UPSC QUIZ 30.03.2024

Explanation:

• Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) released Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2024.
• Through these rules, the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 will be amended. In this, permission has been given to make carry bags and items from compostable plastic or biodegradable plastic.
• This permission is subject to mandatory marking and labeling. Under this, manufacturers of compostable plastic or biodegradable plastic carry bags or items covered under the rules will have to obtain a certificate from the Central Pollution Control Board before marketing or selling them.

Explanation:

• Prime Minister of India received Bhutan’s highest civilian award, the ‘Order of the Druk Gyalpo’, during his two-day State visit to Bhutan.He is the first foreign Head of the Government to receive the honour.
• India and Bhutan have also exchanged several MoUs and signed agreements in the fields of energy, trade, digital connectivity, space and agriculture, and finalised the MoU on the establishment of rail links between the two nations.

‘Order of the Druk Gyalpo’ Award

• The Order of the Druk Gyalpo stands as Bhutan’s most esteemed civilian accolade, reserved for individuals who have demonstrated exceptional contributions to society, embodying values of service, integrity, and leadership.
• Recipients of this prestigious award are carefully selected based on their outstanding accomplishments and positive impact on society.
• Their contributions are assessed in alignment with Bhutanese values, emphasising holistic development, cultural preservation, and regional harmony.

Explanation:

• According to Morgan Stanley, India's GDP growth forecast remains positive.
• Morgan Stanley has raised India's GDP growth forecast to 6.8% for the financial year 2024-25 due to continued growth in industrial and capital expenditure activity. Earlier this estimate was 6.5%.
• The GDP growth rate in the fourth quarter of March 2024 will be around 7%. Thus, the GDP growth rate for the financial year 2023-24 will be 7.9%.
• The growth base will be broad and the gap between rural-urban consumption and private-public capital expenditure will reduce in the financial year 2024-25.
• Reduction in inflation and current account The economy is stabilizing due to reduction in the deficit. Food inflation, which plays a significant role in the CPI basket, has declined. This has happened due to supply-side improvements.

Explanation:

• Union Agriculture Minister recently launched the Krishi Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) at Krishi Bhavan in New Delhi, marking a major stride forward in the field of agricultural technology.

Krishi Integrated Command and Control Centre

• The Krishi ICCC is a state-of-the-art tech-based solution housed in the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, designed to aid in making informed decisions using multiple IT applications and platforms such as weather data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD); sowing data from Digital Crop Survey; farmer-and farm-related data from Krishi Mapper (an application for geo-fencing and geo-tagging of land); market intelligence information from the Unified Portal for Agricultural Statistics (UPAg); and yield estimation data from the General Crop Estimation Survey (GCES).
• It leverages technologies such as artificial intelligence, remote sensing, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to collect and process granular agricultural data.
• The ICCC gives information on crop yields, production, drought situation, cropping patterns, relevant trends, outliers, and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• It also provides insights, alerts, and feedback on agriculture schemes, programs, projects, and initiatives.

Explanation:

• Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi sworn in as a judicial member of the Lokpal of India.
• Justice AM Khanwilkar, Chairman of the Lokpal of India, administered him the oath.
• Shri Pankaj Kumar and Shri Ajay Tirkey took oath as Lokpal members.
• On 27 March, the oath ceremony was organized at the Indian Lokpal Office in New Delhi.
• On 26th March 2024, two existing Judicial Members, namely Justice PK Mohanty and Justice Abhilasha Kumari and three Members, namely Shri DK Jain, Archana Ramasundaram and Shri Mahender Singh, have completed their tenure in Lokpal.
• Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi served as the Chairperson of the 22nd Law Commission of India before joining as Judicial Member of the Lokpal of India. Earlier, he was the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court.
• Shri Pankaj Kumar is a 1986 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre. Before joining as a member of the Lokpal of India, he was the Chief Secretary of Gujarat.
• Shri Ajay Tirkey is a 1987 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre. Before joining as a member of the Lokpal of India, he was the Secretary, Department of Land Resources, Government of India.