10 PM Daily Current Affairs Quiz | June 26 2021

Recently, the Union Defence Minister has reviewed the status of the Indian Navy’s Project Seabird at the Karwar Naval Base.

About Project Seabird:

• Project Seabird is the largest naval infrastructure project at Karwar, Karnataka.
• The project involves creation of a naval base at Karwar on the west coast of India.
• Upon completion, the project will provide the Indian Navy with its largest naval base on the west coast and also the largest naval base east of the Suez Canal.

Phases of the Project Seabird:

• Phase I comprises construction of a deep-sea harbour, breakwaters, dredging, a township, a naval hospital, dockyard uplift centre and a ship lift.
• Phase II was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security in 2012. It envisages expanding facilities to house additional warships and set up a new Naval Air Station among other plans.
• Moreover, the Navy’s lone aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya is also based at Karwar. The base also has the country’s first sealift facility, a unique shiplift and transfer system for docking and undocking ships and submarines.

Source: TOI

Recently, The Union Environment Minister has released detailed project reports of the light detection and ranging(LiDAR) based survey of forest areas in 10 states.

• LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging): It is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges & variable distances.
• Working: These light pulses combined with other data recorded by the airborne system generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics.
• Instrument: LiDAR instrument principally consists of a laser, a scanner, and a specialized GPS receiver. Airplanes and helicopters are the most commonly used platforms for acquiring LiDAR data over broad areas.
• Applications: LiDAR is used for agriculture, hydrology and water management systems, geology-related applications and also in archaeology.

Chinese researchers have unveiled an ancient skull that could belong to a completely new species of human.

About the New Species of Human:

• The researchers have named the new species Homo longi and gave it the nickname “Dragon Man” for the Dragon River region of northeast China where the skull was found.
• When was it discovered? The skull was discovered in 1933 but only came to the attention recently after a labourer came across it at a construction site in China.
• The discovery of Dragon Man has the potential to rewrite the history of Human Evolution.
• It is said that Homo longi could replace Neanderthals as the closest relative to our own species, Homo sapiens.
• Key Features:

• The Dragon man is at least 140,000 years old but no older than 309,000 years.
• It belonged to a mature male who had a huge brain, massive brow ridges, deep set eyes and a bulbous nose.

Source: TOI

Recently, the Mumbai Police has arrested five people and seized nearly 9 kg of Ambergris.

About Ambergris:

• Ambergris, French for grey amber, is generally referred to as whale vomit.
• It is a solid waxy substance originating in the intestine of the sperm whale
• It floats around the surface of the water body and at times settles on the coast.
• Because of its high value it is referred to as floating gold. 1 kg of ambergris is worth Rs 1 crore in the international market.

• It is used in the perfume market, especially to create fragrances like musk

About Sperm whale:

• Sperm whale, (Physeter catodon), also called cachalot, the largest of the toothed whales, easily recognized by its enormous square head and narrow lower jaw.
• They are found in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world.
• Protection Status:

• IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
• Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: schedule I
• CITES: Appendix I

Source: The Indian Express

Recently, Sant Kabir Das Jayanti was observed on 24th June, 2021 to mark the birth anniversary of Sant Kabirdas.

About Sant Kabirdas:

• Panth of Kabir: It is a religious community that considers him as the founder and Kabir’s legacy is still going on through this sect.
• Kabir Das’ writings had a great influence on the Bhakti movement and includes titles like Kabir Granthawali, Anurag Sagar, Bijak, and Sakhi Granth.

• He was best known for his two-line couplets, known as ‘Kabir Ke Dohe’.
• His verses are found in Sikhism’s scripture Guru Granth Sahib.

Source: PIB

• The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a contracting state has breached one or more of the human rights enumerated in the Convention or its optional protocols to which a member state is a party. The European Convention on Human Rights is also referred to by the initials “ECHR”. The court is based in Strasbourg, France.

Source: Article

• Nagarahole Tiger Reserve previously known as Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarahole) National Park, was named after the river ‘Nagarahole’ which literally means ‘Serpent River’ (Nagara=Serpent; Hole=River) in Kannada language.
• Nagarahole tiger reserve forms a critical connecting habitat for tigers and elephants to other areas of Western Ghats through Brahmagiri wildlife sanctuary and to the Eastern Ghats through Bandipur Tiger reserve.

Source: Article

• ITAT is a quasi-judicial institution set up in January, 1941 and specializes in dealing with appeals under the Direct Taxes Acts. The orders passed by the ITAT are final, an appeal lies to the High Court only if a substantial question of law arises for determination.
• Read more

Source: Pib

• In a recent news, People’s Liberation Army planes, including bombers, fighter jets and surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, flew east from the Chinese coast around the southern tip of Taiwan. The rest broke off and briefly darted further south toward tiny Pratas Island (Taiwan) in the South China Sea before turning back.
• The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued nine crew from sinking vessel Ganga-I off Cinque Island on June 23, 2021

Source: Article 1, Article 2

• Under Article 352, the President can declare a national emergency when the security of India or a part of it is threatened by war or external aggression or armed rebellion.
• It may be noted that the president can declare a national emergency even before the actual occurrence of war or external aggression or armed rebellion, if he is satisfied that there is an imminent danger.
• The President, however, can proclaim a national emergency only after receiving a written recommendation from the cabinet.
• This means that the emergency can be declared only on the concurrence of the cabinet and not merely on the advice of the prime minister.
• In 1975, the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi advised the president to proclaim emergency without consulting her cabinet. The cabinet was informed of the proclamation after it was made, as a fait accompli.
• The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 introduced this safeguard to eliminate any possibility of the prime minister alone taking a decision in this regard.