Daily Current Affairs 4th, 5th and 6th June

Self-declaration certificate to Regulate Advertisements

Why in news?

Recently, the Supreme Court has issued a directive, that all advertisers/ Advertising Agencies must submit a ‘Self-Declaration Certificate’ before publishing or broadcasting any advertisement.

More about the news

• The Supreme Court directive is a step towards ensuring transparency, consumer protection, and responsible advertising practices.
• Following the Supreme Court’s directive, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has introduced a new feature on the Broadcast Seva Portal of the Ministry for TV and Radio Advertisements and on Press Council of India’s portal for Print and Digital/Internet Advertisements.
•  The self-declaration certificate is to certify that the advertisement (i) does not contain misleading claims, and (ii) complies with all relevant regulatory guidelines, including those stipulated in Rule 7 of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 and the Norms of Journalistic Conduct of Press Council of India.

About Press Council of India

• The Press Council of India is a statutory quasi-judicial autonomous authority reestablished in the year 1979 under an Act of Parliament, Press Council Act, 1978.
• It was established with the two-fold objective of preserving the freedom of the press by maintaining and improving the standards of newspapers and the news agencies in India.
• It was first set up in 1966 under the Indian Press Council Act, 1965, on the recommendations of the first Press Commission with the identical twin objects.
• The 1965 Act was, however, repealed in 1975 and the Press Council was abolished during the emergency. Thereafter, a new Act was enacted on the similar lines as the Act of 1965 and the Press Council was re-established under it in the year 1979.
• The Council is a body corporate having perpetual succession consisting of a chairman and 28 members.
• While the Chairman has, by convention, been a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India who is nominated by a committee consisting of a Chairman of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), Speaker of the House of People (Lok Sabha) and a person elected amongst themselves by the 28 members of the Council.

Amendments to International Health Regulations (IHR), 2005 

Why in news?

Recently, the 77th World Health Assembly agreed to the package of amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005).

More about the news

• The 77th World Health Assembly agreed to the package of amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) based on 300 proposals made by member countries after the Covid-19 pandemic. 
• The targeted amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) aim at improving countries’ ability to prepare for and respond to Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC) and Pandemic Emergencies (PE). 
• They include provisions for facilitating equitable access to relevant health products during PHEIC and PE, as well as mobilizing financial resources to support developing countries in building, strengthening, and maintaining the core capacities required under the IHR (2005).
• India played a constructive role in the crafting of the Instrument, which seeks to operationalize equity, necessary for an equitable response by developing countries to Public Health Emergencies.

About International Health Regulations 2005 

• The IHR is an instrument of international law that is legally-binding on 196 countries, including the 194 WHO Member States.
• The International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) provide an overarching legal framework that defines countries’ rights and obligations in handling public health events and emergencies that have the potential to cross borders.
• The International Health Regulations (IHR), first adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1969 and last revised in 2005.
• The IHR is the only international legal treaty with the responsibility of empowering the World Health Organization (WHO) to act as the main global surveillance system.
• The stated purpose and scope of the IHR are "to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease in ways that are commensurate with and restricted to public health risks.
• The IHR also requires States to strengthen core surveillance and response capacities at the primary, intermediate and national level, as well as at designated international ports, airports and ground crossings. 
• They further introduce a series of health documents, including ship sanitation certificates and an international certificate of vaccination or prophylaxis for travelers.

About World Health Assembly

• The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the forum through which the World Health Organization (WHO) is governed by its 194 member states. 
• It is the world's highest health policy setting body and is composed of health ministers from member states.
• The main tasks of the WHA are to decide major policy questions, as well as to approve the WHO work programme and budget and elect its Director-General (every fifth year) and annually to elect ten members to renew part of its executive board.
• Its main functions are to determine the policies of the Organization, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget.

NOTA (None of the Above)

Why in news?

In the recently concluded general elections, the Indore Lok Sabha constituency saw more than 2 lakh votes polled for NOTA.

About NOTA

• None of the Above, abbreviated as NOTA, has been provided as an option to the voters of India in most elections since 2013.
• NOTA was introduced in 2013 after a Supreme Court (SC) direction in the PUCL vs. Union of India judgement of 2013.
• The Supreme Court of India directed the Election Commission of India to include NOTA in elections to the Lok Sabha and respective state legislative assemblies.
• The NOTA option was first used in the 2013 legislative assembly elections held in four states—Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, and the union territory of Delhi.
• NOTA has been described as the maturing of India's democracy.
• The power of NOTA to express dissent is clearly visible in reports where entire communities decided to democratically protest against governments that have failed to meet their needs.
1. For instance, there have been multiple cases of entire villages deciding to vote for NOTA due to consistent failure of local governments to meet basic requirements like roads, electricity and inaction towards villagers' complaints about water contamination by industries.

