1 September 2022 – Current Affairs

Samvatsari Parv

Paper 1 – Art & Culture

Why Should You Know?

Samvatsari is the day which is celebrated by the Jain community people. Samvatsari is going to be observed on 1 September 2022.

In details –

• Samvatsari is the day which is celebrated by the Jain community people. Samvatsari is observed after a 8 day long festival of Paryushan.
• Samvatsari is going to be observed on 1st September, 2022.
• Samvatsari is believed to be one of the holiest and most important day in the Jain calendar. This festival is celebrated on the last day of ‘Parva Paryushana’ which is the holiest festival for the Shwetambara sect of Jainism.
• On this day, Jains seek forgiveness from all living beings for sins and faults they may have made, whether deliberately or unknowingly. They also forgive other people on this day who have done anything wrong with them.
• This day is known as Kshama yachna divas (apology-seeking day), daya divas (kindness day), and ahimsa divas (non-violence day).

How it is Celebrated –

• On the day of the festival, people give donation, do charity and distribute food to the needy people. They even feed the cows, dogs and other animals. They practice the compassion by doing all these things.
• Jain people say ‘Michhami Dukkadam’ to their friends and family on Samvatsari day. The meaning of the phrase is, “I want your forgiveness if I have offended you in any way, consciously or inadvertently, in thought, word, or deed.”
• Forgiveness is main motto of this festival. By giving forgiveness, you give protection to all other living beings and take a pledge to protect them. Then you will follow self-control and discretion, experience inner peace and be friendly towards all living beings and things.

Samvatsari and Kshamavaani –

• While Samvatsari and shamavaani are typically associated with Shwetambar sect and Digambara respectively, there is no major difference between the two days and both are observed as Forgiveness Days. Rather, the two are usually used interchangeably.
• However, a major difference between the two is that despite both Samvatsari and Kshamavaani falling on the last day of Paryushan, they are in fact two different days. This is because the Paryushan festival for the two sects itself commences on different dates and is of varying duration.
• As a result, while Samvatsari is observed on Shukla Panchami of Bhadrapada month by the Shwetambars, the Digambaras celebrate it on the first day of Ashvin Krishna month of the lunar-based Jain calendar.

World Coconut Day

Paper 3 – Agriculture

Why Should You Know?

World Coconut Day is celebrated every year on 2nd September.

In details –

• The Coconut Development Board is organizing celebrations to mark the 24th World Coconut Day on 2nd September.
• The main theme of this year is – “Cultivate coconut for a happy life and future”.
• Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar will inaugurate this function in Junagadh (Gujarat).
• During the ceremony, Shri Tomar will inaugurate the Board’s State Center at Bahumali Bhavan, Junagadh and announce the winners of the Board’s National Awards and Export Excellence Awards.
• He will also address the farmers. A programme will also be organised in Kochi (Kerala), where the Junagadh event will be broadcast live.
• After the programme, technical sessions on good coconut farming practices and marketing will also be held at the Junagadh Agricultural University. About 1,000 coconut-farmers and concerned officials will participate in the programme in Junagadh.

About World Coconut Day –

• All coconut producing countries of the Asia-Pacific region celebrate World Coconut Day every year on 2nd September, coinciding with the Foundation Day of the International Coconut Community (ICC). ICC is an intergovernmental organization.
• The purpose of celebrating Coconut Day is to raise awareness and highlight the importance of coconut and to draw national and international attention to this crop. An international workshop will also be held in Kochi on this occasion.

History –

• World Coconut Day was celebrated for the first time in the year 2009. This special day was celebrated with great enthusiasm by the Asian and Pacific coconut community.
• The main purpose of celebrating this is to make people aware of coconut cultivation on a world level. Along with this, the coconut industry can be promoted.
• According to experts, Indonesia produces the largest number of coconuts in the world.
• In India, this day is celebrated in association with Coconut Development Board (CDB) in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa etc.

