants residing in Jammu and Udhampur, simplifying the voting process for them.
  • Implementing Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) to engage Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and educate their friends, families, and polling officials.
  • Introducing the proposed Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM), enabling migrant voters to vote from their current place of residence.
  • Allowing voting by postal ballot for special voters, service voters (including members of the armed forces, police forces serving outside their states, and government employees serving outside India), voters on election duty, and electors subjected to preventive detention.

 

3) Artificial Reefs:

  • India’s second-ever installation of artificial reefs (after Pondicherry) to boost marine life is being deployed near Worli Koliwada, Mumbai.
  • 210 reef units made from recycled concrete and steel are installed 500 meters offshore, and it will take 3 months to show initial signs of a thriving ecosystem.
  • Artificial Reefs are structures built by humans through biorock technology and placed on the seabed in freshwater or saltwater environments.
  • Biorock technology was invented by Wolf Hilbertz. In this technology, a low electrical current is passed through the water using electrodes placed near a steel structure.
  • This current acts like a magnet, attracting dissolved minerals, particularly calcium and carbonate ions, forming a calcium carbonate (CaCO3) layer similar to natural coral reefs.
  • These reefs offer crucial hard surfaces to which algae, barnacles, corals, and oysters can firmly attach themselves.
  • These reefs will create habitats for fish, absorb carbon dioxide, and benefit local fishing communities.

 

4) India Gains Sittwe Port Access:

  • The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has approved a proposal for India Ports Global Ltd (IPGL) to take over the operations of the entire Sittwe port located on the Kaladan River, Myanmar. It will be India’s 2nd overseas port after Chabahar Port.
  • IPGL is a company 100% owned by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
  • The Sittwe Port, located in the Rakhine State of Myanmar, is a crucial component of the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project.
  • The deep-water port offers a significant connectivity advantage for cargo to reach from Vizag and Kolkata to the Northeastern states, bypassing Bangladesh.
  • It will also reduce dependency on the Siliguri Corridor (or the chicken’s neck) squeezed between Bhutan and Bangladesh.

 

5) Asia Development Outlook Report 2024:

  • The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently released the Asia Development Outlook Report in April 2024 and revised India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 and FY 2025, citing various factors contributing to this optimistic outlook.

Key Highlights of Asia Development Outlook Report 2024:

  • Despite uncertain external prospects, Asia is projected to maintain resilient growth in the coming years.
  • Factors such as the conclusion of interest rate hiking cycles in most economies and a sustained recovery in goods exports, particularly driven by improving semiconductor demand, contribute to the region’s broadly positive outlook.
  • Asia’s GDP growth forecast for 2024 stands at 4.9%, with a similar projection maintained for 2025.
  • This steady growth trajectory reflects the region’s ability to navigate external challenges and sustain economic momentum.
  • Inflation in Asia is expected to moderate, with a forecast of 3.2% for 2024 and a further decrease to 3.0% in 2025.
  • This trend indicates a relatively stable pricing environment, which can support consumer confidence and spending
  • India’s investment-driven growth is highlighted as a significant factor in positioning the country as a major economic engine within Asia.

 

6) Easementary Right : Supreme Court

  • The Supreme Court, in a dispute of easementary rights over a road, reiterated that the power of attorney holder can only depose about the facts within his personal knowledge.
  • Easementary Right concept of easement has been defined under The Indian Easements Act, 1882.
  • According to it, an easementary right is a right possessed by the owner or occupier of the land on some other land, not his own, the purpose of which is to provide the beneficial enjoyment of the land.
  • This right is granted because, without the existence of this right an occupier or owner cannot fully enjoy his own property.
  • It includes the right to door continue to do something or to prevent or to continue to prevent something in connection with or in respect of some other land, which is not his own, for the enjoyment of his own land.
  • The word ‘land’ refers to everything permanently attached to the earth and the word ‘beneficial enjoyment’ denotes convenience, advantage or any amenity or any necessity.

 

7) Hubble Tension:

  • In a study published recently, scientists from Germany and the U.K. led a radical explanation for the Hubble tension.
  • Hubble Tension refers to a discrepancy between the measurements of the rate of expansion of the universe, known as the Hubble constant.
  • The Hubble constant, denoted as H0, describes the rate at which galaxies are moving away from each other due to the expansion of the universe.
  • If a researcher wants to estimate the Hubble constant, they have two main avenues. These are the cosmic distance ladder and the cosmic microwave background (CMB).
  • Thus, these measurements have yielded slightly different values for the Hubble constant. This discrepancy is known as the Hubble tension.
  • The significance of the Hubble tension is that it could potentially indicate unknown physics or systematic errors in the measurements.
  • Resolving the tension is crucial for refining our understanding of the universe’s expansion and its underlying physics.

 

8) Operation Meghdoot:

  • The Indian Army recently commemorated 40 years since ‘Operation Meghdoot’ began for securing the Siachen Glacier.
  • Operation Meghdoot was the code-name for the Indian Armed Forces operation to capture the Siachen Glacier, a strategically crucial region dominating Northern Ladakh.
  • Siachen has been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan ever since the Karachi Agreement of 1949, when the area was left undivided due to the hostile terrain and extremely rough weather.
  • Operation Meghdoot was India’s bold military response to what New Delhi calls Pakistan’s “cartographic aggression” in the uncharted territory of Ladakh, north of map reference NJ9842, where New Delhi and Islamabad had agreed the Line of Control (LoC) ran up to.
  • The primary objective behind this operation was to pre-empt the seizure of Sia La and Bilafond La passes by the Pakistan Army.

 

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