UPSC IAS Prelims 2021: Monthly Current Affairs Questions for Preparation | April’21

Explanation:

‘Praapti’ stands for Payment ratification and analysis in power procurement for bringing transparency in invoicing of generators. The power distribution companies are able to clear the invoices and reply to claims raised by the generators on this portal.

Explanation:

A team of scientists have discovered India's first bat species with disk-shaped sticky feet in Meghalaya. With this discovery, the number of flying mammal in India rose to 130, out of which 66 are found in the Indian state of Meghalaya. 

The breakthrough discovery was made by a team of scientists led by Dr. Uttam Saika from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Shillong and scientists from a few  European natural history museums while sampling a bamboo patch in July 2020. The specialized bamboo dwelling bat species, Eudiscopus denticulus, was recorded in Meghalaya's Lailad village adjacent to Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary, about 1000 km westwards of its known habitat in Myanmar.   

Explanation:

On 8 April 2021, a civil court in Uttar Pradesh directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey at the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi to find out whether it was built on the ruins of the temple or not. 

The court also directed the UP Government to bear the cost of the survey, having two members of the minority community. The petition was opposed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid (AIM), the Gyanvapi Mosque Management Committee. 

Explanation:

The five major types of intellectual property are:

Copyrights.

Trademarks.

Patents.

Trade Dress.

Trade Secrets

Goodwill is the intangible property and classified as intellectual property and the transfer of the same would fall within section 65(105)(zzr) of the Finance Act, 1994.

Explanation:

The Prarambh Startup International Summit involved the participation of BIMSTEC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri lanka, Thailand) nations in the first ever conclave. 

The two day summit marked the fifth anniversary of Startup India Initiative. 

It also comes as a follow-up of the announcement made by Prime Minister Modi at the fourth BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu.

The two-day summit marked the fifth anniversary of the Startup India initiative More than 25 countries participated in the summit. The largest confluence organized by the government since the launch of the Startup India initiative. Read more

Explanation:

Rajgir and Bodh Gaya are set to be India's first fully green energy towns. The towns would begin  getting solar energy through one of its kind renewable energy projects from 2023. 

1. Bihar is equitable with Delhi, Goa and Odisha to supply 24X7 clean round the year through its renewable energy hybrid model. 
2. Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a central government PSU has agreed to Bihar's proposal to feed clean power to both the towns. 
3. It would also supply some power to important government installations in Patna like the Governor's house, chief minister's house, Patna High Court, Gyan Bhawan, Bihar museum and also Vidyut Bhawan. 
4. The state government wishes to use land available in Lakhisarai and Bhagalpur district to construct solar energy plants.
5. The project will get started by June 2023.

Explanation:

On April 6, 2021, the Supreme Court of India launched the first AI driven research portal, Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court's Efficiency (SUPACE). It was launched by Justice SA Bobde in presence of Justice Nageswara Rao. 

1. It is a portal through which the Supreme Court intends to leverage machine learning to deal with the amount of data received in the filing of cases. 
2. SA Bobde described it as a ‘hybrid system’ and ‘a perfect blend of human intelligence and machine learning’ that does wonder when paired with human intelligence.
3. Justice L Nageswara Rao is the current chairman of SC's Artificial Intelligence Committee
4. CJI SA Bobde was the first chairman of the Artificial Intelligence Committee.
5. The AI-driven tool is designed to only process information and make it available to the Judges to take a decision. It will not take any part in the decision making.
6. Only the Judges of Delhi and Bombay High Courts dealing with criminal cases would use it on an experimental basis. Read more

Explanation:

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) has given the approval for the sanction of Rs. 50.30 crores for the development of an all-weather ROPAX Jetty Project on river Dhamra in the Indian state of Odisha under the Sagarmala initiative on 16 April 2021. 

1- The ROPAX (Roll-on/Roll-off Passenger) Jetty and allied infrastructure will connect Kaninali in Bhadrak district & Talachua in Kendrapara district, Odisha. 

2- The project will include construction of the ROPAX Jetty at Kaninali and Talachua, utility infrastructures such as parking area development, navigational aids and dredging.

Explanation:

IPR are the rights that are given to persons over the creations of their minds. They give the creator an exclusive right over the use of their creation for a defined time period. The rights of the authors of literary and artistic works like books and paintings are protected through copyrights. These are valid for 50 years only. 

India has been ranked 40 among the 53 economies on the 9th IP Index. 

Explanation:

1. Norway would be building the world's first ship tunnel. The construction would begin in 2022. 
2. It is a 1.06 mile long and 118 feet wide tunnel
3. It would pass through the mountainous Stadhavet Peninsula in Northwestern Norway.
4. The ship tunnels cost would be around 2.8 billion Norweigian Kroner or 330 million dollars.
5. The depth of the water in the tunnel would be across 12 metres.
6. This tunnel can house bi ships unlike any other tunnel in the world. No other underpass has been built to serve large ships.
7. The tunnel entry would be controlled by traffic light system