UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 29-11-2024

E-Daakhil Portal

Recently, the Centre launched an E-Daakhil portal across all states and the union territories of India.

• Aim - It is an innovative online platform to streamline the consumer grievance redressal process.
• Launched on – It was first launched on 7^th September 2020.
• Launched by – National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NSDRC).
• It’s operational now in every state and UTs making a truly Pan-India Initiative.
• Ministry - Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
• Features – It offers an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface, allowing consumers to file complaints with minimal effort.
• It allows consumers to file complaints, track their cases' progress, and make payments.
• Its nature ensures a paperless and transparent system for the entire grievance redressal process.
• Eligibility - Any consumer or advocate can sign up on the e-Daakhil platform with the required authentication
• Benefits – It is an inexpensive, speedy and hassle-free mechanism for filing consumer complaints.
• It is an efficient and convenient way for consumers to approach the relevant consumer forum without their physical presence.
• It is accessible to consumers across all regions, from metropolitan cities to remote areas.
• It empowers consumers and enhances the efficiency of the consumer grievance redressal system.
• It is a game-changer in promoting consumer rights and ensuring timely justice.

The government is also moving forward with the launching of e-jagriti, a new initiative designed to further automate consumer cases' filing, tracking, and management.

References

1. Mint| E-Daakhil Portal
2. PIB| E-Daakhil Portal
3. NCDRC| E-Daakhil Portal

Jarawa Tribe

Recently, the Jarawa Tribe of 19 members in Andaman and Nicobar Islands was included in the electoral process for the first time, done under systematic Voters' Education & Electoral Participation program.

• The Jarawa are a Paleolithic tribe of hunter-gatherers who live in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Indian Ocean.
• Location - They live in the western region and coastal belt of South Andaman and Middle Andaman Islands.
• The 1^st friendly contact with the tribe was made in 1974.
• Division - It has 3 socially discernable territorial divisions viz.
  • Northern Group - Occupies Western part of Middle Andaman Island – known as Tanmad and ‘Kadamtala Jarawa’ among non-tribals.
  • Southern Group – Occupies Western part of South Andaman Island – known as Boiab among Jarawas and nonJarawas call them as ‘Tirur Jarawas’.
  • Central Group - Occupies Western part of South Andaman Island - Thidong among the Jarawa and among non-Jarawas it is known as ‘R. K. Nallah Jarawas’.
• Habitat - They live in groups of chaddhas, which called as their homes.
• Lifestyle - They live a nomadic lifestyle, subsisting on hunting, fishing, and gathering.
• Diet -Their traditional food includes boar, turtles, crabs, wild pigs, fruits, and honey.
• Dress – They do not use any apparel to cover their bodies, in recent times some of them use clothes occasionally.
• They rename their children during or after the adolescent ceremony.
• Marriage System - The girls generally get married by 15 years of age.
• Widowhood does not affect the childbearing of females in this society.
• Widows/Widowers are allowed to remarry.
• Belief - They consider the sun, moon, sky, star and cloud as the important phenomena for their living and survival.
• Music – The singing is related to their activities like making floral ornaments, baskets, wooden buckets, or fetching water.
• Population - The Jarawa population has been drastically reduced by interaction with foreigners and the introduction of diseases.
• Recent surveys estimate that only 250 to 450 Jarawa people still live in the Andaman Islands.

References

1. The Tribune| Jarawa Tribe
2. NIC| Jarawa Tribe
3. NMAD| Jarawa Tribe

President’s Colour Award

The President’s Colours were recently awarded to the 4 mechanised infantry battalions by the Army chief during a ceremony in Maharashtra.

