Addapedia Odisha | Daily Current Affairs | 23 October 2024 | Download PDF

• Hornets can tolerate alcohol better than any other animal on Earth.

Key Points:

• • Hornets are a breed of social wasps, living in large, highly organized colonies.
  • They are a group of 20 species occurring naturally only in Asia, Europe, and Africa, with one species introduced to North America.
  • Hornets belong to the insect family Vespidae. This family contains each species of hornets as well as wasps such as yellow jackets, paper wasps, potter wasps, and pollen wasps.
  • Hornets release more venom per sting than any other stinging insect.
  • One species, the northern giant hornet, or Asian giant hornet (V. mandarinia), which is native to Asia, is the largest known wasp species in the world. 
• Diet:

• • Hornets are known to have a rich diet of sugar and protein, among other things.
  • They prey on other insects, including honeybees and social wasps, and chew them into a paste as food for their larvae.

• Recently, the World Economic Outlook was released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Key Points:

• It is a United Nations (UN) specialized agency, founded at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944.
• It was established in the aftermath of the Great Depression of the 1930s.
• The main objectives of the IMF include supporting global monetary cooperation, securing financial stability, facilitating international trade, promoting high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reducing poverty.
• It also lends to countries with balance-of-payments difficulties, and provides technical assistance and training to help countries improve economic management. 
• IMF funds are often conditional on recipients making reforms to increase their growth potential and financial stability.
• It is currently composed of 190 member countries.
• The IMF is headquartered in Washington, DC.

• India and Pakistan agreed to extend their agreement for another five years to manage the Kartarpur Corridor, enabling pilgrims from India to visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara.
• Either party can terminate the agreement at any time by giving notice of one month to the other party of its intention to terminate this agreement.

Key Points:

• Often dubbed as the “Road to Peace”, it connects the Darbar Sahib Gurdwara in the Narowal district of Pakistan with the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in the Gurdaspur district in India’s Punjab province.
• The corridor was built to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev, founder of Sikhism on 12th November 2019.
• Location: On the bank of river Ravi in Pakistan. It is about four km from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine, and about 120 km northeast of Lahore. 
• It is one of the holiest places for Sikhs where Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji settled and preached for the last 18 years of his life until his death in 1539.

Discuss:

• About Guru Nanak Dev:
  • He was the first of the 10 Sikh Gurus and the founder of Sikhism in the 15th century.
  • A Gurdwara was built at his birthplace in the city now known as Nankana Sahib which is located in the Punjab province of Pakistan. 
  • Guru Nanak Jayanti – It is also known as Gurpurab, is the most important festival for the followers of the religion of Sikhism.

• India’s fourth nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), known as S4*, was launched at the Ship Building Centre in Visakhapatnam.
• This submarine is larger and more advanced than the first one, INS Arihant (S2).

Key Points:

• The S4* is equipped with the advanced K-4 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), which has a range of 3,500 km.
• The K-4 provides stand-off capability, allowing for the launch of nuclear weapons while submerged in Indian waters.
• This capability will remain until the development and deployment of a 5,000 km range SLBM.

Learn more about:

• Arihant Class SSBNs (S2):
  • • India’s first indigenous nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) designed and developed under the ATV program.
    • Launched in 2009 and commissioned in 2016 features a double-hull with advanced sensors, periscopes, and various weapon systems.
    • Power: 1 CLWR-B1 Compact Light-water reactor of 83 MW.
    • Speed: 24 knots (submerged) and 15 knots (on the surface).
• INS Arighat (S3): 

• • It is an upgraded variant of the Arihant-class submarine. It is the second nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine being built by India under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project.
  • It can accommodate more K4 missiles than S2.
  • It is ready and undergoing advanced sea trials, and will be commissioned soon.

• Air pollution in Delhi remains classified as ‘very poor. 

Key Points:

• Pollution is defined as the addition or excessive addition of certain materials to the physical environment thereby making it less fit or unfit for living. These materials are called pollutants.
• Air pollution is the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. 
• In 2006 the World Health Organization issued new Air Quality Guidelines.They aim to reduce air pollution-related deaths by 15 percent a year.

What is the National Air Quality Index?

• Launched in 2014 with outline ‘One Number – One Color -One Description’ for the common man to judge the air quality within his vicinity.
• The measurement of air quality is based on eight pollutants, namely: Particulate Matter (PM10), Particulate Matter (PM2.5), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Ozone (O3), Ammonia (NH3), and Lead (Pb).
• AQI has six categories of air quality. These are: Good, Satisfactory, Moderately Polluted, Poor, Very Poor and Severe.

• Retired IPS officer Lalit Das has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Odisha Staff Selection Commission (OSSSC). 
• Besides, retired IAS officer Uddhaba Chandra Majhi and retired OAS officer Saroj Kumar Mishra as Members of the OSSSC.

About:

• The Odisha Staff Selection Commission (OSSSC) is a state-level commission responsible for conducting recruitment examinations for various government posts in the state of Odisha. 
• It was established to streamline the recruitment process and ensure transparency and fairness in the selection of candidates.

• The Ministry of Jal Shakti has conferred the 5th National Water Award to Odisha in the Best State Category for the work done in the field of Water Resources Conservation and Management.
• As many as 369 million cum of water storage facilities have been developed by completing Lower Suktel Dam and Haldia dam for meeting irrigation, drinking water requirements etc.

About:

• The 5th National Water Awards aim to recognize outstanding efforts in water conservation and management in India.
• The winners were 
• The awards were given in nine categories, including Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Urban Local Body, Best School/College, Best Institution, Best Industry, Best Civil Society, Best Water User Association, and Best Individual.

• PM Modi is likely to visit to Odisha on November 15 and launch a number of schemes in the state.
• Modi will attend the event to be organised on the day, which is also observed as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas to acknowledge the cultural heritage and contributions of tribal communities.
• Modi is also slated to launch the ‘Shahid Madho Singh Haath Kharcha Yojana’ of the state government on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas.
• PM will also lay the foundation stone of the Odia Asmita Kendra and hostels for around 450 primary schools in the state during his visit.
• The Scheduled Tribe communities will receive one-time financial assistance of Rs 5,000 under Shahid Madho Singh Haath Kharcha Yojana.
• The scheme aims to check the drop-out rate among the students belonging to the Scheduled Tribes studying in Class 9 and 10 in government and aided schools. 
• ST students passing out from Class 8 and joining in Class 9 and similarly from Class 10 to Class 11, will receive the financial assistance under the scheme.

• Bini Muduli, a girl hailing from the Bonda community from Bonda ghat in Malkangiri district became the first woman of the tribal community to crack the Odisha Civil Services (OCS) examination.

About:

• The Bonda tribe is a particularly vulnerable tribal group found in the Malkangiri district of Odisha. 
• They are one of the oldest and most primitive tribes in mainland India, with their culture having changed little for over a thousand years.
• They are known for their isolation from the outside world, their unique language (Remo), and their traditional way of life.
• The Bonda tribe is divided into two groups: the Upper Bondas, who are even more isolated and have almost no connection to the outside world, and the Lower Bondas, who have slightly more contact with mainstream

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