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Current Affairs Current Affairs January 2020

India Russia to sign MoUs on AK-203 assault rifles

  The Indian Army will sign MoU with Russia to procure AK-203 assault rifles. According to the deal, around 1 lakh rifles are to be received directly from Russia and the rest will be manufactured in India
  • Highlights
The rifles will be manufactured at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh by a joint Venture (JV) called Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL). Of the JV, 50.5% is to be owned by India and 49.5% by Russia.
  • Current Status
Apart from the AK-203 rifles, the Indian army recently received the first batch of 10,000 SIG-716 assault rifles from US. The contract was signed in February 2019. The plan is to provide the high cost SIGs to the front-line troops and the remaining forces will be armed with AK-203 rifles. Currently Indian army is using indigenous INSAS (Indian National Small Arms System) rifles and is looking for ways to replace them.
  • INSAS
INSAS is a light machine gun that is currently being manufactured at Ordnance Factory Trichy, Ishapore Arsenal and Kanpur. It was adopted in 1990. The rifles were widely used during Kargil war. There were complaints of jamming and cracking of the rifles in high altitudes of Himalayas. Similar complaints were also reported by the Nepalese army during the 2005 Maoists clash.
Catgeory: Defense

MECOS-3, 2020: Global Marine Ecosystem Meet in Kochi

 The Marine Ecosystems-Challenges and Opportunities (MECOS), the third international symposium is to be held in Kochi. The symposium is conducted by the Marine Biological association of India between January 7, 2020 and January 10, 2020.
  • Highlights
Scientists, Fisheries researchers, Marine biotechnologists and oceanographers from all over the world are to participate in the meet. The symposium will act as a common platform for the experts to discuss on climate crisis, unusual warming of Arabian Sea, ocean acidification, etc. It will discuss development of small-scale fisheries, green fishing technologies and eco-labelling. The symposium will review concerns of marine ecosystem and will formulate new strategies for sustainable utilisation of marine wealth. The Conference is important because billions of people rely on oceans for their jobs and food. A Healthy ocean is also important for economic growth and food production.
  • SDG-14
The symposium is to focus on the Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations, SDG-14. SDG-14 says, “Conserve and Sustainably use the oceans and its resources for sustainable development”
  • Significance
Ocean acidification that is caused due to uptake of carbon-dioxide has changed the chemical composition of the seawaters. According to the United Nations, over the past 30 years, acidity has increased by 26% since pre-industrial times. The marine fish stocks that are at biologically sustainable levels have declined from 90% (1974) to 99.9% (2015).
Catgeory: State

Odisha’s Bhitarkanika National Park Census: Increase in Salt Water Crocodiles

 According to the recent census at the Bhitarkanika National Park, the population of salt water (or estuarine) crocodiles have increased to 1,757 as compared to 1,742 in 2018.
  • Highlights
The peak winter is the ideal time to carry out the census as it exposes more than 50% of mud banks. Around 22 teams were formed to count the crocodiles in the creeks and rivers in the park and its surrounding area. The teams sited 620 hatchlings, 288 juveniles, 325 yearlings, 185 sub adults and 339 adults. The crocodile count in the park has been increasing gradually. According to the census, in 2000, there were 1,192 crocodiles in the park. In August 2019, the Bhitarkanika National Park reported that 3,000 crocodiles were born from 103 nests. The chances of baby crocodiles reaching adulthood is very less. Only one in 500 baby crocodiles reach adulthood. The IUCN status of salt water crocodile is Least Concern.
  • Bhitarkanika National Park
The Park obtained the status of Ramsar site in 2002. It was the second area to get the status after Chilika lake. The Park is the second largest mangrove ecosystem in India. The Fauna of the park includes saltwater crocodile, black ibis, Indian Python, wild boar, cobra, darter, monitor lizard, etc. The park holds Guinness World Record of spotting largest male salt water crocodile in the world that weighed 2,000 kg in 2006.
Catgeory: State

