Every Monday, UPSC Current Affairs Pointers in UPSC Essentials aim to go beyond the headlines and provide content relevant to your UPSC Prelims, State PCS, and other competitive examinations.

If you missed the UPSC Current Affairs Pointers of the past week | November 11 to November 17, 2024, from the Indian Express, read it here.

— According to a new study published in Nature Journal, Carbon trade has been largely ineffective till now, and only a very small number of projects have resulted in real emissions reduction.

— The study looked at thousands of projects that together generated carbon credits worth one billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, and found that only 16 per cent of these credits represented actual reductions in emissions.

— Carbon markets allow for trade in carbon credits by incentivising emissions reductions. An industrial unit that outperforms its emission standards, meaning that it produces less emissions than it is mandated to, can earn carbon credits. Another unit, which is struggling to meet its emissions standards, can buy these credits.

— The Nature study found that the most effective emissions reductions happened in projects that involved the abatement of HFC-23 chemicals.

— HFC-23, also known as trifluoromethane, is produced during the manufacture of a common refrigerant gas called HCFC-22, belonging to the hydrochlorofluorocarbon family. HFC-23 has 14,800 times more potential to cause global warming as compared to carbon dioxide.

— According to a new report by Global Carbon Project, an organisation that quantifies the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, India’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from burning fossil fuels are expected to increase by 4.6% in 2024, the highest among major economies.

— Globally, fossil-based CO2 emissions are set to touch a record high of 37.4 billion tonnes this year, a rise of 0.8% from 2023.

— At this rate, there is “a 50% chance global warming will exceed 1.5 degree Celsius consistently in about six years”.

 

—  Every year, November 19 to November 25 is celebrated as World Heritage Week 2024, under the theme “Discover and Experience Diversity.”

— This annual global observance marks the heritage sites recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

— The roots of this week were created by UNESCO in 1945 to promote moral and intellectual unity following two catastrophic world wars as a way to support enduring world peace.

 

— Nigeria has conferred its second-highest national award, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, making him the second foreign dignitary to receive the distinction after Queen Elizabeth, who was conferred the award in 1969.

— The PM is in Nigeria on the first leg of his three-nation visit at the invitation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This visit is the first by an Indian PM to Nigeria in 17 years.

—  Three MoUs — the Cultural Exchange Programme, Customs Cooperation and Survey Cooperation — were signed during the visit.

— Nigeria is referred to as the “Giant of Africa” because its economy is the fourth-largest in the continent and its population the largest.

— Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred ‘The Order of Excellence’ by Guyanese President Irfaan Ali.

— He was awarded the highest national award of Guyana for his exceptional service to the global community, statesmanship, and contribution to deepening India-Guyana ties.

— Modi is the fourth foreign leader to be conferred the highest national award in Guyana.

—   Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred the “Dominica Award of Honour” by President Sylvanie Burton of Dominica on the sidelines of the India-CARICOM Summit.

— The award is a recognition of PM’s statesmanship and contribution to Dominica during the COVID-19 pandemic and his commitment to strengthening India-Dominica ties.

— Barbados also conferred the honorary Order of Freedom, its top award on Prime Minister Modi, bringing his tally of international honours to 19.

— Brazil launched the Global Alliance for Hunger and Poverty on Friday at the G20 Summit in Rio with an initial 41 participating members.

— The members have pledged to lift 500 million people out of poverty through cash transfers and social protection systems.

— The initiative brings together developed nations, NGOs, and financial institutions to donate money and expertise to countries in need.

— The initiatives include expanding cash transfer programs to reach 500 million people, providing school meals to an additional 150 million children and assisting 200 million children up to age 6 and pregnant women with health programs.

— It will provide a platform for countries to support each others’ public policies aimed at eradicating hunger and poverty.

— Donors include Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Norway, Spain, the European Union, and institutions such as the World Bank, FAO, and the World Food Programme.

— The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant for “crimes against humanity and war crimes”.

— The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, was established under a 1998 treaty called the “Rome Statute”. It “investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.”

— At present, 124 countries are party to the Rome Statute, including Britain, Japan, Afghanistan, and Germany. India is not a member, nor are China and the US.

— The ICC was established to prosecute the most heinous offences only when a country’s legal machinery was unable or unwilling to act.

— India and Italy have announced the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-29 outlining their vision for collaboration in a range of key sectors, including defence, trade, energy, and space.

— The central government has notified Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve of Chhattisgarh as the 56th Tiger Reserve in the country and the third largest tiger reserve in India.

— With this Chhattisgarh has four tiger reserves, the other three are Achanakmar, Udanti Sitanadi, and Indravati.

— The constituent units of the Tiger Reserve, Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary, are spread over 1,44,000 hectares (1,440 sq km) and 60,850 hectares (608.5 sq km) respectively.

— It is spread across four districts, Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur (MCB), Korea, Surajpur, and Balrampur in the northern tribal Sarguja region of Chhattisgarh.

— The Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla falls between two other important tiger reserves located in Bandhavgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Palamau, Jharkhand. It is adjacent to Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve, also in MP.

— Guru Ghasidas National Park was the last known habitat of the Asiatic cheetah in the country. There are five to six tigers at the Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve as of now.

— Andhra Pradesh’s Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve is the country’s largest tiger reserve, covering 3,296.31 sq km. Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam is the second largest with an area of 2,837.1 sq km. Both have 58 tigers.

— One of the issues at COP 29 is regarding the right approach for this year’s agreement on the Global Stock Take (GST) which was taken in Dubai last year.

— Several countries, including India, are objecting to one particular paragraph mentioned in the GST which had asked all countries to transition away from fossil fuels, triple renewable energy by 2030, reduce emissions of non-CO2 gases including methane, and phase-down coal, among other things.

— Global Stock Take is a five-year exercise mandated by the 2015 Paris Agreement to take stock of the progress being made in the fight against climate change and suggest measures to make course corrections. The first of these exercises was held in Dubai last year.

 

— Scientists have captured an extreme close-up of the dying star WOH G64 that is 1,60,000 light years away, dwelling in another galaxy.

— WOH G64  has been imaged with remarkable sharpness by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (ESO’s VLTI). The latest image reveals that the star emanates dust and gas, a sign that it is in its last stages before becoming a supernova triggered by a powerful explosion towards the end of a star’s life.

— The WOH G64 is a giant star that dwells in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf or satellite galaxy that orbits our Milky Way, which also happens to be one of the closest galaxies to us. It was discovered in the 1970s by Bengt Westerlunds, Olander, and Hedin.

 

— The sculpture of Tanesar Mother Goddess was among the 1,400 antiquities valued at $10 million returned to India by the US authorities this week.

—  It is carved from green-gray schist, and looted from the village of Tanesara-Mahadeva in Rajasthan.

— Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, a 22-year-old Maori Party MP, performed a powerful Maori haka in parliament in protest of a contentious Bill.

— The haka is of deep cultural significance to Maori identity and is traditionally performed by warriors on the battlefield or to welcome another tribe.

— The Haka traces its roots to the Maori people, the indigenous Polynesian inhabitants of Aotearoa (the Maori name for New Zealand). Traditionally, the haka was a ceremonial dance or challenge performed by warriors before battle.

— It was designed to intimidate opponents with synchronised movements, powerful chants, and piercing expressions.

 

— India has successfully test-fired the first long-range hypersonic missile off the coast of Odisha which was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

— It is designed to carry various payloads for ranges greater than 1,500 km. The term “Hypersonic” refers to a speed at least five times the speed of sound (also called Mach-5).

— The two types of hypersonic weapons systems are Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGV) and Hypersonic Cruise Missiles. The HGVs are launched from a rocket before gliding to the intended target while HCMs are powered by air-breathing high-speed engines or ‘scramjets’ after acquiring their target.

— A joint exercise of the Army, Navy, and Air Force was organised in Arunachal Pradesh’s Shi-Yomi district.

— This exercise, being conducted from November 10-18, aims to hone the combat effectiveness of the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force in executing Integrated Joint Operations in the challenging mountainous terrain of the region.

— In a major escalation of the war on its 1,000th day, Russia on Tuesday alleged that debris from a US-made ATACMS missile has fallen in the Bryansk region of the country.

— Weeks before leaving the White House, Joe Biden provided authorisation to Kyiv to use the Army Tactical Missile System, also known as ATACMS, inside Russia.

— It is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile capable of hitting targets at up to 300km (186 miles). This range means that Ukraine may now be able to hit targets inside Russia, including Russian-annexed Crimea.

— The missiles are fuelled by solid rocket propellant and follow a ballistic path into the atmosphere before coming back down at a high speed and high angle, making them difficult to intercept.

— In a televised address, Putin said Moscow struck a Ukrainian military facility with a new medium-range, hypersonic ballistic missile known as “Oreshnik” (the hazel).

— Ballistic missiles use projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. They are powered for a relatively brief time, after which they let the laws of physics take them to their target.

— The experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) was based on Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) model, and Russia likely possesses only a handful of these missiles at present.

— According to Western sources, the missile fired by Russia boasts a range of as much as 5,500 km, enough to effectively target every European city from Russian territory.

 

(Just FYI: Noting historical personalities’ anniversaries aids UPSC prep. UPSC often includes such personalities in questions, so revisiting their lives refreshes your static syllabus.)

— S M Khan, a retired Indian Information Services officer and Press Secretary to former President A P J Abdul Kalam, passed away in New Delhi at the age of 67.

— He has written a book titled “The People’s President”, narrating his experiences working with Dr Kalam.

— K Sanjay Murthy, a 1989-batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS officer, will be the next Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

— He will succeed incumbent Girish Chandra Murmu, who is retiring on November 20.

— Article 148 of the constitution provides for the appointment of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India who shall be appointed by the President and shall only be removed from office in like manner and on like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court.

 

(Just FYI: The location of the place is important, considering that UPSC has asked several questions about places that were in the news, such as Aleppo and Kirkuk, in the 2018 UPSC Prelims. The best way to remember them is to plot them on a world map.)

— A small village in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district, Dhudmaras has been selected by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) for its Best Tourism Village Upgrade programme, highlighting its potential for sustainable tourism development.

— Under this, it will receive support to enhance tourism infrastructure, promote cultural heritage, and improve the quality of life for residents.

— This year, 55 villages across the world received the recognition of Best Tourism Village under the UNWTO initiative.

— Dhudmaras is situated in the heart of Kanger Valley National Park. Nestled in dense forests with the Kanger River flowing through it, Dhudmaras offers an idyllic setting for eco-tourism.

— Pictures of Diljit Dosanjh from the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque––dressed in traditional attire––are making rounds on the Internet.

— It is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates, and one of the largest places of worship in the world.

— The mosque was envisioned by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the United Arab Emirates.

— The first considerations to build the Mosque began in the late 1980s, the construction began on November 5th, 1996, and it opened for worship on Eid Al Adha in the year 2007.

 

(Just FYI: With the unpredictability of the UPSC examinations and questions like the ICC World Test Championship question 2021, you can’t be sure of anything. It is wise to know what it is and not go into too much detail.)

—  India retained the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy title with a narrow 1-0 win over China after a hard-fought win in the finale against China.

— Deepika made the only goal in the final. She finished as the tournament’s top goal scorer with a tally of 11.

This was India’s third Women’s Asian Champions Trophy hockey title, with this India is now leveled with the Republic of Korea as the most successful nation in the competition’s history.

 

— 3zero club: Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Pope Francis jointly launched a ‘Pope Francis Yunus 3Zero Club’ in Rome in an effort to “usher in a transformative and inclusive future for humanity,” it was announced on Saturday. The three Zs stand for zero poverty, zero unemployment, and zero net carbon emissions.

— Peak Oil: The term “peak oil” used to mean the point when global production would top out, before entirely running out.

 

(Note: The best way to remember facts for UPSC and other competitive exams is to recall them through MCQs. Try to solve the following questions on your own.)

A. Consider the following statements:

1. Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve has been notified as the 58th Tiger Reserve of India.

2. Guru Ghasidas National Park was the last known habitat of the Asiatic cheetah in the country.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

B. The founding father of the United Arab Emirates has envisioned building this mosque which is one of the largest places of worship in the world. The construction began on November 5th, 1996, and it was opened for worship on Eid Al Adha in the year 2007.

Which of the following mosques is the above description about?

(a) Umayyad Mosque

(b) Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

(c) Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque

(d) Masjid al-Haram

C. Consider the following statements regarding the Global Alliance for Hunger and Poverty:

1. The 18th G20 summit has launched the initiative of Global Alliance for Hunger and Poverty.

2. The members have pledged to lift 500 million people out of poverty through cash transfers and social protection systems.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

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