UPSC Daily Current Affairs – Prelims [22nd February 2023]
Muziris
Source: BBC
In News
Muziris, also known as Murachipattanam, served as a significant port city for the spice trade in ancient times and became the central hub for the spice industry when Kerala established itself as a major center for it.
- Literary references indicate that Roman ships arrived at Muziris carrying gold in exchange for pepper, as described in Sangam literature.
- Additionally, the first-century annals of Pliny the Elder and the author of Periplus of the Erythrean Sea suggest that Muziris was easily accessible from the Red Sea ports on the Egyptian coast within 14 days, thanks to the monsoon winds.
Muziris Port went into decline and disappeared from maps following a major transformation of the water bodies in the Periyar River basin around 1341, which was caused by floods and earthquakes.
UPI Pay Linkages
In News
India’s UPI and Singapore’s PayNow will be connected as part of an agreement.
- Singapore has become the first country to launch a cross-border Person-to-Person (P2P) payment service.
- Selected merchant outlets in Singapore already accept UPI payments through QR codes.
- Additionally, Singapore accounted for 5.7% of the total inward remittances to India in the 2020-21 period.
Benefits
- The linking of UPI and PayNow will offer several benefits to the Indian diaspora in Singapore, particularly migrant workers and students.
- This includes low-cost and instant money transfers from Singapore to India and vice versa, eliminating the need to share bank account details by the remitter.
- Furthermore, UPI supports Person-to-Person (P2P) and Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payments, allowing users to send or receive money.
- This development also aligns with the G20’s priorities of promoting financial inclusion by facilitating faster, cheaper, and more transparent cross-border payments.
What is Unified Payments Interface (UPI)?
- Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a modernized iteration of Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) that enables 24/7 cashless fund transfers to make payments faster, easier, and more efficient.
- It integrates various banking features, seamless fund routing, and merchant payments into a single mobile application that can handle multiple bank accounts.
- UPI is operated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which launched the service with 21 member banks in 2016.
About NPCI
- NPCI, a “Not for Profit” company established under the Companies Act 1956, functions as an umbrella organization that oversees retail payment and settlement systems in India.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) launched NPCI as part of their efforts to promote a regulatory framework for payment and settlement systems, in accordance with the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
Product Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme of pharmaceuticals
Source: PIB
In News
- The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has disbursed the first installment of incentives for the pharmaceutical sector under the Product Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.
- The PLI scheme for pharmaceuticals was introduced in 2021 as part of the Government’s Atmanirbharta initiative.
Objective
- The primary objective of the PLI scheme for pharmaceuticals is to enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities and promote the production of high-value goods in the pharmaceutical sector.
- The scheme supports three different categories of products, which include:
- Category 1 products, such as:
- Biopharmaceuticals
- Complex generic drugs
- Patented drugs or drugs nearing patent expiry
- Cell-based or gene therapy drugs
- Orphan drugs
- Special empty capsules
- Complex excipients
- Category 2 products, which cover bulk drugs.
- Category 3 products, which include drugs not covered under Category 1 or Category 2, such as:
- Repurposed drugs
- Autoimmune drugs
- Anti-cancer drugs
- Category 1 products, such as:
Quality Control Orders
Source: PIB
In News
The Ministry for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles have emphasized the need to introduce Quality Control Orders (QCOs) in various sectors of the electrical industry.
- These orders are essential to protect the industry from unfair competition posed by non-transparent economies that flood the market with low-quality and sub-optimal goods.
- Additionally, the government has announced a six-month extension for QCOs for ferronickel grade.
About Ferronickel
Ferronickel is a type of ferroalloy that comprises iron and nickel and is commonly utilized in the production of nickel alloy steels and stainless steel.
- Quality Control Orders (QCOs) are regulatory measures issued by different Ministries or Departments to govern product quality and ensure conformity to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act of 2016.
- These orders prevent the production, sale, trade, import, and stocking of goods without the BIS mark.
New wheat varieties
Source: Indian Express
In News
Three new wheat varieties have been developed by scientists at IARI. These varieties contain specific genes that help in mild vernalization, which prevents early heading and premature flowering.
- The first wheat variety, HDCSW-18, was released in 2016, with a potential yield of over 7 tonnes per hectare, higher than the existing popular varieties, but was prone to lodging due to its height compared to normal high-yielding varieties.
- The second variety, HD-3410, was released in 2022, has a higher yield potential of 7.5 tonnes per hectare, and a lower plant height of 100-105 cm.
- The third variety, HD-3385, is the most promising among the three, being the least lodging-prone and suitable for early sowing.
- IARI has registered HD-3385 with the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPVFRA) and licensed the variety to DCM Shriram Ltd-owned Bioseed for multi-location trials and seed multiplication.
For Daily Current Affairs Click Here
Join our Official Telegram Channel HERE
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel HERE
Follow our Instagram ID HERE
