UPSC Daily Current Affairs| One Liners 06-03-2025

One Liners 06-03-2025

History, Art and Culture

Kedarnath

Location – Kedarnath, in Uttarakhand.
Hosts – One of the 12 Jyotirlingas, revered as Lord Shiva’s sacred Himalayan shrine.

Hemkund Sahib

Location – Hemkund, Uttarakhand, it is a high-altitude Sikh Gurudwara in Uttarakhand.
Associated with - Guru Gobind Singh’s meditation.
Recent Development - Centre has approved Rs.7,000 crore ropeway projects for Kedarnath and Hemkund Sahib to ease pilgrim access.

Polity & Governance

Pashu Aushadhi

A new component added to Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme scheme.

Provides - Affordable generic veterinary medicines to farmers.
It enhances livestock health via PM-Kisan Samriddhi Kendras.
Aims - To reduce farmers’ losses by improving access to quality animal healthcare.

Samaveshi Aajeevika Yojana

Empowers rural women with business training and financial aid under DAY-NRLM.

Launched with J-PAL South Asia - It adapts the Graduation Approach to lift rural households from poverty.
The scheme targets self-sufficiency for women, aligning with India’s women-led development vision.

Model Women-Friendly Gram Panchayats

Model Panchayats – One Model Gram Panchayat to be developed in each District.
Real-Time Dashboard Launched - For Monitoring Women-Friendly Panchayats’ Progress.
Crucial for - Success of Health Initiatives in Villages.
Aims -To Spearhead Implementation of Central Government Schemes in Gram Panchayats.

International Relations and Issues

Reciprocal tariffs on India

U.S. plans reciprocal tariffs from April 2, 2025, matching India’s 9.5% on U.S. goods.

Reciprocal Tariffs- Is a trade policy where a country imposes import duties equal to the tariffs charged on its exports by other nations.
Objective - To counter trade imbalances & discourage unfair tariff policies by foreign governments.
India’s $50 billion trade surplus - With the U.S. in 2023 may face higher tariffs, impacting exports like pharmaceuticals.
Trump’s policy aims - To reduce U.S. trade deficits, targeting nations like India and China with high tariffs.

Environment

Cantor's Giant Softshell Turtle (Pelochelys cantorii)

Habitat: Inhabits inland, slow-moving freshwater rivers, lakes, streams, and estuaries across Southeast Asia.
Conservation Status: Critically Endangered due to habitat destruction and overharvesting.
Notable Characteristics: Spends most of its life buried and motionless, surfacing only twice a day to breathe and capture prey.

Global Plastic Treaty

The 5th round (INC-5) in Busan, December 2024, failed to finalize a global plastic treaty.

Disagreements over production caps - chemical management, and funding stalled progress at INC-5.
U.N scheduled - An extra session (INC 5.2) to finalize the treaty in 2025, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Eurasian Otter

Habitat - Found along the Tamirabharani River in Tamil Nadu; prefers clean freshwater rivers and lakes.
Conservation Status- Listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN.