Terrorist outfit ISIS-K claims responsibility for attack on Gurudwara in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul

• The area is densely populated and is the centre of the Afghan Hindu and Sikh communities.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed shock over the cowardly terrorist attack on the Karte Parwan Gurudwara in Kabul.
• The gurdwara in Kabul has been home to at least 150 Sikhs, who have been staying there since the fall of the Ashraf Ghani government last August. The latest attack has come days after India sent a senior diplomat to hold dialogue with the Taliban in Kabul.

As the Russia-Ukraine conflict rages on, the spotlight is on Kaliningrad, Russia’s westernmost region.

• Russia has warned Lithuania of serious consequences after it banned the rail transfer of some goods to the Russian territory of Kaliningrad.
• Last week, the Lithuanian authorities announced they would ban goods subject to EU sanctions from passing through their territory to Russia.
• As Russia’s westernmost federal entity, the Kaliningrad Oblast occupies 15,000 sq km and houses under 1 million people. Russia is divided into 85 such oblasts, or states.
• It is situated almost 300-km away from mainland Russia, and shares no borders with it.
• Home to the deployment of Moscow’s Iskander missiles and the Russian Baltic Fleet, Kaliningrad has been called the Kremlin’s “unsinkable aircraft carrier”.
• The end of the Second World War marked an important milestone in Kaliningrad’s history.
• The Potsdam Agreement was signed by America, Britain and the former Soviet Union in 1945 in which Kaliningrad, then known as Königsberg, was ceded to Russia.
• This was done as the Soviet Union, under Stalin, had already taken control of the East Prussian territory due to its strategic geographic location.

Canada to ban companies from importing or making plastic bags, by the end of this year

• The country is also banning their sale by the end of 2023 and their export by the end of 2025.
• Canada previously announced a ban on plastic, however, environment advocates were dismayed about delays. In addition to bags and takeout boxes, the ban will affect plastic straws, bags, cutlery, stir sticks and six-pack rings that hold cans and bottles.
• The federal government listed plastics as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act last year.

DoT extends production-linked incentive scheme for telecom by one year

• The guidelines for the PLI Scheme for Telecom & Networking Products have been amended to introduce design-led manufacturing with additional incentive rates.
• The design-led manufacturing scheme is open for both medium and small-scale enterprises (MSMEs) and non-MSMEs, including domestic and global companies.
• The DoT also said applications for design-led manufacturing will be prioritised over other manufacturers. The scheme requires an investment threshold of Rs 10 crore for MSMEs and Rs 100 crore for non-MSMEs, excluding land and building cost.
• The Centre will provide additional incentives of over Rs 4,000 crore under the amended scheme.
• The incentives will be based on incremental sales of the manufactured goods, and range between 4 per cent to 7 per cent for different categories over the years. MSMEs will get an additional 1 per cent incentive in the first, second, and third years.
• The DoT has also approved 11 new telecom and network products to the existing list of products that can be manufactured under the scheme.
• Investment made by successful applicants in India from 1st April 2022 onwards and up to Financial Year 2025-2026 shall be eligible, subject to qualifying incremental annual thresholds.

Historic torch relay for 44th Chess Olympiad launched by Prime Minister in New Delhi

• This torch will be taken to 75 cities in a span of 40 days before the final culmination at Mahabalipuram near Chennai. It will then head over to the FIDE Headquarters, Switzerland.
• India is hosting the prestigious Chess Olympiad for the first time and in the process, Asia gets to host the event after a gap of 30 years. Philippines last hosted it from Asia in 1992.
• India, who made its debut at the event in 1956 Moscow (27th position), has a gold medal (joint winners with Russia in 2020) and two bronze medals (2021, 2014) from the Chess Olympiad.
• While the 2020 and 2021 editions were held virtually owing to the Covid 19 pandemic, the 2022 edition will be the first over-the-board Chess Olympiad being held since 2018 in Georgia.

In a First, Microplastics Are Found in Fresh Antarctic Snow

• Researchers collected snow samples from 19 sites in the Ross Island region of Antarctica and found that all contained microplastics.
• While microplastics have been found across the world, from the world’s deepest ocean floors to the peak of Mount Everest, researchers say that this is the first time that they have been found in freshly fallen snow in Antarctica.
• How did they reach Antarctica? These particles, due to their light weight and low density, might have travelled through air from more than 6,000 km away. However, there is also a possibility that the human presence in Antarctica created a microplastic ‘footprint’.
• It shows that the spread of microplastics is so widespread, that even the remotest and least habitable places in the world are now infested by these particles.
• Microplastics are not biodegradable and can be toxic for plants and animals.
• The microplastics deposited in ice and snow can accelerate the melting of the cryosphere — regions where water is in solid form, like the planet’s North and South Poles. Dark-coloured microplastics are better at absorbing sunlight and retain more heat.
• Microplastics are tiny plastic debris that are smaller than 5 mm in length, tinier than even a grain of rice. There are two types of microplastics.
• Primary microplastics are tiny particles that are purposely designed as such for commercial use, like in cosmetics, nurdles-plastic pellets used in industrial manufacturing and in fibres from synthetic textiles like nylon.
• Secondary microplastics are formed through the degradation of larger plastic items like bottles, fishing nets and plastic bags. This occurs through exposure to the environment, like radiation from the sun, wind and ocean waves.

Indian Oil unveils indoor solar cooking stove ''Surya Nutan''

• Surya Nutan is a Stationary, rechargeable, and always kitchen-connected indoor solar cooking.
• This is a patented product designed and developed by IndianOil R&D Centre, Faridabad.
• It works on a Hybrid Mode (i.e. can work on both solar & auxiliary energy source simultaneously) which makes the Surya Nutan a reliable cooking solution for all weather conditions.
• Surya Nutan can be used in all weather and seasons including when the Sun is not available for long durations or for continuous days, such as monsoons and extreme winters.