Current Affairs [Monthly]

Notes:
Former petroleum secretary Tarun Kapoor has been appointed as an advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a government order issued. Kapoor, a 1987-batch IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, superannuated as the secretary of the ministry of petroleum and natural gas on November 30, 2021.

Notes:
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), has introduced Paper Import Monitoring System (PIMS).
DGFT has amended the import policy of major paper products from ‘Free’ to ‘Free subject to compulsory registration under PIMS’. The system shall come into effect from 1st October, 2022. As per PIMS, an importer will be required to obtain an automatic registration number through online system.

Notes:
India and Iran recently signed MoU mutually recognising certificates of competency in unlimited voyages of seafarers from both the nations.
Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is on a four-day visit to Iran to review the progress on the development of the Shahid Behesti terminal of Chabahar Port. It is a crucial part in the potentially game-changing International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

Notes:
Mr. Dinesh Kumar Batra, who was formerly the Director (Finance) and Chief Financial Officer of Bharat Electronics Limited, has recently taken on the additional responsibilities of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Navratna Defense PSU (BEL).

Notes:
The Pey Jal Survekshan under ‘Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation’ (AMRUT) 2.0 was launched by Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri.
It aims to assess the compliance of the city with respect to quality, quantity, and coverage of water supply, sewerage management, and extent of reuse and conservation of water bodies in 500 AMRUT cities.

Notes:
A preliminary report on the recent Yeti Airlines crash in Nepal revealed that the plane’s propellers were found in an unusual ‘feathered position’.
Feathering is part of the checklist that needs to be followed when faced with emergencies such as a forced landing. This report assessed that this might have occurred because of a human error. All 72 people aboard the plane, including 68 passengers and 4 crew members, lost their lives in the crash.

Notes:
Syed Haider Raza, known as S.H. Raza, was an Indian artist known for his abstract paintings. He was a founding member of the Progressive Artists’ Group of Bombay.
He was the recipient of numerous awards and accolades throughout his career. Raza passed away in 2016 at the age of 94. The walls of Centre Pompidou in Paris will come alive with S.H. Raza’s paintings as part of the largest-ever exhibition of his work.

Notes:
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University collaborated on a report titled ‘From Evidence to Action: Twenty Years of IOM Child Trafficking Data to Inform Policy and Programming.’
According to this report, more than 50% of child trafficking victims are subjected to trafficking within their own countries.

Notes:
PM Modi dedicated the HURL Sindri Fertilizer Plant in Jharkhand on March 1, 2024, addressing India’s urea demand. The nation requires 360 lakh metric tons yearly, but in 2014, produced only 225 lakh metric tons. Thanks to government efforts, production increased to 310 lakh metric tons in the last decade. Modi revealed plans to revive more plants by 2025, ensuring affordable fertilizers for farmers and generating employment opportunities for local youth, including the Talcher Fertilizer Plant.

Notes:
Scientists recently discovered a massive volcano on Mars called Noctis, which is located on the eastern edge of Tharsis, a broad regional topographic rise. The volcano is 9,022 meters high and 450 kilometers wide, which makes it almost 200 meters taller than Mount Everest. It’s located south of Mars’ equator, in Eastern Noctis Labyrinthus, west of Valles Marineris, the planet’s vast canyon system. Scientists discovered Noctis using data from NASA’s Mariner 9, Viking Orbiter 1 and 2, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter missions, as well as ESA’s Mars Express mission.