Daily Current Affairs for 17th November 2022

Digital Shakti 4.0

GS paper 1 & 3: Women empowerment, cyber security

Important for

Prelims exam: Digital Shakti 4.0

Mains exam: Security of women online

Why in news

The National Commission for Women (NCW) launched the fourth phase of Digital Shakti Campaign.

What is Digital Shakti?

• Digital Shakti started in June 2018 to help women across the nation to raise the awareness level on the digital front, to build resilience, and fight cyber-crime in the most effective ways.
• Through this project, over 3 Lakh women across India have been made aware of cyber safety tips and tricks, reporting & redressal mechanisms, data privacy and usage of technology for their benefits.
• Digital Shakti is playing a vital role in accelerating the digital participation of women and girls by training them to use technology to their advantage and to keep themselves safe online.
• Project is contribute towards the larger goal of fighting cyber violence against women and girls and make internet a safer space for them.

About Digital Shakti 4.0

• It is a pan-India project on digitally empowering and skilling women and girls in cyberspace.
• Digital Shakti 4.0 is focused on making women digitally skilled and aware to stand up against any illegal/inappropriate activity online, it will create safe spaces for women and girls online.
• Digital Shakti 4.0 has been launched by NCW in collaboration with CyberPeace Foundation and Meta.

Phase 2 of Digital Shakti The second phase of the campaign was launched in 2020, on the occasion of Safer Internet Day. Over a period of 12 months, a total of 167 workshops and 1,05,000+ netizens from various backgrounds, including students, teachers and workers, were trained on the following topics: Understanding Data & Digital Footprint Responsible Online Behaviour Fighting Misinformation Cybercrime & Redressal Phase 3 of Digital Shakti The third phase of the program was started in March 2021. In the third phase, a Resource Center was also developed under the project to provide information on all the avenues of reporting in case a woman faces any cyber crime. The objective of the campaign is to sensitise 1,50,000 girls and women over a period of 12 months, across India on the various aspects of online safety and digital literacy. Data Privacy and Social Media Safety Cyber Ethics and Digital Wellbeing Cyberlaw, Cybercrime and Redressal

Vikram-suborbital (VKS) rocket

GS paper 3: Space

Important for

Prelims exam: Vikram-suborbital (VKS) rocket

Mains exam: Private sector in Space

Why in news

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will launch its first-ever private rocket on 18th November from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

About VKS Rocket

• The Non-Government Entity/StartUp, Skyroot Aerospace Private Limited has developed the VKS rocket.
• It is a single stage spin stabilised solid propellant rocket with mass of approximately 550 kilograms.
• It has been built using advanced technologies including carbon composite structures and 3D-printed components.
• The rocket will go to the max altitude of 101 kilometres and splash into the sea.
  • The overall duration of launch is 300 seconds.
• Rocket will carry a total of three payloads in space, including one from the foreign customers.

Significance of this launch

• It will provide a level playing field for cost-efficient satellite launch services by disrupting the entry barriers for Private entities.
• It will help the start-ups to make spaceflights affordable and reliable.
• It will ease the burden of funding on the government.
• The Indian space industry contributes 2% to the global space economy, but this figure may reach 8% with the help of the private sector.

Inflation

GS PAPER 3: Economy

Important for

Prelims Exam: Types of Inflation and WPI & CPI

Mains Exam: Measures to Curb Inflation

Why in News?

India’s retail inflation dropped to a three-month low of 6.77% in October when compared to the same month last year. Wholesale price inflation also dropped significantly from rising at double digit rates in earlier months to 8.3% in October.

What is the Consumer Price Index (CPI)?

• CPI is a consumer price index that measures the change in the price in the sale of goods or services in retail or the price of goods or services sold directly to consumers.
• CPI is the final level where the price increases of goods or services.
• It is published monthly by the Central Statistics Office under the Ministry of Statistic and Programme Implementation.
• It is both for goods and services covered under CPI.
• The base year for CPI is 2011.

What is the Wholesale Price Index (WPI)?

• WPI is a Wholesale price index used to measure the average change in price in the sale of goods in bulk quantity by the wholesaler.
• WPI also measures changes in commodity prices at the selected level before it reaches the final level, that is, the consumer.
• WPI is the first level where the first price increases in goods.
• It is published by the office of Economic Advisor the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• It is restricted to goods only. services are not covered because they can’t be purchased on wholesale basis.
• It is released weekly for primary articles, fuel, and power. The base year for WPI is 2011-12.

What caused the drop in inflation?

• It should be remembered that retail inflation since the pandemic has been affected by lockdowns which served as a severe shock to the economy.
• Lockdowns affected the demand and supply sides in different ways, both when they were first imposed and subsequently lifted by the government.
• This may have led to unusual volatility in inflation figures since the pandemic.
• Hence, it may be hard to compare inflation figures of the current year, in which normalcy has largely returned to the economy, with those from previous years marred by stringent lockdowns.
• Easing food prices have also been cited as a reason for the recent drop in inflation.
• But it should be remembered that inflation refers to a general rise in the price level regardless of changes in individual prices.
• So, rise or fall in inflation cannot really be attributed to changes in the prices of individual goods and services.

Retail inflation at 6.77% is still above the RBI’s target inflation range, which is between 2% and 6%. RBI raised rates by 50 basis points in its last three monetary policy committee (MPC) meetings this year. Inflation in the U.S. has cooled down a little to 7.7% in October, it is still way above the U.S. Federal Reserve’s inflation target of 2%. This means that the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to continue tightening its monetary policy stance well into next year. If so, the RBI may be forced to raise domestic interest rates as well or dig deeper into its foreign exchange reserves in order to prevent a slide in the rupee against the U.S. dollar.

Mangrove Forest

GS PAPER 3: Environment

Important for

Prelims Exam: Conditions to grow Mangrove Forest, India’s Mangrove Forest

Mains Exam: Significance of Mangrove Forest

Why in News?

Indian Prime Minister and other leaders attending the G¬20 summit in Bali, planted mangroves at the Ngurah Rai Forest Park.

G-20 Participating Nation

• The summit in Bali will be attended by leaders of Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the U.K. and the U.S. Spain is a permanent invitee, and the special invitees this year also include leaders of Cambodia, Fiji, the Netherlands, Rwanda, Senegal, Singapore, Suriname and UAE.
• Heads of several international agencies like the UN, the IMF, ASEAN, the African Union attended the 2022 G-20.
• The Indonesian President has also invited the Ukrainian President to address the summit virtually, while Russian President Putin, and leaders of Mexico and Brazil (which is in a leadership transition), didn’t attend the summit.

What is a mangrove forest?

• Mangroves are a group of trees and shrubs that live in the coastal intertidal zone.
• There are about 80 different species of mangrove trees. All of these trees grow in areas with low-oxygen soil, where slow-moving waters allow fine sediments to accumulate.
• Mangrove forests only grow at tropical and subtropical latitudes near the equator because they cannot withstand freezing temperatures.
• Many mangrove forests can be recognized by their dense tangle of prop roots that make the trees appear to be standing on stilts above the water.
• This tangle of roots allows the trees to handle the daily rise and fall of tides, which means that most mangroves get flooded at least twice per day.
• The roots also slow the movement of tidal waters, causing sediments to settle out of the water and build up the muddy bottom.
• Mangrove forests stabilize the coastline, reducing erosion from storm surges, currents, waves, and tides.
• The intricate root system of mangroves also makes these forests attractive to fish and other organisms seeking food and shelter from predators.

The Sundarbans The Sundarbans mangrove forest, one of the largest such forests in the world (140,000 ha), lies on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal. It is adjacent to the border of India’s Sundarbans World Heritage site inscribed in 1987. The site is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests, and presents an excellent example of ongoing ecological processes. The area is known for its wide range of fauna, including 260 bird species, the Bengal tiger and other threatened species such as the estuarine crocodile and the Indian python.

India’s Mangrove Forest

Art form in news

Kangra miniature paintings

• Kangra miniature paintings generally depict ‘Shringar Rasa’ (love) on a natural, organic backdrop.
• The art originated in a small hill state ‘Guler’ in the first half of the 18th century when a family of Kashmiri painters trained in the Mughal Style of painting sought shelter at the court of Raja Dalip Singh of Guler.
• The style reached its zenith during the reign of Maharaja Sansar Chand Katoch who was a great patron of Kangra art.
• These exquisite paintings are made today by painters from Himachal Pradesh using natural colours.
• GI tag for Kangra paintings was given in 2015.

Mata Ni Pachedi

• The craft is a handmade textile of Gujarat meant to be an offering in temples that house the Mother Goddess.
• Mata Ni Pachedi is crafted by the nomadic community of Waghris as homage to various incarnations of the Goddess.

Pithora tribal art

• It is a ritualistic tribal folk art by the Rathwa artisans from Chhota Udaipur in Gujarat.
• These paintings are depictions of the cave paintings that tribals used to make reflecting the social, cultural and mythological life and beliefs of those tribals.
• The paintings bear a striking resemblance to the aboriginal dot paintings from the indigenous communities of Australia.
• Pithora was given the GI tag in 2021.

Patan Patola Dupatta

• The ancient art of double ikat or Patola woven in pure silk dates back to the 11th century.
• The Patola fabrics bear an equal intensity of colours and design on both sides.
• This peculiar quality has its origins in an intricate and difficult technique of dyeing or knot dyeing, known as ‘bandhani’, on the warp and weft separately before weaving.
• One of the major practitioners of the dwindling art form is the Salvi family from North Gujarat.
• Patola is woven on primitive hand-operated harness looms made out of rosewood and bamboo strips.
• Patan Patola was given the GI tag in 2013.

Kinnauri shawl

• Kinnauri Shawl is a type of shawl manufactured in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.
• The shawls are known for their geometric designs.
• Kinnauri Shawl got GI tag in 2010.