Coconut production in India

• Coconut production plays an important role in the national economy of India. The traditional areas of coconut cultivation are the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
• Apart from this Maharashtra , Odisha , West Bengal , Assam , Gujarat , Puducherry and Goa ; and Lakshadweep and the island regions of Andaman and Nicobar are other areas of coconut production.
• Khopra (Dry), Coconut Oil, Dried Coconut Powder (Desicated Coconut), Coconut Cream and Milk, Neta-D-Coco, Coconut Toddy and Jaggery, Coconut Fiber (Coir), Activated Carbon, Coconut Skull Powder and Coal, Coconut Tree Handicrafts made from various parts are the main and by-products, on which the members of the farming family, unemployed youth and artisans can get economic benefits by adopting industries and cottage businesses based on them.

Guidelines on Surrogate Advertisements

Paper 2 – Governance

Why Should You Know?

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution directs advertising agencies to ensure strict compliance of guidelines on surrogate advertisements

In details –

• The Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution has directed to Advertising Association of India, Indian Broadcasting Foundation, Broadcasting Content Complaints Council, News Broadcasters and Digital Association, Advertising Standards Council of India, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Confederation of Indian Industry, ASSOCHAM, International Spirits & Wines Association of India, and Indian Society of Advertisers to ensure strict compliance of the guidelines for prevention of misleading advertisement and endorsement for misleading advertisement especially the provisions pertaining to surrogate advertisements.
• Department has stated that it has been noticed that these guidelines are not being strictly complied with by the concerned entities and the prohibited goods are still being advertised through surrogate goods and services. During the recent sports events that were televised globally, many instances of such surrogate advertisements were noticed.
• It has been observed that many alcoholic spirits and beverages are being advertised under the garb of music CDs, club soda and packaged drinking water whereas the chewing tobacco and gutkha has taken the veil of fennel and cardamom.
• Moreover, many such brands are employing major celebrities that accentuates the negative impact on the impressionable youth amongst others. Several instances of direct advertisement of alcoholic beverages on social media platforms were also observed by the Department.
• Pertinently, the guidelines are applicable to a manufacturer, service provider or trader whose goods, product or service is the subject of an advertisement, or to an advertising agency or endorser whose service is availed for the advertisement of such goods, product or service regardless of the form, format or medium of the advertisement.

What the guidelines says –

• The guidelines clearly state that no surrogate advertisement or indirect advertisement shall be made for goods or services whose advertising is otherwise prohibited or restricted by law, by circumventing such prohibition or restriction and portraying it to be an advertisement for other goods or services, the advertising of which is not prohibited or restricted by law.
• It is also relevant to note here that in a landmark decision of the Delhi High Court titled TV Today Network Limited v. Union of India, on 15.2.2021 the Petitioner was directed to run a 10 second apology every hour between 8 AM to 8 PM on two days for airing a surrogate advertisement and violating the Advertising Code.
• The Department also cautioned the advertisers’ associations that failure to ensure strict compliance of the guidelines by the concerned parties would lead to the CCPA taking the reins and take suitable stern action against the violators.

What is Surrogate advertising?

• Surrogate advertising is a form of advertising which is used to promote regulated products, like cigarettes and alcohol, in the disguise of another product.
• This type of advertising uses a product of a fairly close category, as: club soda, mineral water in case of alcohol, or products of a completely different category (for example, music CD’s or playing cards) to hammer the brand name into the heads of consumers.
• The banned product (alcohol or cigarettes) may not be projected directly to consumers but rather masked under another product under the same brand name, so that whenever there is mention of that brand, people start associating it with its main product (the alcohol or cigarette).
• In India there is a large number of companies doing surrogate advertising, from Bacardi Blast music CD’s, Bagpiper Club Soda to Officers Choice playing cards.

“Sachet”- an early warning platform

Paper 3 – Science & Technology

Why Should You Know?

C-DOT and NDMA organised All India Workshop on CAP based Integrated Alert System- SACHET to train state Governments to mitigate effects of disasters.

In details –

• On 31 august, 2022 Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the premier R&D centre of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, Government of India and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Government of India jointly conducted an All-India Workshop centered on Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) based Integrated Alert System.
• The workshop aims to provide a platform to the concerned departments and various disaster management agencies across India to discuss their underlying issues and challenges and evolve the technology-based solutions to address these in an effective manner amid insightful discussions by a galaxy of experts and technologists.

