History

Veer Bal Diwas 2022

To mark the martyrdom of the four Sahibzade Khalsa, every year, December 26 is marked as Veer Bal Diwas. 

About:

• Guru Gobind Singh, the leader of the Sikhs in Punjab during the Mughal reign, had four sons.
  • They were referred to as the four Sahibzade Khalsa.
• In 1699, Gobind Singh has established the Khalsa. This elite warrior band had devout Sikhs with the aim to protect the innocent from religious persecution.
• His four sons from three wives: Ajit, Jujhar, Zorawar, and Fateh, were all a part of Khalsa.
• In 1704, the place where the family of Guru Gobind Singh stayed, Anandpur, was under siege.
• Attacked by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, the Sikh Guru accepted to give up the fort for the safety of his people when the supplies started running low.
• However, his youngest two sons, Zorawar and Fateh were taken captive.
• Eventually, they were buried alive in a wall at the tender age of 8 and 5 respectively.

Significance:

• Veer Bal Diwas is commemorated to honour the sacrifices of the four Sahibzades of the Khalsa.

Art & Culture

‘Dhanu Yatra’ begins in Odisha’s Bargarh

The ‘Dhanu Yatra’ festival, considered to be the world’s largest open-air theatre, began in the Western Odisha town of Bargarh.

• Dhanu Yatra is the 11-day festival of the masses.
• The ‘Dhanu Yatra’, which marks the victory of good over evil, came into existence in Bargarh in 1947-48 as part of the celebration of the country’s Independence and is held annually.
• The vibrant Dhanu Yatra is associated with the culture of Odisha.
• The plays in the festival start with the dethroning of Emperor Ugrasen of Mathura by angry Kansa over the marriage of his sister Devaki with Vasudev.

The festival concludes with the death of demon king Kansa and restoration of the throne to Ugrasen.

Geography

Unprecedented ‘bomb cyclone’ in US

• A bomb cyclone is a large, intense mid-latitude storm that has low pressure at its centre, weather fronts and an array of associated weather, from blizzards to severe thunderstorms to heavy precipitation.
• It becomes a bomb when its central pressure decreases very quickly—by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours.

Polity & Governance

Government gives official recognition to Esports

The Government of India gave Esports a major boost by integrating it with mainline sports disciplines in the country.

• E-Sports is now part of multi-sports events.
  • The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) is the nodal ministry for esports in multi-sports events.
  • The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is the nodal ministry to oversee the online gaming industry. 
• The International Olympic Committee (IOC) too is going big on popularising e-Sport with Singapore being confirmed to host the inaugural Olympic Esports Week in June next year.

Polity and Governance

Connecting all 8 Northeast capitals with rail line

India has completed the final location survey of three strategic railway lines in the Northeast that aims to help the military push its men and equipment faster into the border areas, especially in Arunachal Pradesh, along China.

About the strategic plan:

• The key lines for which work was sped up are:
  • A 200 km broad gauge line between Bhalukpong to Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh)
  • 87 km line between Silapathar (Assam) to Along via Bame (Arunachal Pradesh)
  • 217 km line between Rupai (Assam) to Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh) which also has an advanced landing ground of the Indian Air Force

Significance:

• The Bhalukpong-Tawang line is one of the most important projects which will cater to the military’s wide needs in an area which has seen tensions rise with China.

Environment

Indian Energy Exchange forms subsidiary

Energy exchange platform Indian Energy Exchange has incorporated a subsidiary to explore business opportunities in the voluntary carbon market.

• The wholly-owned subsidiary company is named International Carbon Exchange Private Limited (ICX).
  • The new entity will enable participants to buy and sell voluntary carbon credits at competitive prices through its platform.
  • It will facilitate the reduction of global Greenhouse Gas emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 to get on track to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

Voluntary carbon markets

• Voluntary carbon markets are markets where carbon credits are purchased, usually by organizations, for voluntary use rather than to comply with legally binding emissions reduction obligations

Environment

Invasive species of mussel in Ennore and Pulicat

Fishermen of Pulicat and Ennore are worried over the spread of an invasive species of mussel that is a threat to the prawns of both waterbodies.

• The species Mytella strigatais also known as Charru mussels or kakka aazhi.
• It is a South American mussel species that is spreading due to the discharge of ballast waters from ships visiting the ports of Kattupalli.
• The mussel spreads like a carpet over the riverbed, preventing prawns from grazing or burying themselves in the sediment.
• Its spread is wiping out the locally prevalent yellow clams (manja matti) and green mussels (pachai aazhi).

Environment and Ecology

What is Kida Jadi?

The Chinese soldiers have been accused of illegally entering India searching for a rare Himalayan called by several names and behind a multi-million dollar market.

• The valuable herb is called ‘Kida Jadi’ in India and is known as Himalayan gold.

About:

• The medicinal herb is known as 'Yarsagumba' in China and Nepal, while in India it is known as 'Keeda Jadi'.
• Scientific name: Ophiocordyceps Sinensis
• The value of Cordyceps is around $1,072.50 million in the international market, with China being the largest exporter as well as producer.
• In Indian money, the value of this medicinal herb is around Rs 10-12 lakh per kg in the international market.

Environment
Scientists discover the secret power that makes glass frogs transparent

Scientists have discovered about the glass frog which makes itself transparent.

About:

• The glass frog - which is about the size of a marshmallow - spends its days sleeping on bright green leaves in the Tropics.
• In order to escape the attention of predators, the creature turns itself up to 61% transparent, disguising itself on the leaf.
• They are native to Central and South America.
• They have ability to selectively pool and clot blood is the creature's "superpower".
• In most animals, pooling blood together leads to clotting which can be life-threatening, for example leading to heart attacks in humans.

Science and Technology

Dark patterns on Internet

Social media companies and Big Tech use dark or deceptive patterns to downgrade the user experience to their advantage. 

What are dark patterns?

• Such patterns are unethical user interface designs that deliberately make internet experience harder or exploitative.
• In turn, they benefit the company or platform employing the designs.
• Examples:
• In social media, LinkedIn users often receive unsolicited, sponsored messages from influencers.
• Disabling this option is a difficult process with multiple steps that requires users to be familiar with the platform controls.

Science & Technology

Pralay ballistic missiles cleared for IAF

The Indian defence ministry has cleared the procurement of around 120 Pralay ballistic missiles for the Indian armed force.

About Pralay ballistic missiles

• These are surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) developed for battlefield use. 
• Currently, the Pralay ballistic missiles can take out targets from 150 to 500 kms. It is extremely difficult for the enemy to intercept through interceptor missiles. 
• The missile guidance system includes state-of-the-art navigation and integrated avionics. 
• India now permits the use of ballistic missiles in tactical roles, therefore the acquisition of these ballistic missiles is considered a significant development for the nation. 

Economy

Payment system operators to report fraud on RBI's DAKSH from Jan 1

In order to automate the payments fraud management process, the fraud reporting module will be migrated to DAKSH --- the Reserve Bank's advanced supervisory monitoring system -- from January 1.

• DAKSH is a web-based end-to-end workflow application through which RBI will monitor compliance requirements in a more focused manner to further improve the compliance culture in supervised entities like banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), etc.