Current Affair 1:

Press Council of India

 

India has approximately 1.5 Lakh newspapers and periodicals registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867.

They come under the ambit of the Press Council of India (“PCI”), established by the Press Council Act, 1978 (“PC Act”). The PCI is usually headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge as the Chairman, elected by a three-person committee consisting of the Vice-President of India, Speaker of the Lok Sabha and one elected person from amongst the members of PCI.

The “replica e-papers of Newspapers” also fall under the ambit of the Press Council Act, 1978. For the fulfilment of its stated purpose, the PCI has been assigned the task of building up a code of conduct for newspapers, news agencies and journalists under the PC Act. Pursuant to this, the Press Council of India has issued Norms of Journalistic Conduct (“PCI Norms”) which were updated in 2022 and lay down, inter alia, (i) principles and ethics, (ii) guidelines on specific issues, and (iii) good practices on journalism.

The PCI is empowered to censure newspaper/ news agency for offending against the “standards or journalistic ethics or public taste” under Section 14 of the PC Act.

The objects of the Press Council of India as embodied in Section 13 of the Act are to preserve the freedom of the Press and to maintain and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies in India.

Other functions include:

Current Affair 2:

Optically active biodegradable nanocomposite film

 

News:

Researchers have fabricated an optically active biodegradable nanocomposite film with excellent mechanical properties that can be used as a stretchable optical devices like flexible display, flexible organic LED, etc.

Polymers have become an indispensable part of our daily life. However, different engineering applications demand highly flexible and optically active polymers.

In this regard, numerous methodologies have been adopted to improve the properties of polymeric materials by using suitable nanomaterials. The nanomaterials are known to enhance the properties of the polymers keeping the inherent properties of the polymers intact. Scientists have reported that polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is one of the most widely studied synthetic biodegradable polymers having good film-forming and excellent mechanical properties. Moreover, its optical and mechanical properties can be tuned by incorporating suitable nanomaterials. 

A research group of the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), GuwahatI under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), fabricated a biodegradable PVA-CuO nanocomposite film.

The PVA-CuO nanocomposite film fabricated by the simple solution casting technique followed by the heat treatment method can be used as a stretchable optical device.

 

 

Current Affair 3:

What is digital public infrastructure?

 

News:

In a historic move, under India’s Presidency, G20 Digital Economy Ministers reached a groundbreaking consensus on how to effectively shape digital public infrastructure (DPI) of the future, as an accelerator of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

DPI is a digital network that enables countries to safely and efficiently deliver economic opportunities and social services to all residents. DPI can be compared to roads, which form a physical network that connects people and provides access to a huge range of goods and services.  

A strong DPI has three foundational systems—identity, payments, and data exchange—that together can make life easier in important ways.

When the three core systems—identity, payments, and data exchange—exist simultaneously and can talk to one another, people, businesses, and governments can reap the full benefits of DPI. Over time, safe and inclusive DPI creates vibrant and competitive economies.

Current Affair 4:

Composting

 

We will see Composting in detail:

The role of compost, organic fertiliser derived from waste, has been overshadowed by the excessive use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers in agricultural practices. The lack of compost used in farm fields and the dependence on chemical fertilisers have had a number of negative impacts, such as deteriorating soil conditions, deficient or excess nutrients, insect outbreaks, and solidified soil, to name a few. However, organic waste generated in daily life can help recover soil fertility if it is used to produce compost.

Composting, a biodegradation process that transforms organic matter into water, carbon dioxide, energy, and composted matter has been adopted throughout the world over the years as a technology that can stabilise organic residues.

Composting aims to:

1. treat organic waste such as food waste, garden waste, livestock excreta, and other types of waste in aerobic or anaerobic states and deactivate causative bacteria, viruses, and weed seeds through the heat of microbial fermentation, and
2. produce organic fertilisers that physically improve soil conditions and act as a partial substitute for nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contained in chemical fertilisers, upon which modern agriculture fully depends

 

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