Daily Current Affairs

4-December-2023

1. BJP sweeps Hindi belt, Cong. bags Telangana.

Topic: GS3 – elections.

Context:

• BJP dominates elections in Hindi belt, wins Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh; Congress claims Telangana, disrupting Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s dominance.

More on this news:

• BJP sweeps Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, solidifying its position in the Hindi heartland.
• Congress unseats Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana, denying the ruling party a hat-trick.
• BJP now holds 12 Chief Minister positions, while Congress has three; BJP faced the election without a chief ministerial face.
• Results indicate BJP’s strong performance with victories in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and retaining power in Rajasthan.

2. A.P. braces for heavy rainfall as Michaung intensifies

Topic: GS3 – geography.

Context:

• Cyclone Michaung intensifies in southwest Bay of Bengal, expected to make landfall on Andhra Pradesh coast.

Additional information:

• India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds of 90-100 kmph, gusting to 110 kmph.
• Red alert issued in parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh; heavy downpour anticipated in Chennai and other districts.
• Extremely heavy rainfall expected in coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam, and Rayalaseema; storm surge may inundate southern coastal districts.

Formation of cyclones:

• Warm Ocean Water:Requires sustained sea surface temperatures of at least 27°C (80°F) to provide enough energy for development.
• Convergence and Uplift:Surface winds from different directions converge, forcing warm, moist air to rise and cool.
• Condensation and Latent Heat:Rising air cools and condenses, releasing latent heat (energy) that fuels further uplift and cloud formation.
• Low-Pressure System:As air rises, a low-pressure area forms below, drawing in more surrounding air and strengthening the circulation.
• Coriolis Effect:Earth’s rotation deflects winds, causing them to spiral inwards towards the low pressure, creating a rotating storm system.
• Thunderstorm Activity:Rising air forms towering cumulonimbus clouds, generating intense thunderstorms and releasing more latent heat.
• Eye Formation:As the storm intensifies, a central area of calm and relatively clear skies forms, known as the eye.
• Further Growth and Movement:The cyclone continues to feed on warm ocean water and may intensify into a hurricane or typhoon depending on conditions.
• Landfall and Dissipation:When a cyclone reaches land, it loses its warm water source and begins to weaken, eventually dissipating inland.

Question: Explain the Coriolis Effect and its role in the formation and movement of cyclones.

3. Highest cases of sexual violence make Delhi most unsafe for women

Topic: GS3 – Women safety.

Context:

• Delhi ranks as the most unsafe metropolitan city for women in India, averaging three rape cases daily.

More Information on the news:

• National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) annual report for 2022 reveals 14,158 crimes against women in the city, the highest among 19 metropolitan areas.
• The incidents include 1,204 rape cases, 3,909 kidnappings or abductions, and 129 dowry death cases.
• Delhi also reported 4,847 cases of cruelty by husbands or relatives.
• Police attribute difficulty in prevention to cases where the victim and accused are acquainted, but awareness campaigns and self-defense training are conducted.
• Overall crime shows an uptick, with increases in cybercrime and crimes against senior citizens.

4. Today is the 225th death anniversary of the Italian physicist and philosopher Luigi Galvani.

Topic: GS3 – Science and technology

Context:

• Today marks the 225th anniversary of the passing of Italian physicist and philosopher Luigi Galvani.

More about Luigi Galvani:

Contributions:

• Renowned for his pioneering work in the field of bioelectricity.
• Conducted experiments involving the electrical stimulation of frog muscles, leading to the discovery of galvanism.
• Galvani’s observations laid the foundation for later developments in the understanding of nerve and muscle stimulation.

Legacy:

• The term “galvanism” is derived from his name, signifying the generation of electrical currents in biological tissues.
• His work influenced the development of early batteries and contributed to the field of electrophysiology.
• Galvani’s contributions are remembered in the history of science and electricity.

5. India will not be bound by curbs on energy use, says senior official

Topic: GS3 – climate action

Context:

• India did not join 118 countries pledging to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 at COP-28.
• The country also refrained from signing the “Declaration on Climate and Health” endorsed by 123 nations.

India’s Stance:

• India emphasizes commitment to expanding renewable energy but rejects restrictions on energy source choices.
• Leena Nandan, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, affirms India’s right to decide on energy options.

Draft Pledges and Concerns:

• Drafts suggest linking climate and health goals to restricting fossil fuel emissions.
• India expresses discomfort with suggestions that certain fuels must be prioritized over others.

Emissions Data:

• India’s greenhouse gas emissions increased by 4% from 2016-2019, reaching 2.6 billion tonnes of CO2.
• Energy sector contributes the most to emissions (75.81%), followed by agriculture, Industrial Process and Product Use (IPPU), and Waste sectors.

