TOP 5 TAKKAR NEWS OF THE DAY (1st JUNE 2023)

1. AHMEDNAGAR RENAMED AS AHILYANAGAR

TAGS: GS 1: HISTORY; ART AND CULTURE

CONTEXT: Marking the 298th birth anniversary of Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar on May 31, 2023, Maharashtra Chief Minister announced that his government would rename Ahmednagar after her. The Western Maharashtrian city will now be known as Ahilyanagar.

EXPLANATION:

How did the city of Ahmednagar first get its name?

  • Located in the Western region of Maharashtra, Ahmednagar has been a part of some prominent kingdoms, starting from 240 BC, when the vicinity is mentioned in the reference to the Mauryan Emperor Ashok.
  • In the Medieval period, the region was ruled over by the Rashtrakuta Dynasty, the Western Chalukyas, and then the Delhi
  • In the last case, the rule was not direct, and a revolt by Afghan soldier Alladin Hasan Gangu led to the establishment of the Bahmani kingdom in the Deccan. In the following years, Ahmednagar, then known as Nizamshahi, became one of the five independent kingdoms to emerge from that empire.
  • In 1486, Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah assumed the position of the Bahmani Sultanate’s prime minister. He successfully defeated the king of the Bahmani kingdom, who tried to dislodge him from power, in 1490.
  • Four years later, he laid the foundation of a city close to where he had defeated the army, on the left bank of Sina river.  This city was named after him: Ahmednagar.
  • Nizam Shah also later captured the fort of Daulatabad and stationed his army there. By his kindness, peaceful demeanour & efficiency, he could win the loyalty of the local and foreign Muslims and also of the Maratha peasants and worriers. Since his origin was Hindu, he found no difficulty in winning over the confidence of Brahmins, who were highly regarded by the Hindus.
  • Jawaharlal Nehru, in his book A Discovery of India (1946), wrote of him, “Ahmad Nizam Shah, the founder of Ahmadnagar in 1490, was the son of Nizam-ul-Mulk Bhairi, a minister of the Bahmani kings. This Nizam-ul-Mulk was the son of a Brahmin accountant named Bhairu. Thus the Ahmednagar dynasty was of indigenous origin.”

Ahilyabai holkar:

  • Ahilyabai was born in Chondi village of Ahmednagar to the village head Mankoji Shinde, who ensured that his daughter received an education, which was quite rare at that time.
  • It is believed that Malhar Rao Holkar, the army commander to Peshwa Bajirao, spotted eight-year-old Ahilyabai at a temple service in Chondi. Impressed by her devotion and character, he decided to get his son, Khande Rao, married to her.
  • After her husband’s death in the Battle of Kumbher against the king of Bharatpur in 1754, Ahilyabai took control of Malwa.

Role in administration and temple-building

  • She excelled at administrative and military strategies under the guidance of her father-in-law, who believed she should lead her people, and not die by Sati after Khande Rao passed away. After the death of her father-in-law and son a few years later, she petitioned the Peshwa to become the ruler, backed by the support of her army.
  • In his book, Nehru said Holkar’s rule, which lasted for thirty years (1765-1795), was “almost legendary as a period during which perfect order and good government prevailed and the people prospered.
  • She was a very able ruler and organizer, highly respected during her lifetime.
  • Notably, her role in the restoration of Hindu temples is often talked about for instance ancient Somnath, the temple built by Holkar in 1783.

2. COMBINED MARITIME FORCES

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT: The United Arab Emirates has withdrawn from a U.S.-led maritime coalition tasked with securing tense Gulf waterways that are vital to the global oil trade. The UAE “withdrew its participation” in the 38-nation Combined Maritime Forces two months ago, a Foreign Ministry statement said, without giving reasons for the move.

