Addapedia Odisha | Daily Current Affairs | 04 November 2023 | Download PDF

National and International News

• Petions seeking review of SC’s majority judgment refusing to legalise same-sex marriage.
• SC holds no fundamental right to marry for same-sex couples, but directs authorities to protect them from harassment.

Key points:

• Right to marry is a fundamental right.
• Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the right to marry the person of one’s choice. 

Did you know?

• Parliament has conferred social status for marriage as an institution under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

• A new and serendipitous discovery has revealed that haemoglobin isn’t used by RBCs alone. 
• In a study published in Nature, scientists from China have reported that chondrocytes – cells that make cartilage, the connecting tissue between bones – also make haemoglobin and seem to depend on it for their survival.

Key points

• The scientists called these blobs haemoglobin bodies, or Hedy.
• The discovery of functional haemoglobin in cartilage also leads to the possibility that it plays a role in certain joint diseases.

India witnessed 53 accidents and 19 deaths every hour, or an average of 1,264 accidents and 42 deaths, daily in road crashes last year, according to a Ministry of Road Transport and Highways report 

Key findings

• The number of road accidents in 2022 increased by 11.9% and deaths rose by 9.4%.
• According to an analysis by the Save Life Foundation, with a crash severity of 38.15, India ranks among the 20 worst countries for road crashes. 
• According to World Road Statistics, 2022 published by the International Road Federation, Geneva, which uses data for the year 2020 in terms of the total number of fatalities, India was followed by China (with a crash severity of 25.22) and the U.S. (with a crash severity of 2.01).
• Of the factors causing road accidents, “speeding” was the most common. It accounted for 72.3% of accidents and 71.2% of deaths. 
• Uttar Pradesh registered the highest share of deaths at 13.4%. 
• This was followed by Tamil Nadu at 10.6% and Maharashtra at 9%.

• Delay in implementation of the quota law before the general election in 2024.
• Govt proposes to implement this reservation after the next census followed by delimitation. 

Key points:

• 106th Constitutional Amendment Act stipulates 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.
• 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments of 1993 gave women one-third representation in local body elections. 
• 77th Constitutional Amendment extended reservations for promotions in jobs for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• 103rd CAA provided for 10% EWS reservation for poor Forward Caste sections of the society in educational institutions and public employment.

Think:

• Know about 106th Constitutional Amendment Act
• Know about Delimitation

Indian-born author Nandini Das has been named the winner of the 2023 British Academy Book Prize

Key points

• She got this prize for her book Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire. 
• The British Academy Book Prize, formerly known as the Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize, was established in 2013 to reward and celebrate the best works of non-fiction that demonstrate rigour.

• Kozhikode in Kerala and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh have made it to the prestigious creative cities list of UNESCO for contributions in the fields of literature and music, respectively.
• The announcement was made by UNESCO on its official website on October 31, which is designated as World Cities Day.

About UNESCO CCN

• The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.
• Objective: placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.
• The Network covers seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Arts, Media Arts, Film, Design, Gastronomy, Literature and Music.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s daughter, Saima Wazed, was elected Regional Director of the World Health Organization’s South-East Asia region

Key points

• She defeated Shambu Acharya, a public health veteran from Nepal, in a vote held here during the 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Southeast Asia Region.
• India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, North Korea, Indonesia, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste — 10 of the 11 member countries — took part in the vote.

Odisha Tourism’s annual flagship camping event Eco Retreat commenced at four locations.

Key points

• Eco Retreat is being held at Hirakud, Daringbadi, Putsil, and Satkosia.
• Eco retreats are an ideal model for States to unlock the tourism potential of ecologically fragile areas with high seasonalities.
• It is a seasonal glamping event with facilities similar to star category hotel and resort, every year in different locations across the State.

Researchers of the Zoology Department of the Berhampur University have discovered a new species of fish in Mahanadi river in Odisha’s Sonepur district.

Key points

• The species has been named as ‘Awaous motla’.
• This species is distinct from its congeners by a combination of characteristics: relatively small eyes, its diameter 6.6–8.4 in head length; robust and long snout, 2.0–2.6 in head length etc
• The new species holds high commercial value in its locality and needs special conservation attention for sustainable utilisation.

• Odisha Chief Minister launched the Location Accessible Multimodal Initiative (LAccMI) scheme in Kalahandi district.
• In the first phase, the scheme will provide bus service in rural areas of six districts– Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Kalahandi, and Gajapati.

About LAccMI 

• It aims to promote affordable and sustainable transportation.
• Under the LAccMI scheme, the bus network will be connecting panchayats with the block headquarters and block to district headquarters.

The state government has decided to deploy 70 more ambulances outside the 108 fleet for shifting of patients to health facilities under this yojana.

About BSKY

• Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana is a universal health coverage scheme launched by Chief Minister of Odisha . 
• The scheme covers around 70 lakhs families.  
• Cashless healthcare assistance will be provided. 
• Services:

1. Free health services for all in all state government health care facilities starting from Sub center level up to district headquarter hospital level with Swasthya Mitras deployed at help desk.
2. Annual health coverage of Rs 5 lakhs per family and 7 lakhs per women members of the family.

• A health card that contains detail about members of the household is provided to family having Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana (BKKY) card. 
• Rashtriya Swathya Bima Yojana card is available to families with annual income of 50,000 in rural environments and 60,000 in urban environments.

The Indian Society of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (ISHBT) is set to host its 64th annual conference ‘Haematocon-2023’ in Bhubaneshwar.

Key points

• The four-day global conference will deliberate on blood disorders and diseases, share ideas on latest advances in diagnosis and treatment that would directly translate to patient management in the country.
• Haematocon-2023 will have many firsts. 

1. Representatives from SAARC countries will convene in a joint session to address the prevailing challenges of anaemia, thalassemia, and sickle cell disease.  
2. a dedicated session on law and haematology will explore the legal problems encountered by hematologists in the treatment of severe blood diseases
3. The ISHBT will unveil its first manifesto highlighting the action points for control and management of blood disorders.

Did you know?

As per latest estimates, over 50 per cent of the population is affected by various forms of anaemia.

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