UPSC Current Affairs Daily

2021-08-28 13:45:43 Hazaras of Afghanistan:

Hazara is an ethnic group from Afghanistan.
They are believed to be descendants of the founder of the Mongol empire, Genghis Khan, and his army that overran the entire region during the 13th century.
Their distinct Asiatic features and use of a Persian dialect called Hazaragi also sets them apart from the rest of the country.
Historical background:
Around 1773, the mountainous region of Hazarajat in modern-day central Afghanistan was annexed and made a part of the territories of Afghan Empire under Pashtun ruler Ahmad Shah Durrani.
The sunni Muslim majority under the Pashtun ruler resulted in further marginilisation of the Shiite Hazara community, to the extent that in the 18th and 19th century, they were forced to leave fertile lowlands in central Afghanistan and make the dry, arid mountainous landscape their new home.
Research indicates that their unique identity, ethnicity and religion always made the Hazaras stand out among the other communities.
Hazaras speak Hazaragi, which is close to Dari Persian, the official language of modern-day Afghanistan.
The community also shares physical similarities with the Mongols and their speech, specific terms and phrases, reflect strong Central Asian Turkic influences, setting them apart from their neighbours in Pakistan and other communities within Afghanistan. Open / Comment

2021-08-28 13:45:42 Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evem Utthan Mahabhiyan / (PM KUSUM) Scheme

Scheme is an initiative of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
It is a scheme for farmers for installation of solar pumps and grid connected solar and other renewable power plants in the country.
Approved in February 2019, the objective of the scheme is to provide financial and water security.
The scheme aims to add solar and other renewable capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022
Features:
As per provisions of the PM-KUSUM Scheme, the grid connected agriculture pumps can be solarised with central and state subsidy of 30% each and farmer’s contribution of 40%.
It will also include feeder level solarisation.
State Nodal Agencies (SNAs) of MNRE will coordinate with States/UTs, Discoms and farmers for implementation of the scheme.
Benefits:
The scheme will open a stable and continuous source of income to the rural landowners for a period of 25 years by utilisation of their dry/uncultivable land.
In case cultivated fields are chosen for setting up solar power projects, the farmers could continue to grow crops as the solar panels are to be set up above a minimum height.
The solar pumps will save the expenditure incurred on diesel for running diesel pumps and provide the farmers a reliable source of irrigation through solar pumps apart from preventing harmful pollution from running diesel pumps. Open / Comment

2021-08-28 13:45:42 Monetary Policy Committee

Constituted by the Reserve Bank of India and led by the Governor of RBI. 
Monetary Policy Committee was formed with the mission of fixing the benchmark policy interest rate (repo rate) to restrain inflation within the particular target level.
The RBI governor controls the monetary policy decisions with the support and advice of the internal team and the technical advisory committee.
MPC was constituted under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 as an initiative to bring more transparency and accountability in fixing the Monetary Policy of India.
 MPC conducts meetings at least 4 times a year and the monetary policy is published after every meeting with each member explaining his opinions. 
Urijit Patel Committee first proposed the idea for the formation of a five-member Monetary Policy Committee.
Later, the government proposed the setting up of a seven-member committee.
MPC is assisted by the Monetary Policy Department (MPD) of the Reserve Bank in the formulation of the policy.  
Monetary Policy Committee came into force on 27th June 2016. 
The Financial Markets Operations Department (FMOD) operationalizes the monetary policy, mainly through day-to-day liquidity management operations.
Objectives
To stabilize the business cycle.
To provide reasonable price stability.
To provide faster economic growth.
Exchange Rate Stability.
Instruments of Monetary Policy
Repo rate 
Reverse Repo rate
Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF)
Marginal Standing Facility (MSF)
Corridor
Bank Rate
Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)
Open Market Operations (OMOs)
Market Stabilisation Scheme (MSS) Open / Comment