About the Integrated Public Alert System-“Sachet”

• Integrated Public Alert System-Sachet, an early warning platform based on ITU’s Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), has been developed by C-DOT for effective disaster management.
• The platform has been widely used by National and State Disaster Management authorities for dissemination of alerts, advisories and other useful information to the massses on all available media during emergencies like floods, cyclones and Covid pandemic.
• It provides a converged platform for dissemination of targeted alerts to people in vernacular languages through SMS.
• As a one-stop solution and a concrete step towards realizing Hon’ble Prime Minister’s 10 point Agenda for Disaster Risk Reduction, soon messages will be disseminated over all available communication media including, Cell Broadcast, Radio, TV, Siren, Social Media, Web Portal and Mobile Application.
• The system is already operational in 34 States and UTs. More than 75 Crores SMSes have already been sent by the system during various disasters like Cyclones (Asani,Yass, Nivar, Amphan), Floods (Assam, Gujarat), Lightning (Bihar), etc. The system has also been used to facilitate the pilgrims during Amarnath Ji Yatra.

Exercise “Synergy”

Paper 3 – Science & Technology

Why Should You Know?

Recently CERT-In hosted Cyber Security Exercise “Synergy” for 13 countries as part of International Counter Ransomware Initiative- Resilience Working Group

In details –

• On august 31, 2022 the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) under Ministry of Electronics & IT, Government of India, in collaboration with Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), successfully designed & conducted the Cyber Security Exercise “Synergy” for 13 Countries as part of the International Counter Ransomware Initiative- Resilience Working Group which is being led by India under the leadership of National Security Council Secretariat(NSCS).
• The theme of the exercise was “Building Network Resiliency to counter Ransomware Attacks”. The exercise scenario was derived from real life cyber incidents, in which a domestic level (limited impact) ransomware incident escalates to a global cyber security crisis.
• Exercise “Synergy” was hosted by CERT-In on its exercise simulation platform. Each State participated as a National Crisis Management Team having composition from different government agencies including National CERTs/CSIRTs, Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA), Communication & IT/ICT Ministry and Security agencies.
• The specific objective of the exercise was to Assess, Share and Improve strategies and practices among Member-States to build network resiliency against ransomware & cyber extortion attacks.
• Exercise “Synergy” was successful in meeting its objectives and provided insights for better coordination & cooperation among CRI Member States to build network resiliency and counter ransomware attacks.

About CERT-In –

• The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team which is known as CERT-IN or ICERT is an office within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of the Government of India.
• It is the nodal agency to deal with cyber security threats like hacking and phishing. It strengthens security-related defence of the Indian Internet domain.
• It was formed in 2004 by the Government of India under Information Technology Act, 2000 Section (70B) under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

5th Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2022

Paper 2 – Health

Why Should You Know?

Ministry of Women and Child Development to celebrate 5th Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2022

In details –

• POSHAN Abhiyaan is Government of India’s flagship programme to improve nutritional outcomes for children under 6 years of age, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
• Launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister, POSHAN (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition) Abhiyaan aims to address the challenge of malnutrition in a mission-mode.
• Focusing on the aims of POSHAN Abhiyaan, Mission Poshan 2.0 (Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0) has been launched as an integrated nutrition support program to strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach and outcomes with focus on developing practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity to disease and malnutrition.
• The Ministry of Women and Child Development is celebrating the 5th Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2022 from 1st to 30th September 2022. This year, the objective is to trigger Poshan Maah through Gram Panchayats as Poshan Panchayats with key focus on “Mahila aur Swasthya” and “Bacha aur Shiksha”.
• The month long event will witness intensive activities across the country for awareness about nutrition at the ground level through sensitization drives, outreach programmes, identification drives, camps and fairs with special focus on pregnant and lactating women, children below six years and adolescent girls, in order to realise the vision of ‘Swasth Bharat’.