EXPLANATION:

  • The Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) is a multinational maritime partnership, which exists to uphold the Rules-Based International Order (RBIO) by countering illicit non-state actors on the high seas and promoting security, stability, and prosperity across approximately 3.2 million square miles of international waters, which encompass some of the world’s most important shipping lanes.
  • The Bahrain-headquartered CMF was established in 2001, initially as a partnership between 12 nations.
  • It is active in crucial but troubled Gulf waters where tankers have been seized and attacked in recent months.
  • CMF is commanded by a U.S. Navy Vice Admiral, who also serves as Commander US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and US Navy Fifth Fleet. All four commands are co-located at US Naval Support Activity Bahrain.
  • CMF’s Deputy Commander is a United Kingdom Royal Navy Commodore. Other senior staff roles at CMF’s headquarters are filled by personnel from member nations.

CMF’s main focus areas:

  • CMF’s main focus areas are counter-narcotics, counter-smuggling, suppressing piracy, encouraging regional cooperation, and engaging with regional and other partners to strengthen relevant capabilities in order to improve overall security and stability, and promoting a safe maritime environment free from illicit non-state actors.
  • When requested, CMF assets at sea will also respond to environmental and humanitarian incidents.

CMF has four Combined Task Forces: 

  • CTF 150 (Maritime Security Operations outside the Arabian Gulf)
  • CTF 151 (Counter-Piracy)
  • CTF 152 (Maritime Security Operations inside the Arabian Gulf)
  • CTF 153 (Red Sea Maritime Security)
  • CTF 154 (Maritime Security Training)

CMF has 37 member nations (Earlier 38 members including UAE)

  • Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Türkiye, United Kingdom, United States, and Yemen.

How CMF works?

  • CMF nations are united in their desire to uphold the IRBO by protecting the free flow of commerce, improving maritime security, and deterring illicit activity by non-state actors in the CMF Area of Operations.
  • CMF is a coalition of the willing and does not proscribe a specific level of participation from any member nation. The contribution from each country, therefore, varies depending on its ability to contribute assets and the availability of those assets at any given time.
  • The 37 nations that comprise CMF are not bound by either a fixed political or military mandate.
  • CMF is a flexible organisation. Contributions can vary from the provision of a liaison officer at CMF HQ in Bahrain to the deployment of warships or maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
  • Participation is purely voluntary. No nation is asked to carry out any duty that it is unwilling to conduct. The contribution from each country varies depending on its ability to contribute assets and the availability of those assets at any given time.
  • The 34 nations that comprise CMF are not bound by either a political or military mandate.

3. NEURALINK

TAGS: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

CONTEXT: Since its founding in 2016, Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company Neuralink has had the ambitious mission to build a next-generation brain implant with at least 100-times more brain connections than devices currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The company has now reached a significant milestone, having received FDA approval to begin human trials.

EXPLANATION:

  • Neuralink is making a Class III medical device known as a brain-computer interface (BCI).
  • The device connects the brain to an external computer via a Bluetooth signal, enabling continuous communication back and forth.
  • The device itself is a coin-sized unit called a Link. It’s implanted within a small disk-shaped cutout in the skull using a precision surgical robot. The robot splices a thousand tiny threads from the Link to certain neurons in the brain.
  • Each thread is about a quarter the diameter of a human hair.

Potential benefits

  • The company says the device could enable precise control of prosthetic limbs, giving amputees natural motor skills.
  • It could revolutionise treatment for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and spinal cord injuries.
  • It also shows some promise for potential treatment of obesity, autism, depression, schizophrenia and tinnitus.
  • It can be used to help older people train their motor and cognitive abilities to moderate the worst effects of ageing.

What were the FDA’s concerns?

  • The FDA had quite a list of issues that needed to be resolved before human trials could commence, as was reported in a Reuters investigation, which claimed to have spoken to several Neuralink sources.
  • A precision robot known as Implant/r1 performs the surgical procedure to implant the Neuralink BCI. This robot surgeon had to be put through its paces to gather evidence that it could reliably and safely implant and remove the Neuralink BCI without damaging surrounding brain tissue, or creating the risk of infection, bleeding, inflammation.
  • In particular, overheating lithium-ion batteries can pose great risk to users. When defective, such batteries have historically been known to overheat. They can even explode if the insulation between the cathode and anode (the metal electrode components) breaks down, resulting in a short circuit.
  • Then there is the risk of wire migration. The Link consists of a disk-shaped chip with very thin wire electrodes that connect to neurons in the brain.
  • Another challenge Neuralink faced was that of safe implant removal. The FDA wanted to know how easy or difficult it would be to remove the device from the brain if this became necessary.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

  • The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.
  • The FDA also provides accurate, science-based health information to the public.
  • FDA is also responsible for advancing the public health by accelerating innovations to make medicines more effective and providing the public with accurate, science-based information on medicines and food to improve their health.
  • FDA plays a significant role in addressing the Nation’s counterterrorism capability and ensuring the security of the food supply.

