Daily Current Affairs
To The Point Notes
1.Nova Experiment
Context
- New NOvA (NuMI Off-axis ve Appearance) data challenges understanding of neutrino mass.
About NOvA
- Acronym: NuMI Off-axis ЁЭЬИe Appearance
- Goal: Determine neutrinos’ role in cosmic evolution.
- Method: Studies neutrino types and their mass hierarchy.
- Implications: Understanding how light and radio waves disperse after traveling vast distances.
Neutrinos
- Subatomic particles with no electric charge, small mass, and left-handed spin.
- Second most abundant particles after photons.
- Created from lepton interactions with matter.
- Rarely interact with matter, producing muons, electrons, or tauons.
- NOvA uses a neutrino beam and two detectors (near and far) to study neutrino oscillations.
2.Greenium
Context
- Economic Survey 2023-24: India’s good green bond framework failed to attract significant ‘greenium’.
Green Bonds
- Fixed-income instruments for funding environmental or climate projects.
- Issued by governments, companies, and financial institutions.
Greenium
- Premium received by green bond issuers.
- Investors accept lower yields due to project’s sustainable nature.
- India’s lack of greenium indicates potential gap in investor awareness or perception of green projects.
- Enhancing green project transparency and impact measurement crucial for attracting greenium.
3.India is Epicenter of Global Capability Centre (GCC) Growth
Context
- Economic Survey 2024 highlights India as a leading GCC destination.
GCCs
- Previously known as ‘captive centers’, now referred to as GICs or GCCs.
- Offshore units of multinational corporations for strategic functions.
- Enable companies to focus on core competencies while leveraging global talent.
- Serve as innovation hubs fostering collaboration and diverse perspectives.
India’s Advantage
- Government initiatives like Digital India streamlined processes.
- Favorable business environment attracts GCCs.
- India offers a large pool of skilled talent at competitive costs.
- Potential for significant export earnings from GCC operations.
4.Nine-Dash Line
- Disputed boundary claimed by China in South China Sea.
- First appeared on a 1947 Chinese map.
- Represents China’s historical maritime claims.
- Overlaps claims of Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Taiwan.
- Major source of regional tension and conflict.
- Legal status and extent of the line remain unclear.
- Contested by international law, particularly UNCLOS.
5.Letter of Intent: AIM and WIPO
Context
- AIM and WIPO signed a joint Letter of Intent to collaborate on innovation and IPR.
Aim of Collaboration
- Expand AIM’s ATL and AIC models to global south countries.
- Enhance IPR awareness among Indian students, teachers, innovators, and entrepreneurs.
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)
- Established by NITI Aayog in 2016.
- Promotes innovation and entrepreneurship.
- Programs: ATL, AIC, Atal New India Challenges, Atal Grand Challenges, Mentor India.
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
- UN agency for protecting intellectual property.
- 193 member states.
- Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
- Aims to facilitate global innovation and creativity.
Moidams
Context
- India hosting first World Heritage Committee meeting.
- Moidams under consideration for World Heritage status.
Moidams
- Burial mounds of Ahom kings, queens, and nobles.
- Derived from Tai word “Phrang-Mai-Dam” (bury the spirit).
- Located in upper Assam districts.
- Structure: vaulted chamber, hemispherical mound, brick structure (Chaw-chali), octagonal boundary wall.
- Reflect Ahom belief in divine kingship.
- Comparable to Chinese royal tombs and Egyptian pyramids.
World Heritage Committee
- Annual meeting for World Heritage matters.
- Decides on World Heritage listings.
- 46th session examining 27 nominations, including Moidams.