Addapedia Odisha | Daily Current Affairs | 9 October 2023 | Download PDF

Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched the biggest surprise attack on Israel.

About Hamas

• Hamas is a Palestinian Islamist political organization and militant group that has waged war on Israel since the group’s 1987 founding.
• It seeks to replace Israel with a Palestinian state. 
• It also governs Gaza independently of the Palestinian Authority.

Gaza Strip

• It is a part of palestinian Authority along with the west bank.
• It is governed by Hamas, a militant, fundamentalist Islamic organization
• It borders Egypt on the southwest, Israel on the east and north, Mediterranean on the west.
• Gaza strip is situated on the northeast of the Sinai Peninsula.

The GST council has cleared several pending issues in a recent meeting.

Decisions taken by GST council

• lowered the tax rates on certain millet-based products.
• Make an amendment in  the age-related norms for members of the GST Appellate Tribunals
• Ceded the taxation rights on extra neutral alcohol to the States.

GST Council

• The 101st Amendment Act of 2016 (122nd Amendment Bill), paved the way for the implementation of GST.
• The GST Council is a joint forum of the Centre and the states under Article 279-A of the constitution.
• Article 279-A. gives the President the authority to appoint a GST Council by executive order.
• The members of the Council include the Union Finance Minister (chairperson), and the Union Minister of State (Finance) from various states.
• As per Article 279, it makes recommendations to the Union and the states on important issues related to GST.
• It also decides on various rate slabs of GST.

The ISRO, which is planning to commence unmanned flight tests for the Gaganyaan mission, has started to make preparations for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1).

Gaganyaan Mission

• Gaganyaan project envisages demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of 3 members to an orbit of 400 km for a 3 days mission and bringing them back safely to earth.
• It is part of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme (IHSP), which was initiated (2007) by the ISRO to develop the technology needed to launch crewed orbital spacecraft into low earth orbit (LEO).
• Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3/GSLV Mk3) rocket – the well proven and reliable heavy lift launcher of ISRO, is identified as the launch vehicle for Gaganyaan mission.
• India’s heaviest rocket consists of solid stage, liquid stage and cryogenic stage.

A recent study  has revealed that 19 Gangetic river dolphins had been rescued from the irrigation canals of the Ganga-Ghagra basin in Uttar Pradesh between 2013 and 2020.

Key facts

According to Shailendra Singh of the Turtle Survival Alliance Foundation India, one of the lead authors of the paper, the paper gives data for eight years but from 2013 to 2023, 28 dolphins had been rescued.

Gangetic Dolphin:

• Though the species is not known to be gregarious i.e  they do not prefer to form a group but they may prefer to live and/or hunt in the pod
• IIUCN: Endangered
• Wildlife (Protection) Act: Schedule-I 
• CITES: Appendix I

Turtle Survival Alliance Foundation India

• It is a non-profit organization
• established in 2016
• It works primarily in the domain of Energy & Environment.

• LiDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging
• It is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth.
• These light pulses—combined with other data recorded by the airborne system — generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics.
• There are three primary components of a LiDAR instrument — the scanner, laser and GPS receiver.
• Airplanes and helicopters are the most commonly used platforms for acquiring lidar data over broad areas. 

• Carbon dating is a widely-used method to establish the age of organic materials, things that were once living.
• Living things have carbon in them in various forms.
• The dating method is based on the fact that Carbon-14 (C-14) is radioactive, and decays at a well-known rate.
• The ratio of C-12 to C-14 in the atmosphere is almost static, and is known.
• The Carbon Dating method cannot be used to determine the age of non-living things like rocks.
• Also, the age of things that are more than 40,000-50,000 years old cannot be arrived at through carbon dating.

ISRO has performed a trajectory correction maneuver on the Aditya-L1 spacecraft which is headed to the Lagrangian-1 (L1) point between sun and earth.

Aditya-L1 

• It is the first space-based Indian mission to study the sun from the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the sun-earth system which is roughly 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.
• The project was initially proposed as Aditya-1, a 400 kg class satellite carrying a single payload, the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC).
• It was however renamed ‘Aditya-L1 mission’ since the satellite was positioned in the hallowed orbit of the Sun-Earth system’s Lagrangian point 1 (L1).
• The mission will capture near-simultaneous photos of the many layers of the Sun’s atmosphere, revealing how energy is routed and transported from one layer to the next.

An additional grant of Rs 175.5 crore for the Special Development Councils (SDCs), With the additional grant the total amount sanctioned  is equal to Rs 351 crore for the current fiscal year.

Key facts

• the state government has constituted nine SDCs in Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati, Mayurbhanj, Rayagada, Keonjhar, Kandhamal, Sundargarh and Nabarangpur
• The fund will be spent on preservation of tribal language, art, culture, and heritage.

Special Development Councils (SDCs) 

• This initiative is to preserve and promote tribal culture while ensuring economic development.
• The SDCs focus on identifying and promoting important cultural markers of tribal identity, such as language, sacred groves, and tribal artisans

Did you know?

• Odisha have total 62 tribal groups in the state including the 13 particularly vulnerable tribal groups(PVGTs).

The state government has set a December deadline for the completion of the Shri Jagannath heritage corridor project.

Puri Heritage Corridor Project

• It is a redevelopment project of the Odisha government in Puri.
• Its aim is to create an international heritage site, including the Jagannath temple. 
• The Shree Jagannatha Heritage Corridor (SJHC) or the Shree Mandira Parikrama Project aims to revamp the area around the temple.
• The project includes Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) building redevelopment, a 600-capacity Srimandir reception center, Puri Lake, Musa River revival plan, etc.
• The Odisha government has listed three objectives for the revamp of the area around the temple- the security of the temple, the safety of devotees, and the creation of a religious atmosphere for devotees.

• Odisha State Cooperative Bank has bagged the third prize for the best service and performance among the cooperative banks across the country.
• Odisha has received this award for 2020-21 and 2021-22 annual session held in Rajasthan by the National Federation of State Cooperative Bank Ltd. (NAFSCOB).

Simlipal National Park is scheduled to be reopened for tourists.

Simlipal National Park

• It is a national park and a tiger reserve in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha.
• It is part of Similipal-Kuldiha-Hadgarh Elephant Reserve popularly known as Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve.
• Simlipal National Park derives its name from the abundance of semul (red silk cotton trees) that bloom here.
• It was the second largest national park in India.
• Its reserve has been part of UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves since 2009.
• The park has a protected area of 845.70 square kilometers and has some beautiful waterfalls like Joranda and Barehipani.
• It is home to 99 royal Bengal tigers and 432 wild elephants.
• Besides, it is famous for Gaurs (Indian bison), chausingha as well as an orchidarium.

The JSP Foundation is set to expand the operational scope of its Mission Zero Hunger program.

Zero Hunger Programme 

• • It is an ambitious government scheme aimed at reducing hunger across the country.
  • India’s Zero Hunger Programme was launched on October 16, 2017. 
• The programme created by-

1. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research
2. Indian Council of Medical Research
3.  M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation
4. Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC). 

• The program focuses on developing farm equipment, revamping the farming system, setting up genetic gardens for biofortified plants and beginning zero hunger training.

The Zero Hunger Programme aims to-

• Decrease child stunting for children 2 years and younger
• Ensure access to food all year round
• Create stable food systems
• Increase small farmer productivity and income
• Eliminate food waste

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