UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 25-02-2021
iasparliament
February 25, 2021
Accredited Investor
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed to introduce the concept of ‘accredited investors’ in the securities market.
Accredited investors (Qualified investors or Professional investors) are those who have an understanding of various financial products and the risks and returns associated with them.
They are able to take informed decisions regarding their investments and are recognised by many securities and financial market regulators globally.
SEBI said the accreditation once granted shall be valid for a year.
The accreditation may be carried out via 'Accreditation Agencies’ which may be the market infrastructure institutions or their subsidiaries.
International Commission on Large Dams
The International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) Symposium on Sustainable Development of Dams & River Basins was organised.
ICOLD is a non-governmental International Organization that provides a forum for the exchange of knowledge and experience in dam engineering.
It sets standards and guidelines to ensure that dams are built and operated safely, efficiently, economically, and are environmentally sustainable and socially equitable.
It is directed by the General Assembly consisting of representatives from all the Member Countries and of the Officers of the Commission.
Any country can become a "Member Country" and constitute a National Committee with persons competent in the matters relating to dams.
Kodaikanal Solar Observatory
Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (KoSO) has estimated how the Sun had rotated over the Century, from digitized data extracted from old films and photographs.
[KoSO is a part of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology (DST).]
This estimation would help study magnetic field generated in the interior of the Sun, which causes sunspots and results in extreme situations like the mini-ice age on Earth (absence of sunspots).
It could help predict solar cycles and their variations in the future.
The Sun rotates more quickly at its equator than at its poles.
Over time, the Sun's differential rotation rates cause its magnetic field to become twisted and tangled, and this in turn, causes lots of sunspots.
The sunspots form at the surface with an 11-year periodicity.
They are the only route to probe the solar dynamo or solar magnetism inside the Sun and hence measure the variation in solar rotation.
Indian Energy Exchange
Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company sold power to Arunachal Pradesh through Indian Energy Exchange Limited (IEX).
IEX is the first and largest nationwide energy exchange platform in India, which has been operating since 2008.
It is an automated trading platform for physical delivery of electricity, Renewable Energy Certificates and Energy Saving Certificates.
It enables efficient price discovery and increases the accessibility and transparency of the power market in India.
It also enhances the speed and efficiency of trade execution.
The benefiting open access consumers belong to various industries such as metal, food processing, textile, chemicals, automobiles, IT industries, institutional, housing and commercial entities.
It is a publicly listed company with NSE and BSE, and is regulated by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).
United Nations Human Rights Council
The 46th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) was held recently. In this session,
India took on Pakistan for releasing an Al-Qaeda terrorist.
The U.S. Secretary of State said that the U.S. will seek re-election to the UNHRC for the 2022 to 2024 term.
The UNHRC replaced the former UN Commission on Human Rights.
The 47-member UNHRC is an inter-governmental body that promotes and protects human rights around the globe.
It discusses all thematic human rights violation issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year.
It is made up of UN Member States which are elected by the UN General Assembly. It meets at the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The UNHRC was created by the UNGA in 2006 by resolution 60/251.
One year later, the Council adopted its "Institution-building package" to guide its work and set up its procedures and mechanisms.
Carbon Watch
It is India’s first app to assess the carbon footprint of an individual.
[Carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases-especially carbon dioxide-released into the atmosphere by a particular human activity.]
Chandigarh became the first state or Union Territory in India to launch the mobile application Carbon Watch.
The app can be downloaded through a QR code in Android phones.
As a person downloads the app, they will need to fill details in four parts,
Water category - Information on water consumption on their part.
Energy category - Information on electricity units consumed every month in house, etc and usage of solar energy
Waste category - Information on the waste generation on their part and their family
Transport (Vehicular movement) category - Information such as the national and world average of the emission, and the individual’s level of emission generation.