2021-08-28 13:45:42 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

FDI is when a foreign entity acquires ownership or controlling stake in the shares of a company in one country, or establishes businesses there.
It is different from foreign portfolio investment where the foreign entity merely buys equity shares of a company.
In FDI, the foreign entity has a say in the day-to-day operations of the company.
FDI is not just the inflow of money, but also the inflow of technology, knowledge, skills and expertise/know-how.
It is a major source of non-debt financial resources for the economic development of a country.
FDI generally takes place in an economy which has the prospect of growth and also a skilled workforce.
FDI has developed radically as a major form of international capital transfer since the last many years.
The advantages of FDI are not evenly distributed. It depends on the host country’s systems and infrastructure. 
The determinants of FDI in host countries are:
Policy framework
Rules with respect to entry and operations/functioning (mergers/acquisitions and competition)
Political, economic and social stability
Treatment standards of foreign affiliates
International agreements
Trade policy (tariff and non-tariff barriers)
Privatisation policy Open / Comment

2021-08-28 13:45:42 A nine-foot-tall bronze equestrian statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire, was vandalised in Lahore Fort.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) seized Lahore in 1799 after he was invited to rule the city by its Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh elite.
Lahore, once among the biggest and most developed of the cities of Punjab, was in a shambles at the time — the dying Mughal Empire was no longer able to extend it patronage and protection, it was battered by repeated assaults from bands of Afghan raiders, and weakened by infighting among some Sikh groups.
Residents of Lahore complained of being forced to pay exorbitant taxes.
Ranjit Singh brought peace and security to Lahore and revived its economic and cultural glory. He proclaimed himself maharaja of the Punjab in 1801, and proceeded to rule with religious tolerance for communities other than Sikhs.
He carried out repairs to the Lahore fort — which was built by Emperor Akbar at the site of an older mud-brick structure and was subsequently beautified and expanded by Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb — and built a wall around it, and used a part of the fort as his residential quarters.
As the founder of a mighty empire that sprawled over a large part of northwestern India, the Maharaja is identified by many with the identity of Punjab.  Open / Comment

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2021-08-27 13:58:06 #ENVIRONMENT
■Bihar planned to tag endangered greater adjutant storks

Bihar government has decided to tag GPS trackers on greater adjutant storks, locally known as 'Garuda to monitor their movement as a part of efforts to conserve them.

The greater adjutant is one of the most threatened stork species of the world and is widely considered to be a rare bird.

Bhagalpur's Kadwa Diara floodplains area is the third-most- popular breeding center for the greater adjutant stork in the world after Assam and Cambodia.

●Key points:

The non-profit Bombay Natural History Society will help and work along with the state forest, environment and climate change department to start the process of tagging greater adjutant storks with GPS tracker.

The government agency has been approaching private businessmen of Japan and South Korea for supplying the ring type GPS tracker.

Initially, only four birds will be tagged with GPS tracker on an experimental basis.

Later there would be more tagging early next year

●Conservation efforts:

With active support and involvement of the local community, the population of Greater adjutant has increased to nearly 700 in 2021, from 78 in 2007.

A rescue and rehabilitation centre had been set up at Sundarban in Bhagalpur.

Tagging greater adjutants with GPS trackers will help in studying their movement and places where they go to.

The paper was presented in the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species, Conference of Parties (CMS COP 13) at Gandhinagar, Gujarat in February 2020.

●Greater Adjutant Storks:

The greater adjutant, also known as Garuda, is a member of the stork family, Ciconiidae.

Once abundantly distributed in Southeast Asia, this stork is now restricted to a few isolated pockets in Assam and Bihar in India and PrekToal in Cambodia.

The global population of Greater Adjutant Storks is estimated as 800-1,200, most of them in Assam

This species favors wetland habitats, including lakes, swamps, pools and rice fields, as long as fish are available.

The bird can also be found close to urban areas, feeding at rubbish dumps and abattoirs.

●Protection:

IUCN Red List: Endangered

Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972: Schedule IV

●Significance:

The Garuda is considered the mount of Lord Vishnu.

Some worship the bird and call it "Garuda Maharaj" (Lord Garuda) or "Guru Garuda" (Great Teacher Garuda). 'They help farmers by killing rats and other farm pests.

SOURCE - DOWN TO EARTH Open / Comment