16-17-01-22 Daily-Odisha-OPSC Current Affairs

Odishas forest cover the extent of land covered by forest grew by 537 square km in the past two years, which is third highest among Indian states after Andhra Pradesh (647 sq km) and(632 sq km), the India State of Forest Report 2021 released on Thursday said.
The states increase in the past two years is double the increase in the two preceding years of 2017-2018 when it had gone up by 237 square km. Odishas forest cover has grown by a significant 1.04% in the past two years compared to the countrys Growth of 0.22% since 2019, the biennial report said.

Besides Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana, Karnataka and Jharkhand reported increase in the forest cover while other states showed a decline. Odisha now has forest cover over 51,156 of its 1,55,707 square km. The report attributed the growth in the five states to better conservation and protection measures, afforestation and agroforestry.

Odisha also met the national mandate of having at least one-third forest cover which is 33.50% compared to the national Average of 21.71%. Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra.
Out of the 30 districts of Odisha, the forest cover has decreased in Malkangiri, Dhenkanal,Sundargarh, Rayagada and Keonjhar while it has increased in the others. The survey said 1,134 square km non-forest land has perceptible forest cover.

Odisha saw eight square km rise in mangrove forests or salt-tolerant plant varieties along its coast, which is the highest among the states. Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada and Balasore have recorded a rise in mangrove forests. The report attributed it to natural regeneration and plantation along banks of rivers near the estuary.

Similipalin Odisha has the second largest forest cover (2,562.86 square ) after Nagarjunsagar (2,932.95 square km) among the 52 Tiger Reserves in the country.

The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), of Telangana, and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will host the 24th National E-Government Conference.

The conference will happen at Madhapur, Hyderabad, at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre.

“India’s Techade: Digital Governance in a Post-Pandemic World” will be the theme of the conference.

Emerging technologies, universalization of public Services, ease of life through Good Governance, universalization of public services, innovation platformization, government re-engineering, and citizen participation in government processes are the subtopics.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully conducted the qualification test of cryogenic engine for Gaganyaan programme on January 12, 2022.

The test was conducted for 720 seconds atISROPropulsion Complex, in Mahendragiri, Nadu.

Performance of the engine met with the test objectives and parameters of the engine closely matched with predictions during entire duration of the test.

This engine will be tested for four more times, for a cumulative duration of 1810 seconds.

Following this, one more engine will undergo two short-duration tests and one long-duration test, in a bid to complete cryogenic engine qualification for Gaganyaan Programme.

Payload under the Gaganyaan mission consists of:

The Government of India is working on creating a digital stack of agricultural data. That is storing data related to farmers. Apart from farmer details, the digital agristack also holds all information about which seeds to buy, weather updates, what manures and Fertilizers to use, Insurance, best agricultural practices to maximize the yield.

Agristack has unique number for every farmer in the country. This numbered file will hold personal information of the farmer. This includes his financial data as well. Apart from farmer details, agri stack will also hold information about weather, agricultural commodity prices in the country and abroad, new science and research techniques, agricultural regulation and permissions.

The Russian DEFENCE forces recently unveiled a new Tupolev Tu-160M. It is a missile bomber. It is also known as White Swan.

The White Swan can fly at an altitude of 600 metres. The bomber has been designed to carry nuclear war heads. It is one of the most heaviest supersonic miliary aircraft.

The White Swan has been unveiled while Russia NATO tensions are at the peak due to Ukraine crisis.

It can carry 34 tonnes of load. The bomber can deliver 24 cruise missiles. It can trace 14,000 km without refuelling.

The machine can be in the sky for more than a day during combat duties.

It is capable of delivering largest payload. They have the longest range. The heavy bombers were superseded by the strategic bombers in the latter half of 20^thcentury.

Scientists have recently discovered a new group of metals. The newly discovered Metal group is called as New Strange group of metals. The characteristics of metals like copper or iron are predictable. That is, their melting point, reaction nature, malleability, ductility are known to human. The characteristics of this new group of metals are yet to be deciphered. They still remain a puzzle. Thus, these metals have been classified as strange metals.

The strange metals are also called non Fermi liquids. They do not follow the traditional rules of metals. Their behavior was first discovered in cuprates, that is, copper oxides. These cuprates are high temperature super Conductors.

The strange metals do not conduct electricity as that of metals. In metals, the electrical charge is carried by electrons. In strange metals, the electrical charge is carried by Cooper pairs. These cooper pairs take the charge in wave like pattern. Electrons belong to fermion. The cooper pairs act as bosons.