Current Affairs 02 Jan 2025

Details:Scrub typhus cases have been reported in several districts including Chennai, Tiruvallur, and Vellore, with 5,000 cases in 2024. The disease is caused by the bacteria Orientia tsutsugamushi and transmitted through infected mites. Symptoms include fever, headache, body ache, and sometimes a rash. Severe cases can lead to respiratory distress, organ failure, and death. Factors like vector abundance, climate, farming, and sanitation impact its spread. The Elisa test is used for detection. Control measures include cold fogging, clearing bushes, and reducing rodent populations.

Details:The Union Home Ministry of India has amended prison rules to eliminate caste-based discrimination, following a Supreme Court order on October 3, 2024. Changes to the Model Prison Manual, 2016 now prohibit discrimination, classification, or segregation based on caste, ensuring equal treatment in the allocation of duties and work among inmates. Additionally, the Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2023 has introduced Section 55(A), titled Prohibition of caste-based discrimination in Prisons and Correctional Institutions, reinforcing the commitment to equality and fair treatment in correctional facilities.

Details:The Islamic State (IS) has shown a troubling resurgence through recent violent attacks. On New Year’s Day 2025, a truck attack in New Orleans by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, displaying an IS flag, killed 15 and injured 30, raising concerns about domestic terrorism. IS also claimed responsibility for a deadly assault on a Puntland military base in Somalia the same day, killing over 20 personnel, and has been linked to other major attacks, including a March 2024 concert hall assault in Russia (143 deaths) and bombings in Kerman, Iran (nearly 100 deaths). The group continues to inspire lone wolf attacks, such as a thwarted plan by a 19-year-old Austrian targeting a Taylor Swift concert in August 2024.

Details:Google launched the quantum processor ‘Willow,’ advancing quantum computing to solve practical problems. Willow has 105 physical qubits and operates at near absolute zero temperatures (-273.15°C). It features better error correction and faster performance than other quantum computers. The coherence time of Willow’s qubits is around 100 microseconds, improved by error correction. Willow’s architecture enables lower error rates with more qubits. It outperformed classical computers in testing, completing a Random Circuit Sampling task in minutes.

Details:The World Bank launched the Business Ready (B-READY) report, replacing the paused Ease of Doing Business report. The Ease of Doing Business report was suspended in 2020 due to data manipulation and ranking integrity concerns. B-READY serves as a benchmarking tool to evaluate the global business climate and promote inclusive private sector growth. It focuses on ten core topics: Business Entry, Location, Utility Services, Labor, Financial Services, International Trade, Taxation, Dispute Resolution, Market Competition, and Insolvency.

Details :On 15 January 2025, the Indian Navy will commission three major combatants: INS Nilgiri, INS Surat, and INS Vagsheer. INS Surat is the fourth and final ship of the Project-15B Vishakhapatnam Class stealth destroyer. It is designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and built by Mazagaon Dock Limited. It has 72% indigenous content and is India’s first AI-enabled warship. The ship has a displacement of 7,400 tons, is 163 meters long, and can reach speeds up to 60 km/h. It has a range of 15,000 km and is equipped with BrahMos missiles, Barak-8 missiles, and advanced anti-submarine weapons.

Details:Researchers using South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope detected a loud gravitational wave background through the MeerKAT Pulsar Timing Array. The gravitational wave background’s “hot spot” in the Southern Hemisphere was mapped in unprecedented detail. MeerKAT is a radio telescope array in Northern Cape, South Africa, originally called the Karoo Array Telescope (KAT). Initially planned with 20 receptors, it was expanded to 64 receptors and renamed “MeerKAT,” meaning “more of KAT.” It is part of South Africa’s contribution to the global Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, the world’s largest radio telescope initiative.

Details :The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has amended rules for selecting experts in the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) to enhance transparency and address conflicts of interest. Following a Supreme Court directive on genetically modified (GM) crops, the amendments mandate that expert members disclose potential conflicts and recuse themselves from discussions where they have direct or indirect associations. The GEAC, established under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, evaluates GM organisms and ensures environmental safety. These changes aim to ensure unbiased, evidence-based decision-making.

Details:K S Manilal, a renowned taxonomist and Padma Shri awardee, passed away on 1st January 2025 in Thrissur, Kerala. He is celebrated for translating and annotating Hortus Malabaricus, a 17th-century Latin botanical treatise on the flora of Kerala, Karnataka, and Goa. Manilal spent 35 years making the 12-volume work accessible to academics during his tenure as a botany professor at the University of Calicut (1976–1999). His contributions include 198 research papers, 15 books, and extensive work on medicinal plants and taxonomy. He played a key role in conserving Kerala’s Silent Valley rainforest in the 1980s.

Details:The National Saras Mela will be held at Chengannur, Kerala, from January 20 to 31, at the Chengannur municipal stadium. Organized by the Kudumbashree Mission, it will promote rural products on a unified platform. The mela features 300 stalls from 28 States, including 200 from Kerala, showcasing handcrafted items, jewellery, textiles, and home decor. It provides self-help groups, neighborhood groups, and artisans a platform to reach urban markets.