TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 23.10.2024

1. STATES

TELANGANA GOVT, BEGINS PROCESS OF CATEGORISING SCs INTO FOUR SUB-GROUPS

• The Telangana government’s initiative to categorize Scheduled Castes (SC) into A, B, C, and D groups is a significant step towards addressing the disparities within the SC community.
• This move follows a Supreme Court judgment that supports subclassification within SC reserved categories, aiming to ensure equitable distribution of benefits among various sub-castes.
• Supreme Court Judgment
• Judgment Overview: The Supreme Court of India, in a landmark judgment, upheld the idea of sub-categorization within the SCs. The court recognized that the benefits of reservation were not reaching all sub-castes equally and that sub-categorization could help address this imbalance.
• Legal Precedents: The judgment was based on the principle that affirmative action should be dynamic and responsive to the needs of the most disadvantaged.

2. NATIONAL

2 WOMEN NAVY OFFICIALS BEGIN VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD

• The second edition of the Navika Sagar Parikrama was flagged off from Ocean Sailing Node, INS Mandovi, by Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi.
• The two women officer set sail on the INSV Tarini
• INSV Tarini, a 56-foot sailing vessel built by Aquarius Shipyard Ltd., was inducted in the Indian Navy on February 18, 2017.
• The vessel has clocked more than 66,000 nautical miles (1,22,223 km) and participated in the first edition of Navika Sagar Parikrama in 2017, trans-oceanic expedition from Goa to Rio, Goa to Port Louis, and other significant expeditions
• Lieutenant Commander Dilna K. and Lieutenant Commander Roopa A. of the Indian Navy embarked from Goa on a challenging expedition to circumnavigate the globe, covering 23,000 nautical miles over 240 days
• It will unfold in five legs with stopovers at four ports for replenishment and maintenance.
• The five legs are
• Goa to Fremantle, Australia;
• Fremantle to Lyttleton, New Zealand;
• New Zealand to Port Stanley, Falkland;
• Port Stanley to Cape Town, South Africa;
• Cape Town to Goa
• Both officers with a sailing experience of 38,000 nautical miles (70,376km) have trained vigorously for this epic voyage for more than three years.
• They have been trained on ocean sailing aspects of seamanship, meteorology, navigation, survival techniques and medicare at sea

3. ECONOMY

MIP EXTENSION TO BOOST LOCAL TEXTILE INDUSTRY CAPACITY

• Minimum Import Price (MIP) is a trade policy tool used by governments to set a floor price for the import of certain goods.
• This means that imports of these goods are only allowed if they are priced above a specified minimum threshold.
• The primary objective of MIP is to protect domestic industries from cheap imports that can undercut local producers and potentially harm the domestic market.
• Application in Textile Industry: In the context of the textile industry, the Indian government has implemented MIP on certain categories of knitted fabrics.
• This measure is aimed at curbing the influx of low-priced imports, particularly from countries like China, which have been dumping cheap textile products in international markets due to a downturn in their domestic demand.

4. ENVIRONMENT

BRAZIL’S COAST ERODING FASTER THAN EVER AS ATLANTIC OCEAN ADVANCES

• Brazil’s coastline is experiencing accelerated erosion due to rising sea levels driven by climate change.
• In Atafona, north of Rio de Janeiro, the Atlantic Ocean’s advance has destroyed 500 homes, including a four-story building.
• The sea level in this region has risen by 13 cm over the past 30 years and could rise another 16 cm by 2050, according to a recent UN report. 
• Coastal areas like Atafona may see the ocean move inland by up to 150 meters in the next 28 years.
• The erosion is exacerbated by the silting of the Paraiba River, which no longer deposits sand on the beaches.
• This situation is mirrored in other parts of Brazil, such as Ponta Negra and the Amazon River mouth, where rising sea levels and reduced river flow are threatening ecosystems and local communities.
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) notes that global sea levels are rising at an unprecedented rate, doubling in the past decade to 0.48 cm per year.

5. ECONOMY

SURPLUS RAINS TO HELP REDUCE FOOD INFLATION, RAISE DEMAND

• Kharif crops are typically sown with the onset of the monsoon and harvested in the autumn.
• Kharif Crop Sowing has increased by 1.5% compared to the previous year by late September. This indicates a positive trend in agricultural activity during the Kharif season.
• Rabi crops are sown after the monsoon and harvested in the spring.
• The monsoon’s impact on Kharif crops also influences the prospects for Rabi crops.
• The Southwest monsoon is crucial for Indian agriculture, as it provides the necessary water for Kharif crops.
• Surplus or deficit rainfall can significantly impact crop yields, reservoir levels, and overall agricultural productivity.
• Monsoon and Reservoir Levels: The Southwest monsoon has been favorable, with an 8% surplus over the long-period average as of September 30.
• This has positively impacted reservoir levels, which stood at 87% capacity by September 26.
• The northern region is an exception, with reservoir levels at 68% of capacity compared to 86% last year.
• However, other regions have more water than the previous year and their normal levels.
• Impact on Food Inflation and Rural Demand: The healthy monsoon and increased Kharif sowing are expected to reduce food inflation and lead to a rebound in rural demand in the second half of 2024-25.
• The diversification of crops due to the above-normal monsoon is likely to improve the farm sector’s gross value addition (GVA) and boost rural demand.

ONE LINER

1. BharatGen is a major new project in generative AI, which is a type of artificial intelligence that can create text, images or even sound
2. The Cruise Bharat Mission is a new project launched by the Indian government to promote cruise tourism in India