Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 31 January 2022

::NATIONAL::

The Supreme Court refused to lay down the “yardstick” for determining the inadequacy of representation for granting reservation in promotions for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe candidates in government jobs.
It held ‘cadre’ and not class, group or the entire service as the unit for purpose of collection of quantifiable data for giving promotion quotas.

Key highlights:

The court stuck firm by question of adequate representation of an SC/ST communities ought to be left to the respective States to determine.
In respect of the unit of collection of quantifiable data, the court held that the State was “obligated to collect quantifiable data on the inadequacy of representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.”
The court, however, noted that the “collection of information on inadequacy of representation of SC/ST communities cannot be with reference to the entire service or class/group, but should be relatable to the grade/category of posts to which the promotion is sought.”
The court held that “cadre” should be the unit for the purpose of collection of quantifiable data in relation to promotional posts.
It said otherwise the entire exercise of reservation in promotions would be rendered meaningless if data pertaining to the representation of SCs and STs was done with reference to the entire service”.

In India, Anti Leprosy Day is observed on 30th January every year.
As remembering 30th January is Mahatma Gandhi’s martyrdom day. He was deeply committed to the cause of leprosy-affected persons.

About:

Leprosy is also one of the neglected tropical diseases.
Today is also World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day.
National Leprosy Eradication Programme is a centrally sponsored scheme. Its vision is “Leprosy-free India”.
Under this, action is taken for early case detection, complete treatment of detected cases and to contain the onset of disease in close contacts.
Under the programme, Reconstructive Surgeries are conducted and welfare allowance is paid to each patient undergoing Reconstructive Surgeries.

The Australian government pledged to spend another 1 billion Australian dollars ($704 million) over nine years on improving the health of the Great Barrier Reef after stalling a UNESCO decision on downgrading the natural wonder’s World Heritage status.
The investment aims to improve the ruling conservative coalition’s green credentials ahead of looming elections while doing nothing to change the greatest threat to the coral: rising ocean temperatures.

About:

The move is to prevent the vast network of corals from being removed fromUNESCO’s World Heritage list.
Great Barrier Reef has suffered from coral bleaching caused by unusually warm ocean temperatures in 2016, 2017 and 2020, leaving many affected corals struggling tosurvive.The bleaching damaged two-thirds of the coral.
Bleaching occurs when healthy corals become stressed by spikes in ocean temperatures, causing them to expel algae living in their tissues, which drains them of their vibrant colours.
Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world. It is located off theNorth East coast of Australia, in Coral Sea.
The reef, which is large enough to be visible from space, is made up of nearly 3,000 individual reefs.
It was declared a World Heritage Area in 1981 because of its ‘outstanding universal value’.

For the first time in the history of the Winter Olympics, athletes will compete on 100% artificial snow in Beijing.

What is artificial snow?

Artificial snow is small particles of ice that are used to increase the amount of snow available for winter sports such as skiing or snowboarding.
It is produced by a machine that uses a high-pressure pump to spray a mist of water into the cold air. The water droplets subsequently crystallize to form fake snow.
Artificial snow tracks suitable for competition require a large amount of water and electricity.
Artificial snow use, particularly for sports, has expanded dramatically in a world where natural snowfall is progressively decreasing.
According to the Slippery Slopes assessment, climate change caused by global warming is endangering snow sports and limiting the number of acceptable venues for future Winter Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee stated that the places of Yanqing and Zhangjiakou for the2022 Games would "have minimal annual snowfall and would rely completely on artificial snow.
The Beijing 2022 host committee believes that creating snow conditions will require 222 millions of liters of water, although Beijing is one of the most water-scarce cities in the world.

Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India organized a webinar on “Cage aquaculture in Reservoir: Sleeping Giants” as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mohatsav program.
Webinar on “Cage aquaculture” was organised highlighting the importance of reservoirs and cage aquaculture for the development of the fisheries sector.

About:

Cage aquaculture involves the growing of fishes in existing water resources while being enclosed in a net cage which allows free flow of water.
Cage aquaculture is initiated under the flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri MatsyaSampada Yojana (PMMSY).
PMMSY aims at enhancing fish production, doubling of incomes of fishermen, reducing post-harvest losses and generating employment opportunities in fisheries sector and allied activities.

About:

NeoCov virus shares 85% similarity to Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in genome sequence which enter cells via DPP4 receptors.
MERS-CoV is a viral disease that was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012.
NeoCov is not SARS-CoV-2.
NeoCoV is a bat coronavirus that was first identified in 2011.
It was identified in a species of bats known as Neoromicia.

Rafael Nadal won a five-set duel with Daniil Medvedev and claimed a record 21st Grand Slam men’s title in the Australian Open final.
Nadal moved ahead of era rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on the all-time list of men’s Major winners.
Djokovic missed his chance to improve on his nine Australian Open wins when he was deported over vaccination issues on the eve of the tournament, while Federer is injured.
Nadal also became only the fourth man to win each of the four Grand Slams twice and the third oldest man in the Open Era (since 1970) to win a Grand Slam title, behind Ken Rosewall and Federer.