DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

13 APRIL 2022 – CA

1 – ABOUT STATE ENERGY AND CLIMATE INDEX: 

GS III

Topic – Environmental Conservation

• Context:
• The NITI Aayog recently released the State Energy and Climate Index (SECI).
• It’s the first index of its kind, designed to track state and local actions in the climate and energy sectors.
• The State Energy and Climate Index is a measure of how well a state’s energy:
• The States have been divided into larger and smaller States and UTs based on their size and geographical variations.
• The index is based on data from 2019-20.
• Front Runners, Achievers, and Aspirants are the three categories for states and UTs.
• The index’s goals are as follows:
• The States were ranked based on their efforts to improve energy access, consumption, efficiency, and environmental protection.
• At the state level, assisting in the advancement of the cheap, accessible, efficient, and clean energy transformation agenda.
• Encourage constructive competition between states on various aspects of energy and climate.
• It assigns a score to each state based on six factors:
• The Performance of DISCOM
• Energy Access, Affordability, and Reliability
• Initiatives to promote clean energy.
• Efficiency in terms of energy.
• Sustainability in the environment.
• Initiatives that are new.
• The parameters are broken down even further into 27 indicators.
• Various states’ performance:
• In the category of larger States, Gujarat, Kerala, and Punjab were the top three performers, while Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh were the lowest three.
• In the smaller States category, Goa came out on top, followed by Tripura and Manipur.
• Chandigarh, Delhi, and Daman & Diu/Dadra & Nagar Haveli are the best-performing UTs in the country.
• Punjab ranked first in discom performance, whereas Kerala ranked first in access, affordability, and reliability.
• Haryana was the best performer among larger states in the clean energy initiative, and Tamil Nadu was the best performer in the energy efficiency category.

• Source – The Hindu

2 – DETAILS OF JYOTIBA PHULE:

GS I

Topic – Modern Indian History

• Context:
• On April 11th, social reformer Jyotirao Phule’s birthday was commemorated.
• He was a complex individual who worked relentlessly for social equality, women’s empowerment, and educational advancement.
• Countless people look up to Phule as a champion of social justice and a source of hope.
• Phule was born into a Mali caste family who made a living by growing fruits and vegetables.
• Contributions to society that are particularly noteworthy:
• He and his wife, Savitribai Phule, strove to improve the lives of women and children in underserved communities.
• At 1848, he established his first ladies’ school in Bhide Wada, Pune.
• In 1873, he and his supporters founded the Satyashodhak Samaj (Society of Truth Seekers) to fight for basic rights for individuals from lower castes.
• They also advocated for the abolition of infanticide and the promotion of widow remarriage.
• He opened his home to individuals of the lower caste and let them use his well to remove the stigma of social untouchability.
• The pair established ‘Balyata Pratibandak Gruha,’ a childcare centre for pregnant widows and rape victims.
• “Mahatma” is a title given to a person who has achieved greatness.
• Another social worker, Vithalrao Krishnaji Vandekar, bestowed the title of ‘Mahatma’ (‘great soul’) on him in 1888.
• His most well-known works include:
• Tritiya Ratna (1855), Gulamgiri (1873), Shetkarayacha Aasud, or Cultivator’s Whipcord (1881), Satyashodhak Samajokt Mangalashtakasah Sarva Puja-vidhi, Satyashodhak Samajokt Mangalashtakasah Sarva Puja-vidhi, Satyashodhak Samajokt Mangalashtakasah Sar (1887).

• Source – The Hindu

3 – ABOUT THE 2+2 DIALOGUE:

GS II

Topic – International Relations

• Context:
• In Washington, DC, India and the United States are holding their fourth ‘2+2’ dialogue.
• S Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh, India’s External Affairs and Defence Ministers, are meeting with their American counterparts, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
• What do 2+2 talks entail:
• The 2+2 dialogue is a mechanism for discussions on strategic and security concerns between India’s foreign and defence ministries and their allies.
• Significance:
• In order to build a stronger, more integrated strategic relationship in a rapidly changing global environment, a 2+2 ministerial dialogue allows the partners to better understand and appreciate each other’s strategic concerns and sensitivities while taking political factors into account on both sides.
• India’s 2+2 strategic partners are:
• India holds two-plus-two discussions with four important strategic partners: the United States, Australia, Japan, and Russia. The other three countries in the Quad, aside from Russia, are also India’s partners.
• India’s oldest and most important 2+2 discussions partner is the United States.
• The ‘2+2’ talks produced the following results:
• India’s strategic bilateral partnership with its partners, particularly the 2+2 format conversations, has yielded substantial and far-reaching outcomes throughout the years.
• Following the first 2+2 dialogue in 2018, India and the US signed a trio of “foundational pacts” for deep military cooperation, beginning with the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016, the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) in 2018, and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) in 2020.
• Source – The Hindu

4 – MEGALITHIC STONE JARS IN SYSTEM:

Prelims Specific Topic

• The discovery of many megalithic stone jars in Assam’s Dima Hasao area has highlighted possible linkages between India’s northeast and Southeast Asia dating back to the second millennium BC.
• British civil officers James Philip Mills and John Henry Hutton first saw the Assam jars in 1929.
• Although the jars have yet to be formally dated, the researchers believe they have similarities to stone jars discovered in Laos and Indonesia.
• The jars recovered at all three locations have typological and morphological similarities.

• Source – The Hindu

5 – DETAILS OF THE CALM SYSTEM:

Prelims Specific Topic

• CALM: Anti-Armour Loiter Ammunition Has Been Launched By Cannister (CALM).
• The CALM System has been the subject of a Request for Information from the Army. It plans to buy 150 of these systems.
• The CALM System is a drone or a pre-loaded canister with loiter ammunition that, once launched, can linger aloft for a length of time over the area of action before being guided down to destroy the target with the explosive payload it bears.
• They usually have a camera and only a few components that can be reused.
• It can be employed against enemy tanks and other targets in Western India’s plains and deserts, as well as high altitude places in Ladakh’s northern boundaries.

• Source – The Hindu