6. ‘Disinformation is a major threat to democracy’

Topic: GS3 – Indian polity

World Media Summit (WMS):

• Ram, Director of The Hindu Group, highlights the threat of disinformation on social platforms at the fifth WMS in Guangzhou, China.
• Emphasizes the challenge posed by “scaled up and weaponized” disinformation to democracy and media credibility.

AI and Disinformation Challenges:

• Identifies Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a transformative force in journalism but warns of its potential to fabricate facts and perpetuate biases.
• Disinformation is rampant, presenting a menace that professional journalism can counter to demonstrate its indispensability.

WMS Discussions:

• WMS, initiated in 2009, addresses disruptive technologies and the disinformation problem in media.
• Attended by 197 media organizations from 103 countries, featuring discussions on challenges faced by the global media industry.

Challenges and Opportunities:

• Media faces enormous challenges, including news avoidance and declining trust, but can address them by providing accurate and reliable information.
• The summit serves as a platform for addressing challenges and fostering collaboration among media organizations globally.

7. The transformative benefits of population-level genome sequencing

Topic: GS3 – Science and technology.

Introduction:

• New sequencing technologies have enabledpopulation-scale genome sequencing programs, offering unprecedented insights into human diversity.
• UK’s completion of 500,000 whole-genome sequences highlights the transformative potential of these initiatives.

Pioneering Efforts:

• deCODE initiative (Iceland):Provided early impetus for using large-scale genomics in precision medicine and public health.
• 100K Genome project (UK):Aimed to bring genomics into routine healthcare.
• Growing number of countries:Launching population-scale genome programs, including the AllofUS (US), 1+ Million Genomes (EU), and Three Million African Genomes 

Diverse Objectives:

• Understanding disease prevalence and biomarkers.
• Building scalable public-health initiatives.
• Discovering novel therapeutic targets.
• Providing direct healthcare benefits to participants.

Challenges and Opportunities:

• Ethics of access and data usage.
• Equitable representation in population-scale data sets.
• Regulatory frameworks to prevent misuse of genetic data.

India’s Initiatives:

• GenomeAsia project:Plans to sequence a lakh whole genomes from diverse Asian populations.
• IndiGen pilot program:Provided early view of 1,000+ genomes from India, revealing treatable genetic diseases and drug responses.
• GenomeIndia initiative:Aims to sequence 10,000 whole genomes from diverse Indian populations.

Long-Term Impact:

• Revolutionizing healthcare with personalized medicine.
• Illuminating human evolution, migration patterns, and adaptation.
• Advancing our understanding of human biology.

Future Prospects:

• Sequencing a billion genomes in a single project may soon be possible.
• Individuals acquiring a right to access and understand their own genome sequence is foreseeable.

Conclusion:

Population-scale genomics stands at the forefront of a genomic revolution, poised to transform healthcare, illuminate our past, and shape the future of medicine and biological knowledge.

Question: Discuss the transformative potential of population-scale genome sequencing programs, highlighting the opportunities and challenges they present for healthcare, public health, and our understanding of human diversity.

8. What is All India Judicial Service, why it has failed to become a reality

Topic: Polity

Context:

• In order to improve diversity in the judiciary by expanding representation from underrepresented social groups, President Droupadi Murmu stressed the necessity for an “All-India Judicial Service” (AIJS) in her inaugural speech at the Supreme Court’s Constitution Day ceremony.

What is the All-India Judicial Service (AIJS)?

• The AIJS is structured similarly to the central civil services, as stated in Article 312 of the Constitution.
• It is limited, nevertheless, to positions that are equivalent to district judges. This covers a range of roles, including assistant sessions judge, sessions judge, and additional district judge.
• The goal of the AIJS is to centralize the hiring of district judges and additional district judges in every state.

Current Selection System: Articles 233 and 234

• Under the current system, State Public Service Commissions and High Courts are in charge of selecting district judges who are appointed to serve as state-level magistrates.
• Applicants take the Provincial Civil Services (Judicial) exam, also referred to as the judicial services exam, and High Court judge panels interview them.

Reasons for AIJS Proposal: Historical Context

• The Law Commission first discussed the concept of a centralized judicial service in its 1958 Report, which sought to solve structural problems such as uneven compensation, long appointment delays, and uneven training.
• A draft bill published by the Parliamentary Standing Committee was among the reports that later endorsed the idea of an All-India Judicial Service, which came out in 1978 and 2006.

Supreme Court’s Stance: Historical Developments

• The Supreme Court ordered the Center to create the AIJS in 1992, but in a 1993 review, the court gave the Center the freedom to decide whether to start it.
• In 2017, the court proposed a “Central Selection Mechanism” that would involve a common examination when it took suo motu cognizance of district judges’ appointments.
• This hasn’t been put into practice yet, though.