Suggestions

• If NOTA receives the highest number of votes, re-election should be held in that constituency with a new and fresher candidate.
• If NOTA receives the highest number of votes, re-elections should be held in that constituency.
• When conducting re-elections, the NOTA button may be disabled to avoid a series of re-elections.
• Political parties that lose to NOTA to bear the cost of re-election.
• The candidates who lose to NOTA should not be allowed to contest elections for a defined period of time.

Five Eyes Alliance

Why in news?

Recently, the Australian government announced that it had expanded its eligibility criteria for armed forces so that citizens of the Five Eyes alliance could join the armed forces.

About Five Eyes Alliance

• The Five Eyes is an Anglosphere intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• The alliance between the U.S. and the U.K. evolved around the Second World War to counter the Cold War Soviet threat. Canada joined in 1948, while Australia and New Zealand became part of the alliance in 1956.
• The ‘Five Eyes’ is a multilateral intelligence-sharing network shared by over 20 different agencies of five English-speaking countries.
• It is both surveillance-based and signals intelligence (SIGINT). Intelligence documents shared between the member countries are classified as ‘Secret—AUS/CAN/NZ/UK/US Eyes Only,’ which gave the group its title ‘Five Eyes.’
• In recent years, common interests, such as balancing the rise of China, have led to a closer alignment among the Five Eyes countries. Some have attributed their closeness to a common language and mutual trust built over decades of association.

OPEC +

Why in news?

Recently, OPEC+ agreed to extend most of its deep oil output cuts well into 2025.

More about the news

• The deep oil output cuts into 2025 help the group to shore up the market amid tepid demand growth, high interest rates and rising rival U.S. production.
• OPEC+ members are currently cutting output by a total of 5.86 million barrels per day (bpd), or about 5.7% of global demand.

About OPEC

• The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an organization enabling the co-operation of leading oil-producing countries in order to collectively influence the global oil market and maximize profit.
• It was founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela).
  The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, together known as OPEC+.
• The organization, which currently comprises 12 member countries, accounted for an estimated 30 percent of global oil production.
• It aims to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its member countries and ensure the stabilization of oil prices in the international oil markets, with a view to eliminating harmful and unnecessary fluctuations.

Global Purchasing Power Parities (PPP) Data

Why in news?

Recently, the World Bank released the global purchasing power parities (PPP) data for 2021.

Key Highlights

• The results from the International Comparison Program (ICP) 2021 cycle include data for the reference year 2021, revised data for the reference year 2017, purchasing power parity (PPP) time series for 2018 to 2020, and extrapolated GDP PPPs for 2022 and 2023.
• The latest ICP data show the size of the global economy in PPP terms in 2021 was $152 trillion. 
  • Middle-income economies accounted for more than half of the total. 
  • High-income economies accounted for slightly less than half. 
  • Low-income economies constituted barely 1% of global GDP.
• The top 10 economies by PPP-based GDP in 2021 were China ($28.82 trillion), the United States ($23.59 trillion), India ($10.96 trillion), Russia, Japan, Germany, Brazil , France, the United Kingdom and Indonesia. 

About PPP

• Purchasing power parities (PPPs) are the rates of currency conversion that try to equalise the purchasing power of different currencies, by eliminating the differences in price levels between countries.
• PPPs allow international comparisons of GDP and its components that avoid the over- or under-estimation of economic output inherent in market exchange rate comparisons, as the latter does not adjust for price levels.
• The basket of goods and services priced is a sample of all those that are part of final expenditures: final consumption of households and government, fixed capital formation, and net exports. This indicator is

About International Comparison Program (ICP)

• The ICP is one of the world’s largest statistical initiatives, coordinated by the World Bank under the auspices of the United Nations Statistical Commission.
•  ICP 2021 marks the tenth comparison completed since the initiative was launched in 1968.
•  It covers 176 participating economies for the reference year 2021.

Preston Curve

Why in news?

Recently, the explained page of the Hindu discussed the Preston Curve. 

About

• It is named after Samuel H. Preston who first described it in 1975.
• The Preston curve refers to a certain empirical relationship that is witnessed between life expectancy and per capita income in a country.
• According to the curve, When a poor country begins to grow, its per capita income rises and causes a significant increase in life expectancy initially as people are able to consume more than just subsistence calories, enjoy better healthcare etc.
• However, an increase in the per capita income of a country does not cause much of a rise in the life expectancy of its population beyond a point, perhaps because human life span cannot be increased indefinitely.
• The positive relationship highlighted by the Preston curve holds true not just when it comes to life expectancy and per capita income. Other development indicators such as infant and maternal mortality, education, healthcare, etc. also improve when the per capita income of a country rises.

