Daily Current Affairs for Competitive Examinations: January 06, 2023

Scoring well in the Current Affairs portion is not difficult if we have a sound preparation plan. Candidates can ace the current affairs section of any exam by using the right tools and daily news analysis. We have selected the best of the most current news and put it together in Embibe’s Current Affairs series.

Motivation++

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there” 

-Theodore Roosevelt-

Current Affairs: National

Odisha Wins World Habitat Awards 2023 for Jaga Mission

• Recently, Odisha won the ‘World Habitat Award’ for its ambitious initiative- Jaga Mission. 
• It aims at transforming the slums into liveable habitats with all necessary civic infrastructure and services at par with the better-off areas within the same urban local body and to continuously improve the standard of the infrastructure and services and access to livelihood opportunities. 

World Habitat Award? 

• This award is given by World Habitat, in partnership with United Nations Habitat, every year, in recognition of innovative, outstanding, and revolutionary ideas, projects, and programmes from across the world in the field of housing.

What is the Jaga Mission? 

• Odisha Liveable Habitat Mission (OLHM)- JAGA is a society under the Housing and Urban Development Department, Government of Odisha. 
• The slum land titling mission was being executed in collaboration with Tata Trusts and Norman Foster Foundation.
• The Odisha government rolled out this first-of-its-kind project on 7 May 2018. 
• This mission was also awarded the ‘India Geospatial Excellence Award’ for technological innovation in transforming the lives of the urban poor. 

Question: 

Which of the following states/UT recently won the World Habitat Awards 2023?

A. Rajasthan

B. Delhi

C. Odisha

D. Maharashtra

Answer: C

Current Affairs: National

President launched National Campaign on ‘RISE-Rising India through Spiritual Empowerment’

• The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, graced the launch of the National Campaign on ‘RISE-Rising India through Spiritual Empowerment’, organised by Brahma Kumaris at Mount Abu, Rajasthan recently. 

Details of RISE:

• Indian citizens are intended to be spiritually empowered via the national campaign “RISE- Rising India Through Spiritual Empowerment”.
• This will contribute to realising the vision of a “Golden India”. 
• According to Brahma Kumaris, personal development results in global transformation.
• The path of a million modifications will set off a chain reaction that, in the end, will result in rebuilding the nation.

Question: 

The President recently launched the National Campaign on ‘RISE-Rising India through Spiritual Empowerment’ in which of the following states?

A. Rajasthan

B. Madhya Pradesh

C. Uttar Pradesh

D. Tamil Nadu

Answer: A

Check out the Highlights of the Economic Survey 2022-23 by clicking on the link given below:
Economic Survey 2022-23

Current Affairs: National

1st All India Annual State Ministers Conference on Water

• The “1st All India Annual State Ministers Conference on Water’’ is being organised by the Ministry of Jal Shakti with the theme “Water Vision@2047” in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, on the 5th and 6th of this month.

Objective:

• The primary objective of this two-day Conference is to gather inputs for the vision India@2047 as the water sector will play a significant role in achieving the heights India strives to reach in the coming years.
• It will share the initiatives and schemes of the Ministry of Jal Shakti with all water stakeholders of the States.

The Conference will have five thematic sessions

1. Water Security in Water Deficit, Water Surplus and Hilly Regions
2. Water Use Efficiency, including Reuse of Waste Water/ Grey Water
3. Water Governance
4. Climate Change Resilient Water Infrastructure
5. Water Quality

Question: 

What is the theme of the “1st All India Annual State Ministers Conference on Water” organised by the Ministry of Jal Shakti?

A. Water Vision@2047

B. Water Governance 2035

C. Grey Water Conservation

D. Water Security in Water Deficit

Answer: A

Current Affairs: Science and Technology

Ethiopia Releases an Atlas to Map Livestock Disease

• Ethiopia has recently released the first edition of an atlas to map a parasitic disease affecting livestock in the country and the vector behind it.
• It aims to establish a reference for the distribution of tsetse flies and African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT) in western Ethiopia.

About AAT:

• AAT is a major livestock disease constraining sub-Saharan Africa’s agricultural production. 
• It is caused by the parasitic protozoa trypanosomes, which are transmitted by the bite of tsetse flies — an African blood-sucking fly.

Countries Covered in AAT Project:

• The project spans from August 2021–August 2025 and houses African countries, including South Africa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Senegal, Sudan, Chad, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Question: 

Which of the following African countries recently released the first edition of an atlas to map a parasitic disease affecting livestock in most countries of the continent?

A. Ethiopia

B. Kenya

C. Mozambique

D. Uganda

Answer: A

Current Affairs: Environment and Ecology

Winter Heat Wave in Europe

• Several parts of Europe witnessed an unprecedented winter heat wave over New Year’s weekend. Experts said that temperatures increased 10 to 20 degrees Celsius above normal.
• Seven European countries, including Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia, recorded their hottest January weather ever.
• This extreme warm spell experienced by Europe is because of the formation of a heat dome over the region.