Challenges and Roadblocks to Implementation

• Even though the Center made efforts to establish AIJS, including a thorough proposal in 2012, the problem encountered several setbacks.
• Divergent viewpoints among stakeholders hindered a resolution in 2017 despite inclusion in Chief Justices Conferences and talks on eligibility, age, selection criteria, and reservations.
• Due to divergent opinions, there is still no consensus on the proposal’s implementation.

9. Picking up items dropped by drones will invite treason charge: J&K DGP

Topic: GS3- Internal Security

Context:

• Director General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir, RR Swain, brought attention to a new problem involving drones dropping cash, drugs, and guns across the border.
• He underlined how serious the situation was, labeling anyone who picked up such objects as the “biggest enemy of the nation” and threatening to bring accusations of terrorism and treason in addition to other legal repercussions.

Legal Consequences for Offenders

• Director General Swain made it clear that anyone found retrieving weapons dropped by drones would be subject to harsh legal consequences.
• He emphasized that the law will be followed and those who were caught would be “degraded and disincentivized”.
• The seriousness of the threat posed by the introduction of goods via drone delivery is reflected in the severity of the charges, which equate such actions with treason and terrorism.

Challenges and Security Measures

• Speaking of the difficulties presented by drones, Swain outlined how the stealthy nature of drone technology makes it difficult for traditional air defense systems to identify drone activities.
• He argued in favor of setting up a system at the police post and station level to react quickly to reports of drone sightings.
• In addition to tracking and intercepting drones, this system ought to gather intelligence to ascertain the precise status of the aircraft.

Emerging Trends: Tunnels and Drones

• The recent upsurge in militant violence in border areas, especially Poonch and Rajouri, was characterized by the DGP as an “emerging trend.”
• He emphasized the problem that drones are currently posing as well as incidents where extremists have used tunnels.
• In order to successfully combat these changing security risks, Swain underlined the necessity for strategic planning and suggested that more traditional approaches might not be enough.

Public Cooperation and Militant Violence

• Swain recognized the contribution that the general population makes to the security forces in border regions.
• He acknowledged that locals, especially in Rajouri and Poonch, provide security personnel with a lot of information, and he gave gratitude to the people there for actively helping to apprehend militants.
• In order to preserve peace and address security threats in the Union Territory, cooperation between the general population and security personnel is essential.

10. Cyclone “Michaung” Threatens Coastal Districts

Topic: GS1- Geography

Context:

• A “red” alert has been issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for at least ten coastal districts in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha because Cyclone “Michaung” poses a hazard within the next three days.
• It is anticipated that the cyclone, which formed over the southwest Bay of Bengal, could cause severe rains and gusty weather in a number of the region’s districts.

Affected Districts and Red Alert

• The coastal districts of north Tamil Nadu and coastal Andhra Pradesh, including Chennai, Thiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Prakasam, Guntur, Krishna, Godavari, Bapatla, and Elur, have been placed under a “red” warning.
• The alert denotes the potential for exceptionally high precipitation, between 200 and 250 mm over the course of a day, which might be exceedingly dangerous for these areas.

Unique Characteristics and Historical Context

• Notable about Cyclone “Michaung” is that it is predicted to be the first storm to hit on the coast of Andhra Pradesh since Cyclone Gulab in September 2021.
• Cyclone Asani passed close to the coast of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in 2022, however it did not make landfall.
• According to the IMD, by Monday afternoon, “Michaung” should be in the west-central Bay of Bengal, off the coastlines of south Andhra Pradesh and the adjacent north Tamil Nadu.

11. Coal phase-out in COP28 pledge, India refrains from endorsing it

Topic: GS3- Environment

Context:

• At the COP28 climate conference, India chose not to support a renewable energy pledge because of concerns of phasing out coal and stopping new investments in the coal industry.

• More than a hundred nations signed the promise, which sought to increase the installed capacity of renewable energy worldwide by 2030.
• India, which was a member of the G20 group that had previously supported this goal, declined to endorse the promise since it had provisions that went against India’s dependence on coal for the production of energy.

India’s Stance on Coal Usage

• India has made it clear that it intends to increase its capacity for renewable energy sources while also utilizing coal to generate electricity in the near future.
• Just before the COP28 meeting, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kawatra reaffirmed this position, citing India’s economic and developmental imperatives that do not allow a precipitous withdrawal of coal, as has occasionally been recommended.

Pledge Outside COP Discussions

• The renewable energy commitment started as an initiative by the host nation to forge alliances among countries on particular issues, rather than being an official part of the COP debates.
• These promises have no legal standing and frequently expire over time. India has historically stayed away from non-binding efforts and avoided taking part in such platforms.

