30.11.21 Daily [Andhra Pradesh] APPSC Current Affairs

Increasing Migration to towns and cities in the state is turning out to be one of the governments biggest challenges as it is adding to the already high Population in urban slums.Andhra Pradeshhas the highest number of urbanslumsin the country after Maharashtra.

According to a recent study report byNiti Aayog, about 16 per cent of the urban population in the state lives in slums, close on the heels of Maharashtras 18 per cent.

Interestingly, AP created the highest number of urban civic bodies in an attempt to draw more funds from the Centre for improvement of . However, the creation of new urban civic bodies without proper planning has led to an expansion of urban slums, said experts.

Unplannedurbanisationin the state has already resulted in a number of problems. AP has about 17 municipal corporations, nearly 80 municipalities and 30 nagar panchayats. But full-time planning officers with required qualifications are available only in a few cities. Officials such as town planning supervisors and building inspectors often have little knowledge of the processes of town planning.

The State Government had appointed a large number of planning secretaries in ward secretariats across the state two years ago. Although, a good number of engineering graduates have entered the field, they are from the civil engineering stream and not graduates from planning schools.

On November 25, 2021, the Praja Foundation released its findings on POSCO cases.

Highlights:

According to the report, despite a drop in crimes against children, 99 per cent of complaints under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offenses Act were still pending by December 2020. (POCSO)

In 2020, girls accounted for 94% of the total 1,197 cases. There were 721 rape cases and 376 sexual assault cases among these.

In 2020, 42% of all rape incidents were committed against minors under the age of 18, compared to 47% in 2018 and 45% in 2019.

The age group of 12 to 18 years had the highest number of rape victims (620 out of 721 in 2020). Offenders were known to be victims in 95 per cent of all rape instances.

According to the POCSO Act, 93% of the 67 instances against boys were unnatural offences. The low proportion of reported male cases compared to overall cases indicates the stigma associated with reporting sexual offences against men.

According to the data, just 28% of the IPC cases examined in 2020 had a charge sheet filed. It discovers that investigations were incomplete in 58% of cases of crime against Women and 56% of cases of crime against children.

The phrase ‘NFT’ has been designated the 2021 Word of the Year by Collins Dictionary.

Highlights:

NFT is an abbreviation for “non-fungible token.”

NFT is described as “a unique digital certificate, recorded on a blockchain, that is used to record the ownership of an object such as an artwork or a collectable,” according to Collins Dictionary.

HarperCollins in Glasgow publishes the Collins English Dictionary.

Most notably, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sold an NFT of his first tweet for $2.9 million, while electronic singer Grimes sold her digital art for $6 million.

Collins experts, headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, stated Wednesday that they picked NFT because of its “meteoric Growth in usage,” which is expected to increase by 11,000 per cent by 2021.

The 37th India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) will take place in the Indian Ocean region from November 23-24, 2021.

Highlights:

To guarantee safety and security, CORPAT is held twice a year. In 2002, it was held for the first occasion.

The CORPAT is being carried out by the Indian Naval Ship (INS) Khanjar and the Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft. The Indonesian Naval Ship KRI Sultan Thaha Syaifuddin (376) is taking part.

Both nations’ Maritime Patrol Aircraft will take part in the exercise. It emphasises the two friendly Navies’ mutual trust, synergy, and collaboration.

Since 2002, the two fleets have conducted CORPAT along their International Maritime Boundary Line twice a year to strengthen maritime ties.

Its goal is to make the Indian Ocean Region safe and secure for commercial ships, international trade, and lawful maritime operations.

Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, launched Project SWADESH.

Highlights:

SWADESH is a first-of-its-kind large-scale multimodal neuroimaging Database built particularly for Indians.

The DBT-National Brain Research Centre (DBT-NBRC), Gurgaon, Haryana, created the one-of-a-kind brain endeavour.

SWADESH integrates big-data architecture and analytics for a variety of neurological illnesses into a single platform.

It will allow researchers to undertake multimodal brain investigations in order to better understand and manage Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological illnesses.

The DBT-NBRC is India’s sole institute dedicated to Neuroscience Research and Education.