• It is one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon any military unit such as the Army, Naval, and Air Force.
• Origin - The tradition began under colonial rule.
• On 23 November 1950, the ‘king’s colour’ of the erstwhile British Indian regiments were laid to rest in the Chetwode Hall, Dehradun, to make way for the ‘colours’ of the President of the Republic of India.
• The Indian Navy was the first to receive the President's Colours in 1951.
• Presented by - The colours are presented by the President or, on her/his behalf, by the Chief of the Army Staff.
• Presented to - Units depend upon completing specified meritorious service to recognize their contributions in combat and peacetime operations and their dedication to the nation.
• Emblem- The award is also known as Nishaan, an emblem that unit officers wear on the left sleeve of their uniform
• Colours – It is a ceremonial flag consists of a golden border in the middle and bears the unit's sign or mark and motto in the centre.
• The tradition of carrying these colours into the battlefield has stopped but ceremonially awarding and carrying them continues.
• They were also used as banners of the Knights of the Middle Ages.
• President colours, 2024 - The President’s Colours were recently awarded to the 4 mechanised infantry battalions.
• Mechanised Infantry Arm, since its inception in 1979, has distinguished itself as a modern and professional force within the Indian Army.
• Key operations - Op PAWAN, Op VIJAY, Op RAKSHAK, and Op SNOW LEOPARD, as well as in UN peacekeeping missions.
  • Operation Pawan - Sri Lanka
  • Operation Vijay - Kargil
  • Operation Rakshak - Jammu & Kashmir
  • Operation Snow Leopard - Eastern Ladakh
  • United Nations peacekeeping missions.

References

1. The Hindu| President’s Colour Award
2. The Indian Express| President’s Colour Award
3. The New Indian Express| President’s Colour Award

Pennaiyar River

Recently, the Supreme Court directed the Union government to submit the report on Tamil Nadu and Karnataka’s dispute between Pennaiyar river water.

• It is the 2^nd largest interstate East flowing river basin among the 12 basins lying between Pennar and Cauvery basins.
• It is also known as Thenpennai, Ponnaiyar, or Dakshina Pinakini.
• Origin – It originates on the eastern slope of Nandi Hills in Karnataka and flows through Tamil Nadu into the Bay of Bengal.
• Area - It covers a large area in the State of Tamil Nadu besides the areas covered in the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
  • 77% of the drainage basin lies in Tamil Nadu.
• Length - 497 km.
• Bounded by - Velikonda, Nagari, Javadu, Shevaroy, Chitteri, and Kalrayan hills of the Eastern Ghats.
• Tributaries - Chinnar West, Chinnar East, Markandanadhi, Kambainallur, Pambar, Vaniyar, Kottaipatti, Kallar, Valayar Odai, Ramakkal, Pambanar, Aliyar, Musukundanadhi and Thurinjalar.
• It flows in monsoon seasons, and dry in remaining parts of the year.
• The river is mentioned in sangam literature.
• Irrigation – It is extensively dammed for irrigation, especially in Tamil Nadu.
• It’s rich in abundance of soil such as non-calcareous red & brown and calcareous black soil, Red sandy loam and clay loam, and got coastal alluvium soil.

References

1. The Hindu| Pennaiyar River
2. NWM| Pennaiyar River

Baltic Sea

Recently, the Baltic Sea is at a high risk zone after a suspected sabotage attack on undersea cables.

• It is the 15^th largest sea of Atlantic Ocean and one of the world’s largest brackish waters.
• Location - It is a semi-enclosed inland sea of water in Northern Europe.
• It is the arm of the North Atlantic Ocean and connects it through the Danish Straits.
• Origin - It originated in the Scandinavian mountains.
• It is the youngest sea on Earth, emerging some 10,000-15,000 years ago as the glaciers retreated at the end of the last Ice Age.
• Bordering Countries - Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Sweden.
• Danish Straits connects it to the Atlantic Ocean.
• Catchment– It has a catchment area 4 times larger than the sea.
• The Baltic Sea is connected to the White Sea via the White Sea Canal and to the North Sea’s German Bight via Kiel Canal.

• Rivers - Neva is the largest river that drains into the Baltic Sea. Its longest rivers are the Vistula and the Oder.
• The highest salinity is recorded in the western Baltic.
• Major Gulfs - The Gulf of Bothnia to the north, the Gulf of Finland to the east, and the Gulf of Riga slightly to the south.
• Islands - Gotland, located off the coast of Sweden, is the largest island in the Baltic Sea.
• It is often cited as the world’s largest brackish inland water body.
• It is characterized by a fluctuating size, salinity, and connection to nearby oceans due to glacial influences and drowned rivers emptying into its main bays.

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) doing a Baltic Programme with an aim at marine protected areas covering 30% of the sea, with 10% of the strictly protected area by 2030.

References

1. The Guardian| Baltic Sea
2. WWF| Baltic Sea