30-31-10-22 Daily-Punjab-PPSC Current Affairs

The Aam Aadmi Party-led has borrowed an amount of Rs 11,464 crore in the first six months of its rule. This is nearly 48 per cent of its targeted borrowings for the ongoing fiscal.

Of the total amount borrowed, nearly 68 per cent (Rs 7,803.51 crore) has been spent only on the payment of interest for the states cumulative debt of Rs 2.84 lakh crore. It is significant as it shows the trend that will prevail this year, with a majority of borrowings being done to repay the loans. Last year, the state had borrowed Rs 9,779.76 crore in the same period.

The fiscal indicators for the period between April and September, released by the Comptroller and Auditor General today, reveal that the Revenue Receipts or income in the six months is just 41.81 per cent (Rs 39,881.21 crore) of the target for this financial year. On the other hand, the Revenue Expenditure is 45 per cent (Rs 48,584.53 crore) of the targeted expenditure this year.

Compared to the first six months last year, when the previous Congress government was in power, the revenue receipts have shown a significant improvement, but the expenditure, too, is significantly higher than during the corresponding period last year. Between April and September 2021, the then state government had earned Rs 32,332.36 crore and spent Rs 38,032.31 crore. As a result, the Revenue Deficit, so far, this year is much higher at Rs 8,703.32 crore as compared to Rs 5,699.95 crore in 2021.

Agni Prime ballistic missile was successfully tested off the coast of Odisha recently.

The recent test is the third consecutive test flight of the Agni Prime missile. It marks the completion of development trial.

It confirmed the accuracy and reliability of the indigenous missile system.

The first flight test of the Agni Prime was conducted in June 2021, with the second one taking place six months later in December.

These two tests also saw the missile successfully meeting the mission objectives with high level of accuracy.

Two more beaches, both in Lakshadweep, have been accorded the Blue Flag tag, putting them in an elite list of the worlds cleanest and most eco-friendly beaches, marinas and sustainable boating tourism operators.

The Blue Flag is an exclusive eco-label or certification that is given to coastal locations around the world as a badge of environmental honour. The Blue Flag programme is run by the Copenhagen, Denmark-headquartered Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), a nonprofit which, through its work, contributes to the Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

The Blue Flag programme started in 1987, initially in Europe. Certification is awarded annually. A total 5,042 beaches, marinas, and tourism boats in 48 countries have been awarded the label so far. A marina is a small harbour where mainly pleasure boats and yachts dock.

The certification is given by an international jury comprising members of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), and International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), besides FEE.

Recently, government notified amendments to theInformation Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021.

These areaimed at making Internet-open, safe & trusted and accountable,for the digital nagriks of the country.

The with Indian Constellation (NaVIC) uses seven satellites to provide real-time positioning and timing Services in India and an area extending up to 1,500 km from the country’s borders.

NASA is commissioning a study team to start early in the fall to examine unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) that is, observations of events in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or known natural phenomena from a scientific perspective. The study will focus on identifying available data, how best to collect future data, and how NASA can use that data to move the scientific understanding of UAPs forward.

The study is expected to take about nine months to complete. It will secure the counsel of experts in the scientific, aeronautics, and data analytics communities to focus on how best to collect new data and improve observations of UAPs.

China’s third and final module docked with its permanent space station to further a more than decade-long effort to maintain a constant crewed presence in orbit, as its competition with the U.S. grows increasingly fierce.

The name of China’s final space station module, Mengtian, translates to dreaming of the heavens. The roughly 18-meter-long module will link to the Tianhe core module and the Wentian experiment module to complete China’s Tiangong space station.