Facts in News

Facts in News

SilverLine Project

Recently, the Kerala cabinet has given the green light to begin acquiring land for the SilverLine project.

• It entails building a semi high-speed railway corridor through the state linking its southern end and state capital Thiruvananthapuram with its northern end of Kasaragod.
• It is proposed to be 529.45 kms long, covering 11 districts through 11 stations.
• It is estimated to cost Rs. 63,940 crore and is billed as one of the biggest infrastructure enterprises being pushed by the ruling state government.
• The deadline for the project, being executed by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL), is 2025.
  • KRDCL, or K-Rail, is a joint venture between the Kerala government and the Union Ministry of Railways.
• Significance
  • Can take a significant load of traffic off the existing railway stretch and make travel easier and faster.
  • Reduce road congestion and less accidents.
  • Reduce GHG emissions, help in Ro-Ro service expansion, produce employment opportunities, integrate airports, etc.
• Concerns
  • Damage to the state’s ecosystem in the path of the proposed route.
  • Irreversible impact to the state’s rivers, paddy fields and wetlands, triggering floods and landslides in future.

(Image Courtesy: IE)

Shenzhou-12

Recently, China has launched a spacecraft carrying three astronauts to part of a space station still under construction for the longest stay in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) by any Chinese national.

• The Shenzhou-12, or “Divine Vessel” is being carried by Long March 2F rocket and is bound for the space station module Tianhe.
• It blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gansu province.
• Shenzhou-12 is the third of 11 missions (four of which will be crewed) needed to complete China’s first full-fledged space station.
  • Construction began in April 2021 with the launch of Tianhe, the first and largest of three modules.

(Image Courtesy: BBC)

Fifth Edition of VivaTech

Recently, the Prime Minister of India has delivered the keynote address at the 5^th edition of VivaTech.

• VivaTech is one of the largest digital and startup events in Europe.
• It has been held in Paris every year since 2016.
• It is jointly organised by Publicis Groupe and Les Echos.
  • Publicis Groupe is a prominent advertising and marketing conglomerate.
  • Les Echos is a leading French media group.
• The event brings together stakeholders in technology innovation and the startup ecosystem.
• It includes exhibitions, awards, panel discussions and startup contests.
• It witnessed the participation of various ministers from European nations along with corporate leaders like that of Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, etc.
• At the event, the PM highlighted India’s strides in the world of tech and start-up.

News Broadcasting Standards Authority

• Recently ,The National Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA)has reprimanded three television channels acting on complaints filed by the Bengaluru-based Campaign Against Hate Speech (CAHS).
• NBSA is an independent nine-member body set up by the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) for self-regulation of 24X7 news channels that are part of NBA.
• Composition: The nine-member Authority comprises:

• A Chairperson, being an eminent jurist
• Four eminent persons having special knowledge and/or practical experience in the field of law, education, medicine, science, literature, public administration, consumer affairs, environment, human psychology and/or culture; and
• Four eminent editors employed with a broadcaster.

• Functions :It functions both as a watchdog and grievance redressal body. 
• NBSA is entrusted with the task to consider and adjudicate complaints about broadcasts on member news channels. 
• The body also issues guidelines for covering sensitive news from time to time.

Juneteenth

• US President Joe Biden is soon expected to sign a law making June 19, or “Juneteenth”, a national holiday recognised by the federal government, commemorating the end of slavery after the American Civil War (1861-65).
• Juneteenth– the portmanteau of June and nineteenth– is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the US, observed on June 19 every year. 
• At present, it is recognised as a holiday in 47 US states and the District of Columbia. 
• It is also known as Emancipation Day or Juneteenth Independence Day.

Background 

• On January 1, 1863, then-president Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that “all persons held as slaves” within the states in rebellion “are, and henceforward shall be free.”
  • Even so, more than two years after Lincoln’s proclamation, many slave owners continued to hold their slaves captive by hiding this information from them and keeping them for one more harvest season.
• On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and announced the end of both the Civil War and slavery.He issued an order to free the last enslaved people on US soil.
• Since then, Juneteenth has become a largely symbolic date representing freedom for African Americans.

Competition Commission of India

• It is the competition regulator in India. 
• Establishment Year: 2003 
• It is a statutory body established by an act of Parliament, the Competition Act, 2002.
• Aim: Promoting competition throughout India and preventing activities that have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India.
• Composition: A Chairperson and 6 other members appointed by the Central Government.

Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007

• This act prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position by enterprises, and regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control, and Merger and acquisition), which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India.