4. CITY INVESTMENTS TO INNOVATE, INTEGRATE AND SUSTAIN (CITIIS) PROJECT

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT:  The government approved the second phase of the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) project, a programme under the ambit of the Smart Cities Mission, which aims to promote integrated waste management and climate-oriented reform actions.

EXPLANATION:

  • The CITIIS 2.0 will be implemented in 18 cities which would be selected based on a competition.
  • The programme, aims to support competitively selected projects promoting circular economy with a focus on integrated waste management at the city level, climate-oriented reform actions at the state level, and institutional strengthening and knowledge dissemination at the national level.
  • It would span over a period of four years from 2023-2027 and has been conceived and would be implemented in partnership with the French Development Agency (AFD), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the European Union (EU), and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).
  • The funding for CITIIS 2.0 would include a loan of Rs 1760 crore from AFD and KfW, split equally, and a technical assistance grant of Rs 106 crore from the European Union.
  • The CITIIS 2.0 has three major components which are financial and technical support for developing projects focused on building climate resilience, adaptation and mitigation in up to 18 smart cities, support to all states and Union Territories on a demand basis and interventions at all centre, state and city levels to further climate governance in urban India through institutional strengthening, knowledge dissemination and capacity building.
  • The design framework for CITIIS 2.0 is being conceptualized by AFD in consultation with SCM and MoHUA.

CITIIS(City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain)

  • It is a sub-component of the Government of India’s Smart Cities Mission.
  • The CITIIS program was launched on July 9, 2018.
  • It is a joint program of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Agence Francaise de Development (AFD), the European Union (EU), and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).
  • It was launched with projects in 12 cities namely Agartala, Amaravati, Amritsar, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Dehradun, Hubbali-Dharwad, Kochi, Puducherry, Surat, Ujjain and Visakhapatnam.
  • Each city receives financial assistance through a grant as well as technicalassistance from an international mentor and a domestic expert, besidesaccess to a pool of transversal experts.
  • CITIIS (Cities Investments to Innovate Integrate and Sustain) Challenge was launched in partnership with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and European Union, to extend a loan of EUR 100 million for implementation of upto 15 innovative projects selected through an All-India Challenge in four sectors- sustainable mobility, public open spaces, urban governance & ICT and social and organizational innovation in low-income settlements.
  • The entire set of activities including organisation of preparatory Workshop, handholding of cities to enable submission of proposals by them, evaluation of proposals by the jury leading up to selection of 12 projects and signing of tripartite agreements with the concerned cities and States was completed in record time.
  • The selected projects will improve sustainable mobility, increase the amountof public open spaces, implement ICT measures to improve e-governance andintroduce social and organisational innovation in low-income settlements.

5. WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY APPROVES DRAFT RESOLUTION ON HEALTH ACTION PLAN FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

TAGS: GS 2: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

CONTEXT: Member states of the World Health Organization accepted a draft resolution that proposed developing a Global Plan of Action for the Health of Indigenous People during the World Health Assembly hosted on May 29, 2023. The plan will be up for consideration at the 79th World Health Assembly in 2026.

