Addapedia Odisha | Daily Current Affairs | 27 May 2024 | Download PDF

• Project Udbhav, an initiative by the Indian Army, aims to integrate ancient strategic wisdom into modern military practices.
• The project is a joint initiative between the Indian Army and the United Service Institution of India (USI).
• Launched last year, this project delves into the Vedas, Puranas, Mahabharata, Upanishads, and Arthashastra, drawing insights to enhance contemporary military strategies.

Key points:

• The initiative focuses on exploring epic battles and strategic brilliance from India’s rich military heritage, including the Mahabharata and past Indian dynasties. 
• It also uncovers India’s tribal traditions, Maratha naval legacy, and heroic exploits, particularly those of women.

Significance:

• Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande highlighted that Project Udbhav promotes indigenous discourse and fosters collaboration among academia, scholars, practitioners, and military experts. 
• This collective effort enriches the nation’s strategic outlook by studying ancient Indian defence and governance. 
• The findings will be compiled in the ‘Udbhav Compendium’ to benefit the Indian Armed Forces, ensuring they remain future-ready. 

• Barely two weeks after Cyclone Hidaya struck the East African coastline, Cyclone Laly wreaked havoc in the region, killing two people in Kenya and impacting dozens in Somalia. 

Key points:

• • The cyclone, a rare occurrence in its latitude range, intensified from a tropical storm and unleashed strong winds, heavy rain, and high waves across the West Indian Ocean region. 
• In Somalia, it made landfall in the southwestern and southern regions, including the capital, Mogadishu.

• In Kenya’s Kilifi County, the cyclone caused the death of a four-year-old schoolgirl when strong winds tore off a classroom roof, and a warehouse worker perished when a wall collapsed on her, injuring others.

Impact:

• Cyclone Laly disrupted essential services, causing power outages and interrupting water supply in Kilifi and Mombasa counties.
• The adverse weather left many residents stranded and highlighted the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events due to climate change.
• The KMD noted that tropical cyclones typically develop between 5° and 30° North or South of the equator and are rare within 5° of the equator due to insufficient Coriolis force.

Cyclones:

• Cyclones are one of the most destructive natural disasters on Earth, capable of causing widespread damage and loss of life. 
• These intense low-pressure systems can form over oceans and cause devastating storms, high winds, heavy rainfall, and storm surges along coastal regions.

Cyclone: Different Names

• Cyclones are also known by various names depending on where they occur. 
• In the North Atlantic and Eastern Pacific, they are called hurricanes, in the Western Pacific, they are known as typhoons, and in the Indian Ocean, they are called cyclones. 

Formation of Cyclone:

• Cyclones form over warm ocean waters where the sea surface temperature is above 26.5°C (80°F). 
• Warm water provides the energy needed for the storm to grow and intensify. 
• As the warm air rises, it creates an area of low pressure that draws in more warm, moist air from surrounding areas. 
• The rotating winds of the Earth then cause the system to spin, creating a vortex.

• Astronomers have discovered a potentially habitable exoplanet, Gliese 12 b, located about 40 light-years away from Earth. 
• This exciting find, detailed in a study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, marks one of the closest exoplanets discovered so far.

Key points:

• Gliese 12 b’s average surface temperature is 42°C, which is lower than most of the 5,000 or so exoplanets discovered to date. 
• Despite being warmer than Earth’s average surface temperature of 15°C, its size is comparable to Venus and is slightly smaller than Earth.

Research and Validation:

• The discovery and validation of Gliese 12 b involved the use of NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the European Space Agency’s CHEOPS.
• The exoplanet orbits Gliese 12, a M dwarf star, every 12.8 days. This star hosts seven rocky planets, three of which lie within the habitable zone — the region where liquid water can exist on a planet’s surface.

Scientific Insights:

• Further analysis is needed to determine if Gliese 12 b has an atmosphere and maintains temperatures conducive to liquid water, which are critical for habitability. 
• The research team noted the potential for Gliese 12 b to have an atmosphere similar to Earth’s, but it could also be of a different type. 
• This investigation could provide insights into the atmospheric evolution of planets and the conditions necessary for life.

About:

• • The star Gliese 12 is metal-poor, which suggests it may have weaker magnetic fields and more volcanism than Earth. 
• This low magnetic activity might allow Gliese 12 b to retain an atmosphere. 

• Studying Gliese 12 b could also shed light on the evolutionary paths of Earth and Venus, particularly regarding the presence of a runaway greenhouse effect, which caused Venus to lose its water.

Future Research:

• Gliese 12 b is a potential target for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which can detect atmospheric features of planets. Currently, the research team is focused on calculating the exoplanet’s mass, bulk density, and radius to understand its internal structure. The team has not yet submitted a JWST proposal for this target but sees significant potential for future studies.