Activities –

• At the Panchayat level, awareness activities will be conducted by local functionaries under the guidance of the concerned District Panchayati Raj Officers and CDPOs.  
• Poshan Panchayat Committees will work closely with field level workers (FLWs) – AWWs, ASHAs, ANMs – to support problem solving and enabling service delivery through Anganwadi Centres (AWCs), Village Health and Nutrition Day (VHNDs), and other relevant platforms to ensure all pregnant and lactating women, children below six years, and adolescent girls receive basic Integrated Child Development services.
• Awareness drives on Anganwadi Services and good health practices will also be organised. Growth Measurement drives will be conducted to bring more beneficiaries under the ambit of Anganwadi Services.
• Growth Measurement drives under Swasth Balak Spardha will be conducted by States with the help of AWWs, AWHs, ASHA, district functionaries and agencies such as Lions Club, Rotary Club etc. Health camps for anemia check-ups will be especially organised at AWCs for adolescent girls.
• Further, land will also be identified for Nutri-Gardens or Poshan Vatikas at or near Anganwadi Centres (AWCs).
• Special focus will be given on the importance of rainwater conservation among women at Anganwadi centers and on traditional foods in tribal areas for healthy mother and child.
• Under the State – level activities, ‘Amma ki Rasoi’ or Grandmother’s Kitchen of traditional nutritious recipes will be organised. Extensive efforts will be made to link traditional foods with local festivals during the month.
• A national level toy-creation workshop will also be organized to promote use of indigenous and local toys for learning in Anganwadi Centres.
• In States/UTs, women and child development depts. through Anganwadi workers and helpers and health and family welfare departments through ASHA, ANM, primary health centers, community health centers, school education and literacy department through schools, Panchayati Raj departments through panchayats and rural development through self-help groups etc. will carry out various thematic activities and spread the message of the importance of holistic nutrition throughout the month to ensure a healthier future for women and children.
• Rashtriya Poshan Maah serves as a platform to bring focus to the discourse of nutrition and good health. In the 5th Rashtriya Poshan Maah the aim is to convert Jan Andolan into Jan Bhagidari to fulfill the Hon’ble PM’s vision of a Suposhit Bharat.

“CAPF eAwas” web-portal

Paper 3 – Science & Technology

Why Should You Know?

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah is going to launch “CAPF eAwas” web-portal on 1 September 2022.

In details –

• Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah will launch the “CAPF eAwas” web-portal in New Delhi.
• Increasing the Housing Satisfaction Ratio (HSR) for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) personnel is one of the priority areas of the Government.
• In order to increase the HSR, apart from construction of new houses, the existing house allotment policy of CAPFs has been modified whereby vacant houses of one Force can be allotted to desirous personnel of other Forces.
• In order to operationalize the revised policy of allotment and to also bring transparency in the allotment process, a common web-portal by the name ‘CAPF eAwas’ for online allotment of Departmental Pool Residential Accommodation and Separated Family Accommodation (SFA) held by CAPFs and Assam Rifles, has been developed.
• The web-portal will enable online registration and allotment of residential quarters/SFAs to eligible personnel of all CAPFs& Assam Rifles.

About the Portal –

• CAPF eAwas portal, which has been developed on the lines of the online allotment system of ‘General Pool Residential Accommodation (eSampada)’, will facilitate maintenance of an accurate inventory of ‘Residential Quarters/Separated Family Accommodation (SFA)’ held by CAPFs, as well as their allotment through online process to eligible Force personnel.
• The portal also has the provision for intimation to the applicant thru SMS and e-mail at various stages of allotment process. The portal would also facilitate planning for construction of new quarters based on demand-gap analysis.
• The portal has a provision that if a house of any particular Force is not allotted for any reason for a period of four months, then anyCentral Armed Police Force personnel can apply for the same vacant house online.
• The houses which are available for inter-Force allotment would be visible to all CAPF personnel. This provision of inter-Force allotment will result in optimum utilization of available houses and thereby increasing the HSR.
• This initiative of the Government is a step towards the welfare of Force personnel by way of enabling inter-Force allotment of residential accommodation which will go a long way in meeting the housing needs of Force personnel.

About CAPFs –

• CAPFs is a uniform nomenclature for the six Forces of the Union of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• These Forces are, the Assam Rifles (AR), the Border Security Force (BSF), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).

Mikhail Gorbachev

Paper 2 – International Relations

Why Should You Know?

