UPSC QUIZ 21.05.2024

Explanation:

• International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released its Regional Economic Outlook for Asia And Pacific Report April 2024, which stated that India was the source of repeated positive growth surprises, supported by resilient domestic demand. Also, Public Investment is a significant factor in driving India’s economy.

Key Highlights of the Report

• Asia-Pacific's growth in late 2023 surpassed expectations at 5.0%, with varying inflation rates across economies.Projections for 2024 suggest a slight growth slowdown to 4.5%, balancing near-term risks.In emerging markets, growth was supported primarily by strong private demand.

Explanation:

• New report titled “Amplifying the Global Value of Earth Observation” by the World Economic Forum has shed light on the immense potential of Earth Observation (EO) data to drive economic growth and sustainability worldwide.
• Earth observation data involves collecting, analysing, and presenting information about the Earth's physical, chemical, and biological systems using remote sensing technologies.
• It involves acquiring information about the Earth's surface, such as land cover, oceans, agriculture, and forestry, through energy emission and processing of reflected images.
• It is achieved through remote sensing, which is a geospatial technology that collects data about an object, place, or phenomenon without making physical contact with it.

Explanation:

• China's latest High Energy Photon Source (HEPS) will be the first fourth-generation synchrotron light source in Asia. Its operation will start by the end of this year.

High Energy Photon Source (HEPS) Synchrotron

• This advanced facility will emit extremely bright X-rays, which will significantly enhance various scientific research capabilities.
• This HEPS is designed to accelerate electrons up to energies of 6 gigaelectron volts.
• The high energy X-rays emitted in this process can penetrate deeply into samples and produce intricate details on the nanometer scale.
• Its time resolution will be 10,000 times better than that of the third generation synchrotron.

Explanation:

• An association of Guwahati tea growers and manufacturers has said production in tea gardens of Assam and West Bengal could fall by 50% in the next few months if the region does not receive adequate and well-distributed rainfall.
• Data from the Tea Board of India shows a projected 40% decrease in Assam and 23% decrease in West Bengal production until March 2024.

Tea Board of India

• The Tea Board India was established in 1903 through the Indian Tea Cess Bill, which imposed a tax on tea exports to fund the promotion of Indian tea domestically and internationally.
• The present Tea Board was set up under section 4 of the Tea Act 1953 and was constituted on 1st April 1954.
• It has succeeded the Central Tea Board and the Indian Tea Licencing Committee which functioned respectively under the Central Tea Board Act, 1949 and the Indian Tea Control Act, 1938 which were repealed

Explanation:

• The third meeting of the Eminent Persons’ Group (EPG) on the future direction of BIMSTEC(Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) was held on 12 and 13 May 2024 at the BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• The meeting was chaired by Dr. Soonthorn Chaiyindeepum of Thailand, as Thailand is the current chairman of BIMSTEC.BIMSTEC: Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.

Role of EPG in BIMSTEC

• The EPG comprises eminent personalities from all seven BIMSTEC members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. It was set up to prepare a roadmap for BIMSTEC's future.
• The EPG plays the same role as Sherpas in the G20 summit. They are top-ranking officials of the member countries who help prepare the agenda for the upcoming summit meetings, which will be attended by the top leaders of BIMSTEC. Navalsang Parmar is the Indian member of the EPG.