EXPLANATION:

  • The document stated that the global plan should be done in consultation with member states along “strategic lines of action for the improvement of the health of Indigenous Peoples in the development of the 14th World Health Organization General Programme of Work”.
  • The draft resolution was proposed by Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, the European Union and its Member States, Guatemala, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the United States of America and Vanuatu.
  • This should be executed in consultation with indigenous peoples, with their free, prior and informed consent.
  • The resolution that was proposed noted that the “indigenous peoples are disproportionately subject to poverty, poor housing, cultural barriers, violence, including gender-based violence, racism, experiencing disability, pollution and lack of access to education, economic opportunities, social protection, water, and sanitation, as well as appropriate resilience planning for climate change and natural and other emergencies”.
  • The resolution put forward that the global plan be formulated “with a particular emphasis on the reproductive, maternal and adolescent health and with a specific focus on those in vulnerable situations, and bearing in mind local context”.
  • WHO’s 194 member states were urged to develop a collection of ethical data to identify specific requirements of indigenous people and fill in the gaps. They were also urged to have an intersectional approach to their politics that overcomes geographical barriers, digital connectivity, information availability, remoteness and disability.
  • Another approach proposed was to use evidence-based traditional medicine, along with medical services offered at the primary healthcare level, which also includes mental health and wellness serives.

Status of Indigenous people:

  • According to the United Nations, The world presently has 476 million indigenous people across the world in about 90 countries.
  • They speak 7,000 languages and come from 500 different cultures.
  • They are marginalised individuals without access to basic infrastructure and oftentimes cannot claim titles over their land and surrounding natural resources.
  • The life expectancy of indigenous people is 20 years lower than that of an average person.

United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

  • The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues established in 2000.
  • The Permanent Forum is an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council established by resolution 2000/22 on 28 July 2000.
  • The Forum has the mandate to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights.

World Health Assembly:

  • The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of WHO.
  • It is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board.
  • The main functions of the World Health Assembly are to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget.
  • The Health Assembly is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland.



DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS (APRIL 22, 2022)

THE INDIAN ART AND CULTURE

1. DHAULI-KALINGA MAHOTSAV-ODISHA

  • Every year, in January and February, a popular festival in Odisha, the Kalinga festival or the Kalinga Mahotsava is organized.
  • It brings together the folk, classical and martial art forms on one stage. It is said that people of Odisha are distinguished as kings in Malaysia, as they once colonized parts of Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. One can find the largest variety of tribal communities in Odisha. Since the Kalinga war, Odisha is known world over.
  • The Dhauli festival represents the popular Konark dance and music festival. It was initiated by the famous Guru Gangadhar Pradhan about 13 years ago.
  • The Kalinga Mahotsava was initiated by a famous Bhubaneswar-based Italian Odissi dancer Ileana Citaristi. Kalinga Mahotsava represents the various forms of martial art forms and this popular festival is organized over the Dhauli hills near the famous Japanese Buddhist temple. As the story goes, after the bloodiest war of Kalinga, King Ashoka desperately looked for peace and hence this cultural festival in Odisha is held each year to depict the significance of peace over war.
  • Thang-Ta from Manipur and Kalaripayattu from Kerala are also performed.

INDIAN POLITY

2. JUDGES MUST GIVE REASONS FOR BAIL DECISIONS, SAYS SC

THE CONTEXT: Judges are duty-bound to give reasons for granting or denying bail, especially in cases involving serious offences and hardened criminals, the Supreme Court has held.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • Also, SC stressed that the cryptic bail orders without giving any reasons have no place in the judicial system.
  • According to a bench led by the Chief Justice of India observed in a judgment “There is a recent trend of passing such orders granting or refusing to grant bail, where the courts make a general observation that ‘the facts and the circumstances have been considered. No specific reasons are indicated which precipitated the passing of the order by the court,”.

Grant of bail by HC

  • CJI observed that “judges are duty-­bound to explain the basis on which they have arrived at a conclusion… The reasoning is the lifeblood of the judicial system. That every order must be reasoned is one of the fundamental tenets of our system. An unreasoned order suffers the vice of arbitrariness”.
  • “There is a need to indicate reasons for prima face concluding why bail was being granted particularly where the accused is charged of having committed a serious offence. Any order devoid of such reasons would suffer from non-­application of mind’, CJI noted.

VALUE ADDITION:

WHAT IS A BAIL?

  • The term Bail is not defined in the Criminal Procedure Code, however, this term, in the most common sense, indicates that the accused is set free from jail against a kind of security which is given by the accused to the court that he will attend the proceedings in court against the accusations made upon him and include personal bond and bail bond.
  • Bail is a mechanism used to ensure that the accused is present before the court and is available for Trial. The sections 436 to 439 of the Criminal Procedure Code deal with the concept of Bail.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

3. THE U.K. RWANDA ASYLUM PLAN

THE CONTEXT: The United Kingdom has signed a deal with Rwanda to send some asylum seekers to the East African nation — a move that PM Boris Johnson said will “save countless lives” from human trafficking.