What Is a Heat Dome?

• A heat dome occurs when an area of high-pressure traps warm air over a region (like a lid on a pot) for an extended period of time.
• The longer that air remains trapped, the more the sun works to heat the air, producing warmer conditions with every passing day.
• Heat domes generally stay for a few days, but sometimes they can extend for weeks, which might cause deadly heat waves.
• When this warm air sinks, it gets drier and further raises the temperature of the area.

Connection of Heat Dome with Jet Streams:

• The formation of a heat dome is related to the behaviour of the jet stream.
• Jet Stream is an area of fast-moving air high in the atmosphere which has a wave-like pattern that keeps moving from north to south and then north again.

• When these waves get bigger and elongated, they move slowly and sometimes can become stationary.
• This is when a high-pressure system gets stuck and leads to the occurrence of a heat dome.

What Are Some Previous Instances of Heat Domes?

• In 2021, a heat dome formed over western Canada and the US, causing deadly heat waves.
• Another heat dome settled over the US in September 2022 and raised temperatures which fuelled wildfires and stressed the power grid.

Question:

Several parts of Europe witnessed an unprecedented winter heat wave over New Year’s weekend due to which of the following geographical phenomena?

A. Albedo Effect

B. Heat Dome

C. Fire Flares

D. Volcanic eruptions

Answer: B

Check out the Highlights of Union Budget 2023 by clicking on the link given below:
Union Budget 2023-24

Current Affairs: International

The 36th Strategic Dialogue Between India and France

• India and France held the 36th Strategic Dialogue today, 5th January, in New Delhi. 
• The two sides were having discussions on wide-ranging bilateral and global issues. 
• National Security Advisor Ajit Doval led the Indian delegation, while the Diplomatic Advisor to the French President, Mr Emmanuel Bonne, led the French delegation. Mr Bonne has also called on other Indian dignitaries. 
• The last edition of the Strategic Dialogue was held in November 2021 in Paris.

Fact Book – 05th January 2023

Amit Shah lays the foundation stone of the Central Detective Training Institute (CDTI) at Devanahalli, Karnataka

• Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah recently laid the foundation stone of the Central Detective Training Institute (CDTI) at Devanahalli in Karnataka and inaugurated the residential and administrative complexes of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
• This will be the 6th CDTI of the Bureau of Police Research and Development under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in the country.
• The first CDTI was set up in Calcutta in 1958. Others are at Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Ghaziabad.

18th National Jamboree of the Bharat Scouts and Guides in Rajasthan

• The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, recently graced the inauguration of the 18th National Jamboree of the Bharat Scouts and Guides at Pali, Rajasthan.
• Rajasthan is hosting Jamboree after 66 years. Over 35,000 scouts and guides from all over the country are participating in this 7-day mega-event.
• The first National Scout and Guide Jamboree was held in Andhra Pradesh in 1951. The last one was held in Mysore.
• Theme: Progress with Peace.
• The Jamboree is a National level gathering of the Scouts and Guides conducted once in 4 years or to mark special occasions.  

Dieback Disease

• Neem shows antibacterial, antifungal, and other versatile properties, but these properties do not exempt the neem trees from being attacked by pests and diseases.
• The disease posing a threat to the neem trees has been identified as twig blight and dieback disease in Telangana, and it has reappeared in the state this year on a massive scale.
• The dieback disease was first reported in the country during the 1990s near Dehradun in Uttarakhand, while it was first noticed in Telangana in 2019.
• The dieback disease is mainly caused by the ‘fungi Phomopsis azadirachtae’.

Rani Velu Nachiyar 

• Rani Velu Nachiyar, also known as Veeramangai (brave woman in the Tamil language), was a daughter of King Chellamuthu Vijayaragunatha Setupathy of Ramanathapuram. 
• She became the queen of Sivaganga state (in present-day Tamil Nadu) from 1780-1790. 
• She built an army of women called Udaiyaal. 
• She was the first queen to wage war against the East India Company. 
• She formed an alliance with Hyder Ali against the British in 1780. 

Parastronaut

• European Space Agency (ESA) will announce the first astronaut or astronauts with a physical disability soon under ESA’s “parastronaut project”.
• This could be used as an example to show that ‘disability is not a limitation’.

Goa introduces Blue Cab service at Manohar International Airport from 5th January

• The Goa government recently announced the introduction of the Blue Cab service at the Manohar International Airport in the state from 5th January.
• The Blue Cabs will be operated by trained and licensed drivers and will feature GPS tracking and panic buttons for the safety of passengers. 
• The cabs will run on electric power, reducing carbon emissions and contributing to a cleaner environment.

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