News In Short-18-09-2024

Karma Festival

Syllabus: GS1/ Culture

Context

• Tribal populations in various states celebrated the harvest festival of Karma or Karam Parv on September 14-15.

Karma festival

• Regions: The festival is celebrated mainly in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Assam, and Odisha.
  • The festival is popular especially among the Munda, Ho, Oraon, Baiga, Kharia, and Santhal peoples. 
• It is traditionally celebrated on the Ekadashi tithi (eleventh day) of the lunar fortnight in the month of Bhado/ Bhadra, which corresponds to August-September in the Gregorian calendar.
• At the heart of the Karma festival is the Karam tree, the object from which the festival takes its name.
  • Traditionally it is seen as a symbol of Karam Devta or Karamsani, the god of strength, youth, and vitality.
• Towards the end of the festival, branches from sal trees are planted in the fields with the hope that the Karam Raja/ Devta will protect their crops.

Source: IE

Periyar EV Ramasamy 

Syllabus: GS1/ History

Context

• Rationalist social reformer Periyar EV Ramasamy was remembered on the occasion of his 146th birth anniversary.

About

• Periyar EV Ramasamy was born in 1879.
• He was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement to redeem the identity and self-respect of Tamils.
  • He is known as the ‘Father of the Dravidian movement’.

Political Career:

• Periyar started his political career as a Congress worker in his hometown Erode.
• However, over the question of separate dining for Brahmin and non-Brahmin students at Gurukkulam, a Congress-sponsored school, Periyar resigned from the party in 1925.
• Periyar’s fame spread beyond the Tamil region during the Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924, a mass movement to demand that lower caste persons be given the right to use a public path in front of the famous Vaikom temple.
• In the 1940s, he envisaged a Dravida homeland of Dravida Nadu, and launched a political party, Dravidar Kazhagam (DK).

Legacy of Periyar EV Ramasamy 

• As a social reformer, he focused on social, cultural and gender inequalities, and his reform agenda questioned matters of faith, gender and tradition.
• The Self Respect Movement promoted weddings without rituals, and sanctioned property as well as divorce rights for women.
• He instituted inter-dining with food cooked by Dalits in public conferences in the 1930s.

Source: IE

Polar Vortex

Syllabus :GS 1/Geography

In News

• Antarctic ozone hole formation begins late due to the weak polar vortex.

About Polar Vortex

• The polar vortex is a large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding both of the Earth’s poles. 
• It always exists near the poles, but weakens in summer and strengthens in winter.
• The term “vortex” refers to the counter-clockwise flow of air that helps keep the colder air near the Poles. 
• Many times during winter in the northern hemisphere, the polar vortex will expand, sending cold air southward with the jet stream. 

Impact 

• It develops in late summer as sunlight decreases at the North Pole, causing polar stratospheric air to become colder than tropical stratospheric air. 
• It persists through winter until mid to late spring when the North Pole begins to receive more sunlight, warming the polar stratosphere. 
• During winter, the vortex can expand, pushing Arctic air southward, which often leads to cold outbreaks in the Northern Hemisphere, including the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Source :DTE

Account Aggregator (AA) Framework 

Syllabus :GS 3/Economy

In News

• The Account Aggregator (AA) framework has facilitated loans amounting to Rs 42,300 crore till March 2024 since its launch three years back,

About Account Aggregator (AA) 

• The Account Aggregator (AA) network, introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) through the Master Direction on September 2, 2016
• It serves as a financial data-sharing system. 
• It allows Non-Bank Finance Companies (NBFCs) to collect and retrieve customers’ financial information only with their explicit consent.
• Importance : It enables individuals to securely and digitally access and share their financial information among regulated institutions in the AA network. 
  • Importantly, data can only be shared with the individual’s consent.
  • It replaces traditional, lengthy terms and conditions with a more transparent and granular permission process, allowing users to control how their data is used step by step.

Source: BS

Rangeen Machhli App

Syllabus: GS3/ Economy

Context

• The Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying launched the “Rangeen Machhli” mobile app, designed to meet the growing needs of the ornamental fisheries sector.