THE EXPLANATION:

IMMIGRANT CRISIS IN THE UK

  • Since 2018, there has been a marked rise in the number of refugees and asylum seekers that undertake dangerous crossings between Calais in France and Dover in England.
  • Most such migrants and asylum seekers hail from war-torn countries like Sudan, Afghanistan, and Yemen, or from developing countries like Iran and Iraq.
  • The Britain that has adopted a hard line stance on illegal immigration, these crossings constitute an immigration crisis.
  • The Nationality and Borders Bill, 2021, which is still under consideration in the UK, allows the British government to strip anyone’s citizenship without notice under “exceptional circumstances”.
  • The Rwanda deal is the operationalization of one objective in the Bill which is to deter illegal entry into the United Kingdom.

WHAT IS THE RWANDA DEAL?

  • The UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership or the Rwanda Deal is a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two governments.
  • Under this deal, Rwanda will commit to taking in asylum seekers who arrive in the UK on or after January 1, 2022, using illegally facilitated and unlawful cross border migration.
  • Rwanda will function as the holding centre where asylum applicants will wait while the Rwandan government makes decisions about their asylum and resettlement petitions in Rwanda.
  • Rwanda will, on its part, accommodate anyone who is not a minor and does not have a criminal record.

RATIONALE OF THE DEAL

  • The deal aims to combat “people smugglers”, who often charge exorbitant prices from vulnerable migrants to put them on unseaworthy boats from France to England that often lead to mass drownings.
  • The UK contends that this solution to the migrant issue is humane and meant to target the gangs that run these illegal crossings.

DO ANY OTHER COUNTRIES SEND ASYLUM SEEKERS OVERSEAS?

  • Several other countries — including Australia, Israel and Denmark — have been sending asylum seekers overseas.
  • Australia has been making full use of offshore detention centres since 2001.
  • Israel, too, chose to deal with a growing influx of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants from places like Sudan and Eritrea by striking deals with third countries.
  • Those rejected for asylum were given the choice of returning to their home country or accepting $3,500 and a plane ticket to one of the third countries.
  • They faced the threat of arrest if they chose to remain in Israel.

THE ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

4. WORLD EARTH DAY 2022

THE CONTEXT: Every year on April 22, we celebrate our mother earth with ‘World Earth Day, which marks the anniversary of the Modern Environmental Movement, which started in 1970.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • World Earth Day is a reminder for mankind to protect and safeguard the mother earth and its species, to make Earth a better place for the coming generations. April 22, 2022, will mark 52 years of Earth Day.
  • Earth Day is widely recognized as the largest secular observance in the world, marked by more than a billion people every year as a day of action to change human behavior and provoke policy changes.

WORLD EARTH DAY 2022: THEME

The Earth Day 2022 theme is ‘Invest In Our Planet’. According to the UN, “Despite ongoing efforts, biodiversity is deteriorating worldwide at rates unprecedented in human history. It is estimated that around one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction”.

HISTORY OF EARTH DAY:

The first Earth Day in 1970 launched a wave of action, including the passage of landmark environmental laws in the United States. The Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts were created in response to the first Earth Day in 1970, as well as the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Many countries soon adopted similar laws. Earth Day continues to hold major international significance: In 2016, the United Nations chose Earth Day as the day when the historic Paris Agreement on climate change was signed into force.