Global Soil Partnership

Why in news?

Recently, the Global Soil Partnership (GSP), has opened its 12th Plenary Assembly with a strong call to action.

More about the news

• The assembly is hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• This meeting brings together FAO Members and over 700 partners to discuss strategies for enhancing soil resilience and sustainability.
• GSP’s mission aims to improve and maintain the health of at least 50 percent of the world's soils by 2030. 
• The meeting discussed the need for political will, cooperation, and investment to achieve this target, underscoring the principles of reducing, reusing, and renewing soil resources.

About Global Soil Partnership

• It was launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
• The Partnership aims to implement the provisions of the 1982 World Soil Charter, and to raise awareness and motivate action by decision-makers on the importance of soils for food security and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
• The Global Soil Partnership brings together international, regional and national organizations that are working in the area of soil protection and sustainable management.

State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2024

Why in news?

Recently, the World Bank released its annual “State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2024” report.

Key highlights of the report

• According to a report, in 2023, carbon pricing revenues reached a record $104 billion.
• There are now 75 carbon pricing instruments in operation worldwide. Over half of the collected revenue was used to fund climate and nature-related programs.
• According to the 2024 report, 24% of global emissions are now covered. A decade ago, carbon pricing policies covered only 7% of global emissions.
• Report findings show large middle-income countries including Brazil, India, Chile, Colombia, and Türkiye are making strides in carbon pricing implementation.
• The traditional sectors like power and industry continue to dominate, carbon pricing is increasingly being considered in new sectors such as aviation, shipping and waste.

What is Carbon Pricing?

• Carbon pricing is an approach to reducing carbon emissions (also referred to as greenhouse gas, or GHG, emissions) that uses market mechanisms to pass the cost of emitting on to emitters. 
• Its broad goal is to discourage the use of carbon dioxide–emitting fossil fuels in order to protect the environment, address the causes of climate change, and meet national and international climate agreements.

How Carbon Pricing Instruments Work?

• Carbon Tax: A carbon tax puts a direct price on GHG emissions and requires economic actors to pay for every ton of carbon pollution emitted. It thus creates a financial incentive to lower emissions by switching to more efficient processes or cleaner fuels.
• Emission Trading System: It sets a limit on total direct GHG emissions from specific sectors and sets up a market where the rights to emit (in the form of carbon permits or allowances) are traded. This approach allows polluters to meet emissions reductions targets flexibly and at the lowest cost.
• Results Based Climate Finance: Under a results-based climate finance (RBCF) framework, entities receive funds when they meet predefined climate-related goals, such as emissions reductions.
• Credit Mechanism: Under a crediting mechanism, emissions reductions that occur as a result of a project, by a business or government, or policy are assigned credits, which can then be bought or sold. Entities seeking to lower their emissions can buy the credits as a way to offset their actual emissions.

Report on Greening Initiative in Coal & Lignite by PSUs

Why in news?

Recently, the union Coal ministry released a report on Greening Initiatives by its PSUs.

More about the news

• This report emphasizes the consistent and earnest endeavours made by Coal/Lignite PSUs to mitigate the environmental impact of coal mining through ongoing reclamation and afforestation endeavours.
• The report presents greening initiatives carried out in both closed and active coal mines, alongside a blueprint for a more sustainable and eco-friendly future.
• The data provided has undergone validation through Remote Sensing Studies and on-site ground-truthing surveys at selected locations.
• Additionally, a roadmap has been outlined for future plantation initiatives planned until the fiscal year 2029-2030.

Greening Initiatives in Coal Sector

• Coal/Lignite PSUs have been making constant and sincere efforts to minimize the footprints of coal mining through sustained reclamation and afforestation of areas in and around its operating mines.
• Returning the land disturbed by mining to stable and productive post-mining land uses is fundamental to responsible environmental stewardship.
• Mined out areas, OB dumps and other disturbed areas are concurrently reclaimed as soon as they get delinked from the active mining zone.
• Top soil is segregated and stored in a clearly demarcated area for use within the mine as soon the backfilling and concurrent reclamation starts.
• Three tier biological reclamation in both external and internal dumps is undertaken through expert agencies i.e. State Forest Development Corporations. Species for biological reclamation are selected in consultation with expert agencies like SFDC, ICFRE, NEERI etc.
• The use of innovative techniques such as seed ball plantation, seed casting through drones, and Miyawaki plantation in various mines are in place. These afforestation activities and green belt development arrest the suspended dust particles emitted during mining operations and help to control air pollution.