• The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has recently acted against 101 advertisements featuring celebrities, following complaints and violations of its guidelines. 
• ASCI noted that despite guidelines in place, celebrities continued to appear in ads that were deemed to be in violation of the ASCI code.

Key points:

• As per the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, due diligence is mandatory before making advertisements public.

• This year, healthcare emerged as the most violative sector, contributing to 19 per cent of cases, followed by illegal offshore betting (17 per cent), personal care (13 per cent), conventional education (12 per cent), food and beverage (10 per cent), and realty (7 per cent). 
• Baby care also emerged as a new contender in the top violators category, with influencer promotions contributing to 81 per cent of babycare cases.

• The proboscis monkeys of Borneo are known for their distinctive, elongated noses, which are particularly prominent in males. 
• In a recent study published in Scientific Reports, scientists delved into the evolutionary significance of these noses, shedding light on their dual role as both visual and acoustic signals.

About:

• Proboscis monkeys, or Nasalis larvatus, are one of the largest monkey species in Asia and are native to Borneo. 
• They inhabit various environments, including coastal mangroves, peat swamps, and riverine forests, and have a diet predominantly consisting of leaves. 
• Notably, they possess webbed fingers and toes, enabling them to swim proficiently.

• • Male proboscis monkeys exhibit a hierarchical social structure, with dominant males typically leading harem groups consisting of females and their offspring. 
• These males, characterized by their large noses, use deep honks and “nasal roars” to assert dominance and deter rival males.

• • The Department of Electronic and Communication Engineering at NIT-Rourkela has been granted six patents for inventions utilizing cutting-edge technologies. 
• These include:
• Auto Emergency Vehicle Response and Tracking.
• Customized Safe Route Navigation.
• Personalized Pollution Management System.
• Adaptive Heterogeneous Traffic Signaling.
• Auto Aligned Free Space Optical System.
• IoT Aware Health Monitoring.

• These patents focus on advancements in areas like:
• Improved driving experience: Techniques for finding safer routes with minimal pollution exposure for a smoother journey.
• Health monitoring: An IoT-based health monitoring system using smart wearables to detect heart attack severity and alert emergency services and family members.
• Data transmission: A fine-tuning mechanism that improves alignment accuracy using closed-loop feedback from the receiver unit.
• These patents highlight NIT-Rourkela’s faculty’s expertise in utilizing technologies like IoT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML) for real-time data collection and analysis.

• The Orissa High Court has ruled that the Lokayukta, an anti-corruption ombudsman, cannot ignore legal procedures. 

Key points:

• In two cases involving alleged misappropriation of funds, the Lokayukta ordered chargesheets based on inquiry reports without considering comments from the relevant authorities. 
• The ruling was given on petitions which had challenged the Lokayukta’s orders on complaints received regarding misappropriation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) funds by two engineers.
• The High Court quashed these orders, stating that the Lokayukta must follow statutory provisions for handling corruption cases against public servants. 

• The supply of anti-tuberculosis drugs has resumed in districts across the state under the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP). 
• This comes after months of shortage that impacted thousands of TB patients.

Key Points:

• A fresh batch of medications arrived from the Central government, addressing the supply disruption. 
• The Odisha government plans to procure anti-TB drugs independently through the Odisha State Medical Corporation Ltd (OSMCL) starting in the next financial year (2024-25). 
• This move aims to prevent similar shortages in the future.

About:

• Tuberculosis (TB) is a communicable disease that usually attacks the lungs.
• It’s caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. 
• These bacteria spread through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, or talks.
• There are two main types of TB:
• Latent TB infection: This is when you have the TB bacteria in your body but aren’t sick. You can’t spread TB to others in this state. However, the bacteria can become active later if your immune system weakens.
• Active TB disease: This is when the TB bacteria multiply and cause symptoms like coughing, fever, weight loss, and fatigue. People with active TB can spread the disease to others.

• The Odisha government recently included food safety officers in their disease control efforts.
•  These officers will join existing teams from the Health and Housing & Urban Development departments. 
• Their focus will be on preventing and managing waterborne diseases.

Key Points:

• This decision comes after outbreaks of diarrhea and jaundice in some parts of Odisha. 
• The new teams will have representatives at both the district and municipal corporation level. 
• They’ll also utilize dedicated WhatsApp groups to facilitate communication and coordination during disease outbreaks.

• • Women-led booths were a hit among voters in the state . 
  • Replete with amenities like drinking water, sheds, playing areas for children, fans, among other things, these booths – also called Sakhi booths – did not just ensure convenience for voters but also a smooth voting process.
• Around 494 Sakhi booths were set up in all Assembly seats under Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency.

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