CURRENT AFFAIRS 06-01-2022
Daily Current Affairs – Topics
- Maharaja Bir Bikram
- Western Disturbances
- RBI- offline digital payments
- Bioenergy Crops Create Cooling Effect on Cultivated Areas
- China’s Artificial Sun EAST
1. Maharaja Bir Bikram
#GS1-Modern Indian History, important Personalities
Context
- The Prime Minister recently inaugurated the Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport’s New Integrated Terminal Building and announced significant projects such as the Mukhyamantri Tripura Gram Samridhi Yojana and Vidyajyoti Schools’ Project Mission 100.
In depth information
- Because of the state’s proximity to Bangladesh and accessibility to Southeast Asian countries, the inauguration of the new terminal is viewed as a first step toward making the airport operational as an international airport.
- In the interiors, tribal stone carvings from the Unakoti Hills and native bamboo handicrafts have been employed extensively.
- During World War II (1939-45), the US Air Force collaborated with King Bir Bikram Kishore ManikyaDebbarman of the erstwhile princely State to construct the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport.
- It was previously known as Agartala Airport before being renamed in 2018.
Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarman:
- Maharaja Colonel Bir Bikram Kishore ManikyaDebbarman Bahadur (1908–1947) of the Manikya dynasty is widely regarded as Tripura’s pioneer King.
- In August 1923, he succeeded his father, Birendra Kishore ManikyaDebbarman. Maharaja Kirit Bikram Kishore, his own son, replaced him as monarch for two years until the state’s annexation to India in 1949, but he did not reign because he was a minor.
- During World War II (1939-45), the US Air Force collaborated with King Bir Bikram Kishore ManikyaDebbarman of the erstwhile princely State to construct the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport.
- The Manikya dynasty’s Maharaja Colonel Bir Bikram Kishore ManikyaDebbarman Bahadur (1908–1947) is largely considered as Tripura’s pioneer King.
- In August 1923, he succeeded his father, Birendra Kishore ManikyaDebbarman. Maharaja Kirit Bikram Kishore, his own son, replaced him as monarch for two years until the state’s annexation to India in 1949, but he did not reign because he was a minor.
- He reigned as king of Tripura until 1947.
- He was instrumental in the development of Tripura. In Tripura, he is recognised as the “Father of Modern Architecture” because it was during his reign that the entire planning of modern-day Tripura began.
- He was a forerunner in the field of land reform. He set aside territory for the tribals of Tripura in 1939. This action later aided in the formation of the Tripura autonomous district council.
- In Tripura, he built the first airport (Agartala airport).
The Airport’s Importance:
- The airport combines Tripura’s culture, natural beauty, and contemporary facilities to improve aviation connectivity in the region.
- This is an excellent step toward making Tripura the northeast’s gateway and transforming it into a new business and industrial centre as well as a trade route.
Mukhyamantri Tripura Gram Samridhi Yojana:
- The initiative will promote tap water for every home, housing, Ayushman coverage, insurance coverage, KCC (Kisan Credit Card), and roads, all of which will boost rural people’s confidence.
Project Mission 100 of Vidyajyoti Schools:
- It aims to improve the state’s educational level by converting 100 existing high/higher secondary schools into Vidyajyoti Schools with cutting-edge facilities and high-quality instruction.
- The project will benefit around 1.2 lakh kids from Nursery to Class XII and will cost approximately Rs. 500 crores over the next three years.
2. Western Disturbances
#GS1-Geophysical Phenomena
Context
- Rainfall falls in northern and central India as a result of western disturbances.
Particulars
What is Western Disturbance (WD), and how does it affect?
- It’s a Mediterranean-based extratropical storm.
- The disturbance moves from west to east, passing across Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan before reaching the Indian subcontinent.
- A zone of “disturbed” or lowered air pressure is referred to as a “disturbance.”
- In nature, equilibrium exists when the air pressure in a certain area attempts to return to normal.
- Low pressure storms are referred to as “extra-tropical storms.”
- “Extra-tropical” refers to locations outside of the tropics (as WD originates outside the tropical region).
Impacts
- Northern India will get rain, snow, and fog as a result of it.
- In the Northern Subcontinent, WD is critical for Rabi crop production.
- The WD is not always a sign of pleasant weather; they can also trigger catastrophic weather events such as floods, flash floods, landslides, dust storms, hail storms, and cold waves, which can kill people, destroy infrastructure, and disrupt livelihoods.
- WD is vital for the development of the Rabi crop in the Northern Subcontinent since it brings winter and pre-monsoon rain.
3. RBI- offline digital payments
#GS3- Indian Economy and issues
Context
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a framework permitting offline payments up to Rs 200 per transaction, subject to a total limit of Rs 2,000, to encourage digital transactions in rural and semi-urban regions.
Regarding digital payments made offline
- Offline payments can be done through any channel or instrument, such as credit cards, wallets, and mobile devices.
- Offline payments must only be made in person (face to face).
- Offline payment transactions with no Additional Factor of Authentication may be available (AFA).
- On the basis of the customer’s explicit authorization, payment instruments will be enabled for offline transactions. Such card transactions will be permitted without the need to activate the contactless transaction channel.
- The maximum amount for an offline payment transaction is $200. At any one time, the overall maximum for offline transactions on a payment instrument is 2,000. Only online replenishment of the used limit with AFA will be permitted.
- As soon as transaction data are received, the issuer will send transaction alerts to users. There is no requirement to issue an alert for each transaction; nonetheless, each transaction’s data must be clearly communicated.
- All obligations stemming from technical or transaction security issues at the merchant’s end will be borne by the acquirer.
- The provisions of the RBI’s limited consumer liability circulars will apply to offline payments (as amended from time to time)
- Customers may file complaints with the Reserve Bank’s Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, if applicable.
- The Reserve Bank has the right to halt or change the operations of any payment system that allows small-value digital payments to be made offline.
The significance of this action
- Offline transactions are predicted to promote digital transactions in locations where internet or telecom connectivity is inadequate or nonexistent, notably in semi-urban and rural areas.
- Consumer consent: It can only be enabled when the customer has given his or her explicit approval.
- Customers will continue to be protected under the provisions of circulars restricting customer liability, and they will be able to seek redress through the Reserve Bank Integrated Ombudsman Scheme.
4. Bioenergy Crops Create Cooling Effect on Cultivated Areas
#GS3-Growth &Development ,Environmental Pollution & Degradation
Context
- According to a new study, changing annual crops to permanent bioenergy crops can cause cooling in the areas where they are grown.
- The researchers used a computer model to estimate the biophysical climate impact of various bioenergy crop development scenarios in the future. The bioenergy crops employed in the study were eucalyptus, poplar, willow, miscanthus, and switchgrass.
- The study also highlighted the significance of crop type selection, the initial land use type upon which bioenergy crops are expanded, total cultivated area, and spatial dispersion patterns.
In depth information
What are Bioenergy Crops?
- Bioenergy is obtained from recently living materials such as wood, crops, or animal excrement.
- Any plant material utilised to produce bioenergy is referred to as a bioenergy crop. These crops can yield huge amounts of biomass, have a high energy potential, and can be cultivated on poor soils.
- Eucalyptus, poplar, willow, miscanthus, and switchgrass are some examples of bioenergy crops.
Points to Remember
- 08 +0.05 Global Net Energy Change: Bioenergy crops occupy only 3.8 percent of the global total land area, but they have significant regional biophysical effects, resulting in a global net change in air temperature of 0.08 +0.05 degrees Celsius.
- After 50 years of large-scale bioenergy crop production, global air temperature will drop by 0.030.08 °C, with considerable regional disparities and inter-annual variability.
- Can Affect Carbon Capture and Storage: A major negative emission technology (NET) for removing CO2 from the atmosphere has been identified as large-scale bioenergy crop production with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).
Large-scale variations in space:
- At the global scale, large-scale bioenergy crop cultivation has a biophysical cooling effect, but the air temperature change has considerable geographical and inter-annual variability.
- Temperature changes in bioenergy crop scenarios could have significant geographical differences and climatic teleconnections to other parts of the world.
Permafrost Thawing Protection:
- Strong cooling effects between 60°N and 80°N in Eurasia may preserve permafrost from thawing and limit methane emissions from wetlands.
- Any ground that has been totally frozen for at least two years—32°F (0°C) or colder—is considered permafrost.
Switchgrass is outperformed by Eucalyptus:
- Growing eucalyptus has more powerful cooling effects than growing switchgrass as the primary bioenergy crop, meaning that eucalyptus is preferable to switchgrass in terms of biophysical cooling.
- Eucalyptus has higher cooling effects, while switchgrass has the most warming effects.
- Switchgrass replaces forests, which has biophysical warming effects as well as the potential to release more carbon through deforestation than converting other short vegetation to bioenergy crops.
5. China’s Artificial Sun EAST
#GS3- Space
Context
- China’s “artificial sun” recently ran for more than 17 minutes at a temperature five times that of the real sun.
In depth information
Experiment Details
- The “artificial sun” was kept at 70 million degrees for 1,056 seconds, or 17 minutes and 36 seconds, by researchers.
- The latest operation establishes a strong scientific and experimental foundation for the successful operation of a fusion reactor.
Advanced Superconducting Tokamak Experiment (EAST)
- It is a Chinese-designed and produced nuclear fusion reactor facility.
- Because it resembles the nuclear fusion reaction that drives the real sun – which employs hydrogen and deuterium gases as fuel – the facility is dubbed a “artificial sun.”
- Since 2006, scientists from all across the world have used the EAST to conduct fusion-related research.
- The EAST project is part of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) facility, which when completed in 2035 would be the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor.
Purpose:
- To recreate the nuclear fusion reaction, which is the same reaction that fuels the sun.
Working:
- The EAST uses tremendous heat to boil hydrogen isotopes into plasma, fusing them together and releasing energy.
- Fuel is heated to approximately 150 million degrees Celsius, resulting in a hot plasma “soup” of subatomic particles.
- The plasma is maintained away from the reactor’s walls by a strong magnetic field, ensuring that it does not cool down and lose its ability to generate vast amounts of energy.
- Deuterium and tritium nuclei, both contained in hydrogen, are fused together to form a helium nucleus, which contains a neutron and a lot of energy.
Significance
- Near-unlimited clean energy: The machine would assist in harnessing the power of nuclear fusion, which would produce endless clean energy by simulating reactions that occur naturally inside the sun.
- Unlike the nuclear fission process that powers commercial nuclear energy production, the technique does not use fossil fuels and produces no hazardous waste products.
- Less Disaster: According to physicists, there is a far lower likelihood of an environmental disaster.
Challenges
- Maintaining a temperature of more than 100 million degrees.
- For a long time, you’ve been able to maintain a consistent level of performance.
- Despite decades of research into the technique, nuclear fusion remains a long way off from being realised outside of a laboratory.
Conclusion
- Despite these enormous advancements, there is still a long way to go before the world can witness a fully functional artificial sun.
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