Turtle Rehab Centre in Bihar-First of its kind

 In January 2020, a turtle rehabilitation Centre is to be set up in Bihar’s Bhagalpur forest. The centre will shelter more than 500 turtles and is to be spread over half a hectare. 
  • Highlights
The rehab centre will act as home to sick and severely injured turtles that are being rescued from smugglers. Prior to the rehab, the forest officials were not able to monitor the rescued turtles before releasing them into rivers. The rehab centre will help in solving this problem.
  • Why Bhagalpur?
The flow of water in River Ganga in Bhagalpur is ample. There are number of sandbanks in the region that act as ideal breeding ground for the turtles. Also, the turtles in the region weigh up to 15 kilograms and are smuggled in large extent. According to a report by National Mission for Clean Ganga and WII (Wildlife Institute of India), the turtles in the region are under great threat due to habitat fragmentation due to dams and barrages, illegal poaching, pollution, accidental drowning in fishing nets. Therefore, it is essential to save such life threatened turtles and release back to the river in the right season.
  • Need
According to a study of Traffic India, every year around 11,000 turtles are smuggled from India. They are targeted for their meat as turtle meat gives energy boost and keeps diseases away. The hard-shell turtles are poached for pet trade. They are in high demand in China, Japan and South East Asia.
Catgeory: State

MEA sets up new emerging and strategic technologies (NEST)

  The External affairs ministry announced the setting up of new emerging and strategic technologies (NEST) division. The division will work to increase investment coordination among the states of the country and also with the foreign countries. NEST will act as the nodal division within the ministry for issues pertaining to new and emerging technologies. It will help in collaboration with foreign partners in the field of 5G and artificial intelligence. The division will also hold responsibility for matters that involve negotiations with multilateral fora like the United Nations, G20. This will help to safeguard India’s interests as such forums govern the rules of access to such technologies.
Source: The Economic Times
Catgeory: National

4th All India Police Judo Cluster Championship 2019

  Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, inaugurating the 4th All India Police Judo Cluster Championship 2019, in New Delhi. The 4th All India Police Judo Cluster Championship organized this year by CRPF is being attended by 34 participating teams consisting of 1207 sportspersons from across the country, with a total of 15 Trophies and 214 Medals, including one Medal for the Best Gymnast, in contention. Earlier, this cluster has been organized by Sashtra Seema Bal (SSB) in 2016, West Bengal Police in 2017 and Odisha Police in 2018.
Source: The Press Information Bureau
Catgeory: National

Iran names Esmail Qaani as new Commander

  Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei named the Deputy Head of the Revolutionary Guards’ foreign operations arm Esmail Qaani to replace Qasem Soleimani as its commander. Soleimani was killed in a pre-dawn US strike in Baghdad. Qaani was one of the most decorated commanders of the Guards during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
Source: The News on AIR
Catgeory: International

‘Cyber Safe Women’ initiative launched by Maharashtra Govt

  Maharashtra Government has launched a ‘Cyber Safe Women’ initiative under which awareness camps will be held across all the districts of the state regarding cyber safety. The initiative will help in educating women about how the web is used by anti-social elements and child predators to commit various types of crimes.
Source: The News on AIR
Catgeory: State

Gujarat CM unveils world’s 2nd tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

  Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani unveils world’s 2nd tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in the world at Ahmedabad. 50 feet tall bronze statue with a weight of 70 thousand kilograms has been unveiled at the Sardardham campus near Vaishnodevi Circle in Ahmedabad. The statue of Sardar Patel has also been designed by Padma Bhusan Ram V. Sutar, the same sculptor who had designed the Statue of Unity.
Source: The News on AIR
Catgeory: State

World Braille Day: 4 January

  The world Braille Day is observed annually on 4 January. World Braille Day celebrated since 2019, is observed to raise awareness of the importance of Braille as a means of communication in the full realization of the human rights for blind and partially sighted people. The day is marked remembering the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille – for people with visual disabilities. Louis Braille was born on 4th January 1809 in the town of Coupvray in northern France.
Source: The United Nations
Catgeory: Important Days

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