About

• The app is developed by ICAR-CIFA (Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture) with support from the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).
• It provides multilingual information on popular ornamental fish species in eight Indian languages, making it accessible to a wide audience including hobbyists, aquarium shop owners, and fish farmers.
• One of its key features is the “Find Aquarium Shops” tool, which allows users to locate nearby aquarium shops through a dynamic directory updated by shop owners, promoting local businesses and connecting users with reliable sources for ornamental fish and aquarium-related products.

Source: PIB

Online Information and Database Access or Retrieval (OIDAR) Services

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

Context

• According to a report by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), many providers of Online Information and Database Access or Retrieval (OIDAR) services, represent a “relatively untapped” sector with “tremendous” revenue potential.

About

• OIDAR services are those which are delivered over the internet or electronic network and whose supply is essentially impossible without Information Technology.
  • It includes a wide array of services viz cloud services, digital content, online gaming, online advertising etc. 
  • When such services are provided by an offshore entity to a non-taxable recipient, the supplier becomes liable for obtaining registration and discharging GST on the same.
• The DGGI noted that since the OIDAR service providers are located abroad it becomes a challenge in GST enforcement and hence the sector remains relatively untapped.
• The DGGI suggested steps like registering with the KODEX platform to receive the data/information in respect of offshore suppliers, as well as coordination with the Reserve Bank of India to obtain relevant data pertaining to forex transactions.

Source: ET

Kleptoparasitism

Syllabus: GS3/ Species In News

In News

• Researchers suggest that kleptoparasitism could be a transmission pathway for the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

About Kleptoparasitism 

• Kleptoparasitism (or Cleptoparasitism) is a form of parasitism where one animal steals food or other resources gathered by another animal.
• The kleptoparasite either waits for another animal to capture food or forces the animal to give up its catch through harassment or aggression.
• By engaging in kleptoparasitism, the parasite conserves energy it would have otherwise used in hunting or gathering.
• The animal being parasitized loses the resources it has worked to gather, which may negatively affect its survival.

Source: TH

Battery Waste Management (BWM) Rules, 2022

Syllabus: GS3/Environment and Conservation

Context

• The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has introduced stringent environmental compensation (EC) guidelines to penalise violations of the Battery Waste Management (BWM) Rules, 2022.

Battery Waste Management (BWM) Rules, 2022

• These rules have been notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. 
• They are applicable to all types of batteries regardless of chemistry, shape, volume, weight, material composition and use. 
• Producer (manufacturers, importers) shall have the obligation of Extended Producer Responsibility for the battery they introduce in the market and the Producer shall meet the collection and recycling targets.
• Producers, Recyclers, and Refurbishers of Battery shall register through the online centralized portal developed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
  • The portal will help in improving accountability, traceability and transparency of fulfilment of EPR Obligations. 
  • This portal would act as the single point data repository with respect to orders and guidelines related to implementation of BWM Rules, 2022.
• These measures aim to promote proper waste management practices and enhance environmental sustainability across the country.

Source: BS

UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport

Syllabus: GS4/ Ethics

In News

• India hosted the 2nd Formal Meeting of the COP9 Bureau and the 3rd Formal Meeting of the Fund Approval Committee under the UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport.

About

• The meeting aims to advance global collaboration in the fight against doping, emphasising the importance of integrity, fairness, and inclusivity in sport.
• Doping has widespread implications like it can damage the credibility of the sport, undermines the principle of fair competition, and causes severe short-term and long-term health issues among sportsmen.
• Organizations like WADA enforce anti-doping policies globally.
  • WADA was established in 1999 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. It was created under the initiative of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
  • The formation of WADA followed the Lausanne Declaration, aiming to create an independent international organization to combat doping in sports.

UNESCO International Convention against Doping

• Adopted: 2005 in Paris, France.
• Objective: To promote the prevention of and fight against doping in sports, with the ultimate goal of eliminating doping entirely.
  • It provides a legal framework to harmonize anti-doping rules and legislation globally, ensuring a fair and level playing field across all sports.
  • This is the only international treaty focused on anti-doping, bringing countries together to fight against doping on a global scale.

Source: PIB