Addapedia Odisha | Daily Current Affairs | 13 January 2024 | Download PDF

• India’s industrial output growth experienced a significant decline, reaching an eight-month low of 2.4% in November. 
• This comes after a notable high of 11.6% recorded in October. 
• The deceleration was particularly evident in manufacturing output, which expanded at the slowest pace in seven months, registering a mere 1.2%.

Key Points:

Contractions in Key Sectors:

• Consumer durables production witnessed a notable decline of 5.4%, reaching its lowest level since June 2021, during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Electricity generation also decreased to its lowest level since February 2023, despite a 5.8% year-on-year increase, compared to a 20.4% uptick in October.
• Only six out of 23 manufacturing segments recorded growth in November.
• Notable increases were observed in coke and refined petroleum products (14.2%) and other transport equipment (9.8%).

Impact of Base Effects and Sequential Contractions:

• Base effects from November 2022, when the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) rose by 7.6%, played a role in moderating the growth rate.
• Sequential contractions in electricity and manufacturing further contributed to the overall decline.

What is IIP?

Definition: The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an index which shows the growth rates in different industry groups of the economy in a stipulated period of time. The IIP index is computed and published by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) on a monthly basis.

Description: IIP is a composite indicator that measures the growth rate of industry groups classified under,

1. Broad sectors, namely, Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity

2. Use-based sectors, namely Basic Goods, Capital Goods and Intermediate Goods.

The Base Year for IIP is 2011-2012.

• The President Droupadi Murmu conferred Swachh Survekshan awards 2023 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi hosted by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
• The theme for the year 2023 was –“Waste to Wealth”.
• For 2024, the theme is “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”.

Key Points:

• Surat, a prominent port city, claimed the top honors in cleanliness, sharing the spotlight with Indore. Indore had held the solo position for six consecutive years.

About:

• • Swachh Survekshan, conducted by MoHUA since 2016, is the world’s largest urban sanitation and cleanliness survey. 
  • It has been instrumental in fostering a spirit of healthy competition among towns and cities to improve their service delivery to citizens and towards creating cleaner cities.
• The primary goal of Swachh Survekshan is to encourage large scale citizen participation and create awareness amongst all sections of society about the importance of working together towards making towns and cities better places to reside in.

• Conducted under the ambit of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), the annual survey has managed to mobilise people, resources and authorities in an effort to prove that their city, of all cities in India, is the cleanest and that sustainable practices, both by citizens and ULBs, are being encouraged and promulgated.

• Official delegation from the Department of Science and Technology visits Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
• Focus on addressing challenges to the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project, a global scientific collaboration.

Key Points:

Overview of the TMT Project

• • The TMT aims to be a 30-meter optical and infrared telescope for deep space observations.
  • Collaboration involves the U.S., Japan, China, Canada, and India, with Indian participation approved in 2014.
• India set to contribute hardware worth $200 million to the project which was approved by Union Cabinet in 2014.

Local Resistance and Legal Hurdles

• Mauna Kea, housing multiple telescopes, faces opposition from locals on cultural and religious grounds. 
• Despite initial construction permits being invalidated by the Supreme Court in 2015, permissions were reinstated in 2018. Construction delays persist due to ongoing local opposition.

Exploration of Alternate Sites and India’s Stand

• Discussions are underway to consider the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos in Spain as an alternative site for the TMT. 
• India, expressing concerns in 2020, emphasized the need for proper procedures and permits. Current Indian perspectives on the project’s location remain uncertain.

Future Outlook and Challenges

• Efforts continue to find a consensus and local support for the TMT project. 
• Annapurni Subramaniam, the director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, anticipates a decision on the project’s site within the next two years, highlighting the ongoing challenge of balancing scientific aspirations with community concerns.

• Japan has successfully launched an H2A rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center, carrying the Optical-8 satellite, a key component of Tokyo’s reconnaissance efforts.
• The mission aims to monitor military activities in North Korea and enhance disaster response capabilities.

Key Points:

Orbit

• The IGS-Optical 8 satellite is anticipated to enter a circular orbit at an altitude of around 500 kilometers. This orbit will be specifically Sun-synchronous (SSO).

Purpose of the Mission

• The primary objectives of the mission include observing movements at military sites in North Korea and improving Japan’s responses to natural disasters. 
• The Optical-8 satellite, equipped with optical capabilities, plays a crucial role in capturing detailed images for intelligence-gathering purposes.

Japan’s Satellite Program

• Initiated in response to a North Korean missile incident in 1998, Japan’s satellite program aims to establish a network of 10 satellites. 
• These satellites, including those equipped with radars for night and severe weather operations, are designed to detect and provide early warnings for potential missile launches.

The inauguration of the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), India’s longest sea bridge, by the Prime Minister, marked a transformative phase for Mumbai’s real estate sector.

Key Points:

Monumental Engineering Feat:

• Inaugurated on January 12, 2024, the MTHL is officially named Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Trans Harbour Link (Atal Setu), also known as Sewri–Nhava Sheva Trans Harbour Link.
• This 21.8 km, 6-lane bridge connects Mumbai with Navi Mumbai, spanning Thane Creek.
• Comprising a 16.5 km sea link and 5.5 km of viaducts on land, it stands as India’s longest sea bridge and the 12th longest globally.

Engineering Innovations:

• The bridge showcases the first use of orthotropic decks in India, allowing for longer spans and increased structural efficiency.
• Equipped with advanced traffic monitoring and surveillance systems, the MTHL prioritizes safety and security.

Odisha Regional Specific News

• Even as Odisha has managed to improve its position significantly in the Swachh Survekshan 2023 ranking, waste management remains grim in urban areas of the state with just 50 percent or less garbage being processed in 86 percent of the civic bodies. 

Key Points:

• As per the latest cleanliness ranking report released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Odisha is the fourth state in the country in terms of cleanliness
• The state has over  93.17 percent door-to-door waste collection and around 74 percent source segregation in urban areas.

• The Odisha government has asked all doctors to write prescriptions in legible handwriting

Key Points:

• As per guidelines of National Medical Commission, all registered medical practitioners/medical officers of government peripheral health care facilities, medical colleges, private clinics and private medical colleges are to write prescriptions in proper legible handwriting or in typed form

• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated 389 schools in five districts under the state government’s transformational programme.
• These schools were located in Ganjam, Jharsuguda, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Bargarh districts.
• The schools across the state were transforming under the ‘5T’ initiative.

• Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will flag off a MEMU train from Nilagiri to Balasore today.
• The train will run up and down from Nilagiri to Balasore thrice a day.
• The train services from Nilagiri will be expanded to Bhubaneswar and Kolkata in coming years

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