Addapedia Odisha | Daily Current Affairs | 21 February 2024 | Download PDF

• Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his Cabinet approved a Bill to provide a 10% quota for the Maratha community in education and government jobs.

Key points:

• The Bill, passed by the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, is similar to the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018 introduced by the then-government led by Devendra Fadnavis, which was struck down by the top court in May 2021. 
• This is the third time in the last decade that the State has introduced legislation for a Maratha quota.
• While seeking to fulfill demands of poorer Marathas , this Bill does not disturb the existing OBC quota. It will push total reservations in Maharashtra to 62%, above the Supreme Court-mandated limit of 50%.
• As things stand, reservation in the state is 52%. The break down: 13% for Scheduled Castes, 7% for Scheduled Tribes, 19% for OBCs, 2% for Special Backward Classes, 3% for Vimukta Jati, 2.5% for Nomadic Tribe (B), 3.5% for Nomadic Tribe (C) Dhangar, and 2% for Nomadic Tribe (D) Vanjari.
• With the proposed Maratha reservation, the state’s overall quota percentage goes up to 62%, just below Tamil Nadu, which stands at 69%. “Maharashtra is not the only state to have above 60% reservation. Haryana and Rajasthan have 64%. Twenty-two states have more than 50%,”

• India will invite private companies to invest about $26 billion in its nuclear energy sector to increase the amount of electricity from sources that do not produce carbon dioxide emissions.

Key points:

• This is the first time that New Delhi is pursuing private investment in nuclear power, a non-carbon-emitting energy source that contributes less than 2% of India’s total electricity generation. 
• The funding would help India achieve its target of having 50% of its installed electric generation capacity use non-fossil fuels by 2030, up from 42% now.
• The government is in talks with at least five private firms, including Reliance Industries, Tata Power, Adani Power, and Vedanta Ltd., to invest around ₹440 billion ($5.3 billion) each.
• With the investment, the government hopes to build 11,000 megawatts (MW) of new nuclear power generation capacity by 2040, said the officials, adding that the plan is still being finalized.
• The state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) owns and operates the country’s fleet of nuclear power plants, with a capacity of 7,500 MW, and has committed investments for another 1,300 MW.

• Chipmaker Nvidia is replacing Tesla as Wall Street’s most traded stock, adding to its prominence after becoming the third-most valuable U.S. company and showing more evidence of how central AI-related bets have become to investors.

Key points:

• About $30 billion Nvidia shares changed hands daily on average over the past 30 sessions, pulling ahead of Elon Musk’s electric car maker, which averaged $22 billion per day over the same period. 
• Tesla since 2020 has dominated daily U.S. stock trading, as per LSEG data, with turnover — a stock’s share price multiplied by the number of shares exchanged — peaking above $35 billion several times in recent years.

• Man Made gems are reshaping the $89 bn global diamond jewelry market, especially in Surat where 90% of the world’s diamonds are cut and polished; lab-grown diamond exports from India tripled in value between 2019-2022 while exports rose 25% between April and October 2023.

Key points:

• The glittering diamonds sparkle the same but there are key differences: mined natural gems are more than a billion years old, while laboratory-made rocks are new and cost less than half the price.
• “It’s the same product, it’s the same chemical, the same optical properties.”
• The lab-grown industry has had its problems, too. Supply has skyrocketed and prices have dropped drastically, with wholesale prices down by 58% in 2023 alone.

• The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) reached an agreement to establish a new coalition government in Pakistan after days of negotiations.
• PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari announced that PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif is set to assume the role of Prime Minister again while PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari is slated to become the country’s next President.

• A study has confirmed the fragmentation of the plastic content of real-world water samples beyond the micrometer scale.

Key points:

• A liter of bottled water can contain more than one lakh particles of micro- and nano-plastics, with 90% of those being the latter.
• Nanoplastics are difficult to analyze, mainly due to their size and also due to the inability of different diagnostic techniques to identify them.
• The study, conducted by scientists at Columbia University in New York and published on January 8, 2024 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,The investigation revealed the presence of around 2.4 lakh micro- and nano-plastic particles per liter of bottled water (give or take 1.3 lakh).
• The algorithm the research team used to track the presence of plastics in bottled water could spot following the types: polyamide 66, polypropylene (PP), polyethylene, polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

• Ganjam has emerged as the top egg-producing district in Odisha.
• Ganjam currently produces 50% of the state’s total egg requirements, supplying not only to Odisha but also to neighbouring states like West Bengal and the northeast.
• To further boost production, the Odisha government launched the ‘Mukhya Mantri Krushi Udyog Yojana’ offering subsidies to encourage youths to enter poultry farming. 
• The initial subsidy for youths starting with at least 1,000 hens is Rs 3,03,640, with additional funds available as per requirements. 
• The initiative has been highly successful, with 63 poultry farms in the district currently rearing large numbers of hens.
• The district currently boasts a large poultry population, comprising 4.90 lakh hens, and produces approximately 41 lakh eggs daily, enabling it to meet the needs of other parts of the state.

• Jindal Steel & Power (JSP) has received the CSR & Sustainability Award 2024 for its exemplary work in Water Conservation and Management, specifically for its efforts in supporting farmers in Angul, Odisha. 
• Through collaborative projects with NABARD, JSP has made significant contributions to integrated watershed management, benefiting over 5000 farming families in Tubey, Kulei, Derjang, Maratira, and Madhiamunda villages of Angul District.

• Odisha Central University is set to receive its permanent campus, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to lay the foundation stone for an infrastructure project worth Rs. 129 Crore today.
• According to reports, the PM will initiate the construction of the Central University’s permanent campus in Koraput. 
• The foundation stone laying ceremony will be conducted via a video conferencing program at 10:30 am on 21st Feb.

• International Mother Language Day (IMLD), annually celebrated on February 21st, serves as a crucial reminder of the importance of linguistic and cultural diversity. 
• It was initiated by Bangladesh and formally recognized by UNESCO in 1999, aiming to:

1. Promote awareness: Highlight the value of linguistic and cultural diversity for sustainable societies.
2. Preserve languages: Encourage the protection and revitalization of endangered languages.
3. Promote multilingualism: Advocate for using and learning multiple languages for individual and societal benefits.

Theme for 2024:

• “Multilingual education is a pillar of intergenerational learning.” 
• This theme emphasizes the role of mother tongue-based education in fostering learning, literacy, and the transmission of traditional knowledge across generations.

Did you Know?

• On 21st February 2000, the first International Mother language Day was observed.

• Preparations are underway at Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary to create a peaceful environment for the endangered Olive Ridleys as they journey to the sandy beaches for nesting. 
• This sanctuary is known as the largest nesting site for these turtles, which are protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, receiving similar protection to endangered tigers. 

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