NATIONAL NEWS
1)PM Modi launched big cats alliance to conserve seven cats
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA) during his visit to Karnataka on April 9, 2022.
The IBCA aims to conserve seven species of big cats, including tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, snow leopards, and clouded leopards.
International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA) will focus on the protection and conservation of seven major big cat species in the world.
These species are the tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, puma, jaguar, and cheetah.
2)Competition Amendment Bill, 2023
- The upper house (Rajya Sabha) of the Indian parliament passed the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023 recently.
- This Bill seeks to amend the Competition Act, 2002.
- It gives the Competition Commission of India (CCI) its powers to prevent practices that harm competition and the interests of consumers.
- This amendment aims to bring the competition regime up to speed with the changes in how businesses operate currently, especially in the digital markets.
3)Vibrant Village Programme
Recently, Union home Minister launches vibrant villages program on China border in Arunachal Pradesh.
About Vibrant Village Programme:
- It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented over financial Years 2022-23 to 2025-26.
- The programmme will provide funds for development of essential infrastructure and creation of livelihood opportunities in 19 Districts and 46 Border blocks of 4 states and 1 UT along the northern land border of the country – Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and UT of Ladakh.
- Focus Areas: Road connectivity, drinking water, electricity including solar and wind energy, mobile and internet connectivity and healthcare infrastructure and wellness centers etc.
STATE NEWS
1)Kerala Green Energy Corridor
The Cabinet has given its approval for the Green Energy Corridor (GEC) project, which will be implemented by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), to secure a loan from the German development bank, KfW. The objective of this project is to facilitate grid integration and power evacuation of Renewable Energy power. The Central government and KfW signed an agreement on November 11, 2022, for the ₹1,457-crore Kerala GEC project.
Three GEC projects to be undertaken
Three GEC projects will be undertaken under the programme. These include the North Green Power Corridor Project for Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts, the Attappady Green Power Corridor Project in the tribal areas of the Attappady, Agali, and Kottathara regions, and the Ramakkalmedu Green Power Corridor Project, which will benefit Idukki district.
2)UP gets World First Conservation & Breeding Center for Asian King Vulture
The world’s first conservation and breeding center for the critically endangered Asian king vulture is set to open in Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj district.
The center, named Jatayu Conservation and Breeding Centre (JCBC), is spread over 1.5 hectares and is designed to maintain a sustainable population of the species by breeding king vultures in captivity and releasing them into the wild.
The JCBC is located at the Bhari Basi Village in the Farenda range of the Gorakhpur forest division
Asian King Vulture is critically endangered and protected under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Discovery of a New Uranium Isotope
In pursuit of a ‘magic number’, Physicists in Japan have recently discovered a new isotope of uranium with atomic number 92 and mass number 241.
The resulting nuclear fragments contained different isotopes.
The researchers accelerated uranium-238 nuclei into plutonium-198 nuclei at the KEK Isotope Separation System (KISS). In a process called multinucleon transfer, the two isotopes exchanged protons and neutrons.
The team used time-of-flight mass spectrometry to measure the mass of each nucleus.
Importance
This finding is significant in refining our understanding of nuclear physics and has implications in designing nuclear power plant and models of exploding stars.
Measuring the mass of uranium and its neighbourhood elements yields essential nuclear information to understand the synthesis of such heavy elements in explosive astronomical events.
AWARD NEWS
C.R. Rao wins International Prize in Statistics 2023
New York, April 10 (IANS) Noted Indian-American mathematician and statistician Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao has been awarded the 2023 International Prize in Statistics for his work more than 75 years back, which continues to exert a profound influence on science.
Rao, 102, will receive the prize, which comes with a $80,000 award, this July at the biennial International Statistical Institute World Statistics Congress in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
“In awarding this prize, we celebrate the monumental work by C.R. Rao that not only revolutionised statistical thinking in its time but also continues to exert enormous influence on human understanding of science across a wide spectrum of disciplines,” said Guy Nason, Chair of the International Prize in Statistics Foundation, in a statement.
Previous current affairs:https://www.pmias.in/tnpsc-important-current-affairs-april-8-10/
Source:https://www.dinamalar.com/