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev dies aged 91

In details –

• The former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has died aged 91 at a Hospital in Moscow. Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev passed away after a serious and protracted disease.
• According to media reports, his health has been in decline in recent years.  In June, media reported that he had been admitted after suffering from a kidney ailment, though his cause of death has not been announced.
• Russian News agency Tass reported that he will be buried in Moscow’s Novodevichy Cemetery next to his wife Raisa, who died in 1999. Mr. Gorbachev became general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and de facto leader of the country in 1985.
• At the time, he was 54 the youngest member of the ruling council known as the Politburo. He also known for opened up the then-USSR to the world and introduced a set of reforms at home.
• After decades of Cold War tension, Gorbachev brought the Soviet Union closer to the West than at any point since World War Two. In fact, Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost and perestroika defused the soaring tension of cold war.
• Glasnost encouraged Russians and Eastern Europeans to speak out against communism whereas Perestroika was an attempt to modernise and ‘rebuild’ the Soviet state.
• He won the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating a historic nuclear arms pact with US leader Ronald Reagan, and his decision to withhold the Soviet army when the Berlin Wall fell a year earlier was seen as key to preserving Cold War peace. After his demise, the world lost an unparallel preacher of peace.
• Tributes have been paid worldwide to the former Soviet leader. UN chief Antonio Guterres said, he has changed the course of history. He said, the world has lost a towering global leader, committed multilateralist, and tireless advocate for peace.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his deepest condolences following Mr. Gorbachev’s death.
• US President Joe Biden called him a rare leader and praised Mr. Gorbachev as a unique politician. European Union President Ursula von der Leyen praised him as a trusted and respected leader who opened the way for a free Europe.

Nuakhai Festival

Paper 1 – Art & Culture

Why Should You Know?

Nuakhai festival being celebrated in Odisha today

In details –

• Nuakhai is observed to welcome the new rice of the season. According to the calendar it is observed on panchami tithi (the fifth day) of the lunar fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada or Bhadraba (August–September), the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
• This is the most important social festival of Western Odisha and adjoining areas of Simdega in Jharkhand, where the culture of Western Odisha is much predominant because there are so many things learn about agriculture with Human behavior also, nuakhai is very big festival and a unique festival also that’s why every Indian knowing to Nuakhai History if you love any food then.
• Nuakhai is also called Nuakhai Parab or Nuakhai Bhetghat. It is also known as Navakhai Parv in Chhattisgarh.
• The word nua means new and khai means food, so the name means the farmers are in possession of the newly harvested rice.
• The festival is seen as a new ray of hope, held the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. It has a big significance for farmers and the agricultural community.
• The festival celebrated at a particular time of day which is called lagan. Aersaa Pithaa is prepared to celebrate this festival. When the lagan comes, the people first remember their village god or goddess and then have their nua.
• Nuakhai is the agricultural festival of people of Western odisha. The festival is observed throughout Odisha, but it is particularly important in the life and culture of Western Odisha.
• It is a festival for the worship of food grain. It has its best celebration in the Kalahandi, Sambalpur, Balangir, Bargarh, Sundergarh, Jharsuguda, Subarnapur, Boudh and Nuapada districts of Odisha.

Oncolytic viruses (OVs)

Paper 2 – Health

Why Should You Know?

A new study published in the journal Cancer Cell suggests that the body’s immune capacity against cancer — to recognise and destroy cancer cells — can be boosted by using oncolytic viruses.

In details –

• A new study published in the journal Cancer Cell suggests that the body’s immune capacity against cancer — to recognise and destroy cancer cells — can be boosted by using oncolytic viruses.
• Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are viruses that selectively target and kill cancer cells while sparing normal ones.
• The study notes that these viruses also enhance the immune system’s ability to recognise and terminate cancer cells.
• Although long theorised, the research into oncolytic virotherapy picked up only in the 1960s. Of late, there have been several trials looking at different viruses for cancer treatment.
• The latest study focused on the virus known as myxoma and it found that T-cells infected with myxoma virus can lead to a type of cancer cell death not previously observed.
• The research claims to “uncover an unexpected synergy between T-cells and MYXV (myxoma virus) to bolster solid tumor cell autosis that reinforces tumor clearance”.
• Autosis is a form of cell destruction that is useful against solid tumors, which are seen as treatment-resistant.
• Myxoma can target and kill cancer cells directly, but using myxoma-equipped T-cells works well as cancerous cells in the vicinity of those targeted are also destroyed. This process is called bystander killing.
• The study makes the case that immunotherapy combined with virotherapy holds potential to seek and destroy ‘cold tumors’ that fly under the immune system’s radar.