Addapedia Odisha | Daily Current Affairs | 08 December 2023 | Download PDF

• The unemployment rate in urban areas of the country decreased from 7.2% in July-September 2022 to 6.6% in July–September 2023, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 
• The survey is conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). 

Key points

• If 6.6% is the unemployment rate for persons of age 15 years and above, for men, it was 6%. For women, it decreased from 9.4% in July– September last year to 8.6% this year.
• The labour force participation rate (LFPR) in urban areas increased to 49.3% in July– September 2023 for persons aged 15 years and above. 
• While for males, LFPR increased to 73.8%, for females, LFPR increased to 24.0%

Cyclone Michaung has intensified in its move across the southwest Bay of Bengal and is likely to make landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Machilipatnam

What are cyclones?

• A cyclone is a large-scale system of air that rotates around the center of a low-pressure area. It is usually accompanied by violent storms and bad weather.
• As per NDMA, a cyclone is characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

Think:

Why are cyclones more frequent in Bay of bengal compared to the Arabian sea?

Categories of Cyclones

• IMD uses a specific naming convention for cyclones in the North Indian Ocean, including the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.

History

• In the mid-1900s, storms were named alphabetically, and the practice of using feminine names started. 
• WMO/ESCAP(World Meteorological Organisation/United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) nations agreed to name cyclones in 2000.
• WMO/ESCAP member nations, including India, decided to assign names to cyclones. 
• The decision was made in Muscat in 2000, involving 13 countries.

Member Nations:

• The WMO/ESCAP group, deciding cyclone names, includes India, Qatar, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, UAE, and Yemen.

RSMC(Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre) Role:

• IMD, as one of the six RSMCs globally, names cyclones in the North Indian Ocean based on suggestions from 13 countries in the WMO/ESCAP region.

Naming Criteria:

• Cyclone names must be neutral, non-offensive, short, easy to pronounce, under eight letters, and unique. 
• Countries provide names with pronunciation and voice over.

Type of Disturbance           Wind Speed (km/h)

Low-Pressure Area               Less than 31

Depression                               31-49

Deep Depression                   50-61

Cyclonic Storm                   62-88

Severe Cyclonic Storm       89-117

Very Severe Cyclonic Storm     118-167

Super Cyclonic Storm                 168 and higher

• Anumula Revanth Reddy was sworn in as the first Congress Chief Minister of Telangana
• After the win he vowed to revive a tradition of inviting the public into the halls of power to present their grievances directly to him.
• He immediately signed his first file, to implement the six welfare ‘guarantees’ that headlined the Congress’ poll manifesto.

According to The Global Climate 2011-2020: A Decade of Acceleration report by World Meteorological Organisation,the 2011-2020 decade, though warmest ever recorded in history, saw the lowest number of deaths from extreme events

Key points

• The 2011-2020 decade was the first since 1950 when there was not a single short-term event with 10,000 deaths or more
• The report also says that this was the first decade that the depleted ozone hole visibly showed recovery. 
• Glaciers that were measured around the world thinned by approximately 1 metre per year on an average between 2011 and 2020. 
• Greenland and Antarctica lost 38% more ice during the period than during the 2001-2010 period. 
• The report further underlined that human-caused climate change significantly increased the risks from extreme heat events. 
• Heatwaves were responsible for the highest number of human casualties, while tropical cyclones caused the most economic damage.

• For the first time, a key document being negotiated at the UN’s annual climate summit has underlined the need for the world to do away with all fossil fuels, in its draft text. 
• In previous years, climate talks have generally circled around the need for the world to wean itself away from coal, but negotiations have generally ended in a stalemate.

About Global Stocktake

• The Global Stocktake is a periodic review mechanism established under the Paris Agreement in 2015.
• The stocktake takes place every five years, with the first-ever stocktake scheduled to conclude at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28)
• Its primary objectives are to assess individual countries’ efforts to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and transition to renewable energy sources.
• The stocktake is designed to keep countries accountable and encourage them to increase their climate ambitions over time

At a time when economic offences rise exponentially, the pendency of trial of such cases in the courts stands at 98.8 per cent in Odisha. 

Key points

• As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report-2022, Lakshadweep topped with a 100 pc pendency rate, while Manipur stood second with 99.2 pc and Uttarakhand and Bihar at 99 pc each, followed by Odisha.
• The higher rate of pendency is attributed to the process of documentation by the police.

Alarmed by low sex ratio at birth, the Odisha government has swung into action and prepared a roadmap to arrest the declining trend and improve the situation

Key points

• The child sex ratio of Odisha has been showing a declining trend since 1961. 
• While the number of women was 1,035 against 1,000 men in 1961, it declined to 1,020 in 1971, 995 in 1981, 967 in 1991, 953 in 2001 and 941 in 2011.
• The sex ratio in educated, comparatively developed and industrialised districts like Khurda, Balasore, Puri, Angul and Jajpur is the lowest as compared to tribal districts.
• Several initiatives by the state government and the Centre, notwithstanding, the child sex ratio at birth declined from 932 in 2015-2016 to 894 in 2019-2021, as per the National Family Health Survey-5.

Even as the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has pointed out a spurt in the number of missing children in Odisha, as per the Crime in India-2022 report, the number of child marriages has come down in the state.

Key points

• According to the report, the number of cases registered under The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 between 2021 and 2022 was 46.
• The number of child marriages continue to remain high if compared to the pre-pandemic period. 
• In 2019, the number of cases registered under The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act was 22 and it was 24 in 2020.

• The state cabinet approved a proposal for development of a utility corridor between Gopalpur port and Tata Steel Industrial Park at Gopalpur 
• It was done at a cost of Rs 128.88 crore to provide logistics facilities for existing and upcoming industries.

Key points

• The cabinet also approved a special incentive package for Welspun Group’s projects at Choudwar in Cuttack and Nilgungri in Sambalpur district. 
• The projects with an investment of Rs 6,600 crore will create job opportunities for more than 20,000 people, revitalise the textile industry, foster sustainable industrial growth and skill development.

• Odisha Bigyan Academy, with the approval of the Science & Technology department, announced various awards for scientists for the years 2021 and 2022.
• Professor Pravat Kumar Mohapatra from Sambalpur and Professor Bidyut Kumar Das from SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack will receive the ‘Biju Patnaik Award’ for Scientific Excellence for the years 2021 and 2022, respectively.

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