Also in News

Posted 04 Apr 2024

8 min read

Commonwealth Games

About CWG
- It takes place every four year.
- Members of Commonwealth Nations along with overseas territories, island states also participate in this.
- It is managed by Commonwealth Games Federation, based in London, England.
- Earlier known as British Empire Games and they were held for first time in Canada in 1930.

Commonwealth Nations' members are countries which were formerly British Colonies.
- However, presently other members can also join it.
- India is a member.

SC has referred to constitution Bench questions raised in the petition on the interpretation of Article 293.

Article 293
- Article 293(1), executive power of State extends to borrowing within territory of India upon security of Consolidated Fund of State.
- Article 293(2), empowers central Government to make loans to any State and give guarantees for State loans.
- Article 293(3), restricts states from borrowing without consent of Central Government if they have outstanding loans or guarantees from Central Government.

According to researchers, Indian Ocean hosts a phenomenon known as ‘gravity hole’ or ‘Indian Ocean Geoid Low (IOGL)’, where the Earth’s gravitational pull is weaker and the sea level dips by around 100 meters.
- This creates a gravitational/geoid anomaly with depression in the ocean and a lowest point in geoid.
Technically, Earth is not a sphere but a geoid, with its middle part bulging outward, flattening poles and uneven surface.
- This uneven surface results from non-uniform gravity due to unequal distribution of matter within the planet’s interior.

About Dornier 228 aircraft:
- It is a twin engine turboprop, multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft.
- Manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
- It can be deployed for tasks like surveillance, gathering information, medical rescue, and transporting goods.

Odisha is promoting Paira Cropping system, a conservation agricultural practice which has been dwindling in recent years.

About Paira cropping system
- It is a relay method of sowing in which short-duration pulses/oilseeds are broadcast in the standing crop of rice ~2 weeks before its harvest.
- It does not allow interventions such as tillage, weeding, irrigation and fertilizer application.
- Benefits: maximize land use efficiency, boost farmers income, promotes regenerative agriculture etc
- Areas of Practice: Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Odisha

Authority: The project will be overseen by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL), a special purpose vehicle created by the government for building and operating SPR.

Current SPRs in India: Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Mangalore & Padur in Karnataka.

World Health Organization unveils a digital health promoter prototype S.A.R.A.H harnessing generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) for public health.

About S.A.R.A.H.
- It is a Smart AI Resource Assistant for Health which uses new language models and cutting-edge technology.
- It can provide information across major health topics, including healthy habits and mental health.
- It aims to provide an additional tool for people to realize their rights to health.
- It can support people in developing better understanding of risk factors for some leading causes of death in world E.g., cancer, heart disease, lung disease, and diabetes.

Researchers from Bengaluru’s Raman Research Institute (RRI) have started work on PRATUSH (Probing ReionizATion of the Universe using Signal from Hydrogen).
- PRATUSH is currently funded for pre-project studies by ISRO.

About PRATUSH:
- It is a future space radio telescope that will be placed in lunar orbit.
- Objectives: Revealing the transformation of the Universe after the Big Bang and determining when the first stars formed, their nature, and the color of the light emitted.
- Advantage: Ground-based experiments, including SARAS, face limitations such as radio-frequency interference (RFI) and atmospheric contaminants, which can be mitigated through a space-based telescope.