Addapedia Odisha | Daily Current Affairs | 20 July 2024 | Download PDF

• The Union Minister for Youth Affairs is set to give a fresh boost to the Government’s ambitious Khelo India Rising Talent Identification (KIRTI) program.

About KIRTI Program:

• Target Audience: School children aged 9 to 18 years.
• Main Objectives:
  • Talent Hunt: Identify talent from every part of the country.
  • Curb Addictions: Use sports to reduce addiction to drugs and gadgetry distractions.
• Launch Details:
  • Initial Launch: Rolled out across 50 centres in India.
  • First Phase: Assessing 50,000 applicants across 10 sports, including athletics, boxing, wrestling, hockey, and football.
• Assessment Goals:
  • Nation-wide Assessments: Aim to conduct 20 lakh assessments in FY 2024-25.
  • Talent Identification: Utilize notified Talent Assessment Centres for evaluations.
• Selection Methodology:
  • Transparency: Emphasis on transparent selection processes.
  • Technology Integration: Use of Information Technology for selection.
  • AI and Data Analytics: Employ AI-based data analytics to predict athletic potential.
• Decentralized Approach:
  • Pocket-based Talent Identification: Focus on localized talent identification.
  • Khelo India Scheme Objectives: Align with the goals of achieving excellence in sports and encouraging mass participation.

• The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) has partnered with Netflix India to launch “The Voicebox,” an upskilling program for voice-over artists in India.

About The Voicebox Programme:

• Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Training for Voice-over Artists: Languages Covered
  • English
  • Hindi
  • Marathi
  • Bengali
  • Malayalam
  • Tamil
  • Telugu
  • Gujarati
• Eligibility:
  • Open to professionals with more than two years of experience in the media and entertainment sector.
  • Preference given to women.
• Funding:
  • Sponsored by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity.
  • $100 million per year over five years dedicated to supporting underrepresented communities in TV and film industries globally.
• Participant Details:
  • Each batch accommodates up to 30 candidates.
  • 210 participants selected through preliminary screening.
  • At least 50% of participants will be women.
• Training Partner: Pearl Academy, India’s leading design institute.
• Special Project:
  • Seven top participants from each batch will contribute to Netflix’s project, “Azaadi ki Amrit Kahaniya”.
  • They will narrate stories reflecting the Indian independence movement.

• Ivory Coast recently joined the United Nations Water Convention, becoming the 10th African nation to do so.

About UN Water Convention:

• Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes:
  • Adopted: Helsinki, 1992
  • Entered into force: 1996
  • Known as: Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes
• Purpose:
  • Legally binding instrument promoting:
    • Sustainable management of shared water resources
    • Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
    • Prevention of conflicts
    • Promotion of peace and regional integration
• History and Accession:
  • Originally a regional framework for the pan-European region.
  • Amendments allowed all UN Member States to accede from March 2016.
• Requirements for Parties:
  • Prevent, control, and reduce transboundary impact
  • Use transboundary waters in a reasonable and equitable way
  • Ensure sustainable management of transboundary waters
  • Cooperate through specific agreements and joint bodies for shared waters
• Framework Agreement:
  • Does not replace bilateral and multilateral agreements
  • Fosters establishment, implementation, and further development of agreements.

• Scientists in a new study suggest that the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) could have formed just a few hundred million years after the Earth was formed.

About LUCA:

• LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor):
  • Hypothesized common ancestor of all modern cellular life.
  • Descendants include single-celled organisms (bacteria) and complex organisms (redwood trees, humans).
• Significance: Represents the root of the tree of life before splitting into Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.
• Common Features:
  • Same amino acids used for protein synthesis in all cellular organisms.
  • Shared energy currency (ATP).
  • Presence of cellular machinery like the ribosome for protein synthesis from DNA information.
  • Universal use of DNA for information storage.
• Timeline: Existed about 4.2 billion years ago, 400 million years after Earth and Solar System formation.
• Characteristics:
  • Similar to modern prokaryotes.
  • Possessed an early immune system.
• Research Methods: Genetic analysis and evolutionary modeling pinpointed LUCA’s existence.

• The Indian government has started auctioning properties classified as ‘enemy properties’.

About Enemy Property in India:

• Enemy property includes immovable and movable assets left behind by people who took citizenship of Pakistan and China after leaving India during the partition and post the 1962 and 1965 wars.
• Assets include real estate, bank accounts, shares, gold, and other valuables.
• Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI):
  • The CEPI is an authority created under the Enemy Property Act, 1968.
  • It is responsible for managing enemy properties in India.
• Enemy Property Act, 1968: Established the framework for managing properties of individuals who migrated to Pakistan and China.
• Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2017:
  • Stated that successors of those who migrated to Pakistan and China have no claim over the properties left behind in India.
  • Ensured that the law of succession does not apply to enemy property.
  • Prohibited the transfer of any property vested in the custodian by an enemy, enemy subject, or enemy firm.
  • Mandated that the custodian preserve enemy property until its disposal as per the Act’s provisions.
• Statistics:
  • There are 13,252 enemy properties in India, valued at over Rs 1 lakh crore.
  • Most properties belong to people who migrated to Pakistan; over 100 belong to those who migrated to China.
• State-wise Distribution:
  • Uttar Pradesh: 5,982 enemy properties.
  • West Bengal: 4,354 enemy properties.

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