Current Affairs 11 May 2022

CONTENTS

1. State of the World’s Birds Report
2. Pulitzer Prize
3. Depreciation of Indian Rupee
4. Ethanol blending
5. Marsquake
6. Martand Sun Temple

State of the World’s Birds Report

Context:

The State of the World’s Birds, an annual review of environmental resources published recently by nine natural sciences and avian specialists across the globe, has revealed that the population of 48% of the 10,994 surviving species of birds is declining.

Relevance:

GS III- Environment and Ecology ( Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation)

Dimensions of the Article:

1. About State of the World’s Birds
2. Key findings of the study:
3. Importance of birds to ecosystems and culture
4. Threats contributing to avian biodiversity loss

Click Here To Read More: State of the World’s Birds Report

Depreciation of Indian Rupee

Context:

The Indian rupee fell to an all-time low of 77.44 against the U.S. Dollar.

Relevance:

GS-III: Indian Economy (Capital Market, Fiscal Policy and Monetary Policy)

Dimensions of the Article:

1. What is Currency Depreciation and what are it causes
2. Impact of the drop
3. Reasons for Current Depreciation of Indian Rupee

Click Here To Read More: Depreciation of Indian Rupee

Pulitzer Prize

Context:

A team of four Indian photographers from Reuters news agency — slain photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, Adnan Abidi, Sanna Irshad Mattoo and Amit Dave — have won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for their coverage of the Covid-19 crisis in India.

Relevance:

GS I- Personalities in News

Dimensions of the Article:

1. About Pulitzer Prize
2. Who was Joseph Pulitzer, after whom the awards are named?
3. Indians who have previously won the Pulitzer

Click Here To Read More: Pulitzer Prize

Ethanol Blending

Context:

The level of ethanol blending in petrol in India has reached 9.99%.

Relevance:

GS-III: Environment and Ecology, GS-III: Industry and Infrastructure

Dimensions of the Article:

1. What is Ethanol fuel?
2. Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme (EBP)
3. Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India by 2025
4. Advantages of Ethanol Blending

Click Here to Read more: Ethanol Blending

Marsquake

Context:

Recently, NASA has reported that its InSight Mars lander detected the largest quake ever observed on another planet.

• The rover first landed on Mars in November 2018, and has since heard 1,313 quakes. The largest previously recorded “marsquake” was detected in August 2021.

Relevance:

GS III- Science and Technology

Dimensions of the Article:

1. What are marsquakes, and why do they happen?
2. About InSight

Click Here To Read More: Marsquake

Martand Sun Temple

Context:

After Prayers held at the ruins of the eighth-century Martand Sun Temple in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag is deemed to be a violation of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) rules.

Relevance:

GS I- History, Facts for Prelims

About Martand Sun Temple

• The Martand Sun Temple is a Hindu temple in the Kashmir Valley, near the city of Anantnag.
• It was dedicated to Surya, the primary solar deity, and dated from the eighth century AD.
• Sikandar Shah Miri demolished the temple in an attempt to convert and execute Hindus throughout the valley.
• According to Kalhana, Lalitaditya Muktapida commissioned the Temple in the eighth century AD.
• The temple is situated on a plateau with a panoramic view of the Kashmir Valley.
• The visible architecture in the remains appears to be a mix of Gandharan, Gupta, and Chinese architectural styles.

-Source: Indian Express