03-11-21 Daily-Odisha-OPSC Current Affairs

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Wednesday discovered the base of another temple on the premises ofSuka-Saritemple in Old Town area of the city. The ASI is planning to excavate towards the north-eastern side of the 10th century temple complex to unearth more of the partially exposed temple.

The ASI recently resumed the excavation and scientific cleaning of the temple complex spread across two acres after a gap of a few months.

Sources said, ancient scriptures mentioned existence of over 1,000 temples in Bhubaneswar during the 15th century for which the capital was named the “Temple City”. But over the years, most of the temples were destroyed due to lack of preservation. At present, only 200 temples are there in the city. Of the total monuments, 23 are being preserved by the ASI and 15 by the state archaeology wing, sources said.
The ASI had alleged serious violation of the conservation and preservation laws over “mindless demolition” on the premises of the ASI-protected sites by agencies for the Ekamra Kshetra project.

The Indian government has released a draft mediation bill for public comment, which aims to protect petitioners’ rights to approach competent adjudicatory forums.

Highlights:

Pre-litigation mediation is included in the Draft Mediation Bill.

The bill protects litigants’ rights to seek urgent remedy from competent adjudicatory forums and courts.

The bill states that the successful outcome of mediation is now legally enforceable in the form of a Mediation Settlement Agreement.

The Mediation Settlement Agreement is the result of the parties’ mutual agreement. As a result, it has been allowed to be challenged on limited grounds.

According to the bill, the mediation process protects the confidentiality of the mediation.

It also grants immunity from disclosure in certain circumstances.

At the COP 26 Climate Meeting in Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Boris Johnson jointly inaugurated the ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ (OSOWOG) initiative.

Highlights:

The goal of this project is to create a “trans-national electrical grid” that will supply to people all over the world.

‘The Sun Never Sets,’ is OSOWOG’s vision. At any one time, it is a constant in some geographical region in the world.

This is India’s most ambitious project to date, and it has huge economic implications. It has been taken up as part of the World Bank‘s technical support program.

The International Solar Alliance will also be used in this strategy (ISA).

Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin has been approved by the WHO, with the technical advisory team recommending the India-made vaccine for emergency use in anyone aged 18 and up.

Highlights:

This is a significant step forward in India’s fight against Covid-19.

Covaxin is a vaccine developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research.

It is totally “made in India.” Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca-SK Bio/Serum Institute of India, Johnson 7 Johnson Janssen, Moderna, and Sinopharm have all had their Covid-19 Vaccines authorized by the WHO for emergency use.

Last month, the technical advisory panel requested additional clarity from Bharat Biotech for its final risk assessment, which caused the emergency listing to be postponed.

Covaxin has been recommended for emergency use listing by the technical advisory group, which met to make the final decision.

The QS World University Rankings for 2022 have been issued by QS (Quacquarelli Symonds).

Highlights:

For the fourth year in a row, the National University of Singapore (NUS) has topped the rankings.

Peking University in China is ranked second, followed by Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong.

The only two Indian institutes in the Top-50 are the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) (42nd regionally) and IIT Delhi (45th regionally).

IIT Madras, which was ranked 50th last year, has dropped four places to 54th. India has 118 universities, followed by China, which has 126 institutions.

PM Narendra Modi has proposed a five-fold strategy for India to play its role in helping the world to get closer to 1.5 degrees Celsius, in a global Climate meet (COP26) in Glasgow.

Highlights:

Prime Minister Modi dubbed his plan ‘Panchamrita,’ which literally translates to ‘five ambrosia.’

Panchamrita is a traditional method of combining five natural foods: milk, curd, ghee, honey, and jaggery.

In Ayurveda, a procedure known as panchmrita is used. It’s also employed in Hindu and Jain religious ceremonies.

India has a Population of 17% of the world’s population. However, it only accounts for 5% of total emissions. India is ranked fourth in the world in terms of capacity.

Panchamrita
By 2030, India plans to grow its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts.

Until 2030, India will be able to cover 50% of its energy needs with renewable energy.

By 2030, India will have reduced carbon emissions by one billion tonnes.

By 2030, India will have reduced its carbon intensity by 45 percent.

By 2070, India will have achieved net-zero emissions.