DAILY GK 6-8 MAR
1.
ADITI SCHEME TO PROMOTE DEFENCE
INNOVATION
·
Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Ministry
of Defence(MoD), launched Acing
Development of Innovative Technologies with iDEX (ADITI) scheme to
promote innovations in critical and strategic defence technologies.
·
The scheme was launch during the DefConnect 2024 held in New Delhi
·
The ADITI scheme falls under the iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence)
framework of Department of Defence Production (DDP), MoD.
·
The scheme will provide start-ups with grant-in-aid of up to Rs 25
crore for research, development, and innovation in defence technology.
·
Budget: Rs
750 crore has been allocated for the period 2023-24 to 2025-26.
·
The scheme envisages to create a ‘Technology
Watch Tool’ to bridge the gap between Armed Forces’ requirements and
innovation capabilities.
2.
STATUS OF LEOPARDS IN INDIA
·
According to the report “Status of
Leopards in India” released by Union
Minister Bhupender Yadav, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change (MoEF&CC), estimated that the leopards
population in India has risen by 8% from 12,852 in
2018 to 13,874 in 2022.
·
The fifth cycle leopard population
estimation (2022) was carried out by the National Tiger Conservation Authority
(NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India(WII), in
collaboration with State Forest Departments.
·
The leopard
population increased at an annual
growth rate of 1.08% from 2018 to 2022.
·
Madhya Pradesh has
3907 leopards, the highest number of leopards in India,
followed by Maharashtra(1985) and Karnataka(1,879) in the second and third,
respectively.
·
Madhya
Pradesh reported the most
improvement in the number of leopards at 486 while Odisha reported a drop of 192
·
Tiger
Reserves or sites having the highest leopard population are NagarajunasagarSrisailam
(Andhra Pradesh), followed by Panna (Madhya Pradesh), and Satpura (Madhya
Pradesh).
·
The Indian leopard (Pantherapardus fusca)
is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife
(Protection) Act, 1972, and it was classified as “Vulnerable” by
the International Union for Conservation
of Nature (IUCN)Red List.
·
Wildlife Institute of India
(WII) WII is an Autonomous Institution of the MoEFCC.
·
Location –
Dehradun, Uttarakhand
3.
SWARNA SINDHU’ FIRST TANKER
CARRYING CRUDE OIL FROM ONGC
·
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra
Modi flagged off the first tanker ‘Swarna Sindhu’, carrying crude
oil from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)’s KG-DWN-98/2 deepwater
project.
·
The project is located in the Krishna Godavari basin and is expected
to add 7% to India’s oil and gas production at its peak.
·
The
Floating Production and Storage Offloading (FPSO) Armada Sterling V unit has
been built and operated by ShapoorjiPallonji Energy Private Limited (SP
Energy).
·
The FPSO has a processing capacity of
over 50,000 barrels of oil per day and 3 million standard cubic meters per day
of gas.
4.
1ST MADE-IN-INDIA 'ASTDS - TUG'
·
Union Minister SarbanandaSonowal, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) virtually
inaugurated 60-tonne (60T) bollard pull tug named “Ocean Grace”,
the first ever Made-in-India Approved
Standardised Tug Design and Specification (ASTDS) tug at
Paradip Port, Odisha.
·
Ocean Grace, developed by the Cochin
Shipyard Limited under MoPSW, was built at a cost of Rs 45 crores.
·
The launch of the tug is in line with
the Green Tug Transition Programme (GTTP) which aims to convert at least 50% of all tugs into Green Tugs by
2030 and to have Green Tugs operating at all major ports.
5.
NATIONAL SAFETY DAY 2024 – MARCH 4
·
National Safety Day (NSD)
is annually observed across India on 4 March to
highlight the significance of safety measures in preventing workplace
accidents.
·
4 March also marks the commencement of
the National Safety Week Campaign, which is annually observed
across India from 4-10 March.
·
The theme of
NSD/National Safety Week Campaign 2024 is “Focus on
Safety Leadership for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Excellence”.
