#105: April 02 | Important Pre Related notes
Newspaper like never before!
It is first time I have found so much to read for Prelims in a single newspaper. April 02, 2023 The Hindu is legit gold. Compiling all important details here
1. Bastille Day Parade
- Annual military parade of France
- PM Manmohan Singh attended as guest in 2009
2. Wildlife Trust of India
- 1998 estd. NGO
- Aim: to conserve wildlife and habitat to work for animal welfare
Partners with governments and communities
3. Universal Service Obligation Fund
- Created in 2002 u/ Ministry of Communications
- Statutory support under Indian Telegram (Amendment) Act 2003
- Aim: to ensure universal non-discriminatory access to quality ICT services to people in remote and rural areas
- Non lapsable fund
4. Marburg Virus Disease
- Recent outbreak in Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania
- First seen in 1967 in Germany & Serbia
- Symptoms: Severe Haemorrhagic fever (fatal)
- Closely related to Ebola, rated as high risk by WHO
- Spread: Infected animals (fruit bats) + bodily fluids in human to human contact
- Africa worst affected
5. AI chatbots and their companies/countries
- ChatGPT by OpenAI (Microsoft backed)
- Bard by Google, USA
- Ernie by Baidu, China
- ELSA by MIT, USA
6. Asilomar AI Principles
- 2017 conference 'Beneficial AI' by Future of Life Institute (FLI)
- One of earliest sets of AI governing principals
7. UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change)
- estd 1992 at Rio Summit
- 2015 Paris agreement u/ UNFCCC (Parent of COPs)
- Near universal membership (197 countries)
- Objectives: Time framed achievement of GHGs concentrations at safe levels
8. International Court of Justice
- Estd. 1945, based in Hague (Netherlands)
- Settles legal disputes b/w states and offer advisory opinions to UN agencies and others
- Justice Dalveer Bhandari is a judge here (Former CJI, Bombay HC and judge of SC)
9. Israel's proposed reforms
- Curtail Judicial Review
- Override SC judgements with simple majority of 61 in the Knesset (Israel's Parliament)
- Remove 'Reasonability test'
- Seek greater say in the judicial appointments
- Currently, 9 members where 3 are from Court, 2 from Bar council, 2 from Knesset and 2 from Govt.
- Govt. wants to replace bar council representatives with 2 Public representatives thus taking majority to 6/9
10. Great Nicobar
- Home to Shompen and Nicobaris tribes
- Home to Galathea River (v. imp)
- Home to Leatherback turtle world's largest marine turtle, Nicobari Megapode (endemic)
- Lies b/w Andaman sea and Bay of Bengal in a tectonically sensitive zone
- ~8k current population comprising of 2 tribes + ex servicemen
11. Theyyam and Thira Dance
- Theyyam dance participant is considered god
- Thira dance participant is considered to be possessed by god
- Often seen in Kozhikode and other parts of Kerala
