01-02-07-23 Daily-Odisha-OPSC Current Affairs

Incidents of human-elephant encounters during April, May and June this year have seen an increase of 26 per cent compared to the data of the past nine years during the same period, a survey done by theWildlife Society of Odishahas found.

According to the survey, these three months witness most encounters as humans and elephants vie for the same fruits such as mango, stoneappleand jackfruit.

There were as many as 93 human-elephant encounters in the three months this year compared to 69 incidents reported during the corresponding period in 2022.

As many as 57 people have died this year compared to 38 last year.

The sharp rise suggests that this year the number of human deaths could go up significantly compared to 146 last year.

Incidentally, this quarter also happens to have recorded the highest ever human deaths in elephant attack compared to the past nine years, the survey stated.

India is quickly moving to take its success in the area of drones to the next logical steps like using air taxis for urban mobility. Aviation authorities are tying up with international agencies to make the framework of rules to safely implement them same by devising air traffic management solutions; develop certification standards and putting in place the required infra.

TheDirectorate General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) has signed aMoUwith theEuropean Union Aviation Safety Agency(EASA) for cooperation in unmanned aircraft systems and innovative air mobility. This comes on heels of the two civil aviation authorities signing a letter of intent (LoI) on these two issues during the EU-India Aviation Summit held in New Delhi this April.

The MoU will also ensure regular information sharing between the two authorities on the technological developments and research in this area and also their respective strategies for outreach to relevant stakeholders. Further, the MoU will result in collaboration in conducting conferences, workshops, training programmers by DGCA and EASA in this area. The signing of this MoU is expected to result in harmonised standards and accelerated Growth of Indian unmanned aviation sector.

In a major milestone,Isro said it has integrated the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft with the launch vehicle GSLV-Mk3or LVM3.

The space agency is looking at a mid-July launch (between July 12 and 19) window for India’s third lunar mission, and a second attempt at soft-landing equipment on Moon.

While the mission will carry a lander (Vikram) and rover (Pragna), it won’t carry an orbiter, which has been replaced by a propulsion module.
After its failed landing attempt in September 2019, Isro has carried out several changes on the lander.

Gujarat is among the top 10 states in India in deposits per capita, according to data from theReserve Bank Of India.

The states deposits per capita is Rs 97,000, ninth highest among the major states of India as of March 31, 2023. While the per capita deposits of several smaller states and Union territories are higher, among the major states, Gujarat stands ninth.

Gujarat is behind Delhi (Rs 3.94 lakh), Goa (Rs 3.92 lakh), Haryana (Rs 1.64 lakh),Punjab(Rs 1.51 lakh), Karnataka (Rs 1.26 lakh), Uttarakhand (Rs 1.24 lakh), Maharashtra (Rs 1.24 lakh) andKerala(Rs 1.02 lakh) on this parameter.

According to the latest report from the Gujarat state-level bankers committee (SLBC), aggregate deposits at banks in the state including scheduled , cooperative and small finance banks, stood at Rs 10.76 lakh crore.

India is poised to surpass the US as the second largest E-Commerce market by 2034, says a study by Shiprocket.

The global retail e-commerce stood at $3.35 trillion in 2019 and is expected to grow to $7.38 trillion by 2025. China e-commerce market was valued at $2779 billion in 2021. The US e-commerce market was the second largest market with $843 billion, followed by the UK, Japan, South Korea, Germany and France. India stood eighth with $67.53 billion.

According to the study, India may surpass the US by 2034 and be the second largest e-commerce market. India has the highest Growth in e-commerce followed by China. Countries like the US and the UK have been growing much slower.

India is also ranked 9th in cross-border e-commerce. Cross-border accounts for 20 per cent of global e-commerce. Indian products like fashion jewellery, textiles, ethnic wear and womens clothing have the potential to grow cross-border e-commerce.