·
March 4 marks the foundation day of the
National Safety Council (NSC), which was established on 4th March 1966.
·
NSC Headquarters–
Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra
6.
STATE ENERGY EFFICIENCY INDEX 2023:
BEE
·
Fifth edition of State
Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI) was launched by Bureau of
Energy Efficiency (BEE).
·
In
SEEI 2023, states and union territories are categorized into four groups based on
their total scores: 'Front runner' (>=60), 'Achiever' (50-59.75),
'Contender' (30-49.75), and 'Aspirant' (<30).
·
Additionally, they are classified into four
groups based on their total final energy consumption (TFEC): Group
1 (>15 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MTOE)), Group 2 (5-15 MTOE),
Group 3 (1-5 MTOE), and Group 4 (<1 MTOE).
·
The top-performing states in each
group are Karnataka (Group 1), Andhra Pradesh
(Group 2), Assam (Group 3), and Chandigarh (Group 4).
·
In SEEI 2023, seven states—Andhra
Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Telangana—are
in the 'Front runner' category, compared to five states in SEEI 2021-22.
·
Two states, Assam
and Uttar Pradesh, are in the 'Achiever' category,
·
Three states—Goa,
Jharkhand, and Tamil Nadu—are in the 'Contender' category.
·
With an overall score of 86.5 out
of 100, Karnataka emerges as the top-performing state
in SEEI 2023.
7.
10 PRODUCTS FROM 8 STATES GOT
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONTAG
·
Geographical Indication
Registry(Chennai, Tamil Nadu-TN) under the Department for Promotion of Industry
and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry(MoCI), has
awarded geographical indication (GI) tags to 10 distinct products from 8
states.
·
The 10 products are Majuli Mask of Assam, Assam MajuliManuscript Painting, AmbajiWhite Marble, Kutch Rogan Craft, Cuttack Silver Filigree (ChandiTarakasi),
NarasapurCrochet Lace Products,RatlamRiyawan Lahsun (Garlic), Hyderabad Lac Bangles, Tripura Risa Textile, Bengal Muslin.
·
Among 10 products, 2 originate from
Gujarat, 2 from Assam, and each from West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh, Tripura, Odisha, and Telangana received a Geographical Indication (GI)
tag.
8.
‘E-KISAN UPAJ NIDHI’
PORTAL FOR FARMERS
·
Union Minister Piyush
Goyal, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public
Distribution(MoCAF&PD), launched ‘e-KisanUpaj Nidhi’, an online digital platform of the Warehousing Development and
Regulatory Authority (WDRA) to facilitate post-harvest financing for farmers.
·
It simplifies the process for farmers to
store their produce at any WDRA-registered warehouse for six months at 7%
interest per annum.
·
It was developed collaboratively by the
Department of Food and Public Distribution, the Department of Financial
Services, and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
·
The union minister also announced that
the security deposits to be paid by the farmers to WDRA
registered warehouses would be reduced to 1% from 3%.
·
The farmers were given electronic
Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (e-NWRs) once they stored their produce in
a WDRA-registered warehouse.
·
WDRA waived the application fee for the
registration of warehouses storing agricultural commodities for farmers until
October 25, 2025.
·
The WDRA is a statutory authority under the Department of Food and Public
Distribution (DFPD) of MoCAF&PD.
·
Headquarters – New
Delhi, Delhi
9.
WORLD BANK’S WOMEN, BUSINESS,
AND THE LAW 2024 INDEX
·
According to the 10th
edition of Women, Business, and the Law (WBL) 2024 report
released by the World Bank Group, India
has climbed to 113th place out of 190 countries in the Index, with a score of 74.4%.
·
Indian women have just 60% of the legal
rights compared to men, slightly below the global average of 64.2%.
·
Italy
lead the legal framework index followed by New Zealand
and Portugal
·
More than 37 economies provide women
with less than half of the legal rights enjoyed by men
·
Togo is at the bottom of index
10.