5. ‘SEA MAY INUNDATE MANY CITIES BY 2050’: SAYS GLOBAL RISK MANAGEMENT FIRM

THE CONTEXT: An analysis by RMSI, a global risk management firm has found that Haji Ali dargah, Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust, Western Express Highway, Bandra-Worli Sea-link, and Queen’s Necklace on Marine drive — all in Mumbai — are at risk of submergence.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • The sea-level rise in coastal Indian cities could lead to some properties and road networks being submerged in Mumbai, Kochi, Mangalore, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, and Thiruvananthapuram by 2050.
  • RMSI took findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) sixth assessment report, ‘Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis’ released in August 2021; publications based on the report, latest climate change data and its own models to assess the impact on the Indian coastline
  • They considered Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi, Vizag, Mangalore and Thiruvananthapuram for the analysis, with experts creating a high-resolution Digital Terrain Model for the coastline of these cities and then used a coastal flood model to map inundation based on sea level predictions.
  • In Chennai, a road length of 5 km and 55 buildings are at the risk; in Kochi, around 464 buildings are likely to be impacted by 2050 with the number rising to around 1,502 buildings during high tide. In Thiruvananthapuram, due to sea-level rise by 2050 and sea-level rise with high tide, 349 and 387 buildings, respectively, are likely to be impacted. In Visakhapatnam, around 206 buildings and 9 km of the road network are likely to be inundated due to potential coastline changes by 2050.
  • With the IPCC report projecting that sea levels around India will rise by 2050, another report by the Ministry of Earth Sciences also said that from 1993 to 2017, sea levels have been rising at an accelerated rate of 3.3 mm per year as opposed to 1.06-1.75 mm per year from 1874-2004 in the North Indian Ocean.
  • “The moderate emissions (RCP 4.5) scenario of IPCC projects that steric sea level (variation in the ocean volume due to density changes) of the north Indian Ocean will rise by approximately 300 mm (a foot) relative to the average values from 1986 to 2005”.

The amount of greenhouse gases like CO2 emitted by the world needs to peak by 2025 followed by a 43% reduction in the 10 years after to limit global warming to 1.5 degree C by the year 2100, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

NEWS IN NUMBERS

6. RUSSIA SEIZES LUHANSK

80 percentage of Luhansk now under the control of Russia, according to Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai. Luhansk is one of two regions that make up the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. Before the invasion, the Kyiv government controlled 60% of the region. Haidai urged residents to evacuate immediately as the Russian forces are now threatening the cities of Rubizhne and Popasna, after seizing Kreminna. One of Russia’s stated goals is to expand the territory in the Donbas which is under the control of Moscow-backed separatists.

7. PENSION SCHEMES

4 crores, the total number of enrollments under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) by the end of 2021-22, according to the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. APY is a government-backed pension scheme, targeted at the unorganised sector. More than 99 lakh APY accounts were opened during FY2021-22. The pension enrollments for APY had participation from all categories of banks. Around 71% of the enrollments were done by public sector banks, regional rural banks (19%), private sector banks (6%), and small finance banks (3%).

8. PARTY DONATIONS

258₹crore, the amount of donation received by seven electoral trusts from corporates and individuals, with the NDA bagging more than 82% (₹212.05 crore) of it, according to poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). An electoral trust is a non-profit organisation formed in India for the orderly receiving of contributions from corporate entities and individuals to political parties. It aims at improving transparency in the usage of funds for election-related expenses.

9. JEWELLERY EXPORTS RISE

56 percentage, the increase in gems and jewellery exports in 2021-22 to $39.15 billion which shows a significant jump in exports compared to the previous financial year, according to the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). The gems and jewellery exports stood at $25.40 billion in 2020-21. “Out of the total gem and jewellery exports, the cut and polished diamonds segment alone accounted for 62% or $24,236.57 million, reflecting robust demand from the U.S., the UAE, Belgium, and Israel”.

10. AIDING SRI LANKA

40,000 metric tonnes, the amount of diesel to be sent to Sri Lanka by India. India said it had delivered one more consignment of diesel to Sri Lanka under the Indian credit line to help ease the acute power crisis in the island nation. India and Sri Lanka signed a $500 million Line of Credit Agreement for the purchase of petroleum products on February 2, 2022, which has proven to be a lifeline to Sri Lanka amidst one of its worst economic crises.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q. With reference to culture in India, Gotipua is

    1. Traditional dance form in Odisha
    2. Puppetry form in Andhra Pradesh
    3. Performing art from Kerala
    4. The martial art form in West Bengal

 ANSWER FOR 21ST APRIL 2022

Answer: D

Explanation: