Addapedia Odisha | Daily Current Affairs | 15 April 2024 | Download PDF

• The Statue of Valour, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 9, 2024, has sparked diverse opinions, much like the varying support for the leading candidates in the North-East ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections.

About:

• The statue honors Bir Lachit Borphukan, a revered Ahom general known for his leadership in the Battle of Saraighat in 1671, where he successfully thwarted the Mughal army’s attempt to conquer Assam. 
• It is part of the Lachit Barphukan Maidam Development Project, aimed at commemorating the legacy of this iconic figure and promoting tourism in the region.
• Borphukan started his military journey as a Ghora Barua, a cavalry officer, serving under King Jayadhwaj Singha.

Ahoms:

• The Ahom Kingdom, spanning from 1228 to 1826 in the Brahmaputra Valley of present-day Assam, India, was founded by Chaolung Sukaphaa, a prince from Mong Mao (modern-day Yunnan, China). 
• The Ahoms, originating from Southeast Asia, settled in the Brahmaputra Valley after defeating local rulers.
• Known for its diverse population and well-organized military, the Ahom Kingdom boasted infantry, cavalry, artillery, and a navy. 
• The Ahoms integrated with the local culture, adopting the language, religion, and customs of the regions they conquered.

• Asia Development Outlook report is released by the Asian Development Bank.
• As per report, India’s GDP growth is forecasted to slow from 7.6% in 2023-24 to 7% in 2024-25, before improving to 7.2% in 2025-26.

Did you know?

• India is a founding member of the Asian Development Bank and the bank’s fourth largest shareholder.

About ADB:

• Full name: Asian Development Bank
• Established Year: 1966.
• Headquarters: Manila, Philippines.
• The Asian Development Bank was established as a regional development bank. In India, it was established under the “Asian Development Bank Act, 1966”.
• Composition: The Asian Development Bank is operated by a Board of Governors, which is composed of one representative from each member state.
• Aim of the Organization: To promote economic development and poverty reduction in Asia and the Pacific.
• Programs/Activities/Services Offered by the Organization: The Asian Development Bank provides assistance to its developing member countries, the private sector, and public-private partnerships through grants, loans, technical assistance, and equity investments to promote development.
• The Asian Development Bank has 68 members, of which 49 are from the Asia and Pacific region.

• A fire broke out in the Sulthan Bathery forest range under the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala.
• The fire destroyed close to 100 hectares of forest.

Key Points:

• The fire spread rapidly due to several factors:
  • Dried bamboo pods
  • High temperature due to the absence of summer rain
  • Strong wind
  • Withered undergrowth
• The fire also affected a rubber plantation near the sanctuary.

Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary:

• Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Wayanad, Kerala.
• Established in: 1973.
• Objective: Conserving the biological heritage of the region.
• It is an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The Western Ghats, Nilgiri Sub-Cluster, including all of the sanctuary, is under consideration by the World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.
• Geographical Features: The sanctuary includes four hill ranges: Sulthan Bathery, Muthanga, Kurichiat, and Tholpetty.
• Rivers and Highways: The Kabini river, a tributary of the Kaveri River, flows through the sanctuary.
• Habitat and Ecosystem:The sanctuary is home to both moist and dry deciduous trees and semi-evergreen forests.
• Endangered Animals/Species: It is home to gaur, Indian elephant, deer, and Bengal tiger. It also hosts the dhole or Asiatic wild dog, an endangered large carnivore.
• Ecological Importance: Home to over 3,700 known species and a significant population of Asian elephants.
• Challenges and Threats: The sanctuary is battling the encroachment of alien plant species. Human pollution, cutting of trees, forest fire, wildlife population resulting food deficiency, disturbances in the community forest, illegal poaching were the major threats to wildlife.

• NexCAR19, the country’s first ‘Made in India’ CAR T-cell therapy, was recently launched.
• The therapy was developed by IIT Bombay and the Tata Memorial Centre.

About NexCAR19:

• NexCAR19 is a type of immunotherapy known as

CAR T-cell therapy.

• In this therapy, a patient’s immune cells (T cells) are engineered in a lab to produce special proteins called chimeric antigen receptors (CARs).
• These receptors are designed to recognize specific proteins, or antigens, found on the surface of cancer cells.
• Purpose and Importance: Treat different types of cancer, particularly blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma. It’s important because it represents a major breakthrough in cancer treatment. It provides a new, potentially more effective way to fight cancer, especially for patients for whom other treatments have failed.
• Unique Features: One of the standout features of NexCAR19 is its “humanised” design. It’s tailored to mimic the human immune system more closely, which aims to enhance the therapy’s effectiveness while minimizing the risk of immune system rejection.
• Applications: NexCAR19 is used mainly to treat certain types of blood cancers, including B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, high-grade B-cell lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma.

Advantages: It’s an affordable CAR T-cell therapy, costing significantly less than comparable treatments available globally. Lab and animal studies indicate lower drug-related toxicities, including reduced neurotoxicity and Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS).

Challenges or Drawbacks: One significant concern is cytokine release syndrome (CRS), a serious reaction that can occur following the CAR-T infusion. Additionally, while the therapy is promising, it doesn’t work for everyone and can be expensive.

• Payal Kapadia’s film, All We Imagine As Light, has become the first Indian title in over 40 years to feature in the prestigious In Competition section of the Cannes Film Festival.
• British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri’s Santosh will also be showcased at the 77th edition of the film gala under the Un Certain Regard section.

About Payal Kapadia:

• Payal Kapadia is an alumna of the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) and is best known for her acclaimed documentary A Night of Knowing Nothing, which won the Oeil d’or (Golden Eye) award at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival’s Director’s Fortnight side-bar.

Did you know?

• The last Indian film to compete for the coveted Palme d’Or award (It is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival) was legendary filmmaker Mrinal Sen’s Kharij in 1983.
• Neecha Nagar is the only Indian film ever to win the top honour at Cannes back in 1946.

• The need for a standardized time system on the Moon has arisen due to the fact that time on the Moon behaves differently from time on Earth.
• This difference is a consequence of Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, which explains that gravity can bend both space and time. 
• As the Moon has less gravity than Earth, time moves slightly faster there. 
• To address this, NASA is working on creating a time standard that can be used by various international organizations and private companies operating on the lunar surface.

About:

• Establishing a lunar time standard involves deploying atomic clocks on the Moon. 
• These clocks will need to be placed at multiple locations due to factors like the Moon’s rotation and the presence of mascons, which are dense areas beneath the lunar crust that affect the local gravity field and thus the flow of time. 
• By combining the outputs of these clocks using an algorithm, a precise virtual timepiece for the Moon can be created, which can then be synchronized with Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) for seamless operations between the Earth and the Moon.

Standard time on Earth:

• On Earth, UTC serves as the basis for most timekeeping systems and time zones. 
• Countries adjust their local time by adding or subtracting hours from UTC based on their position relative to the Greenwich meridian. 
• This meridian, located in Greenwich, England, serves as the prime meridian from which longitudes are measured. 
• Countries to the west of the Greenwich meridian subtract hours from UTC, while countries to the east add hours. 
• This system allows for a globally coordinated time standard despite the Earth’s varying rotational speeds at different latitudes.

• Odisha teacher Subhadarshani Pradhan has been actively involved in conserving the Mangrove pitta birds since 2020, inspiring local villagers in Bhitarkanika to join her cause.
• Recognizing the threats faced by the nearly threatened Mangrove pitta, Subhadarshani initiated a conservation effort. 
• She engaged with villagers living near Bhitarkanika to raise awareness about the importance of the bird in the local ecology and how to protect it.

About:

• • Mangrove pitta birds are resident, non-migratory birds that primarily feed on crustaceans, mollusks, and insects. 
  • They indicate the health of mangrove forests; their presence suggests a healthy ecosystem, while their absence can indicate disturbances or imbalances in the ecosystem.
  • The breeding season of Mangrove pitta birds in Bhitarkanika ranges from April to August. 
  • The bird, locally known as ‘Nabarangi’ because of its colorful body, has a black head with a brown crown, a white throat, greenish upper parts, buff under-parts, and a reddish vent area.
  • During the first-ever census conducted last year by the Forest department to count the birds in the national park, 179 Mangrove pitta birds were sighted, indicating a good population in the core areas of Bhitarkanika.
  • The Mangrove pitta birds are almost endangered, with habitats restricted to mangrove forest areas in Odisha’s Bhitarkanika and the Sunderbans in West Bengal. 
  • Their population is threatened by habitat loss and degradation caused by human activities.
• Highest number of the birds have been seen in Mahipura river mouth in Bhitarkanika.

• A significant fire broke out at Nalabana Bird Sanctuary located within Chilika Lake in Odisha’s Khurda district on Saturday, resulting in the destruction of several fishing boats.
• There are concerns that many migratory birds and wild animals, including fishing cats, may have perished in the blaze.

Key points:

• • The Nalabana Bird Sanctuary, situated on Nalabana Island within Odisha’s Chilika lagoon area, serves as the core of the Chilika ecosystem. 
  • This sanctuary, covering approximately 16 sq km, received official recognition in 1987. 
  • During the monsoon, the island is submerged, only to resurface after the monsoon season.
• Nalabana and Mangalajodi, situated along the Chilika lake’s banks, are the primary gathering spots for birds.
• Migratory birds begin arriving at Chilika around November, seeking respite from the harsh winter conditions of their native habitats in Siberia, China, Japan, and other northern hemisphere countries. 
• Some notable migratory species include Bar-headed geese, greater flamingos, herons, black-tailed godwits, and the rare Great Knot, which was recently spotted after a five-year absence.
• Chilika Lake, where these sanctuaries are located, holds the distinction of being Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon and the world’s second-largest, following the New Caledonian barrier reef in New Caledonia.

• Experts are advocating for the extension of multilingual education (MLE) in Odisha beyond Class III to reach more tribal youths.
• In Odisha, which boasts 21 tribal languages and 74 dialects, the MLE-based learning ecosystem has received a boost with the regularization of 64 posts of tribal language teachers on July 26, 2021.

Key points:

• Experts in education, linguistics, and anthropology involved in tribal socio-cultural and economic development suggest that a comprehensive linguistic survey of tribals, including Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), is necessary to ensure an effective MLE-based learning ecosystem. 
• They also propose the inclusion of local educated tribal youths in the education system through SSD schools.
• Currently, the tribal language teaching system is mainly limited to lower classes, i.e., Class I to III. 
• However, experts argue that to make tribal students more comfortable with their studies, the MLE process should continue up to Class VIII.
• In developed languages like Santhali, it could be extended up to the Higher Secondary or even Graduation level.

Tribes in Odisa:

• In Odisha, as many as 62 communities have been enlisted as Scheduled Tribes in with the provisions of Article-242 of constitution of India.
• Among the tribes some such as Kondh, Gond, Saora, Santal etc. are numerically very large and widely distributed and few others like Bondo, Chenchu, Lodha, Mankirdia etc being small in number are found concentrated in certain pockets.

Broad Objectives of MLE

• To Ensure equity and quality education to tribal children
• To improve tribal students’ reading, writing skills and learning through use of mother tongue in early grades
• To introduce state and national language at early stages to mainstream the tribal children in state-wide education system
• To develop respect among tribal children for their language and culture 

• Ambedkar Jayanti is observed every year on April 14th.
• It commemorates the birthday of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, a revered Indian politician and social reformer.  
• Also known as Bhim Jayanti or Equality Day, it honors his significant contributions to Indian society.

About:

• Dr. Ambedkar is best known as the “Father of the Indian Constitution” for his chairmanship of the drafting committee.  
• A champion for equality, he fought against the caste system and advocated for the upliftment of disadvantaged communities.
• Ambedkar Jayanti is a national holiday in India.  
• People pay homage at his statues and memorials, organize educational events and seminars, and reaffirm their commitment to social justice and equality.

• This day has the underlying theme of ‘social justice and equality’.

• World Art Day is celebrated annually on April 15th. 
• It is an international celebration of the fine arts which was declared by the International Association of Art in order to promote awareness of creative activity worldwide.

About:

• The idea of celebrating World Art Day was proposed by the International Association of Art (IAA) in 2011 at the 17th General Assembly held in Guadalajara, Mexico. 
• The first World Art Day was celebrated on April 15, 2012

Theme:

• The theme for World Art Day 2024 is “A Garden of Expression: Cultivating Community through Art.” 
• The theme encapsulates the essence of art as a vibrant and nurturing force that fosters connection, creativity, and collaboration within communities worldwide.

All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Adda247.