Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 13 March 2022

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 13 March 2022

::NATIONAL::

Tripura government launched 'Chief Minister Cha Shrami Kalyan Prakalpa' scheme

The Union Home and Cooperation Minister, Shri Amit Shah, today laid the foundation stone and performed the BhumiPujan of the new campus of the National Forensic Sciences University in Agartala, in Tripura, and also inaugurated a Women’s Empowerment Campaign and the Chief Minister ShramikKalyanPrakalp. Several dignitaries including the Tripura Chief Minister, Biplab Kumar Deb, Deputy Chief Minister, JishnuDevBurman, Union Minister PratimaBhowmik and Union Home Secretary were present on the occasion.
In his address, the Union Home and Cooperation Minister said today all of us have gathered here for three events; the Foundation stone of the National Forensic Science University Campus and BhoomiPujan, four years of the Tripura government is being completed today and Chief Minister Biplab Deb and Deputy Chief Minister, JishnuDev have done very good work. He said that today the 2022 Women’s Empowerment Policy is being announced for the women of Tripura, apart from this the ShramikKalyanPrakalpa which is the dream project of the Chief Minister is also being announced.
He said that under the leadership of ShriNarendraModi, the Chief Minister BiplabDev has worked to change the 50 year history of Tripura in four years. I first came to Tripura in 2015 and whenever I used to come to see Maa Tripura Sundari, I used to pray that Mother should provide such a government to this State, which will make the State free from terrorism and drugs, and move it forward on the path of development . He congratulated the Chief Minister for the roads, lights and infrastructure that the Tripura Government has built in four years, upto the Bangladesh border, which shows that a lot for the development has taken place in Tripura.
ShriAmit Shah said the foundation stone of National Forensic Science University has been laid today. This National Forensic Sciences University has its first campus in the North East and this is a huge step for youth and girls that after completing their studies here, job opportunities will be created for them.
He said that the Gujarat Forensic Science University was established when he was the Home Minister of Gujarat. ShriNarendraModi was the Chief Minister of the State at that time. Now ShriModi is the Prime Minister and he is the Home Minister. Efforts were made to convert the Gujarat Forensic Science University into a National Forensic Science University to give equal rights to students of all States to study there.

::INTERNATIONAL::

India temporarily relocates embassy to Poland

India said the country’s embassy in Ukraine would be moved to Poland because of the rapidly deteriorating security situation.
The embassy had been functioning from an office in Lviv, located some 70 km from the Polish border, after Indian officials moved out of the capital Kyiv following the evacuation of a majority of Indian nationals from Ukraine last week.
“In view of the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Ukraine, including attacks in the western parts of the country, it has been decided that the Indian Embassy in Ukraine will be temporarily relocated in Poland,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement.
“The situation will be reassessed in the light of further developments,” the statement added.
Though attacks and shelling by Russian forces had initially focused on the eastern parts of Ukraine, there was an uptick in bombardment in the western region, where Lviv is located, over the weekend.

::ECONOMY::

India will ensure steady coking coal cargoes to allay supply concerns

India will take steps to ensure a steady supply of coking coal for domestic steel companies, which are struggling with cargo disruptions and rocketing prices in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"We are discussing amongst ourselves, and we will definitely chalk out some plan on how to deal with this situation," India's Steel Minister Ram Chandra Prasad Singh told Reuters in an interview.
"We will do something to bring a sense of confidence among our (steel) producers that in this situation also, we can find some solution. There are many options. And we will discuss in detail with everybody on how to go about this."
He did not give details but he said India could approach other producers and could look at boosting local supplies and importing pulverized coke injection (PCI) as a substitute.
India's overall coking coal imports total 50-55 million tonnes, with overseas purchases rising 4% annually.
To reduce its import dependence on Australia, India last year agreed with Russia to import coking coal, which accounts for about 40% of the total cost of steel production.
"We will see how it works out," Singh said referring to India's pact with Russia to buy coking coal.
A spike in the price of coking coal is a big worry, Singh said.
"The major concern is the price that has gone up very high," he said.
As concerns increase over supply shortages from leading producer Russia, coking coal prices touched $600 a tonne from $150 tonne in January this year.

::Science and tech::

Mix modern science, indigenous wisdom to mitigate climate crisis

Climate change is altering our planet irreversibly. Yet, rarely do we get the opportunity to talk to people whose everyday lives are viscerally tied to nature. Last week, I met with Keith Wolfe Smarch, a 60-year-old indigenous carver and hunter in the Canada’s Yukon territory.
The wise man talked about mice. During the last few years, temperatures have started shifting from high to low rapidly, which forces the snow on top to melt and freeze back into ice.
The mice continue to feed under the snow, but under a sheath of ice. Many don’t even survive. Nor do the iconic Great Grey Owls, who prey on mice. With the new ice layer, they can no longer hear the mice, as they once did, under the snow. And if they discern dinner, they can’t break the ice to serve themselves. The numbers of both the owls and the mice have dropped, Keith says. Till five years ago, he’d hear the birds hoot all night. Now, its down to a few times a year.
That’s only one story, but it underscores how little we listen to and amplify indigenous knowledge and observations around climate change. Science is key, but it doesn’t capture every shift. If we respected, learned from and combined both kinds of knowledge, we stand a better chance to adapt, if not somewhat mitigate the climate crisis. India is lucky to be populated by so many communities who can offer us this knowledge. We must grab this opportunity and learn from them.