31 August 2023 : Daily Current Affairs
Daily Current Affairs
31-August-2023
Daily Current Affairs For UPSC ,Daily Current affairs of The hIndu and Indian Express.
1. Another coup attempt in Africa, this time in Gabon.
Topic: GS2-IR, Prelims
Context:
- Mutinous soldiers claimed to have seized power in Gabon put the president Ali Bongo Ondimba under house arrest, hours after he was declared the winner in an election extending his family’s 55-year rule in the oil-rich Central African nation.
- The crowds took to the streets of the capital Libreville and sang the national anthem to celebrate the coup attempt against a dynasty accused of getting rich on resource wealth while many of its citizens struggle to scrape by.
About Gabon:
- Gabon is a central African country which is rich in natural resources.
- It is located on the Atlantic Ocean, it borders Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Congo.
- It is sparsely populated, with a population of 2.3 million (2021) and forests covering 85% of its territory.
- Gabon, the fourth largest oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa, posted strong economic growth over the past decade, driven mainly by oil and manganese production.
RECENT COUPS IN WEST, CENTRAL AFRICA:
- NIGER: In July 2023, members of Niger’s presidential guard detained Mohamed Bazoum and announced seizure of power.
- BURKINAFASO: In Jan 2022, Army ousted President Roch Kabore, blaming him for failing to contain militant violence.
- GUINEA: In Sept 2021 President Alpha Conde ousted by commander after changing constitution to cut limits to prevent him from standing for a third term a year earlier.
- CHAD: In April 2021, Army usurped power after President Idriss Deby was killed while visiting troop rebel clashes in the North.
- MALI: In Aug 2020, Army ousted President Ibrahim Keita. The coup followed anti-government protests over security and elections.
2. US inks new pact with Palau over maritime security in Pacific region
Topic: GS2-IR
Context:
- The United States has signed a new agreement with Palau, which gives American ships the authorisation to unilaterally enforce maritime regulations in the tiny Pacific Island nation’s exclusive economic zone.
Details:
- The agreement comes as both the US and China are seeking to expand their influence in Pacific, and follows pleas from Palau’s president for Washington’s help to deter Beijing’s “unwanted activities” in its coastal waters.
- In the agreement, concluded a week ago, US Coast Guard ships can enforce regulations inside Palau’s exclusive economic zone on behalf of the nation without a Palauan officer present.
- Tensions have been growing in the Asia-Pacific region as China presses its maritime claims and the US and its allies pushback.
- At about the same time the pact with Palau was signed last week, two Philippine boats, with a US Navy surveillance aircraft overhead, breached a China coast blockade in South China Sea to deliver supplies to Filipino forces guarding a contested shoal.
3. Britain’s top diplomat visits China for the 1st time in 5 years to stabilise ties.
Topic: GS2-IR
Context:
- British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited China which turns out to be the first by a U.K. foreign secretary in more than five years.
- Cleverly met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vice President Han Zheng during his one-day visit.
Details:
- Cleverly raised concerns over China’s human rights record and explored ways for the two countries to better communication.
- There had been a downturn in relations over a series of issues, including Beijing’s curbing of civil liberties in Hong Kong, a former British colony, abuses against Muslim minorities in Xinjiang region, China’s support for Russia and Britain’s close security ties with the United States.
- The diplomats underscored the importance of dialogue between their countries, though they also alluded to the souring of ties in recent years.
4. Chandrayaan-3 rover sends images of lander on Moon.
Topic: GS3-Science and Tech
Context:
- A Week after landing on the Moon, the lander component of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft made its first public appearance.
- Pragyan Rover clicked an image of Vikram Lander.
Details:
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) released photographs of the lander, taken by the navigation camera onboard the rover.
- While it was partially visible in some of the images and videos released by ISRO earlier, these are the first full images of the lander seen on the lunar surface.
- The clear black-and-white images showed the lander parked on a relatively flat and smooth area of the Moon.
- The ‘image of the mission’ was taken by the Navigation Camera onboard the Rover (NavCam).
- NavCams for the Chandrayaan3 Mission are developed by the Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems (LEOS).
- ISRO also pointed to the parts of two of the payloads on the lander component, ChaSTE (Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment) and ILSA (Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity) that could be seen in the image. The sensors of these instruments could be seen touching the lunar surface
About ChaSTE and ILSA:
- ChaSTE is meant to measure the thermal properties of the lunar surface while ILSA is supposed to carry out seismicity studies.
- The first readings from ChaSTE instrument, released by ISRO showed that there was a big difference in temperatures just above and below the lunar surface.
So far so good:
- Since the landing, the different stages of ISRO’s mission have gone as planned.
- Of the mission objectives, demonstration of a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface is accomplished, demonstration of rover roving on the Moon is accomplished, while conducting in-situ scientific experiments is underway.
- All the payloads were also performing normally.
- All the key aspects of the mission have happened.
- BN Ramakrishna, director of the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network centre from where the lander and rover are being tracked, described the mission as “going super”.