24th PAKISTAN’S PM
·
Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif president
of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)
was sworn in as the Prime Minister (PM) of Pakistan for
a 2nd term .
·
He secured 201 votes in a 336-member National Assembly, surpassing the
required 169 votes.
11.
HUNGARY’S PRESIDENT
·
TamasSulyok,
is appointed as the President of Hungary by receiving 134
votes in parliament.
·
He succeeded Katalin Novak,
the first female President of Hungary, who resigned in February 2024 due to a
scandal.
·
HungaryPrime Minister – Viktor
Orban
·
Capital – Budapest
·
Currency – Forint
12.
INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR DISARMAMENT
AND NON-PROLIFERATION AWARENESS 2024 – MARCH 5
·
The United Nations (UN) International
Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness is annually
observed across the globe on 5 March to promote awareness and
understanding of disarmament issues among the public, especially among the
youth.
·
United Nations Office for
Disarmament Affairs (UNODA):Headquarters– New York
13.
INDIA’S 1ST GREEN HYDROGEN PLANT IN
STAINLESS STEEL SECTOR
·
Union Minister JyotiradityaScindia,
Ministry of Steel, virtually inaugurated India’s 1st Green Hydrogen
Plant in the Stainless Steel Sector at Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL) in Hisar, Haryana.
·
This plant will be the world’s 1st
off-grid Green Hydrogen plant for the stainless steel industry and the world’s
1st Green Hydrogen plant with rooftop and floating solar.
·
The state of the art Green Hydrogen
Plant aims to reduce carbon emissions by around 2,700 Metric Tonnes per annum
and 54,000 tons of Carbondioxide (CO2) emissions over 20 years.
14.
1ST BLUE TALKS IN NEW DELHI
·
The meeting hosted by the Ministry of
Earth Sciences (MoES) was co-partnered by the Embassy of France and Embassy
of Costa Rica in India.
·
Discussions were held on matters related
to ‘Ocean Health and Governance’.
·
More than 50 participants from
Government, Academia and Research Institutes took part in the meeting.
·
Aim is Exchange
successful practices on ocean governance and health &Identify actionable
steps to improve ocean health.
·
This meeting precedes the High-Level
Event on Ocean Action (HLEOA) called ‘Immersed in Change,’ set for
June 2024, in San Jose, Costa Rica.
·
The ‘HLEOA’ serves as a preliminary
gathering to collect recommendations and visions for the upcomingUnited Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France, in
June 2025.
15.
INS JATAYU COMMISSIONED & 1st MH-60R SEAHAWK HELICOPTER
·
The Indian Navy (IN) commissioned the
Indian Naval Ship (INS) Jatayu at Minicoy,
the southernmost island in Lakshadweep.
·
This
is the 2nd naval base in Lakshadweep after INS Dweeprakshak
in Kavaratti, the capital of Lakshadweep.
·
The CNS R. Hari Kumar also commissioned Indian
Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 334 ‘Seahawks’,
India’s first MH 60R multirole
helicopter Squadron, at INS Garuda in
Kochi, Kerala.
·
The helicopters are a part of the
24-aircraft FMS contract signed with the United States (US) government in Feb
2020.
·
The first Seahawk squadron of 48
officers and 170 men is commanded by Captain M. Abhisheik Ram. The squadron is
raised with six helicopters.
·
Chief of Naval Staff (CNS)–
Admiral Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar
16.
BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX 2024
·
Belgian-Dutch driver Max Verstappen of
Red Bull won the season-opening Formula 1 (F1) Bahrain Grand Prix 2024 held at
the Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain
·
Sergio Perez of Red Bull came 2nd
17.
JAN AUSHADHI DIWAS – 7TH MARCH
2024
·
The Jan AushadhiDiwas (Generic
Medicine Day) is annually observed across India on 7th March to
create awareness about the importance of Generic Medicines and to highlight the
benefits of Pradhan MantriBhartiya Jan aushadhiPariyojana (PMBJP).
