NEED HELP? TALK TO A COUNSELLOR

Daily Current Affairs- Current Nama 6 and 7 December 2024

Samyak

Art and Culture 

Nagaland's Hornbill Festival - Indian Express 

The 25th edition of Nagaland’s famed Hornbill Festival is now underway amidst a wide public debate on relaxing the 35-year-old liquor prohibition law for the duration of the festival.

Prohibition law in Nagaland

  • Introduction of complete prohibition in Nagaland: 1989 through the NLTP, backed by the Church and the Naga Mothers’ Association (NMA).
  • Advent of baptists: American Baptists in the 1870s painted consumption of alcohol as sinful behaviour with strict penalties for converts. 
  • Current state: Today 87% of the state’s population is Christian, a majority of whom are Baptists. However, the preparation and consumption of rice beer has continued to this day

Geography 

WHY LOW-INTENSITY CYCLONE FENGAL CAUSED LARGE-SCALE DESTRUCTION - Indian Express 

Cyclone Fengal, which made landfall near Puducherry on November 30, was a low-intensity storm as it maintained a wind speed of about 75-95 kmph.

Reasons for Fengal's Destructive Impact

  • Slow Movement: Cyclone Fengal moved at extremely slow speeds, sometimes below 6 kmph while at sea. After landfall near Puducherry, it remained stationary for nearly 12 hours.
  • Sustained Intensity: Unlike typical cyclones that weaken post-landfall due to obstructions and friction, Fengal maintained its cyclonic intensity, causing prolonged heavy rainfall and strong winds.
  • Prolonged Destruction: The stationary nature of Fengal resulted in more severe damage, with numerous fatalities reported.
  • Comparison with Recent Cyclones: Recent, more intense cyclones (e.g., Cyclone Dana, October 2024) caused minimal casualties due to faster movement and shorter impact duration.

Arctic blast continues to bring lake-effect snow, travel troubles - The Hindu 

Even as the Canadian storm that triggered intense lake-effect snow and heavy snow squalls and brought the first flakes of the season to much of the Interstate 95 Northeast is moving away, shifting Arctic breezes will cause lingering bands of lake-effect snow to shift around into Saturday off lakes Erie and Ontario.

Lake-Effect Snow

  • About: A localized weather phenomenon resulting from the interaction of cold air with warmer lake water, producing snow deposited in areas downwind of the lake.
  • Occurrence:  Common in the Great Lakes region during late fall and winter.
  • Process:
    • Cold air, often from Canada, moves across the warmer waters of the Great Lakes.
    • Warmth and moisture from the lake are transferred to the air, causing it to rise.
    • Clouds form and grow into narrow bands, producing 2 to 3 inches of snow per hour or more.
  • Factors: Wind direction, wind speed, and topography.

 

World Affairs 

India and China hold negotiations over border coordination - The Hindu 

In preparation for the meeting of the Special Representatives on boundary resolution, India and China recently held the 32nd meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China Border Affairs.

India-China Disengagement and Border Management

  • Affirmation of Disengagement: Both sides confirmed the implementation of the latest disengagement agreement, resolving issues from the 2020 stand-off.
  • 31st WMCC Meeting: 
    • India: Gourangalal Das, Joint Secretary (East Asia).
    • China: Hong Liang, Director-General, Boundary and Oceanic Affairs Department.
  • Focus on Peace and Stability: Agreed on effective border management and maintaining peace per bilateral agreements and understandings.
  • Patrolling Resumption: Recently, the Indian Army patrolled a Depsang Patrolling Point for the first time since January 2020. The disengagement agreement enables patrolling and access to grazing areas in Depsang and Demchok.

Is Syria’s Assad regime in danger? - The Hindu

Islamist militants in Syria’s northwest launched a surprise attack last week against the forces of President Bashar al-Assad and made dramatic territorial gains. The Syrian civil war, which broke out in 2011 amidst Arab Spring-inspired anti-government protests, had entered into a frozen stage in late 2016 after the regime recaptured most of its territories.

Changes in Syria’s Map 

 

Economy 

Amid high inflation, RBI keeps repo rate at 6.5% - The Hindu

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently held steadfast in its battle against inflation amid weakening growth momentum, with four of its six members voting to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.50% for the eleventh bi-monthly review in a row.

Repo rate

  • About: The rate at which the central bank of a country (RBI in case of India) lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds. Here, the central bank purchases the security.
  • Reverse repo: The interest rate that the RBI pays to the commercial banks when they park their excess “liquidity” (money) with the RBI. The reverse repo, thus, is the exact opposite of the repo rate.
  • Significance:
    • Repo Rate as Benchmark Interest Rate:
      • Acts as the lowest borrowing rate in a healthy economy.
      • Influences other interest rates, such as those on loans and deposits.
    • Shift to Reverse Repo Rate:
      • Occurs when there is low demand for loans or reluctance to lend.
      • Banks prefer to park excess liquidity with the RBI rather than borrowing.
      • Reverse repo rate then becomes the effective benchmark for interest rates.

Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)

  • Establishment: Setup after a Memorandum of Understanding between the government and the RBI about the conduct of the new inflation-targeting monetary policy framework.
  • Framework: The RBI Act, 1934 has been amended by the Finance Act, 2016 to provide for a statutory and institutionalized framework for an MPC.
  • Function: Fixing the benchmark policy rate (repo rate) required to contain inflation within the specified target level. 
  • Composition:
    • 6 members: the RBI Governor (Chairperson), the RBI Deputy Governor in charge of monetary policy, one official nominated by the RBI Board, and the remaining three members would represent the Government of India.

    • External members: They hold office for a period of four years.
  • Quorum for meeting: 4 Members, at least one of whom shall be the Governor and, in his absence, the Deputy Governor, who is the Member of the MPC.
  • Decision making: Based on a majority vote. In case of a tie, the RBI governor will have the second or casting vote.
  • Nature of decision: The decision of the MPC would be binding on the RBI.

 

Centre to develop four new tourist destinations in J&K with help from World Bank—The Hindu

Buoyed by the increase in tourist footfall in Jammu and Kashmir, the government is planning to develop four new destinations with financial and technical help from the World Bank.

About the Project

  • New Destinations Identified: Kokernag (Anantnag), Baradari (Reasi), Bhadarwah (Doda), and Doodhpathri (Budgam) selected for development.
  • Collaborative Project: Joint initiative by the World Bank, J&K Government, and the Central Government.
  • Tourism Trends: Jammu and Kashmir recorded 1.2 million tourists in the first half of 2024.
  • Focus Areas:
    • Emphasis on ecological sustainability and creation of Tourism Destination Spatial Plans.
    • Spatial planning ensures organised growth and efficient use of resources.

Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation wins global award—The Hindu

India has bagged International Social Security Association’s (ISSA) ‘Good Practice Award’ for Asia and Pacific for this year for five services provided by Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).  The EPFO received five ‘Certificates of Merit’ for running ‘efficient’ communication channels, conduct of E-proceedings, outreach programme Nidhi Aapke Nikat, running multilingual call centres, and pension order delivery initiative Prayaas.


 

PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) Platform  - Indian Express 


 

Science and Technology 

Proba 3: The Hindu

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the PSLV-C59/PROBA-3 mission recently.

PROBA-3 Mission