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Now let’s take a look at the collection of current affairs that must be known by those who are preparing for the UPSC Civil Services Exams. It will also be useful for DNPSC Group 1, Group 2 aspirants.
Also Read: UPSC Exam: UPI – PayNow Link, Rising Heat, Pangolin … Key Topics Here!
Khalistan movement
Latest news
– February 23 Hundreds of followers of radical cleric and pro-Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh clashed violently with police outside the Ajnala police station near Amritsar, demanding the release of one of their colleagues arrested in a kidnapping case.
-Amritpal Singh, 29, is a disciple of slain Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bindranwale and is often referred to as “Bhindranwale 2.0” in Punjab. After the death of actor and activist Deep Sidhu, the founder of ‘Waris Punjab D’, he returned from Dubai last year to take charge of the organisation.
– “Our cause for Khalistan should not be seen as evil and taboo… It is an ideology and this ideology will never die. We have not asked Delhi for that,” Amritpal Singh told ANI on Friday. After the violence by Amritpal Singh’s supporters on Thursday, the Congress warned against a return to the “dark days of violence that every Punjabi fears”.
What is Khalistan Movement?
– The Khalistan movement was a struggle for a separate, sovereign Sikh state in present-day Punjab (both India and Pakistan). Over the years, it has been carried on in different forms, in different places and among different people.
– The movement was crushed in India following Operation Blue Star (1984) and Operation Black Thunder (1986 and 1988), but it continues to gain sympathy and support among sections of the Sikh population, particularly among the Sikh diaspora in countries such as Canada, England, and Australia. .
New START
Latest news
– Days before the first anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin announced in a state of the nation address on Tuesday (February 21) that Russia would end its participation in New START, the last remaining major military treaty with the United States.
– Putin said the US wants to inspect Russia’s military facilities as a condition of the deal, while openly stating that its goal is Russia’s strategic defeat is “absurd drama”.
Important notes
What is New START?
– The name START comes from the original “Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty,” known as START-I, signed in 1991 between the United States and the former Soviet Union and entered into force in 1994.
— START-I, which called for each side to reduce the number of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to 6,000 and 1,600 respectively, expired in 2009 and was originally called the Strategic Strike Reduction Treaty (SORT, also known as the Moscow Treaty). , has since been replaced by the New START Treaty.
– New START, officially the “Agreement between the United States and the Russian Federation on Measures to Further Reduce and Limit Strategic Offensive Arms”, entered into force on February 5, 2011, and placed new verifiable limits on intercontinental nuclear weapons.
– Both countries must meet the treaty’s core limits on strategic offensive weapons by February 5, 2018, and then remain within those limits for the duration of the treaty. The United States and the Russian Federation later agreed to extend the agreement until February 4, 2026.
Protecting the ocean ecosystem
Latest news
– Although the high seas make up more than 60% of the world’s oceans, they have long received less attention than coastal waters. The UN is taking steps to protect them in a global treaty.
Important notes
– Fishing, shipping, tourism and marine conservation are currently controlled by around 20 companies. However, their regulations apply only up to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the coast. Farther away, international waters begin, areas in which individual states have no authority or say.
– Although the high seas cover more than half of the Earth’s surface and account for 61% of all oceans, only 1% of international waters are protected.
— Overfishing and other forms of environmental damage, such as illegal fishing, deep-sea mining, oil and gas drilling, cannot be consistently monitored, monitored or prosecuted.
– That’s why government officials from 51 countries now want to negotiate a high seas treaty at the United Nations in New York. The agreement has been in the works for several years and aims to protect species and allocate ocean resources in a sustainable way.
Flash floods in glacial lakes
Latest news
– According to a new study, about 15 million people worldwide face the risk of flash and deadly floods from glacial lakes, a number that is increasing due to global warming. More than half of the vulnerable live in four countries: India, Pakistan, Peru and China.
Important notes
– Study published in the journal Nature, ‘Glacial Lake Eruption Flooding Threatens Millions Globally’, by Caroline Taylor, Rachel Carr and Stuart Dunning of the University of Newcastle (UK), Tom Robinson of the University of Canterbury (New Zealand), and Matthew Westoby of Northumbria University (UK) conducted.
– Glacial lakes are the result of shrinking glaciers. If water escapes from them, it will flood the low-lying areas. This is called a glacial lake outburst flood, or GLOF. Although GLOFs have been occurring since the Ice Age, the risk has increased manifold due to climate change, researchers of a recent study said.
— GLOFs can prove catastrophic as they often arrive with little warning and cause massive destruction of property, infrastructure and farmland. They also lead to the death of hundreds of people.
Unusual February heat
Latest news
– February is still going on, truly a winter month, but temperatures are touching 40 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country. There are already concerns about this year’s extremely hot summer and the possibility of extended heat waves.
– While this cannot be ruled out, the current unusually high temperatures, mainly in northern and western India, do not indicate how hot the summer or later part of the year will be.
Important notes
– According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the prevailing hot conditions are expected to subside in the next two days. But it will still be above normal temperature.
India Meteorological Center forecast: Unusually warm February, Meteorological Center’s heatwave chaos
– Based on the 30-year record from 1981 to 2010, the average February maximum temperature across the country is expected to be 28 degrees C. This is taken as “normal”. The minimum temperature is expected to be around 15 degrees Celsius.
Read other articles of Indian Express for more complete details on this.
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