Current Affairs 25 March 2024 for UPSC And State PSC Exam

Table of Contents

Usha Mehta

News- A recent movie is inspired by the life of Usha Mehta, a notable Indian freedom fighter.

About

Born in Saras, near Surat, Gujarat in 1920.
Known as Ushaben, a devoted follower of Gandhi’s principles.
At age eight in 1928, participated in a protest against the Simon Commission.
In 1942, helped set up the Secret Congress Radio during the Quit India Movement, maintaining communication between freedom movement leaders and the public.
With the onset of War in 1939, the British suspended all amateur radio licenses and mandated the surrender of equipment, penalizing non-compliance.
Usha Mehta, Babubhai Khakar, Vithalbhai Jhaveri, Chandrakant Jhaveri, crucial in setting up Congress Radio.
Their trial stirred excitement in Bombay; Mehta, Babubhai, Chandrakant received sentences, while Vithalbhai, Motwane were acquitted.
Mehta, released from Yerawada Jail in 1946, was celebrated by nationalist media as “Radio-ben”.

Snowpacks

News- Researchers have developed a novel method to accurately determine the volume of water present in snowpacks and the duration it remains.

About-

In winter-prone mountainous regions, snowfall accumulates on the ground and forms a snowpack, persisting for months under freezing conditions without melting.
A snowpack may be comprised of various snow layers, each originating from separate snowfall events, that get compressed due to the weight of newer layers above.
The snowpack stays in place until spring brings temperatures above freezing, at which point it begins to melt.
Water resulting from the thawing of a snowpack is referred to as snowmelt.
Snowmelt serves as a crucial water source, maintaining stream flow during warmer months.
Factors such as snowfall amount, temperature, and wind play a role in determining a snowpack’s depth.
Intense winds can lead to the evaporation of the snow surface, wearing away the upper layers of the snowpack, and rising temperatures contribute to the melting of these layers.
As layers of snow accumulate, they compress the layers beneath, increasing the snowpack’s density, which reflects how tightly the snow particles are packed together.
Layers like snow-covered surface hoars can weaken the snowpack, heightening avalanche dangers. Tracking snowpack characteristics is crucial for observing climate change’s impact.

PIB’s Fact Check Unit

News- The Supreme Court recently suspended the government’s directive to establish a ‘fact-check unit’, pausing its implementation for the time being.

About

Launched in November 2019 to combat fake news related to the Indian government.
Facilitates reporting of suspicious government-related information by the public.
Aims to correct misinformation about government policies, initiatives, and schemes.
Actively seeks out and corrects disinformation campaigns to ensure accurate government information is maintained.

ORGANISATION

Led by a senior officer (DG/ADG) from the Indian Information Service (IIS).
Daily operations managed by IIS officers at different levels.
Reports to the Principal Director General of the Press Information Bureau (PIB), who is the chief spokesperson for the Government of India.

Fact-Check Mechanism

Users can submit information through WhatsApp, email, or a web portal, classified as ‘Queries’.
The Unit sorts these queries based on their relevance to the Indian Government.
Only those related to the Government of India are addressed as Actionable Queries; others are not actioned.

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