Potential Non-Endorsement of Health Declaration

• India was also supposed to abstain from supporting a health declaration on the day of the dedicated health conference at COP28.
• A proclamation highlighting the serious effects of climate change on human health and the pressing need for climate action was approved by more than 120 nations.
• The text does, however, make mention of reducing emissions from the health sector—a position that India disagrees with since it would rather not cooperate with sector-specific strategies that operate outside of the UNFCCC framework.

COP28 Discussions on Renewable Energy and Expected Outcomes

• During the COP28 process, discussions about tripling the world’s renewable energy capacity by 2030 are expected to take place.
• The International Energy Agency predicts that reaching this objective may prevent, on average, one billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually until 2030, therefore the results are highly anticipated.
• The emphasis on renewable energy is in line with international initiatives to tackle climate change.

12. 8th Wonder of the World

Topic: GS1- Culture, Prelims

Context: Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia becomes 8th wonder of the world, defeats Italy’s Pompeii.

Details

Angkor Wat Temple

Location:

• Situated in the northern province of Siem Reap in Cambodia, Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument globally, covering approximately 1,200 square meters of intricately carved bas-reliefs.

Historical Significance:

• Construction: Built in the 12th century by Khmer Emperor Suryavarman II as a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, it was later converted into a Buddhist temple by Jayavarman VII.
• Transition to Buddhism: The transition from Hinduism to Buddhism is reflected in the temple’s carvings, depicting scenes from both Hindu and Buddhist mythology.
• Adjacent Structures: Angkor Wat is part of a more extensive complex that includes the Bayon Temple in Angkor Thom, featuring numerous sculptural decorations.
• Archaeological Importance: The site spans 400 square kilometers and encompasses remnants of various capitals of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to the 15th centuries, making it a significant archaeological site in Southeast Asia.

Key Features:

• Architecture: Angkor Wat’s architectural brilliance is showcased in its sandstone block construction and a 15-foot-high wall surrounding the city, temple, and residents, along with a wide moat for protection.
• Bas-Reliefs: Scores of bas-reliefs adorn the temple walls, depicting deities and narratives from Hindu and Buddhist traditions.
• Symbolism: The central temple complex’s symmetry and precision feature five lotus-shaped towers representing Mount Meru, a mythical abode of gods in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology.

Interesting Facts:

• Alternate Names: Angkor Wat is also known as Yasodharapura and derives its name from the Khmer word “nokor,” meaning “kingdom,” originating from the Sanskrit word “nagara,” meaning “city.”
• UNESCO Protection: Recognizing its significance, UNESCO has a comprehensive program in place to protect Angkor Wat and its surroundings.
• Sunrise Spectacle: Tourists flock to witness the breathtaking sunrise over Angkor Wat’s towers, which bathes the temple in stunning shades of pink, orange, and gold.

Pompeii

• It is an ancient city located near Naples in Italy, known worldwide for its remarkably preserved ruins following the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Location:

• Pompeii was an ancient Roman city situated near the Bay of Naples in the Campania region of Italy, close to modern-day Naples.

History:

• Foundation: Founded around the 6th century BC by the Oscans, Pompeii was later influenced by Greek and Etruscan cultures before becoming a Roman colony around the 1st century BC.
• Eruption of Mount Vesuvius: In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius, a nearby volcano, erupted catastrophically, burying the city under a thick layer of ash and pumice, freezing Pompeii in time.

Key Features:

• Archaeological Site: The ruins of Pompeii have been excavated over centuries, revealing streets, buildings, houses, public spaces, temples, and artifacts remarkably preserved by the volcanic ash.
• Architecture: The city’s structures showcase Roman architecture of the time, including impressive villas, temples (like the Temple of Apollo), theaters (such as the Large Theater and the Odeon), and the famous amphitheater (the oldest surviving Roman amphitheater).
• Frescoes and Artifacts: Pompeii is renowned for its exquisite frescoes, mosaics, and artifacts that offer insights into daily life, culture, and artistry of the ancient Romans.

Cultural Significance:

• Historical Insights: The preservation of Pompeii provides invaluable information about ancient Roman life, architecture, art, and urban planning, offering a snapshot of life in the 1st century AD.
• Tourism and Education: Pompeii is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a major tourist destination, attracting millions of visitors annually. It serves as an educational resource for archaeologists, historians, and tourists interested in ancient history.

Conclusion

• Angkor Wat’s architectural magnificence, cultural transition, rich historical significance, and UNESCO’s preservation efforts collectively contribute to its status as a wonder and a compelling destination for millions of visitors annually.

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