World Environment Day 2024

Why in news?

Every year the World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated on June 5th.

About

• The World Environment Day was established in 1972 by the United Nations at the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.
• World Environment Day was celebrated for the first time with the slogan “Only One Earth.”
• The event has been led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) since its inception in 1973.
• The theme for this year is “Our Land, Our Future, We Are Generation Restoration.” Past themes have primarily focused on pollution, the illegal wildlife trade, air pollution, and food waste.
• World Environment Day aims to highlight various environmental problems, including air pollution, climate change, plastic pollution, illegal wildlife trade, sustainable consumption, sea-level increase and food security.
• This year, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will host the 2024 Environment Day celebration, focusing on land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience.
• Land restoration is a critical component of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), a global initiative aimed at protecting and reviving ecosystems worldwide. This is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

PraVaHa Software

Why in news?

ISRO develops PraVaHa (Parallel RANS Solver for Aerospace Vehicle Aero-thermo-dynamic Analysis) software.

About the software

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has developed Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software named Parallel RANS Solver for Aerospace Vehicle Aero-thermo-dynamic Analysis (PraVaHa).
• This software was developed in ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). It can simulate external and internal flows on launch vehicles, winged and non-winged re-entry vehicles.
• According to ISRO, initial aerodynamic design studies for launch vehicles demand evaluation of a large number of configurations. Any aerospace vehicle while moving through the Earth’s atmosphere during launch or re-entry is subjected to severe aerodynamic and aerothermal loads in terms of external pressure and heat flux.
  • Understanding the airflow around aircraft, rocket bodies, or Crew Module (CM) during earth re-entry is essential to design the shape, structure, and Thermal Protection System (TPS) required for these bodies.
  • The unsteady part of aerodynamics contributes to serious flow issues around such rocket bodies and creates significant acoustic noise during the mission. 
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is one such tool to predict the aerodynamic and aerothermal loads which solve numerically the equations of conservation of mass, momentum, and energy along with the equation of state.
• PraVaHa has been used extensively in the Gaganyaan program for aerodynamic analysis of human-rated launch vehicles, viz, HLVM3, Crew Escape System (CES), and CM.
• Currently, the PraVaHa code is operational to simulate airflow for Perfect Gas & Real Gas conditions. 
• PraVaHa is expected to replace most of the CFD simulations for aero characterisation, which is currently being carried out using commercial software.

PI-CheCK Project

Why in news?

Recently, the CSIR announced the successful conclusion of the first phase of its groundbreaking longitudinal health monitoring project, the 'Phenome India-CSIR Health Cohort Knowledgebase' (PI-CheCK).

About the project 

• The project was launched in December 2023.
• The PI-CHeCK project aims to assess risk factors in non-communicable (cardio-metabolic) diseases within the Indian populace. 
• This unique initiative has already enrolled nearly 10,000 participants, who have volunteered to provide comprehensive health data. These participants include CSIR employees, pensioners, and their spouses from across 17 states and 24 cities. 
• The collected data encompasses a wide range of parameters, including clinical questionnaires, lifestyle and dietary habits, anthropometric measurements, imaging/scanning data, and extensive biochemical and molecular data.
• It is important to understand the mechanisms which underlie the increasing risk and incidence of cardio metabolic disorders in the Indian population and develop new strategies for risk stratification, prevention and management of these major diseases. 
  • Currently, most of these risk prediction algorithms are based on epidemiological data from Caucasian populations and there is evidence that they may be not very accurate for the Indian population due to ethnic diversity, varied genetic make-up and lifestyle patterns including dietary habits.
  •  It is therefore important that India-specific risk prediction algorithms are developed.
• The Phenome India project exemplifies CSIR's commitment to advancing precision medicine through Predictive, Personalized, Participatory, and Preventive healthcare. 

Hawking Radiation

Why in news?

Recently, a team of astronomers have outlined a method for detecting Hawking Radiations.

More about the news

• A recent study has suggested that during the tumultuous mergers of black holes or neutron stars, smaller black holes, called morsels, could be produced which might emit Hawking radiation that is detectable with existing technology due to their smaller size.
• Hawking radiation is the thermal radiation predicted to be spontaneously emitted by black holes.
• Black holes are best known for their extreme gravitational pull, which is so powerful that nothing, not even light can escape once it passes their surface called the event horizon — a point of no return.
• But according to a popular theory developed by Stephen Hawking, black holes are not, well, complete black holes. They do in fact emit radiation, called Hawking radiation.
• Due to quantum effects in which particles are created directly from empty space above the event horizon. As a result, black holes are expected to lose their mass over time, eventually evaporating completely.
• Black hole mergers were predicted long ago but never observed. Theory showed that these mergers should release powerful gravitational waves. Finally, in 2015, the LIGO observatory detected the first merger. Now, scientists have detected many of them.

