Rapid Fire Current Affairs | 14 Jan 2023

Makar Sankranti

Recently, the Prime Minister has greeted people across the nation on the occasion of harvest festivals Makar Sankranti, Bhogi, Lohri and Pongal. The festivals celebrate the hard work and enterprise of millions of farmers across the country.

Makar Sankranti denotes the entry of the sun into the zodiac sign of Makara (Capricorn) as it travels on its celestial path. The day marks the onset of summer and the six months auspicious period for Hindus known as Uttarayan – the northward movement of the sun.

The festivities associated with the day are known by different names in different parts of the country:

Read More: Harvest Festivals

India’s First Centre of Excellence in Online Gaming

Software Technology Parks of India (STPI, an autonomous society under MeitY) will facilitate in setting up India’s first Centre of Excellence in Online Gaming at Shillong by March 2023. This will help to catalyse startups and entrepreneurs from the entire North East Region to build the Next Generation Online Gaming Ecosystem.

The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) will also set up a state-of-the-art facility under the National Institute of Electronics and IT (NIELIT) in Shillong to provide training on digital skills. The government will be re-launching Skill India through Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Viaks Yojana (PMKVY) 4.0, which will train around 50,000 youth in Meghalaya.

Constitution Literacy Campaign in Kerala

The first of its kind initiative in Kerala, a constitution literacy campaign jointly organised by the Kollam district panchayat, District Planning Committee, and the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA). The aim is to declare Kollam as the first totally Constitution literate district.

As part of the campaign, the entire population of Kollam above the age of 10 will be briefed on the preamble of the Constitution and the historical background of the document, its basic principles, fundamental rights of citizens, and legal remedies.

Read More: Preamble, Indian Constitution

LHS 475 b

Recently, the James Webb Telescope confirmed the discovery of its first exoplanet, a planet that orbits another star.

The planet, formerly classified as LHS 475 b, the planet is almost exactly the same size as the Earth, 99% of Earth’s diameter. Researchers noted that the planet completes one orbit around its star in just two days. Although LHS 475 b is closer to its star than any planet in the solar system, its red dwarf star is less than half the temperature of the Sun, so the researchers are expecting that it still could have an atmosphere.

Red Dwarf Star: A small, low-mass, dim, and cool star. Many have big flares and mass ejections on their surfaces. The habitable zone of red dwarf stars is closer to the star than stars like our sun, making it easier to observe potentially habitable planets.

Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
Read More: Solar System, James Webb Telescope