5. 38 IT firms apply to make laptops, PCs under PLI scheme.
Topic: GS2- Government Policies and intervention,
GS3- Growth and Development, Liberalization
Context:
- ASUS, DELL, HP, and Foxconn are among 38 companies that have submitted applications to manufacture laptops, personal computers and servers in India under the Centre’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for IT hardware.
- Apple, however, has opted to skip participation in the scheme.
What is the PLI Scheme?
- The PLI scheme was introduced to scale up domestic manufacturing capability,accompanied by higher import substitution and employment generation.
- Launched in March 2020, the scheme initially targeted three industries:
- Mobile and allied Component Manufacturing
- Electrical Component Manufacturing and
- Medical Devices
Objectives:
- The PLI schemes were first announced in April 2020 as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Self-Reliant India Movement), a comprehensive economic package to revive the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The schemes were initially introduced for three sectors: mobile phones and specified electronic components, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and medical devices, critical key starting materials (KSMs), drug intermediates and APIs. Later, the schemes were extended to more sectors.
- Currently, the schemes offer incentives to companies for incremental sales of products manufactured in India across 14 key sectors, such as electronics, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, textiles, and food products.
Details:
- The development comes weeks after the Centre imposed and then postponed a licensing requirement on the import of laptops and personal computers, which had set alarm bells ringing at major electronics hardware manufacturers.
- While the expected incremental production at the end of six years of the scheme is estimated at Rs 3.35 lakh crore, it could bring an incremental investment of just Rs 4,000 crore over these many years.
- The government estimates the manufacturing process to result in 75,000 direct jobs.
- Other companies that have applied for the scheme include Lenovo, Acer, and Flex, which is said to be manufacturing Reliance’s Jio Book laptop.
Way forward:
- The PLI schemes are a bold and ambitious step by the Government of India to revitalize the manufacturing sector and make India a global hub for production and innovation. The success of these schemes depends on their effective implementation and coordination among various actors. If done well, these schemes can transform India’s economic landscape and create a new wave of growth and development.
For Enquiry
31 August 2023 : Daily Current Affairs
Daily Prelims Quiz :Administrative and Economic unification of the country, Including various charter Acts.
Daily Prelims Quiz :Consolidation of British Empire: Subsidiary Alliance, Paramountcy, Doctrine of Lapse, Maratha and Mysore
Daily Prelims Quiz :Advent of European power, Anglo French Wars, British in Bengal
Daily Prelims Quiz :Maratha Empire
Daily Prelims Quiz :Bhakti Movement
Daily Prelims Quiz :Mughal empire
Daily Prelims Quiz :Delhi Sultanate 2
Daily Prelims Quiz :Delhi Sultanate 1
Daily Prelims Quiz :Rajput states (8th Century to 12th Century)
August Daily Current Affairs 31 August 2023 : Daily Current Affairs Daily Current Affairs
29-August-2023
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Hiistory Prelims Quiz Daily Prelims Quiz :Administrative and Economic unification of the country, Including various charter Acts. Daily Prelims Quiz
Week 3 Day 3
Instructions1. All 5 Questions are Compulsory.2. Each question carries…
Hiistory Prelims Quiz Daily Prelims Quiz :Consolidation of British Empire: Subsidiary Alliance, Paramountcy, Doctrine of Lapse, Maratha and Mysore Daily Prelims Quiz
Week 3 Day 2
Instructions1. All 5 Questions are Compulsory.2. Each question carries…
Hiistory Prelims Quiz Daily Prelims Quiz :Advent of European power, Anglo French Wars, British in Bengal Daily Prelims Quiz
Week 3 Day 1
Instructions1. All 5 Questions are Compulsory.2. Each question carries…
Hiistory Prelims Quiz Daily Prelims Quiz :Maratha Empire Daily Prelims Quiz
Week 2 Day 6
Instructions1. All 5 Questions are Compulsory.2. Each question carries…
Hiistory Prelims Quiz Daily Prelims Quiz :Bhakti Movement Daily Prelims Quiz
Week 2 Day 5
Instructions1. All 5 Questions are Compulsory.2. Each question carries…
Hiistory Prelims Quiz Daily Prelims Quiz :Mughal empire Daily Prelims Quiz
Week 2 Day 4
Instructions1. All 5 Questions are Compulsory.2. Each question carries…
Hiistory Prelims Quiz Daily Prelims Quiz :Delhi Sultanate 2 Daily Prelims Quiz
Week 2 Day 3
Instructions1. All 5 Questions are Compulsory.2. Each question carries…
Hiistory Prelims Quiz Daily Prelims Quiz :Delhi Sultanate 1 Daily Prelims Quiz
Week 2 Day 2
Instructions1. All 5 Questions are Compulsory.2. Each question carries…
Hiistory Prelims Quiz Daily Prelims Quiz :Rajput states (8th Century to 12th Century) Daily Prelims Quiz
Week 2 Day 1
Instructions1. All 5 Questions are Compulsory.2. Each question carries…