Siang Valley

Why in news?

Recently, a new blue ant species namely Paraparatrechina Neela has been discovered from Siang Valley.

More about the news 

• The researchers described Paraparatrechina Neela as a small ant and less than two millimetres long, with a predominantly metallic blue body, except for the antennae, mandibles, and legs. 
• The metallic blue is distinct from any other species in its rare genus, Paraparatrechina.

About Siang Valley 

• The Siang valley is located in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The name of the valley is derived from the mighty Brahmaputra River, which in Arunachal Pradesh is known as the Siang River. 
• The Siang River, which originates in the Himalayas, cuts a deep gorge to the southeast, forming the Siang valley.
• The Siang basin is home to 11 different kinds of forests, 1,349 plant species and 1,197 animal and fish species.
• It is predominantly inhabited by the Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh.

Indira Gandhi Zoological Park

Why in news?

Indira Gandhi Zoological Park is making significant strides in conservation breeding of many threatened species like wild dogs and striped hyena.

About Indira Gandhi Zoological Park

• Indira Gandhi Zoological Park is located amidst Kambalakonda Reserve Forest in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is the third largest zoo in the country. 
• Arignar Anna Zoological Park is the title of the biggest zoo in India, followed by Nandankanan Zoological Park.
• It is situated in the scenic Eastern Ghats of India. It is surrounded by the Eastern Ghats on three sides and Bay of Bengal on the fourth side.
• The zoo has several native mammals such as Indian elephants, greater one-horned rhinos, Bengal tigers, Asiatic lions, Indian leopards, striped hyenas, dholes, sloth bears, gaur, sambar deer and rhesus macaques, as well as exotic mammals like hippos, giraffes, Grant's zebras and chimpanzees.

About Asiatic Dhole

• The dhole or Asiatic wild dog (Cuon Alpinus) is the only endangered wild pack-living canid in the tropical Indian forests and is considered at high risk of extinction.
• They are found in three clusters across India, namely the Western and Eastern Ghats, the central Indian landscape and North East India. The Western and Eastern Ghats is a stronghold region for dholes.
• It is threatened by habitat loss, declining prey availability, persecution, disease, interspecific competition and fragmentation of its populations.
• It is classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, Appendix II of CITES and Schedule II of Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

About Striped Hyena

• The striped hyena is a species of hyena native to North and East Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. It is the only extant species in the genus Hyaena.
• Striped Hyena is nocturnal, sometimes solitary or found in groups of 1 and 2, with territories of individuals overlapping each other.
• Hyenas in India inhabit a diversity of habitats, from dry open scrub to deciduous forests and agriculture fields. Although they can hunt down prey, hyenas are generally scavengers, feeding on domestic and wild carrion.
• Hyena habitats are shrinking, due to the increase of human-dominated landscapes. Increasing human-wildlife conflict, tourism, and human population growth near interface zones across the revenue lands have negative effects on the carnivores.
• It is listed by the IUCN as Near-Threatened, comes under CITES Appendix III and protected under Schedule III of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Vivekananda Rock Memorial

Why in news?

Recently, the Prime Minister visited the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu.

About Vivekananda Rock Memorial

• The Vivekananda Rock Memorial stands on one of the two rocks located about 500 meters off the mainland of Vavathurai, Tamil Nadu.
• It was built in 1970 in honour of Swami Vivekananda, who is said to have attained enlightenment on the rock.
• It is surrounded by the Laccadive Sea, where the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea form a confluence.
• It comprises the 'Shripada Mandapam' and the 'Vivekananda Mandapam'.

About Swami Vivekananda

• Swami Vivekananda was born on 12 January 1863 in Calcutta. He was born as Narendra Dutt.
• He was the foremost disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and a world spokesperson for Vedanta.
• Vivekananda represented Hinduism at the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions convened during the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. With his opening words, “Sisters and brothers of America”.
• After his first visit to the West, Swami Vivekananda went back to India and founded the Ramakrishna Order at Belur outside of Kolkata in 1898.
• He introduced the world to the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga.
• He spelt out the four pathways of attaining moksha from the worldly pleasure and attachment in his books - Raja-yoga, Karma-yoga, Jnana-yoga and Bhakti-yoga.
• His lectures, letters and poems are published as The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda.
• National Youth Day is held every year to observe the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.