MLC Daily Current Affairs – 13 Jan 2024

Today in History (January 13^th, 1849)

• In 1849, the Battle of Chillianwala began between the Sikh and British forces. There was no immediate winner, but the Sikhs inflicted a crushing blow on the air of invincibility surrounding the British East India Company.

Summary of Today’s News

Einstein Probe (EP)

• China recently sent a new astronomical satellite called the Einstein Probe into space.
• It is a mission of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
• It is to observe mysterious transient phenomena in the universe that flicker like fireworks.
• It is to explore the transient and variable X-ray sky, capturing powerful bursts of high-energy light emanating from objects such as merging neutron stars and black holes.
• It was successfully launched on January 9, 2024, from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China with a “Long March-2C” rocket.

Rock glaciers

• A new study revealed that over 100 active permafrost structures identified in Jhelum basin.
  • They can cause catastrophic disasters in future.
• A rock glacier is a mass of rock, ice, snow, mud, and water that moves slowly down a mountain under the influence of gravity.
• Unlike an ice glacier, rock glaciers usually have very little ice visible at the surface.
• The rock glacier might consist of a mass of ice covered by rock debris, or it might consist of a mass of rock with interstitial ice.
• It increases the risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).

Momentum investing

• Many academic studies have shown that momentum investing can generate high returns that comfortably beat the benchmark indices.
• It is a style of investing wherein investors
  • Purchase assets such as stocks or bonds that are consistently rising in price
  • Sale assets whose prices are falling.

Article 30

Context

• The Supreme Court recently attempted to strike a balance by remarking that the intent of Article 30 of the Constitution was not to ghettoise minorities by insisting they had the upper hand in administration of the institution.
• It is one of the many provisions that ensure the preservation of minority rights.
• Article 30 of the Indian Constitution states the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.
• It says: “All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.”

Concept of Minorities:

• The Constitution of India uses the word minority but does not define it.
• Article 30 of the Constitution of India talks only about religious and linguistic minorities.

Religious Minorities are:-

1. Muslims
2. Christians
3. Buddhists
4. Sikhs
5. Jains
6. Zoroastrians (Parsis)

Linguistic Minorities:

• Class or group of people whose mother language or mother tongue is different from that of the majority groups is known as the linguistic minorities.

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)

• The Supreme Court recently said that over the last hundred years, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has continued to be an institute of national importance, without the minority tag, and asked how it matters for the people whether it is a minority institution or not.
• It is a government-run education institution.
• It was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875.
  • In the aftermath of the 1857 Indian War of Independence, the College was built on Khan’s conviction that it was important for Muslims to gain education and become involved in public life and government services in India.
  • Raja Jai Kishan helped Sir Syed establish the college.
  • Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College became AMU in 1920, following the Aligarh Muslim University Act.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)

• It refers to when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites no longer respond to medicines used to treat them.
• It is a major health concern worldwide.