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Posted 09 Apr 2024

8 min read

Gudi Padwa

President conveyed her greetings on eve of Gudi Padwa, and other festivals of welcoming spring season and Indian New Year.
Gudi Padwa is observed on first day of Chaitra month.
- It indicates arrival of spring and marks start of new year in Maharashtra.

Other Spring festivals across India:
- Ugadi: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana.
- Cheti Chand: Celebrated by Sindhis.
- Navreh: celebrated in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Sajibu Cheiraoba: Manipur.

NPPA:
- About: It was constituted in 1997, as an independent Regulator for pricing of drugs.
- Ministry: Attached office of Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.
- Role: It fixes/ revises prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations.
  - Enforce prices and availability of the medicines under Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013.
  - Monitors prices of decontrolled drugs in order to keep them at reasonable levels.

Cargo ships transiting the Mediterranean and the Black Sea are faced with growing incidents of GPS jamming wherein ship navigation data is manipulated or interfered with near conflict zones.

About GPS (Global Positioning System) Jamming
- It is the act of using a frequency transmitting device to intentionally block or interfere with GPS signals that are used for positioning, navigation and timing.
- GPS jammers emit radio frequency signals of the same frequency as GPS signals.

Researchers at the University of Kerala developed an Air-breathing Magnesium-Copper / Cupric Oxide (Mg-Cu/CuO) Fuel Cell.

About Mg-Cu/CuO fuel cell
- It is a variation of the Mg-C fuel cell, but uses a copper-based cathode which can be reused unlike carbon-based in Mg-C fuel cell.
  - It is operationally more stable than Mg-C fuel cell.
- It is an eco-friendly fuel cell that generates power mainly using air and seawater.
- The cell produces only electricity and heat during its operation and emits water.
- Technology is expected to be as disruptive as Lithium-ion batteries.

Indian banks are battling the worst deposit crunch in 20 years and at 80%, the credit-deposit ratio is at its highest since 2005.

About CDR:
- It is the ratio of how much a bank lends out of the deposits it has mobilised.
- A higher CDR suggests that a significant portion of the bank's resources are allocated to loans.
  - It could potentially stimulate economic growth but also implies higher risk.
- Regulators often monitor CDR to ensure banks maintain a prudent balance between lending and risk management.

UN Security Council refers Palestinian application to become full UN member to committee.

About UN Membership procedure
- State accepts Charter commitments by submitting an application to Secretary-General
- UNSC requiring affirmative votes from 9 out of 15 members and no vetoes by 5 permanent members.
- If recommended, it's presented to General Assembly, which requires a two-thirds majority vote.
- Membership becomes effective upon resolution adoption.

Over 73,000 applications received on Suvidha portal since the announcement of Lok Sabha elections.

Suvidha Portal
- Developed by Election Commission of India to ensure a level playing field upholding the democratic principles of free, fair, and transparent elections.
- It streamlined the process of obtaining and acting upon requests for permissions and facilities from political parties and candidates during election period.
  - Caters to permissions for organizing rallies, helicopters, vehicle permits, temporary party offices etc.
- The portal can help to scrutinize election expenditures, contributing to greater accountability and integrity in the electoral process.

Rise in water level of Ural River due to snow melting affected over 10,000 Homes across Russia.

Ural River
- It is 2,428 km long river that flows through Russia and Kazakhstan along the continental boundary between Europe and Asia.
- Originates in Ural Mountains and empties into Caspian Sea.
- It is Europe's third-longest river after Volga and Danube rivers.
- Melting snow constitutes about 60% to 70% of the river’s water source.